Listening to the Grassroots on the GOP's Future
The future of the GOP is much discussed lately. By now, we're all familiar with various strands of thought articulated by folks who write regularly about politics, often from Washington D.C. or New York. But what do Republicans at the local level regard as the best way to better the country, retake Congress and challenge President Obama for the White House in 2012?
I got curious, so I started e-mailing a questionnaire to various Republican Party County Chairmen. Ultimately I hope to reach them all.
The questions I posed:
1) So long as it's in the opposition, where should the Republican Party focus its energy?
2) What is the most worrisome part of Barack Obama's presidency?
3) There's been a lot of debate about the role that talk radio and cable news hosts should play on the right. Particularly controversial are Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Mark Levin. What do you think about these folks? Do they help the right or hurt it (or is it more complicated than that?) How should Republicans interact with them?
4) One particularly fraught controversy pertains to race in America -- with the first black president in the White House, some conservatives have been criticized as racists for opposing him, and some on the right have accused the Obama Administration or its allies of racism or anti-white sentiments (for example, Sonia Sotomayor's "wise Latina" comment drew fire, as did the Skip Gates incident). As the right thinks about political strategy and policy, how should it approach matters of race?
5) Is there anything you observe locally, or that Republicans in your area of the country care about, that doesn't get sufficient attention in the national media conversation? If so tell me a bit about the issue, and the approach you think the right ought to take.
6) Traditionally the Republican Party has been a coalition of religious conservatives, libertarians, fiscal conservatives, and national security conservatives. Is that alliance viable going forward? If so, what must be done to hold it together? If not, what alliance should the GOP try to build?
7) Is there anything I didn't ask about that you'd like the media or the country as a whole to know?
I chose these questions because they reflect some of the most controversial issues roiling the national debate, though there were many more I would’ve included if brevity weren’t so important for getting responses. Hopefully the results will serve as a resource that better informs folks writing about the future of the GOP, and conservatism generally, about opinion within the party at the grassroots level.
Thus far I've received answers from 20 people -- and I've just sent out a batch to GOP County Chairmen throughout Ohio, so I expect to be posting more very soon. You can read the answers (and if you find them a valuable resource, donate to the very time consuming project) here.
Should anyone want to contact me directly about the project I can be reached at conor.friedersdorf@gmail.com.