Call Me GOP

Tim Pawlenty fought the good fight while Jim DeMint didn’t even have a chance. The people have spoken, and it’s Eric Cantor vs. Mitt Romney in the championship round. Well, Romney was probably a given, but are you at all surprised by the wild-card candidate facing him in the final?

You’ll have a few days to vote on these two guys, and then we’ll finally be done with this tournament. Next week, I’ll announce whom you’ve chosen as the voice of the G.O.P. That’s when the work really picks up. Together, we’ll be putting the G.O.P. through a series of exercises we use on our clients to help them identify and tell their stories. Let’s see if we can fix this thing!

So get your votes in over the weekend, and tune in Monday to find out what happens.

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The Final Four ends tomorrow. This tournament has dragged on long enough; I think it’s distracted us from our original goal. By its sheer nature, a contest like this polarizes people more than it brings them together.

Yes, there are many different points of view even within the G.O.P. itself, but a few principles hold it together. One that’s been identified here time and time again is the idea of personal freedom, which is a huge part of the party’s belief system. But if it’s true that those that yell the loudest are the ones that get the most attention, the message of personal freedom and self-determination seems to be somewhat lost in the din. How can the G.O.P. promote this idea and unite over it more effectively?

Tomorrow we’ll find out which two Republicans will face off in the championship round. While Eric Cantor and Tim Pawlenty battle it out, Mitt Romney has a commanding lead. What is different about his message and the way he gets it across?

And hey, who knows? Maybe one of these underdogs will steal the title away. I just want to step back and hear what you guys have to say. So vote on the Final Four while you can and tune in tomorrow for the results.

Tim Pawlenty took a shot at Mitt Romney attacking Massachusetts’ health-care program. Maybe he heard about our tournament? More likely he’s thinking about bigger things, like the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, for which both are strong contenders.

There’s been a lot of noise about Romney here but not as much enthusiasm for Tim Pawlenty, who’s in a fierce race to beat Eric Cantor in the Final Four. Why would or wouldn’t Pawlenty be an appropriate voice for the G.O.P.? What qualities does he posses (or lack) that would affect your support of him, and why?

Tim Pawlenty was elected vice-chairman of the Republican Governors Association, giving him a position that could help advance presidential ambitions. So why is he losing out to Eric Cantor in our Final Four?

The results are finally in! After a week of voting and over 1,000 votes, you’ve chosen the candidates for the Final Four. Who won? Eric Cantor, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Jim DeMint. While it was clear Mitt was in early on in the game, I must admit I’m a little surprised by the other nominees — they seemed like the underdogs in the Republican tourney.

But that’s just me. How do you feel about the results? As always, leave your thoughts in the comment box to tell us why you voted how you did. We’ll be using these insights to create a stronger platform for the Republican Party.

Come Monday, we’re going to start organizing these insights — so come back for that. As for now we just have two more rounds to get through to find out who should lead the G.O.P. Ready, set, vote!

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One of our G.O.P. Great Eight, Tim Pawlenty, is stepping up his efforts to introduce himself as a contender in the 2012 election. Later this month, the Minnesota governor will address national committee members, which will help position him as a more influential party leader. But can he get ahead of the likes of, say, a Mitt Romney? Why has he, so far, flown under the radar, and how can he gain the political edge?

Who’s emerging as the favorite G.O.P. candidate for 2012? Mitt Romney, a recent Gallup poll indicates. In fact, over a quarter of Republicans and Republican-leaning citizens polled favor him. What does this man offer that the other candidates don’t?

Read about it at FOX.

On CNN’s State of the Union, Tim Pawlenty weighed in on his party. “Clearly, there’s been damage,” he told John King. He said that Republicans need to return to their values — so then what exactly are they?