Some of you when you read the title your eyes will gloss over. That’s ok. I’m a political junkie so I don’t expect everybody to be as interested in this as I am. However, after the shellacking that the GOP took on November 4th it is going to be vital that they select the right person to take the reigns of the Republican National Committee.
We actually have two fine candidates running. Former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele has thrown his hat in the ring. I like him. He definitely has a future in the party I think and is a solid conservative. If he won I believe he would do an excellent job.
The other candidate is Chip Saltsman who is lesser known, but he has an impressive resume as well. He is a solid conservative. He was successful in his role as the Tennessee GOP chair. He also was Mike Huckabee’s campaign manager. It was in his role with Huckabee that leads me to believe he would be the best choice for heading the national party.
The Huckabee campaign utilized some of the best grassroots efforts and online activity than any other campaign on the GOP side. The Democrats showed that they are ahead in that department. I was impressed by how well the Huckabee campaign reached out to bloggers which is something I didn’t see with the McCain campaign.
He shares his vision for the party’s future here. I’d like to highlight a few things regarding his vision:
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The first thing he mentions is the need to strengthen the state parties. Here in Iowa I can see that is vital if the GOP wants to win state, let alone, national elections. The Democrats grassroots efforts put the GOP’s to shame which is one of the reasons (not the only reason) Iowa shifted from red to blue in four years. This is also the primary reason why Obama won North Carolina as well. State parties can’t be ignored.
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He wants to invest in new technologies to reinvigorate party efforts… he goes on to say:
“We need to rethink our online tactics and strategy. The past election cycle taught us a number of valuable lessons: the growing political significance of self organizing citizen activism; the speed at which viral information travels through the blogosphere and other digital media; the power of online fundraising; the extent to which younger voters rely on and demand online information and interactivity; and the peril of a strategy blind to these irreversible developments.”
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He wants to implement outreach programs to expand the party base. The GOP simply needs to reach out to new voters… young, hispanic, etc. In Iowa, the Democrats killed the GOP in new registrations. That can’t continue if we expect to win elections.
Again you read his vision here. I urge you to contact your state’s Republican National Committee Man and Committee Woman to ask them to consider voting for Chip Saltsman.