Call Me GOP

Americans believe that relationships between Republicans and Democrats have deteriorated since Obama was elected as this Gallup poll indicates. Do you agree? What’s caused the breakdown? How can we get back on the road toward political civility?

Obama’s job approval rating is at its lowest yet. However, Gallup points out that this isn’t uncommon for presidents in their first term after they outlive their “honeymoon period” in office. Interestingly enough, while Republicans approval rating of him is still the lowest, the primary cause of the drop came from Independents. What actions could he take that would give him a boost again?

A Gallup poll says that women (of all ages) are more likely to identify as Democrats than men are. Why is this? Is it because there are fewer powerful female Republican leaders? Is it the G.O.P.’s pro-life stance? Or something else entirely?

Young Republicans say it’s a “tough time” for their party. G.O.P. leaders want to learn from their youth. That’s great, but they don’t say what they want to learn. I want to know what young conservative voters can teach their party. Maybe more important is this: is the party willing to listen?

DirtyRottenScoundrels asks why so many Republicans are jumping ship. Care to venture an answer?

Hi, I’m Andrea. I work at an ad agency called Story Worldwide. As its name suggests, we help our clients discover and share their stories. And right now, a brand that seriously needs work is the Republican Party. So a bunch of us decided to take the tools and techniques that define our work and apply them to the G.O.P. And we decided to open it up to the world, to see what you guys could do to help this troubled brand recover. As Story’s Social Media Editor, I get to manage this project. I’m actually a registered Democrat, but this still sounds pretty cool.

Let me tell you a little about our process at Story. We start by gathering insights—what a brand means and should mean to people. These run across three pillars: the brand itself, the category of competitors, and you, the consumer. Progressing these insights through a clever (we think) process, we ultimately arrive at a statement that encompasses a brand’s core qualities: the things that make it unique. We call this the “Story Platform.”

Over the next few weeks this is exactly what we’re going to put the G.O.P. through. And we need your help! Let’s have an open, helpful and constructive discussion about the problems with the Republican Party, and where they should go from here. Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat. But don’t bodyslam the poor G.O.P….we’re doing this in the spirit of helping. We’ll turn these insights into a new story and reveal it all right here. Together, we can heal the elephant, if only to keep that donkey honest.

I’m Jim. I also work at Story Worldwide. What Andrea didn’t say is we’re quite famous for telling the stories for many of the world’s leading brands. To be completely transparent, I didn’t vote for Obama — and I’m not a “card carrying Republican” never have felt the need to join a party. My conservative view of what I’m looking for from government, leads me to cheering for the G.O.P. team most every time. I do work with a number of “smart people” who often disagree with my view (they did vote for Obama) and that’s okay. However, we do share this — it’s never a good thing for America when one political voice drowns out the other. Unfortunately, that’s now the case in our country. The Democrats have found their story over the past eighteen months and the G.O.P. has not. Thus, the purpose of Call Me, G.O.P. is to assist the Republicans do just that — HELP THEM FIND THEIR STORY. It’s what we do and we do it well. I ask all who agree with my conservative view of politics – and even those who don’t, to get involved in the discussion that will take place over the next few weeks. We’ll try to make it fun and worth your time.

We’re going to kick things off tomorrow with a “tournament” called — THE VOICE OF THE GOP — where we’re asking your assistance in picking what Republican best represents the GOP going forward.  We’ve seeded 16 Republicans and have placed them in a tournament bracket similar to the NCAA’s March Madness.  In Round 1 we have match-ups pitting Rush Limbaugh vs. Rudy Giuliani, Sean Hannity vs. Michael Steele, and…well, you have to come back tomorrow to see the whole lineup. It’ll be fun, and lively, we promise. So get out and Vote for the Republican who has the best ideas for the G.O.P.!

The helpful guys in our art department put together a bumper sticker to kick off this project:

Ha, ha, ha. Fun…strong…but maybe not exactly the direction the G.O.P. should go in. That’s for us to figure out, starting right now. What do YOU think the Republican Party really stands for? What SHOULD it stand for? Comments below…let’s get this Party started!