NEWS AND OPINION:
Conservatives who insist the Republican Party has lost its bearings and abandoned its traditional tenets are not alone. New research confirms this phenomenon, which does not bode well as 2016 looms like a thunderhead on the distant horizon. Luckily, two separate groups of Republican leaders are staging significant gatherings on both coasts; one is underway in Pennsylvania, the other in California. So amid the inevitable fancy footwork and noble speeches should come some honest, simple talk about bedrock values and public messaging. Behold, the damning numbers:
“Fully 72 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the GOP is doing only a fair or poor job standing up for its traditional positions on such things as reducing the size of government, cutting taxes and promoting conservative social values. Just 27 percent say the party is doing an excellent or good job in advocating for these traditional positions,” reports a merciless new poll from the Pew Research Center which bears sobering news for party leadership that has the task of neutralizing a biased media narrative.
“Democrats remain less likely than Republicans to criticize their party’s performance in standing up for its traditional positions — 55 percent vs. 72 percent,” the findings say, with 44 percent saying their party does an excellent or good job of standing up for its traditional positions, such as “protecting the interests of minorities, helping the poor and needy and representing working people.”
And about those events. Republican lawmakers huddle through Friday at a congressional retreat at the Hershey Lodge, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. They will be entertained by Jay Leno and spoken sternly to by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, among many other things. Yes, the party’s own big names will be there; among them Sens. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.
Meanwhile, the 168 esteemed members of the Republican National Committee will gather at the historic Hotel Coronado seaside resort in San Diego; yes, Mitt Romney will be there as a keynote speaker for an event staged on the USS Midway Museum, docked in the city’s bay. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is also on the roster, and chairman Reince Priebus is expected to be re-elected and continue his productive reign. Memo to both events: Don’t forget the beloved basics. And keep it simple.
’AUTHENTIC PRO-LIFE, PRO-WOMAN FEMINISM’
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Hubbub is sure to follow Marjorie Dannenfelser’s appearance Thursday at the National Press Club. She is president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a national pro-life group, plus Women Speak Out, its super PAC.
She has much on her mind, and critics will be riled. Mrs. Dannenfelser will review pro-life electoral victories and legislative agenda, reminding folks that the aforementioned organizations spent over $15 million to defeat pro-abortion incumbents. Here’s what else is coming: “Authentic pro-life, pro-woman feminism,” she says — surely something quite familiar to Sarah Palin and her battalion of Mama Grizzlies.
Mrs. Dannenfelser will also review pro-life expectations for the 2016 presidential race, the advancement of the “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” and one phenomenon in particular: “The silence on abortion from Emily’s List candidates — and the general shrinking back on abortion from the feminist Left,” she notes.
’PATH TO PROSPERITY’
There must be something in the air. Also appearing Thursday at the National Press Club: Americans for Prosperity, a 2.3 million-member national grass-roots organization centered on economic freedom, plans to unveil “significant strategic initiatives,” organizers say. On hand: the group’s president Tim Phillips, CEO Luke Hilgemann, and Brent Gardner, its vice president of governmental affairs.
“This year is going to be pivotal to advancing significant and much-needed reforms,” says Mr. Phillips. “We have to ensure that our elected officials in Washington, both newly-elected and veteran alike, are working hard to get this country back on the path to prosperity — and it starts today.”
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ONE FOR THE CLANDESTINE HEROES
Three cheers for a rare cultural victory in the age of hasty conclusions. The General Services Administration is now mulling over practical ways to preserve one of the most unique clutch of buildings in the nation’s capital. The august former headquarters of the Office of Strategic Services — the precursor of the CIA — was at risk of facing the bulldozer, potentially to fall in favor of new office space for the Department of State, which stands close by, as does the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center and the sprawling National Mall.
But hurrah. After several years of consideration, the GSA revealed Tuesday that it’s considering four different plans to preserve the historic acreage first deeded to the U.S. in 1791, which includes the old OSS headquarters where Gen. William “Wild Bill” Donovan once directed the high stakes clandestine activities of World War II, and the original Naval Observatory.
Rehabilitation and renovation, plus “a world-class federal office campus is envisioned to serve the long-term needs of the U.S. Department of State as an institution of American diplomacy,” notes a planning statement.
“We are very grateful the senior officials at the State Department, GSA, and the National Capital Planning Commission share our belief about the importance of preserving these buildings that served as the birthplace of the American intelligence community,” says Charles Pinck, president of the OSS Society, a historic interest group that includes some OSS alumni among its membership.
MOWING THE GRASS
While marijuana career schools and party planners tout the glories of legalized marijuana, along comes “Going to Pot: Why the Rush to Legalize Marijuana Is Harming America” by the very down-to-earth Bill Bennett and co-author Robert White.
“Marijuana, once considered worthy of condemnation, has in recent years become a ’medicine,’ legalized fully in four states, with others expected to follow. But the dangers are clear,” the pair say, pointing to Mr. Bennett’s research revealing that more Americans are admitted to treatment facilities for marijuana use than for any other illegal drug — and that marijuana use is linked to abnormal brain structure and development.
Mr. Bennett frames his work as “a call-to-action for the 46 states that know better than to support full legalization, and a voice of reason for millions who have jumped on the legalization bandwagon because they haven’t had access to the facts.” Published by Center Street, the book will be out in about three weeks.
POLL DU JOUR
• 57 percent of Americans say the federal government should “encourage employment” through incentives and regulations; 40 percent of Republicans, 61 percent of independents and 72 percent of Democrats agree.
• 29 percent overall say the government should not be directly involved in the process; 49 percent of Republicans, 29 percent of independents and 13 percent of Democrats agree.
• 56 percent of Americans overall say the government should stimulate economic growth through incentives and regulations; 36 percent of Republicans, 58 percent of independents and 71 percent of Democrats agree.
• 29 percent overall say the government should not be involved; 50 percent of Republicans, 30 percent of independents and 13 percent of Democrats agree.
• 52 percent overall think there are more unemployed people than official government numbers reveal; 70 percent of Republicans, 61 percent of independents and 30 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted Jan. 10-12.
• Snarling and whimpering to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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