GOP Report: Voters Are 'Rolling Their Eyes' at Us

Report by RNC task force calls for messaging overhaul
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 18, 2013 7:58 AM CDT
GOP Report: Voters Are 'Rolling Their Eyes' at Us
In this Sunday, March 17, 2013, photo provided by CBS News, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus speaks on CBS's "Face the Nation" in Washington.   (AP Photo/CBS News, Chris Usher)

The GOP is taking a hard look in the mirror in what the Wall Street Journal calls a "scathing self-analysis." In a new 98-page report, a Republican National Committee task force assesses the party's image and what led to its presidential loss in November, and it doesn't sugar-coat things: "Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the party represents, and many minorities wrongly think that Republicans do not like them or want them in the country. When someone rolls their eyes at us, they are not likely to open their ears to us," it reads. In focus groups, former Republican voters called the party "scary" and say it's full of "stuffy old men," the report notes. If something isn't done, "it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to win another presidential election in the near future."

  • What does it recommend? "Comprehensive immigration reform," a shift in mega-campaign spending away from TV and toward door-to-door efforts, more tolerance for gays, the formation of an RNC Celebrity Task Force, and an "inclusive and welcoming" stance on social issues, among other things.
  • What does it omit? The report doesn't touch on the gay-marriage debate, abortion, or Planned Parenthood, reports Politico.
  • What's next? RNC chair Reince Priebus will unveil the report this morning, and is expected to announce some immediate changes, including an altered presidential primary process. For the 2016 cycle, the primary season will be shorter, the New York Times reports, with what Priebus calls "a more rational number of debates."
  • Side note: The Journal adds that the report comes as some in the party, specifically those close to the Tea Party, are pushing for the GOP to ignore these kinds of analyses and re-embrace the party's "conservative grass roots."
(More Republican National Committee stories.)

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