Amidst the "return to orthodoxy" rhetoric of Rush Limbaugh, there are some Republicans who are taking a more practical approach in trying to regain the House, in particular the Rahm Emanuel approach:
California Representative Kevin McCarthy, the chief recruiter for House Republicans, said he wants his party to select candidates based less on ideology and more on their chances of winning. The goal, he said, is to seek out prospects who are ethnically diverse, female, less partisan and even supportive of abortion rights.
“Have you read ‘The Thumpin’?” McCarthy, 44, asked, citing a book about Emanuel’s brass-knuckles approach to winning control of the House for Democrats in 2006. “This isn’t original thought.”In the 2006 election, Emanuel, 49, recruited anti- abortion, pro-gun candidates such as Brad Ellsworth, 50, a sheriff in Indiana, and Heath Shuler, 37, a former NFL quarterback, in North Carolina. The premise: identify candidates whose views best mirror those of their districts’ constituents rather than Democratic Party orthodoxy.
The only problem with this is that when you upset the activist part of your base you are more likely to have tough primary challenges. Still, this is a good move by the GOP in that most rabid partisans (most people that vote in primaries) are more pragmatic about party victory than ideological victory and the losses from inta-party opposition would be minimal. Certainly, just doing this won't get the GOP out of its current run right now, but that along with inevitable blow back from some of President Obama's policies, will help bring the Republican Party back to relevance. One major faux pas though, right now"these efforts are more concept than reality."
