sign in sign up
<<
Home , Bob Corker, Chip Saltsman

FROM:

TO: MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE

SUBJECT: OUR PLAN FOR REPUBLICAN VICTORY

“I am not going to talk to you about some of the things we’ve talked about before and some of the things that we’ve tried to accomplish and that we haven’t yet. … I will only say let us all heed the words of an old Scotch ballad, ‘For those defeats that we’ve had so far, we are hurt; we are not slain. We’ll lie us down and rest a bit, and then we’ll fight again.’” – President Ronald Reagan, April 13, 1984

On January 23, 2009, by casting votes for the next Republican National Committee Chair, each of you will play a pivotal role in charting the future of our party. While the recent setbacks we experienced were very discouraging, I am completely confident that together we can, and will, inspire the American people with bold solutions and return our party to national leadership in the very near future.

Future electoral success will require investments of time, money, expertise and imagination. Our state and local party committees will have to be strengthened. New technologies will have to be adopted and implemented. Strategic and tactical adjustments will have to be made. And all this will have to be done before the all- important 2010 mid-term election.

Since I am asking each of you to entrust me with the RNC chairmanship, it is important that I lay out my vision for the party’s future. The following describes how I plan to execute a campaign for Republicans to recapture leadership on the American political scene. My plan describes broad tactics that are part of a larger strategy of rededicating the Republican Party, regaining the American voter’s trust, and setting the stage for a dramatic turnaround.

Republican resurgence must begin with a return to our longstanding ideals of principled conservatism and fiscal responsibility. In January, a Democratic President and the Democratic Congress will begin work on raising taxes, increasing spending, regulating industry and appointing activist judges. To meet these political and policy challenges, our party will need to act quickly. We will have to be better equipped and motivated to fight for our core values and to oppose the harmful policies of a virtually unchecked liberalism.

I believe that countering an emboldened Democratic Party, led by the Obama-Reid- Pelosi troika, requires an aggressive national strategy. This campaign’s message cannot depend upon traditional media outlets or communication methods. It will require building upon new media and developing and mastering new tactics. As a business owner, as Chairman of the Republican Party and as a campaign manager for a Republican presidential campaign, I learned how to compete and how to win. With your help, I am ready to guide the coming resurgence of our Republican Party.

A PLAN FOR VICTORY

I. NO DESPAIR, NO RECRIMINATION

In American politics, with events always fluid and the next election just two years away, things change and usually change quickly. What was novel in one election is outdated in another. However, we must not change our party’s core values, which have for decades appealed to the American center-right majority. And, judging from the 2008 exit polls, those values still resonate with the heart of our nation.

According to these exit polls, over one-third of the Ideology In The 2008 voting public is “conservative” and 44 percent are Electorate self-described “moderates.” Only 22 percent called themselves “liberal.” Unfortunately, 20 percent of “conservatives” and 60 percent of “moderates” 45% sided with President-elect . But, 40% going forward, the party can take solace knowing 35% that over three-quarters of voters place themselves 30% McCain on the center-right of our political spectrum. 25% 20% Obama While ideologically the country has not turned 15% toward liberalism, electoral conditions and the economic downturn of the past few months led the 10% public to shun Republicans. On Election Day, 20 5% percent of voters said the country was heading in 0% the “right direction,” as opposed to 75 percent who identified the U.S. as on the “wrong track.” Only 27 percent approved of President Bush’s performance in office, while over 70 percent disapproved.

Staggered by a one-two combination of skyrocketing “wrong track” numbers and plummeting presidential approval ratings, the final blow to Republican hopes was delivered by the economy, which almost two-thirds of Americans identified as the most important issue in the election. Fully 85 percent of voters said they were worried about the economy and only seven percent (yes, seven) reported “excellent” or “good” national economic conditions. Ninety-three percent of voters believed national economic conditions were “poor” or “not so good.” Given those statistics, Senator John McCain’s chances for election were also “not so good,” bordering on “poor.”

None of this should detract from the problems facing the party. There are serious issues and I will address them. I am only suggesting that those pundits, politicians and professors who gave our party last rites on November 4 – and who made similar declarations about Democrats four years ago – are engaging in political hyperbole. The issues and conditions facing the party this year were unique and, yet, our standard bearer still collected almost 58 million votes.

2 II. STRENGTHEN OUR STATE PARTIES

There’s an old Republican axiom that all wisdom does not reside in Washington, D.C. That statement is as true for party politics as it is for government policy. As a former state party chairman, I know that state parties are the lifeblood of our national organization. They must play a central role in our resurgence. I understand how state parties help shape our national agenda, identify and recruit attractive political hopefuls, and create an environment conducive to our candidates and ideas. Without strong leadership from the states, the national party is weakened.

Rebuilding our national party infrastructure will require more flexibility on the RNC’s part to accommodate state party efforts. As your chairman, I will seek your advice and guidance on candidate recruitment and selection. If this election taught us anything, it is that state and local officials can quickly become significant and leading national figures. We must depend on our state and local activists to help locate the country’s next generation of Republican leaders.

I also appreciate that relying on state parties requires more than just a verbal commitment. It demands investing resources – both human and financial. Redeveloping many of the state party infrastructures will simultaneously require greater attention and more leeway. As chairman, I will provide the state committees greater operational autonomy, while offering the national party’s experience and know-how. We will learn from each other.

For decentralization to work, stronger communication channels will have to develop. Video-conferencing, leadership conference calls, regional activities will all contribute to a greater team effort. As techniques and strategies are implemented in one state, I will work to share both the successes and failures with our state and local leaders across the nation. The national headquarters will serve as a clearinghouse for promoting newer, successful ideas implemented at the state level, whether in communication, recruitment, voter registration or any other of our myriad party activities.

III. INVEST IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO REINVIGORATE PARTY EFFORTS

If the 2008 political technology race had been an election, it would be been an absolute landslide. We can all admit that the Obama campaign utilized technology in the most effective way anyone has seen in American politics. But it is encouraging to see the energy Republican professionals are bringing to address the digital divide between Republicans and Democrats. One great example of this vitality is the plan described at RebuildTheParty.com, and I certainly endorse their goals for our future.

We need to rethink our online tactics and strategy. The past election cycle taught us a number of valuable lessons: the growing political significance of self-organizing citizen activism; the speed at which viral information travels through the blogosphere and other digital media; the power of online fundraising; the extent to which younger voters rely on and demand online information and interactivity; and the peril of a strategy blind to these irreversible developments.

3 In every online category – fundraising, list building, message distribution, grassroots organizing – Republicans trail Democrats. I recommend that we reorganize the party structure by integrating e-Campaign staff into every department. In fact, the committee should consider making the e-Campaign director deputy chief of staff. By reorganizing the RNC and embracing technology’s capacity as a “force multiplier,” we will make a bold statement about how the party plans to transform its use of technology.

I also believe in building online Republican communities – not lists. Instead of focusing on amassing email lists of the marginally interested, we must make a concerted effort to transform our websites into hubs worthy of the fervent political dedication of our online supporters. To achieve this goal, we must link Internet users to social networks and blogs of all sizes, and we must be willing to value openness and innovation as much as message control.

We should also devote a sizable portion of our independent expenditure operations to online advertising. These efforts can fuel fundraising and online community building in ways that television ads, even those listing a web address, cannot, and they do so with an unprecedented capacity for real-time targeting and measurement.

It seems like only yesterday that invented the Internet. But technology is rapidly changing how political campaigns are conducted and it is time for Republicans to be in front of these revolutionary changes – not lagging behind. The ideas listed above are only a few in a broad technological program that I want to employ at the RNC. We have the talent, the imagination and the know-how to place our party on the cutting edge of cyber-politics. We just have to act.

IV. IMPLEMENT OUTREACH PROGRAMS TO EXPAND PARTY BASE

If there is one area Democrats out-worked Republicans over the past four years, it is expanding their voting bloc. Many scoffed at Howard Dean’s “Fifty State Strategy,” including other Democrats. But the fact remains that his party became more competitive in more places over the past two election cycles. In 2006, Democrats won House and Senate seats in traditional Republican territory. Two years later, Obama won nine states President Bush carried in 2004, and, in almost half of those states, Obama ran ahead of the national vote. The Republican nominee did not win any state won in 2004.

Unless we’re going to be relegated to irrelevancy, we must take the “members-only” sign off the clubhouse and replace it with a welcome mat. Indeed, over the next few years, it is incumbent on the RNC Chair to guide major initiatives to register voters, expand the party’s presence to all regions of the country, reach out to Hispanic and younger constituencies, target first-time voters, and revamp the 72-Hour Program to better encompass the dozens of states with early voting. All of these goals must be met in order to restore the party to national leadership.

4 Notwithstanding accusations of voter registration fraud by ACORN, it is undeniable that Democrats out-registered the GOP this past cycle. In some states the figures were staggering. According to news reports and statistics from secretaries of state, Democrats increased their registration advantage by more than ten times in North Carolina, from 18,274 to 198,557; among registered Florida voters from 368,757 to 618,244; and by nearly triple in Pennsylvania, from 191,269 to 556,109.

Democratic Voter In other states, the registration advantages Registration Republicans held all but disappeared. In Iowa, Advantage for example, Democrats reversed a Republican lead of 7,658 registered voters in 2004 to take a 103,756-voter advantage in 2008. Democrats 700,000 gained a 93,727-voter advantage in Nevada, overcoming a 4,431 deficit in 2004. In Colorado, 600,000 there are almost 50,000 more registered Democrats than there were in 2004 and nearly 500,000 80,000 fewer Republican registrants. Is it really surprising that all three states voted 400,000 Democratic in 2008 after supporting President 2004 Bush in 2004? 300,000 2008 What is also notable is that the registration gains were not a regional phenomenon. 200,000 Democrats launched their efforts in the South, West, Midwest and East. They are not stopping 100,000 now. The Los Angeles Times recently reported Democrats are now targeting Texas, the nation’s 0 second-most-populous state and owner of 34 NC FL PA electoral votes. While McCain won Texas by 11 percentage points, Democrats believe Texas’ growing Latino population is an untapped supply of votes. Obama staff is trying to build the Texas state party by handing over to Lone Star Democrats a database with hundreds of thousands of voter names and phone numbers. “Temo” Figueroa, Obama’s top Latino outreach official, said Texas could be a presidential battleground in 2012 if Democrats win statewide races in 2010. “I don’t know if it’s four years or eight years off, but down the road, Texas will be a presidential battleground,” Figueroa said.

Republicans must counter these efforts. As Chairman, I will initiate a massive voter registration drive, initially targeting states where our party lost ground like Florida, New , Pennsylvania and Virginia. Then we will expand the effort. Simply put, it will help us build the party and win elections.

Obama made large gains for his party principally among young voters and Hispanics. The Latino vote is particularly problematic because Hispanics are a fast growing segment of the population, currently representing nine percent of the eligible vote and 15 percent of the U.S. population. In 1988, Hispanics accounted for 3.7 million votes. Only two decades later, that figure has more than doubled to 7.5 million votes.

5 2004 Hispanic Vote Based on exit polling, 67 percent of Latino voters supported Obama compared to 30 percent for McCain. President Bush took 44 percent of the 44% Bush Hispanic vote four years ago, helping him win re- 56% election. In fact, the Latino vote proved important Kerry in states Obama took from the Republican column – Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Florida and North Carolina, which ranks 11th nationally in its percentage of Latino residents.

But, as CNN’s Bill Schneider argues, Hispanic voters supported Obama because they disapproved of President Bush’s job performance more than the rest of the country. About 80 percent of Latinos gave Bush negative marks. With the changing of the Republican guard, we must make the strongest effort possible to reach out to Hispanic voters. We must search the community to recruit exciting, vibrant candidates who will articulate a conservative message to Hispanics on issues of education, jobs, health 2008 Hispanic Vote care and social values. Most importantly, the party will also have to develop a unified position on immigration, while standing 30% McCain strong on border security and employer 67% Obama verification, or risk losing the Latino community for generations to come.

Republicans must also develop a new game plan to connect with younger voters. Even though younger voters as a percentage of the electorate did not increase as many had predicted, their partisan choice did change to our party’s detriment. Voters under 30 comprised 17 percent of the electorate in 2004 and 18 percent in 2008. But Democrats won two-thirds of younger voters this year – up from barely a majority in 2004. We must reach out to these voters now before they become habitual Democratic supporters.

Modernizing the 72-Hour Program must also be a top priority. This year, it seemed that Democrats were able to get out their vote early, which allowed them to better target voters on Election Day. In some states, the early vote may have actually carried the day for the Democrats. For example, in North Carolina, one Democratic pollster noted that early voting gave Obama the edge for his narrow victory in the Tar Heel state by winning early balloting by 178,000 votes, despite his losing Election Day by 165,000 votes. With more and more states launching early voter programs, Republicans must expand beyond 72 hours to a 720-Hour Program, spread out over 30 days.

V. NEW AND CREATIVE FUNDRAISING EFFORTS

In one of the worst political environments for Republicans in living memory, the party still raised a record amount of money. Through reports filed days before the election, Republican committees, including the RNC, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)

6 raised $518.8 million as compared to $462.4 million raised by the three comparable Democratic committees. The RNC raised almost $337 million through October 15th. Four years earlier, the RNC, working to re-elect President Bush, raised $330 million. In 2008, the RNC had its best September ever – reporting $32 million in direct mail receipts alone.

Still, the party cannot rest on its laurels because Republicans are entering a potentially poor fundraising year. Renewing the current base of support after the 2008 losses will be difficult. Republicans are dangerously dependent on direct mail fundraising, with its high costs. The tough fundraising environment and weak economy will force us to prospect more heavily, leading to larger net losses and shrinking net margins. The amounts collected from major donors will undoubtedly shrink as the economy contracts.

We will need to implement a “180 Day Challenge” and assemble the GOP’s top fundraisers to create a national strategy. Then we will jump into action by making calls immediately. I will also work to unite top party figures and set up regional fundraising events in conjunction with state parties. This strategy will not only cut down on costs, it will also create a new era of teamwork.

As part of the RNC’s political plan to expand the base, I would establish a “Blue State Fund” to solicit contributions specifically to be invested in blue states. While leading Republican fundraisers and donors reside in the Northeast, the party holds few congressional seats in that region. In fact, in the new Congress, there will be no House members from New England at all. By creating this fund and keeping the money in the region, the party will be sending a critical message that there is no region in which Republicans cannot, and will not, aggressively compete.

Internet fundraising will be the best place to make progress in the coming year. We should initiate a phone program in every committee and have callers mine existing direct mail donors. Let’s ask them to switch communication from mail and phones to the Internet. Donors who agree should be removed from mail and phone solicitations. By converting the direct mail file to Internet donors, the party will begin to see a higher net on return with decreased overhead costs.

Despite all of our successful efforts over the past two years, fundraising will be a challenge next year. As a two-time Pioneer, I believe that my experience fundraising will be an important asset as Chair of our party. In this environment, experience, energy and enthusiasm will be a necessity to create an environment for growth and success.

VI. CREATE “WATCHDOG”TO MONITOR LIBERAL ACTIONS

We’ve known for years that the country cannot depend on the mainstream media to accurately report the impact of liberal actions by the federal government. In 2009, that fact will surely be even more on display. So we have a true call to action. Republicans in Congress, national and state party committee leaders, and grassroots activists will have to be as vigilant as ever to monitor the governing troika of Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

7 Getting out an accurate and coherent Republican message will take a great deal of time and effort from the committee’s research and communications staff. A “watchdog” division within the national party should be established whose sole mission is to monitor and report on the actions of Washington, D.C. Democrats. By strategically countering wrong-headed Obama-Reid-Pelosi policies, legislation and appointments, the Republican Party will offer stronger, more vibrant opposition. This department will have to work closely with bloggers, talk radio hosts and reporters to get the message out.

I also believe that information should be distributed directly to party activists and members for viral dissemination. We all understand the impact of the Internet in quickly spreading information of public import. Accordingly, we should curtail the practice of saving opposition research for independent expenditure units to run in expensive television ads. We will continue to share the information with our supporters directly on the committee’s website. But we should also provide the tools for our supporters to easily distribute the information within their networks of friends and family and on their own personal websites and blogs. Releases should also offer the opportunity for recipients to contribute, sign-up online, and get involved with our party in other meaningful ways.

CONCLUSIONS

It’s an old cliché, but it must be stated: the death of the Republican Party is greatly exaggerated. Despite recent electoral setbacks, the party has tens of millions of supporters and a cadre of up-and-coming conservative candidates. Instead of worrying about what might have been, this January presents a great chance for Republicans to pick themselves up, develop and offer new ideas, introduce new candidates, and present new leadership. From defeat, the party can arise bolder, stronger and more cohesive.

This resurgence will require energetic leadership. I have led local, statewide and national campaigns. These experiences have given me the know-how and the dedication to win in difficult circumstances. As Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party in 2000, we worked to defeat the Democratic nominee in his home state – the only time a presidential candidate has lost his home state in the past 35 years. And, without Al Gore’s unprecedented loss in Tennessee, Florida’s narrow margin would have been nothing but a political footnote.

As a leader on the state level, I have a healthy respect for decentralization. But I also appreciate the need for a strong national party committee, especially while Republicans are in the governing wilderness. The 2010 election will be significant because it is our opening to elect new leaders and impact subsequent congressional redistricting.

Thank you for taking the time to read my plan and for considering my candidacy for Republican National Committee Chair. We will rebuild and revitalize the party and bring it to greater successes in the next few years. But we can only realize these ambitions if we work together.

8 ABOUT CHIP SALTSMAN

John "Chip" Saltsman, Jr. is a Tennessee Republican with the experience, energy, and dedication necessary to bring our Republican Party to resurgent national leadership. As a business owner, as Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, and as campaign manager of a Republican presidential campaign, Saltsman has learned how to compete and how to win.

Born March 24, 1968 in Nashville, Tennessee, Saltsman attended Christian Brothers University in Memphis, at which he earned his bachelor's and master's in business administration degrees. Before the of 1994, Tennessee was represented by two Democratic Senators, a Democratic Governor, and a Democratic State Legislature. With Saltsman’s help, conservatives elected Senator , Senator , and Governor that year in a sweeping landslide.

Elected Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party in 1998, Saltsman quickly faced a crisis of conscience when his long-time mentor Governor Don Sundquist made imposition of a state income tax the centerpiece of his second term. Refusing to permit his party to betray its commitment to fiscal conservatism, Saltsman strongly opposed the income tax proposal, which failed after grassroots opposition from conservatives across the state inspired a tax revolt. Today, Tennessee remains one of only nine states without a broad-based income tax.

Saltsman next faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge as he worked to defeat then- Vice President Al Gore in his home state of Tennessee, despite President Clinton's success there in 1992 and 1996 and despite the fact that Gore and his father had represented the state in the Senate for a combined twenty-six years. Saltsman’s hard work and political leadership ensured George W. Bush’s victory in Tennessee, without which Florida’s narrow margin would have been nothing but an interesting footnote.

Saltsman followed this accomplishment by working as Development Director for Senator Frist at the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the 2002 election cycle, where he helped Republicans regain control of the Senate after the defection of Senator James Jeffords handed the chamber to Democratic control in May 2001.

Saltsman then became Senior Political Advisor to Majority Leader Frist at VOLPAC, a political action committee chaired by Frist and dedicated to recruitment and support of Republican candidates for political office nationwide. In 2004, eighteen of the twenty- two races that VOLPAC supported were successful. And, in 2006, VOLPAC helped ensure the election of Senator over Harold Ford, Jr. in Tennessee.

9 Saltsman was also an important figure in Senator Frist's preparations for a potential run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and was labeled "Frist's secret weapon" by of and "a multi-talented superstar ... [who has] demonstrated uncanny, remarkable leadership in every endeavor he's undertaken" by Frist himself. However, following the completion of his two terms in the Senate, Frist decided against a run for the presidency.

With Frist's departure from public service, Saltsman became National Campaign Manager for Governor 's presidential campaign on February 1, 2007. Saltsman oversaw all aspects of the campaign, including political, fundraising, communications and operations, and he led the dark horse candidacy to a surprise second place in the Ames, Iowa Straw Poll and then to victory in the Iowa Republican Caucuses. Huckabee's campaign proceeded to record victories in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, and West Virginia on , before ending his campaign on March 4, 2008 with 270 pledged delegates.

Saltsman is currently considering a run for chairman of the Republican National Committee, so that our party can pick itself up, develop and offer new ideas, introduce new candidates, and present new leadership. Despite our defeat this November, he firmly believes that the Republican Party can arise bolder, stronger, and more cohesive in the months and years to come.

10