7 Steps for the 21st Century GOP

Matt Lewis | November 06, 2008 11:50 AM

A smart strategist named Edward E. Getterman sent me a copy of his memo titled: "Getting Back to Basics -- A Republican Game Plan for the 21st Century.

What follows is a much-revised excerpt of his plan (read the whole thing here):

1.  House Republicans must elect an entirely new slate of leaders for the 111th Congress.

2.  Whether House Republicans see fit to re-elect John Boehner or not, they MUST adopt his admirable stance of no earmarks.

3. When the Democrats were in the minority, their only tactic was to wait for Republicans to do something then criticize it. They never had any new ideas or alternatives to what we were doing, it was just a continuous drum beat of criticism. This is what kept them in the minority for so long and we cannot fall into this trap. To be sure, when it is warranted we must criticize the Democrats and their proposals. But we must also become the party of new, bold ideas.

4.  More young people voted in this election than ever before. If we are to become relevant as a party again, we must develop ideas that appeal to this new constituency. We must become the "tech" party, the party that pushes for free-market innovation and technological advancement.

5. Corruption, of any kind, must not be tolerated. It's that simple.

6. On immigration, we can regain the support of Hispanics while at the same time advocating for border security. We need to champion the cause of making it as easy as possible for hard-working Mexicans and others to get here legally by reforming the bureaucracy that creates the huge backlog of visa applications.

7.  I suggest that it become the Republican position that if voters in Massachusetts want to approve of gay marriage, that's fine, but it's also fine if voters in Texas say no. In short, I suggest we get back to saying "that's none of the federal government's business."