CaseyJones
01-22-2014, 08:30 PM
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gop-readies-for-2014-with-new-tactics-familiar-messages/
The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Wednesday will kick off its annual winter meeting with a presence at the annual “March for Life” in Washington, D.C., signaling that the Republican Party is embracing some familiar themes -- primarily, its opposition to abortion rights and to Obamacare -- as it heads into the midterm election year.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be changes to discuss at the winter meeting -- GOP officials have plenty to consider after losing the presidential race and some key Senate races in 2012, in part because of the Democrats’ characterization that the GOP is waging a “war on women.” However, the changes that the RNC will be discussing this week have more to do with tactics than with the party’s underlying philosophy.
Republicans have had a good “family conversation” over the last year, one RNC official said last week. While there were some disappointing losses in 2012, none of that has diminished GOP voters’ intensity and desire to vote, the official said. The challenge now, as the committee perceives it, is to build the infrastructure to support those voters.
The RNC started that process last year, when it laid out its shortcomings and its potential reinvention in the report of the "Growth and Opportunity Project.” By the end of 2013, the committee had an $18 million cash advantage over the Democratic National Committee.
“The reason we did pretty well in 2013 is that we were selling a plan,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told reporters earlier this month. “The plan was putting boots on the ground early, getting into Hispanic, African-American and Asian communities, and fixing a pretty big digital and data problem.”
The RNC is already investing in a strong ground game for the 2014 elections, having already recruited more than 8,000 precinct captains. The committee has one of the largest, most diverse staffs it has ever had, officials said last week, and it has restructured its operations so they are data-driven. The committee is investing in all 50 states while eyeing some states where they could invest more substantially ahead of the 2016 election cycle.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Wednesday will kick off its annual winter meeting with a presence at the annual “March for Life” in Washington, D.C., signaling that the Republican Party is embracing some familiar themes -- primarily, its opposition to abortion rights and to Obamacare -- as it heads into the midterm election year.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be changes to discuss at the winter meeting -- GOP officials have plenty to consider after losing the presidential race and some key Senate races in 2012, in part because of the Democrats’ characterization that the GOP is waging a “war on women.” However, the changes that the RNC will be discussing this week have more to do with tactics than with the party’s underlying philosophy.
Republicans have had a good “family conversation” over the last year, one RNC official said last week. While there were some disappointing losses in 2012, none of that has diminished GOP voters’ intensity and desire to vote, the official said. The challenge now, as the committee perceives it, is to build the infrastructure to support those voters.
The RNC started that process last year, when it laid out its shortcomings and its potential reinvention in the report of the "Growth and Opportunity Project.” By the end of 2013, the committee had an $18 million cash advantage over the Democratic National Committee.
“The reason we did pretty well in 2013 is that we were selling a plan,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told reporters earlier this month. “The plan was putting boots on the ground early, getting into Hispanic, African-American and Asian communities, and fixing a pretty big digital and data problem.”
The RNC is already investing in a strong ground game for the 2014 elections, having already recruited more than 8,000 precinct captains. The committee has one of the largest, most diverse staffs it has ever had, officials said last week, and it has restructured its operations so they are data-driven. The committee is investing in all 50 states while eyeing some states where they could invest more substantially ahead of the 2016 election cycle.