Opinion

TO REBRAND THE GOP

ST. PAUL

John McCain is leading a party with a deeply unpop ular president in office. Eighty-one percent of the American people believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. But, against the odds, he’s still very much in this race.

Tonight’s acceptance speech will be McCain’s best chance to make his case for the presidency – and, in the process, to start rebranding his party for the post-Bush years.

It’ll be an uphill effort. Many conservative activists still can’t believe that their interparty nemesis, McCain the Maverick, is the nominee.

Republican delegates (like Democratic ones) tend to be more ideological than average voters. But they need to understand just how McCain’s independence has him running ahead of the Republican brand.

At work beneath the convention’s surface is a struggle for the soul of the Republican Party – between the “51 percenters,” who think Karl Rove’s divisive play-to-the-base strategy of past elections is sufficient, and the “50 staters,” who believe that reaching out and trying to build a broader party is the key to future victory.

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Exit polls from the 2006 elections show that it wasn’t just Iraq that led voters to kick Republicans out of power: It was corruption, ideological excess and overspending in Tom DeLay’s Congress.

Being in opposition is the best time for political parties to revive themselves. Luckily for Republicans, McCain’s lead can help them best rebrand.

After all, their nominee always denounced the unprecedented pork-barrel spending from the GOP Congress. When the Jack Abramoff scandal began to break, McCain held hearings that led to DeLay’s resignation as House majority leader. And when ideological gridlock loomed, it was McCain who helped form bipartisan coalitions.

These stands didn’t always make him popular with GOP colleagues – but they did make him right.

Some cynical GOP strategists think that the way to win this race is through a constant barrage of negative attacks on Barack Obama. But this “NoBama” approach will backfire – just as an anti-Bush message failed to get John Kerry over the top in 2004. To win the White House, you must offer a positive agenda – not just things to vote against. Voters not only need it, they deserve it.

Below are a few areas where Republicans can take action to rebrand their party:

Fiscal discipline: Under Tom DeLay, Republicans in Congress delinked fiscal conservatism and fiscal responsibility. Tax cuts became theology; balancing the budget went from a core principle of the Contract with America to something only “squishes” wanted to fight for.

McCain led the opposition to this attitude, and it almost got him exiled from the party. But with Baby Boomers retiring and unfunded mandates mounting, a return to fiscal responsibility is no longer optional. The party should end all earmarks, and show it’s once again serious about real spending cuts.

National Security: Support for a strong military has been a hallmark of the GOP since its founding. There are real differences between Democrats and Republican leadership on the broader War on Terror, far beyond the fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq – where McCain supported the surge early.

Republicans don’t need to question Democrats’ patriotism to make the case that it’s the GOP that best gets the seriousness of this global conflict – and is committed to win.

Reform: Keep this equation simple: Republican = Reform. The Democratic-led Congress is even less popular than President Bush, but Republicans’ credibility was deeply compromised by the corruption that marked their majority. The GOP should adopt a zero-tolerance policy for all corruption – and cut off all party money for the indicted.

Public service, to paraphrase McCain, should be about serving a cause greater than self-interest.

Diversity: You can’t walk around this convention long without noticing a lot of white men. Sarah Palin’s nomination is a step forward, but it doesn’t solve all problems. The Party of Lincoln must rediscover its roots and get serious about recruiting diverse candidates for office in the future. Backing policies like school choice can help develop a new generation of urban Republicans.

Win over independents: Nationwide, more voters are registering independent – while GOP registrations are falling in many places. In swing states like Colorado, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Iowa, independents outnumber Democrats or Republicans.

Appealing to independents has always been a core McCain strength. Some conservative activists view a big-tent policy on social issues – where many independents split from Republicans – as unacceptable. But reconnecting with the party’s libertarian legacy will be key to winning swing states (and to rebuilding in deep-blue states like New York).

Rebranding the GOP will require repudiating the mistakes of Tom DeLay’s Congress and looking beyond Karl Rove’s play-to-the-base strategy. But following John McCain‘s record of independence may help point the way to a revived 50-state Republican Party that builds on core principles by practicing the politics of addition, not division.

John P. Avlon wrote “Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics.”

JPA@independentnation.org