Branding Politix, Leadership, Messaging, Views on News • November 5th, 2008

The day after

by Chris Lato

Well, holy cow.

I have to admit I wasn’t quite prepared for the magnitude of the losses the GOP would experience on election day. After 2006, I wondered how much lower the Republicans could go. I now have my answer.

In the days before Tuesday, I heard talk from those in the know that Republicans could at least hold onto the Assembly. Um, nope. It’s really a clean sweep for the Dems, and it is apparent now that Barack Obama’s coattails were very long indeed. It helps to have an unprecedented amount of campaign cash, but I don’t want to get into sour grapes here.

Certain votes were simply beyond comprehension. For example, the voters of Milwaukee County were willing to embrace the twin job-killers of a county sales tax increase and mandatory paid sick leave in Milwaukee. I can’t think of a better indication that it was truly a lost cause for pro-growth, lower-taxes Republicans this year.

While this may sound back-handed, congratulations to the Democrats. The promise of 2006 has been fully realized. Their wishes have been granted, and now it is time to see what they do with the power granted to them. This is the political equivalent of a blank check, so how will they spend the capital? As Americans, we should all want success, no matter who is in power, so we should all hope for the best.

Also, what happens to the GOP? I will be discussing this in more detail with Joy Cardin tomorrow morning on Wisconsin Public Radio – so please tune in.

If there is a silver lining for the Republicans, it is this: these things go in cycles, and right now the GOP is paying for the perceived sins of the Bush years. Once the internal arguing is over, the party should be wide open to a new generation of Republicans with renewed energy and the determination to rebuild, from the ground up. Time to stop licking wounds; time to look forward and get back to basics.

 Republicans also need to embrace the power of positivity and action. Don’t criticize – offer solutions. Better to stand for something than against it, and that is accomplished by proposing a different way to approach the problems of the day, then having the courage to stick to those ideas.

That is the real challenge. Republicans need to figure out what they stand for in a post-Bush era and re-brand in a way that connects with people. It will be a lot tougher than it sounds because the party will be reeling for a while from the losses of 2008.

The best hope is the emergence of a new voice with a clear vision that speaks to the people. It happened in ‘94 with the Contract With America - which reached those disillusioned with President Clinton and the Democratic Congress, and sparked the re-emergence of the Republican Party. It can, and will, happen again. The real question is when.

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