SCGOP At Heart of Party's National Initiative

After every presidential year, the losing party retreats into conference to plot a path towards winning the races it just lost.

2012 was no different. What was different was the way in which Democrats defeated Republicans at the polls. Despite high unemployment and economic sluggishness, Barack Obama was easily re-elected, winning by five million votes over Mitt Romney.

At the start of 2012, the GOP thought it could win a majority in the Senate. It ended up losing seats.

In the House, the Republicans kept the majority, but a few of the most extreme members, such as Allen West of Florida and Joe Walsh of Illinois were bounced from office.

The closer the numbers were looked at, the worse the picture became. Republicans have a serious problem appealing to people of color and women. This was not news.

In the election post-mortem, everyone calling themselves conservatives had a suggestion to fix what ails the party. Bloggers and columnists have practically worn down their fingers offering a way ahead.

On Monday, the Republican National Committee released a 100-page publication called the Growth Opportunity Project (GOP) that is meant to lift the party from the brink of minority status.

The publication (attached to this article) is a frank assessment of what's wrong with the Republican Party and what the plans are to fix it.

Given that South Carolina has an Indian-American female as governor and an African-American as a senator, it's perhaps no surprise that leaders from the SCGOP played a key role in creating the plan.

Chief among them was Glenn McCall, a National Committeeman based in Rock Hill and longtime party stalwart.

McCall was contacted by RNC Chair Reince Priebus a few weeks after the election and was one of several party leaders that traveled the country talking eventually to thousands of voters with varying opinions on the Republican Party.

In the course of those conversations McCall discovered that many of those who left the GOP became independents rather than Democrats, which was indicative of a messaging problem, a problem that he feels can be overcome.

"I’m optimistic and very positive that we can build front this," McCall told Patch. "We didn't get in this situation overnight. We knew the demographics of the country were changing and didn't react to it."

McCall said there are plenty of things the Republicans can learn from the machine created by Obama. He noted that after the 2008 election, Obama kept his campaign structure--Organizing For America--in place. It helped advocate for Obama's policies in his first term and was in place when the re-election campaign began. 

"We were having to rebuild every four years and we need to stop that. We need to have our people in place, "McCall said.

Two key aspects of the project are a targeted effort by the GOP to reach minority groups and an emphasis on digital technology. Priebus confirmed that the party will spend $10 million on outreach and open an office in Silicon Valley.

"The goal is not to be equal with the Democrats. We want to leapfrog them," McCall said.

The release of the project was greeted with enthusiasm by South Carolina's Republican Party Chair Chad Connelly.  

"The promises of the GOP - less government and more economic freedom- resonate with Americans across all racial and ethnic lines. The party has failed to share its principles in a diverse way, although in South Carolina we are proud of the steps we have taken to diversify our party," Connelly said. "The Growth and Opportunity Project findings are a commitment by the GOP to share these values in an inclusive way. This is possibly the most important first step in the GOP reclaiming majority status nationally."

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