December is the month of gift-giving, but this year the best gift Republicans gave Democrats probably came back in March. It was called the “Growth & Opportunity Project.” It was a 97-page report rolled out by Party Chairman Reince Priebus listing all the things the Republican Party learned since Mitt Romney’s loss to Barack Obama. It was dubbed the GOP Autopsy.
The findings included everything from “[t]he perception, revealed in polling, that the GOP does not care about people” to “[i]f our Party is not welcoming and inclusive, young people and increasingly other voters will continue to tune us out.” Those other voters, as the report listed, include “Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Indian Americans, Native Americans, [and] women.” And don’t forget the gays. Breaking news: they’re apparently all set with old white men.
Well, if you’ve been following the news even a little bit since March, you can see why this report is the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats. Already this week, at the Berrien County Republican Party’s annual holiday reception, former state Rep. Dave Agema, reportedly said, “Folks, they (gay people) want free medical because they’re dying (when they’re) between 30 and 44 years old,” he said.” To me, it’s a moral issue. It’s a Biblical issue. Traditional marriage is where it should be and it’s in our platform. Those in our party who oppose traditional marriage are wrong.” Happy Holidays!
Ironically the subject of Agema’s speech was the same as the GOP autopsy: better outreach! Only not to minority groups, but rather to independents and tea partiers, because, after all, forget their policies, it’s all about the outreach. Well, if he’s looking for independents, his traditional marriage or get out comment really didn’t help his cause. The latest Gallup poll on the issue shows a majority of independents favor legalizing same-sex marriage. Oops. Well, I guess Agema wasn’t talking about those independents.
Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes isn’t helping the outreach cause either. As Politico reported last week, he’s been pushing the National Republican Congressional Committee to refuse to back gay candidates. Apparently he didn’t read the GOP Autopsy, which states: “We must recruit more candidates who come from minority communities.” Gays included!
Even the Pope said this summer “who am I to judge?” gay people. That was just one of the reasons why a Fox News writer recently dubbed Pope Francis “the Catholic Church’s Obama.” It sounds like Catholics are going to have to be added to the outreach list when it’s time to write the next “Growth & Opportunity Project.”
Then there was the other Politico report involving the NRCC. Following the outreach over policy playbook, the Politico reported the NRCC has been holding training sessions with incumbents on how to message against female opponents. Apparently, they don’t want another “legitimate rape” situation on their hands. Speaker Boehner’s response at a press conference the day the story broke: “some of our members just aren’t as sensitive as they ought to be.”
Neither are potential members like GOP Iowa senate candidate, Marc Jacobs, who told a Des Moines television station on Sunday “you have to connect with women on an emotional level.” Apparently, he hasn’t attended any of the training sessions yet.
Neither has Rush Limbaugh, who on Monday gave advice to women worried about being sexually harassed. He asked: “Will you please ask your breasts to stop staring at my eyes?”
So sensitive.
I wonder what Rush’s GOP Autopsy would look like? Maybe he’ll give the Democrats that gift next year.
Alex Bregman