Six candidates seeking to be the next Republican National
Committee (RNC) chairman largely agreed Monday that the party needs a new direction,
but offered different strategies in the first-ever debate for the top spot.
There were few fireworks between candidates sharing the
stage at the National Press Club as each sought to distinguish himself from the
others in the eyes of committee members both present and watching on C-SPAN.
With 168 voting members, each candidate emphasized different traits in hopes of
making the right appeal.
{mosads}Though never directly attacked, incumbent Chairman Robert
“Mike” Duncan stood squarely in other candidates’ sights as many
voiced displeasure with the current operations of the national party.
“We can’t run this [party] out of Washington, D.C.
It cannot be closed,” said former Tennessee party Chairman Chip Saltsman.
Added former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele: “If
we don’t do right by the grass roots, we will do wrong. Trust me.”
Even moderator Grover Norquist, a well-known GOP activist
who runs Americans for Tax Reform, seemed to get in on the action, noting
Democrats had just tapped Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) to lead their party
without a vote or debate from the national committee.
Duncan had been appointed by President Bush after the
2006 midterm elections to share the top post with Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.).
While Martinez sparked some controversy among committee members with his
support for immigration reform, Duncan sailed in without much debate.
That was far from the case Monday. The implicit shots at
Duncan came despite the chairman claiming credit for the RNC’s unprecedented
fundraising successes this year. The committee, he said, raised more than $400
million from 1.9 million contributors, noting that such fundraising prowess
will aid the party in future elections.
Still, even Duncan acknowledged the need for something
new, calling himself “a candidate who will bring significant change to the
Republican Party.”
Duncan’s combined message of change and experience is a
marked contrast to others on the committee, each playing up his own
strengths.
Saltsman promised a “high-energy” chairmanship
aimed straight at Democratic opponents, boasting of his surprise electoral
success as campaign manager to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R). Steele
noted his experience having won elections in a blue state and his focus on
building up state parties.
South Carolina party Chairman Katon Dawson, whose state
has voted reliably Republican in recent years, focused on his efforts to turn
the Palmetto State party around after inheriting a heavy debt. Michigan GOP
chief Saul Anuzis said he understood the voters the Republican Party is losing
— suburban voters like himself.
And Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio secretary of state,
played up his ideology most heavily, urging a “conservative
resurgence” even while advocating that the party become “a federation
which invites differences.”
Recognizing the growing gap between Republicans and
Democrats in each party’s use of technology during the 2008 elections,
candidates strove to demonstrate their technological savvy.
Anuzis mentioned his frequent use of the micro-blogging
site Twitter, while Blackwell called for a new chief technology officer and
each candidate bragged about his number of friends on Facebook, the
social-networking site. In perhaps the most ambitious proposal of the day,
Duncan suggested making the party’s major voter contact and identification
software an open-source project, allowing developers everywhere to offer their
own input.
Republicans also cited a need to reach out to new
portions of the electorate, most notably minority voters, while simultaneously
reinvigorating the base. The party has much in common with Hispanic and black
voters on social issues, many said, but the GOP has done a poor job
communicating those similarities.
Making those inroads, all agreed, is essential to
building a new, winning coalition.
“Our values are the same — we just haven’t done a
very good job articulating those values,” Anuzis said.
Dawson agreed: “We’re a party that can’t take any
segment for granted any longer.”
Duncan said the party’s future depended on its outreach.
“If we don’t do something about [communicating with minority voters],
we’re going to be the permanent minority in America,” he said. “The numbers are
there. It’s indisputable.”
The debate largely confirmed most members’ suspicions
about the candidates, with Steele and Saltsman demonstrating sharp
communications skills. Dawson and Anuzis focused largely on the 168 voting
members of the committee, offering promises to build more infrastructure in individual
states. And Duncan, seated in the corner in a seemingly dour mood, offered
stability coupled with his own investment plan for the states.
Blackwell stood apart from the other candidates in an
otherwise collegial debate — enough so that some committee members in the
audience were taken aback. Blackwell repeatedly poked fun at other candidates
and called for a “shareholder revolt” in taking back the party after
bragging that he had more Facebook friends than any other candidate.
In his opening statement, Blackwell touted his own
electoral experience, mocking Dawson’s claim of winning so many elections.
“We all know how difficult it is to win elections in that swing state of
South Carolina,” Blackwell said to laughter. Blackwell scored just 37
percent in his latest electoral outing, losing to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D)
in 2006.