Say you were a political hired gun who would work for either side if the price was right...

[wyldwolf]

...and you were hired by the GOP to rebrand and revive the Republican party, what would you do short of hiring JJ Abrams?

I think the answer would be fairly obvious.

You draft a handful of candidates oozing charisma and smarts - men, women, black, white, hispanic - from the state level. Have them embrace the conservative history of the GOP on most issues while preaching moderation on civil rights and environmental issues.

But here is the key - they reject the current debate about whether the GOP should turn further right and mover closer to the center as a pointless one. They frame it as a matter of survival. "If the party is to survive, we must modernize on issues A, B, and C so that we remain relevant to keep Democrats in check on issues 1, 2, and 3." This, they'll contend, will lay the foundations for a stronger GOP in the next 10-15 years. "Otherwise, the party is doomed."

Then they vehemently and loudly reject the Limbaughs, Coulters, and Becks - and not go crawling back for forgiveness.

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Not that they'll ever take OUR advice... or that we'd want them to. :)

[AllentownJake]

1. It could work if it wasn't for the fact that the talk radio crowd

Is the loudest and most involved in the party right now.

Trying to distance yourself from them is a sure way to lose in a primary.

[surrealAmerican]

2. What if the Limbaughs, Coulters, and Becks are all they have left?

They've spent the last 30 years alienating one group after another. Who else do they have?

[mkultra]

3. negative on the turn moderate

That's what killed McCain. What we want them to do and what they WILL do are two very different things. We might think they should turn toward the center but we might also think they should jump off a cliff. Instead, they will do everything you said, young , geographically and ethnically diverse. Then, these candidates will covertly communicate that they are evangelical Christians while keeping the message focused on defense and budgetary constraint.


Once the economy turns back on track and begins to grow through 2010 and 2011, Obama will be in a good position to win in 2012. He will be at risk due to the current negative rhetoric regarding heavy spending. Republicans will always ring a bell with the "little guy, heavy taxes, to much spending" message. Heck, we even see it here with people bitching about the spending for economic bailout.

Palin had the base charged, which is what they need. The only problem was that not only was she a crazy religiously intolerant narrow minded bigot, but that everyone in the middle could see that she was. If they can get a candidate who looks to conservatives like palin but to moderates like McCain, then they have a shot.

Bet your ass that's what they are planning. Huckabee is on deck as is Thompson.