Memo to the State GOP and the Roanoke Conference: out democrating the democrats is never going to work.

As someone who worked as the Executive Director for the State GOP, I've seen the view from many sides.

We are, essentially, a two-party system.  One party typically represents the left (Democrats) and one, generally, the right (Republican)

The GOP lost in the last election.  The democrats were hammered in 94 and 96, although they still kept the Governor's Mansion with Yassir Arafat, (I mean, Mike Lowry) and the GOP took control, by larger margins, in both the House and the Senate here in Washington State.

The question is this: what major changes did the democrats make in their philosophy as a result of their political massacre?

Did they look around and conclude that they, somehow, had to become much more conservative?

Did they abandon their principles of huge government, abortion up until 10 seconds before birth, massive increases in taxation and spending, union hackery and an education system that is an abysmal failure?

Of course not.

So why is it that the geniuses running the GOP (particularly the Bellevue Mafia) believe that suddenly, magically, the way to defeat the democrats is to become the democrats?

RINO Rob McKenna tried that: what did it get him?

A bunch of leftists are lying their collective asses off and announcing they opposed McKenna for his opposition to the obviously unconstitutional mandates of Obama care.

There's a better then even chance those slimeballs had never voted GOP.... and never would.

Because the other state wide candidates who got clobbered didn't do a thing concerning Obama care, one (Dunn) even underwent an election year pandering epiphany: he came out in support of gay marriage. (Finkbeiner already had)

And what did that get them?

Those with their own agendas advocate that the GOP should simply abandon principle.  We should either out-democrat the democrats, or become democrat-lite, as if people will vote for the fake democrats when the real thing is available.

We should turn a blind eye to illegal aliens.  We should just love the idea of gay marriage.  We should completely support legalizing all drugs.  We should work harder to get the endorsements of democrat front groups like the Sierra Club.

In short, WE MUST LURCH HARD LEFT!!!! AND DO IT NOW!!!!

Hardly.

McKenna and the rest lost because they had no clue.  They lacked technical and strategic expertise, their pandering to the left lost them their base, and now they're wandering around in a fog, without one wit of introspection.

We should no more become democrats than they became Republicans in 94 and 96.

THEY never abandoned their principles (such as they are) and look at them now.

For whatever the reason, we're overlooking the obvious in favor of the politically expedient.

It's far simpler to simply change positions, no matter how moronic such a change is to abandon principle than it is to do what has to be done:

Fix our campaigning.

Starting with the State GOP:

1.  Fund and hire a full time minority outreach shop.

We have to admit that the white majority will soon become the white numerical minority.  This is obvious.  Yet, what does the GOP do to court the minority vote?

Nothing.

If the GOP is going to convince the minorities, even those with a natural affinities such as the hispanic voter.  And given the large numbers of illegals voting in this state, at least some full time effort should be, for example, aimed in that direction.

2.  Identify candidates around the state for grooming as a wide bench.

It's unfortunate that we could only put forward a weak candidate like RINO Rob.  How he ever won, given his utterly abysmal campaign this time around, is the political mystery of the decade.

For the mainstreamers, unfortunately, there wasn't anyone else.  And how'd that work out for us?

We need to be looking at evaluating candidates at the city council/School board level.  The GOP needs to provide guidance to help them grow in a real world political environment so we don't find ourselves filing candidates as nothing more than road bumps.

3.  Understand and use social media/internet research.

Come on, guys.  I shouldn't even have to talk about this.

The GOP should be building a live, on line database of every democrat screw up so it's right there.  This would be an invaluable tool for legislative and statewide races.  Traffic could be driven there with every announcement.... every press release.  The technology is there: all it takes is the money and the bodies to make it happen.

Every democrat candidate should undergo a deep background investigation.  If you know your enemy, then you'll know his/her weaknesses.

Every district's tendencies should be identified and all messages tailored to impact.

This isn't brain surgery. 

This isn't all that hard.  And if it's started now, it can impact in '14.

There's likely more.... much more that needs to be done.  These ideas are just a start of the discussion.  But it's a discussion... and an implementation... that should take place long before the GOP abandon the principles we know so well and hold so dear; taking the now thoroughly discredited McKenna approach to politics will avail us absolutely nothing.

The politics of expediency is why, in part, we are 16 trillion in debt.  Why our economy is in a generational shambles.  Why the GOP are so cowardly.

The question isn't philosophy.  The question is competence.

If the GOP ever becomes competent in the nuts and bolts of elections... and they STILL lose?

Then, perhaps, it's time to re-evaluate.  But until then... the infrastructure needs to be fixed.  Because merely slapping a different coat of paint on a rotten structure isn't going to win the GOP any elections, either.