Traditional conservatives and tea party types, who are both upset at the ongoing open-door attitude of the GOP that they say has softened principles and watered core party platforms, may not be so enamored with the RNC’s Reince Priebus and his recent vow for 2014.
“As a party, Republicans resolve to make 2014 about engaging with more people in communities all across America,” the Republican National Committee chairman said, in a statement outlining the GOP’s “promise of new opportunities” in the new year, as reported by Newsmax. “We’ll spend our time welcoming new people to our party and listening to people in places where we haven’t spent enough time in years past.”
The Republican Party has been engaging in efforts to reach out to new constituencies in recent months, seeing the courting of traditional Democratic voters, like Hispanics, as a means of winning back the Senate and securing the White House.
But more traditional Republicans, especially those of tea party view, say the party suffered losses — most recently, the presidency, with the lukewarm candidacy of Mitt Romney — because Capitol Hill elites aren’t listening to their core party voters and they’re offering too many political compromises that have turned the GOP left.
Mr. Priebus’ recent announcement only confirms that the party isn’t making any concerted effort to embrace tea party reasoning and return to more traditional-type conservative principles. Rather, the party will continue on the path it first laid out in May, he suggested.
Mr. Priebus foretold, in May to Newsmax: “Our engagement is going to be the biggest engagement process we’ve ever gone through at the RNC in an off-year,” including the hiring of special officials to get “folks out in the communities … [who will tell] a story of the Republican Party about quality and freedom and opportunity, something we haven’t done enough of lately.”
Three months later, Mr. Priebus also predicted the party’s “big, cultural shift” with its focus on reaching out to minority voters to broaden the Republican constituency.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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