RNC candidates call for a new direction

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 other candidates, 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 ambitious 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.