Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party

After my column, “The Incredibly Shrinking Republican Party,” (http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=2869) was published in the Wednesday, November 12, 2008 edition of “The Tentacle,” I came across “Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party,” (http://www.truthout.org/103008M,) while I was doing some file maintenance… Nov. 12, 2008 Kevin Dayhoff

Truthout: http://www.truthout.org/103008M

Truthout: Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party by: Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian UK Wednesday 29 October 2008

Orlando - Senior Republicans are planning to meet at a rural retreat in Virginia within days of the election to discuss how to rebuild a party they expect to be badly beaten in the White House and congressional races.

[…]

Details of next week's post-election meeting, to be attended by state chairmen and prominent activists from the conservative wing of the party, are being kept secret for fear of being seen to preempt the outcome of the presidential contest.

It is intended to look at who should take over chairmanship of the party, whether the party needs to switch to the right, and to make plans for the next presidential election.

Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate, though not present, will be a central figure in discussions about the party's future.

One of the biggest post-mortems, if McCain loses, is scheduled for the week after the election, the Republican governors' annual meeting in Miami. Sessions planned include one looking back on the election titled, An in-depth evaluation of the 2008 election cycle.

Another session is titled, Looking towards the future: the Grand Ole Party in transition. There is also a section on the "rising stars of the party".

One of the concerns of the party is that, if the polls prove accurate, the Democrats are poised to make huge advances into its traditional base in the south and in western states such as Colorado. With New York and the north-east and almost all of the West Coast primarily in Democratic hands, the question is where to rebuild their base.

The other problem is that the party is short of political "stars" in contrast with the Democrats, apart from Palin. The hunt for new potential leaders could shift to the younger generation, including figures such as Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana.

[…]

At the governor's conference, from November 12 to 14, speakers lined up include Charlie Crist, the governor of Florida, and a host of southern governors, as well as retired general Tommy Franks, the right-wing columnist Bill Kristol and the pollster, Frank Luntz.

Another post-election meeting is one to be hosted by the South Carolina Republican chairman, Katon Dawson, who has invited state party leaders and others to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to ""discuss the lessons learned from the 2008 campaign, what we can do better and what it will take to win in 2010", the congressional mid-terms will be held. Dawson is among those seeking to become the next party chairman.

Read the entire article here: Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party

20081029 Truthout Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party