I have the privilege of working for an organization dedicated to promoting centrist Republican policies and principles. It's called the Ripon Society, and it's been around for almost 50 years.
In the 1960s, it was the first major Republican organization to push for civil rights legislation. In the early 1970s, it called for the normalization of relations with China, and the abolition of the military draft.
More recently, in the weeks and months after 9/11, it supported the Bush doctrine of taking the fight to the enemy and, in 2003, backed the invasion of Iraq.
Among other activities, the Ripon Society publishes a journal of thought and opinion called The Ripon Forum, of which I am the editor.
The goal of the journal is the goal of the organization — to promote centrist Republican ideas, and shine a spotlight on GOP leaders who are turning those ideas into reality.
In our most recent edition, we feature Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels on the cover, and focus on his efforts to reform government in the Hoosier State.
The Ripon Society also hosts a regular series of breakfasts, luncheons and dinners for Republican leaders to discuss the issues facing our nation, and the challenges facing the GOP as it attempts to win back its majority on Capitol Hill.
For those who may be concerned that Republicans have neither the energy nor a plan to take on this fight, I am happy to report that the GOP leaders who have appeared before the Ripon Society have not only been brimming with enthusiasm, but have laid out in great detail their intent to use every tool available to get their message across. And that is encouraging.
What is less encouraging is that there appears to be uncertainty about what that message actually is.
Just the other week, for example, the Ripon Society hosted one of the rising stars of the Republican Party — the kind of lawmaker you not only want to recruit, but the kind you want to build a winning majority around.
He spent a good 20 minutes talking about how Republicans were using Facebook and Twitter to show the American people that they were not just the party of "no."
What he didn't talk about were the issues and ideas the GOP was supporting that would show they were the party of "yes."
Fifteen years ago, you couldn't get Newt Gingrich or Dick Armey to stop talking about ideas. Even Tom Delay would spend some time talking about the issues the party was promoting — before, that is, he issued a threat intended to secure your support.
Today, Republicans would like to find the words that helped Gingrich, Armey and Delay win the majority in 1994. But they can't seem to find the right script.
It's as if they are trying to remake "Star Trek" but have ended up with "Star Trek: The Next Generation" instead. The gizmos and special effects are better, but the story and narrative just isn't the same.
For all the talk about the Obama campaign's successful use of technology — the e-mail lists, the viral marketing, the mobile messaging that could reach people anywhere and at anytime — the fact remains that the only reason that technology succeeded was because it was backed up by a winning message, a message that was grounded in ideas and woven into a narrative that resonated with the American people.
To win in 2012 and even stand a chance to compete in the elections next year, Republicans have to develop their own narrative today. Here are three ways for them to begin doing just that:
1. Be the Party of Smart Government Again — Republicans used to be known for two things: They were competent managers of the bureaucracy and good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Between Katrina and Iraq and skyrocketing deficits, that reputation has gone out the window.
The GOP needs to get it back, not only because it is the core of the Republican identity, but because it will leave them perfectly positioned to pick up the support of political independents when the Democrats overreach with their plans to grow government bigger than it ever has been before.
2. Be Relevant to People's Lives — Competence may be boring and balancing the budget may be dull. But smart government is relevant when put in context of the issues that matter to people the most. Making government work for better schools. Making government work for affordable health care. Making government work for clean and abundant sources of energy.
It's what Mitch Daniels is doing in Indiana. The voters of his state told him they wanted lower property taxes. He saw making government smaller and smarter as a way to deliver the savings needed to accomplish this goal.
3. Be Humble — If Republicans are correct in their assessment that America remains a center-right nation, then what is lacking in their message has less to do with substance than tone. Republicans like to exude confidence. Unfortunately, that confidence sometimes comes across as arrogance instead of a command of the facts and control of the situation.
Michael Steele is a good example. He recently stated the party was done apologizing for its past mistakes. While he is correct in his larger point that the party needs to focus on the future, he is wrong in believing the decision is his to make.
The decision belongs to the American people. Like a jilted spouse, they have had their trust betrayed. And just as it would be presumptuous for a cheating husband to say he is done apologizing, so too is it presumptuous for the GOP to do the same. Republicans need to get on with their work, but need to do so with their nose to the grindstone, instead of up in the air.
Smart government that is relevant and humble. At a time when Republicans are looking for a story to tell, these seven words could provide them with just that. It's a story that could not just help them recapture their majority, but one that, given their embrace of technology, they will also be able to Tweet.
Lou Zickar is the editor of The Ripon Forum, a centrist journal of thought and opinion that is published by the Ripon Society.
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