The dueling faces of a conflicted political party were on display for all to see at the just-concluded Republican National Committee meeting.
One was younger, more diverse and tech-savvy, part of the RNC's carefully crafted plan to inspire confidence that the GOP is trying to grow beyond its shrinking, older, largely white base. The other - one that hasn't evolved since the GOP's back-to-back presidential losses - lurked in the hallways, occasionally taking center stage at the Washington hotel where party delegates from around the country met to discuss party business.
The reminder of the divisions comes a year after Chairman Reince Priebus published a report aimed at modernizing the party and boosting its ranks, and as Republicans eye their best chance at taking control of both houses of Congress since 2002. "If our party doesn't unite, we're never going to win," said Jonelle Fulmer, a Republican National Committeewoman from Arkansas.
Following the recommendations in the Priebus-commissioned autopsy of the GOP's losing 2012 presidential campaign, the national party launched a multipronged strategy a year ago to reach out to younger voters, women and racial and ethnic minorities, groups who sided more heavily with Democrats, especially President Barack Obama.
Yet, awkward comments about contraception and women's reproductive systems and chatter over Michigan committeeman Dave Agema's derogatory comments about gays and Muslims obscured the party's attempt to feature its efforts at last week's meeting.
By the end of the three-day conference, Priebus and Michigan Republican Party Chairman Bobby Schostak were calling on Agema to quit, "for the good of the party." The only other public comment from party officials about Agema came later during a press conference on the RNC's diversity outreach team. "There's no room in the Republican Party for those kinds of comments," said Jennifer Korn, the GOP's national director for Hispanic initiatives.
Agema released a statement Friday night apologizing for his use of words. But he declined to step down from the committee. "In retrospect, I acknowledge errors in judgment and how I addressed them, feel badly about the impact this had had on many here in the land I love, and have learned valuable lessons about the requirements and responsibilities that are to be expected and honored by all who are in leadership positions - including myself," his statement said.
The episode created a sharp dissonance with the meeting's official program, which included sessions on the party's organizational investments in digital, data-gathering technology and personnel. That's an area that helped Obama's campaign carry traditional Republican strongholds in 2008 and 2012.
Another sharp contrast occurred when a panel of well-polished women from an array of racial and socio-economic backgrounds discussed the party's up-and-coming leaders, just minutes after former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's speech in which he accused Democrats of casting women as slaves to government-sponsored birth control.
Huckabee said Democrats "insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government."
The clash between the RNC leadership's party-broadening goals and the lingering image of a party arguing with itself over tone and tolerance reflects the division that's playing out in Republican congressional primary campaigns across the country. Despite the competing messages, there still were signs that Priebus' plans were moving forward.
Priebus hired 25-year-old Raffi Williams as national youth political director and tasked him with running a program aimed at identifying Republican-leaning voters. It's similar to an effort begun by the Michigan Republican Party to use Facebook and other online social media to get people to identify like-minded conservatives.
Run by digital media strategist and former advertising executive Chuck Defeo, the project conceivably could help Republicans win close elections. "We're starting behind the eight ball, but we're building a good machine, and we're doing it across the country from the ground up," he said.
Alex Smith, 24, said Republicans can only gain back the edge they had with young voters they narrowly held in 2000 by updating the language and the tools that they use to reach her and her peers. "Channels and messages matter," the Seton Hall University law school student and chairwoman of the College Republican National Committee said. "If you're talking to younger voters on television, radio or direct mail, you're not reaching them."
![Alex Smith, 24, said Republicans can only gain back the edge they had with young voters by updating the language and the tools that they use to reach her and her peers. "Channels and messages matter," the Seton Hall University law school student and chairwoman of the College Republican National Committee said. "If you're talking to younger voters on television, radio or direct mail, you're not reaching them."](../../sites/default/files/stories/RepublicanParty4-%20usnews.jpg "Alex Smith, 24, said Republicans can only gain back the edge they had with young voters by updating the language and the tools that they use to reach her and her peers. "Channels and messages matter," the Seton Hall University law school student and chairwoman of the College Republican National Committee said. "If you're talking to younger voters on television, radio or direct mail, you're not reaching them." Photo Credit: usnews.com")
Yet, outside the ballroom, RNC members murmured about the status of Agema, whose Facebook posting earlier this month had criticized Muslims for not contributing anything to the country. "Have you ever seen a Muslim do anything that contributes positively to the American way of life?" he asked in the final passage of the piece, which Agema had copied from another author.
Months earlier, Agema had referred publicly to "filthy homosexuals" and posted the Facebook piece days before GOP Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder subtly chided him during his annual address: "We've had people make comments that were derogatory, that were negative toward other people, and publicly tonight I'd like to make a call to all citizens of Michigan to ask us to have a greater degree of civility and respect."
Still, before the RNC meeting, neither Snyder nor GOP Senate candidate and RNC member Terri Lynn Land had joined Republican House members from Michigan to suggest Agema resign from the committee. Land called for him to step down after the Priebus and Schostak statement.
Priebus was one of the few at the meeting who called for Agema's resignation. Even authors of the report he commissioned wouldn't go that far. "We were very clear we need to be more inclusive," said Zori Fonalledas of Puerto Rico, one of the five authors. "That is an issue for his state," said Henry Barbour, a Mississippi committeeman who, like Fonalledas, helped write the report. Annette Teijerio, a RNC member from Nevada, said Priebus and Schostak were right to ask Agema to quit.
"There's a perception that Republicans are anti-Hispanic," she said. "Whatever it takes to dispel that perception, so be it."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
Comments
ignorance of government public parties
these politicians try to make us believe that they actually care about the issues at hand but in reality only take a stand on said things to gain votes. they wouldn't make negative comments toward gays and different races on their facebook pages if they really cared for their well being. if these politicians were genuine then they would care for these groups in front of and away from the cameras and public eye.
Agreed
I agree, every politician has an agenda to fulfill and will promise nearly anything to the american public to enter office, republicans and democrats alike. They all lie and make empty promises and this is just another one of their many facades only it worked out horribly on their end. No politician is genuine anymore because with the technological advances of today they will get caught doing things that for instance, JFK could have gotten away with in his time. They're all just businessmen trying to sell a product that half the time doesn't even work.
I totally agree with you on
I totally agree with you on that. If politicians would care more about changing a nation or the world, they would not post such discriminating statements anywhere in the World Wide Web. It is not a secret that its websites are open for anyone so I ask myself why do they do these things? Again, if they would care about minority groups as they belong to the American society, these statements should not be happening at all. Politicians represent their state and the whole nation. They should care about every single person belonging to it - no matter if black, white or gay.
It's funny
I find it a bit comical that these politicians are too stupid to realize the effect that their derogatory words have on them. I say, continue to let your true colors shine so that we won't be seeing you in office.
falseness
They believe people are stupid and don't see this is all fake.
They should try harder in obtain votes.
Why don't they actually start DOING something?
If I belonged to one of the
If I belonged to one of the minority groups I would be offended by the republicans "efforts" to persuade m to join their party. Picking a political party to side with isn't like deciding which friends to hang with on Saturday night. Instead we should choose our political affiliations based on how are political views relate to the parties. The republican party should have to change their views and policies to accommodate new minority members, not the minorities changing.
Agreed
Minority groups are people, not a product you bid over. These groups need to be respected as a whole and have their needs addressed instead of being spoken of like its a custody battle between political parties.
believe me I am offended
believe me I am offended because I am a minority. prejudice and racism is a real issue and most people who are real activists on our behalf are not considered good enough for a political seat and if they are they are ostracized or assassinated. JFK was assassinated and he cared about civil rights. Lincoln was big on it as well and he was assassinated. MLK was no different. Those that defy the qualifications of the accepted norms cant gain any ground. the only way to get anywhere in the political and social world nowadays is to follow the leader. I strongly disagree that we not do this but that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. all the people you think are genuine about their morals and actions that you share in the political party end up not being just that. they do what they do in order to get votes.
I'll admit I do not follow
I'll admit I do not follow politics, so this was a little harder for me to understand, but I will agree with what has already been said. Most if not all politicians are out for their own agendas and to make their mark in the world. Maybe Agema's comments were meant to make his own mark. He declined stepping down from his position and only acknowledged what he said was wrong and he feels bad. After that the party still did not take a lot of action, they let it set making it more difficult for the people who may actually care about what they're doing. Just a few words on social media can send a very large message and have quite an impact on everyone, not just the minorities that read it.
same issues
I have to confess that I also don't follow politics very much, but I understand and I agree with what have been comented in this discussion.
Where I came from we have the same issues: politicians trying hard to get votes, promising the perfect world if elected.
Nowadays, it is quite common
Nowadays, it is quite common for politicians to promise anything under the sun to be elected. But after, not even half of their promises are going to be put into practice. This unbalance is caused because the parties are mainly interested in how they get the most votes in the next election and therefore, democrats as well as republicans hinder one another in taking action. The government shutdown is one recent example for the phenomenon. Nowadays, the main interest is not lying anymore on what is best for the nation and its people but on which party the next election is going to be in favor of.
Politicians function in a similar way. Their aim is to enter office and therefore, they would promise almost everything - if they truly believe in what they say is anyone's guess. But the incident with Agema demonstrates once again that politicians are not always promoting their true beliefs and values. This is something that should change because how are people supposed to vote if they don't know what politicians really stand for?
True, how can we trust in our
True, how can we trust in our government when politicians paint a picture that just gets smeared into something else after inauguration day? I can barely watch The State Of The Union Address or any political debates because i feel like i'm being lied to or coerced by false statistics and claims.
I agree with this comment,
I agree with this comment, only because they try to make us believe that they actually care about certain topics, but in reality they are just in it for the votes and they don't really change anything. So how can we trust someone that lies to us? At least I couldn't ever trust them.
Can't help
I feel as if the Republican party is really just trying to mix things up as to what they are telling people to get more votes in, but in truth they don't wish to change anything and they will keep doing what they feel. The're trying to get different ethnic groups by trying to make it look like they are already diverse, thinking that diverse people will appeal to that more. In truth what they don't know is that people want to hear the things that they think is good for them so if they can change the minds of the people then they can actually win something, but its probably not gonna happen.
- I'm just sayin
I find it shocking that the
I find it shocking that the republicans believe they can obtain more votes by recruiting minority members rather than by changing their policies to fit the minority members. The black population is growing in the United States and will soon grow larger than the white population if it hasn't already. The United States is no longer powered by the wealthy white man. Actually, I would say that with affirmative action and other "equal" opportunity selection processes, the white male is discriminated against. Doesn't this go against the principle of the selection processes.
Those comments.
Those comments are inexcusable, and those who said them should be asked to step down from their role. Not only because it is incredibly offensive and disrespectful but also because it is stupid, ignorant, and makes the whole party look like uneducated racist idiots.
Yes, politician should always
Yes, politician should always consider that their words and deeds will eventually fall back to their party and colleagues. Considering how a statement might come off should happen more critically in some cases because that would help to prevent these affairs - no matter if an accident or intention.
I agree with this comment.
I agree with this comment. Not only should politicians need to worry about the power of their words, but the party should try to understand that they may have just repelled minority members rather than attracted them.
Politic
Politician are always good speakers. It is how they involve people and convince them to join each party. They try everything to earn new colaborators to become more popular than they were. People from low society or with less education are more likely to believe what a politician says because it sounds true and convincing. That is because they has less knowledge about how the things really work or how the things worked in the past while specific parties were govern. Politician always say the bright side of their way to govern but they do not speak about the things that they are going to decrease or harm the society.
People need to learn about what are they going to support. They need to study if that politician does really represent what people believe as the correct way to guide the country and not let those incredible words decide for themselves. Do not belive everything that politicians say because camouflage the truth its part of their job as well.
Politicians know the way
Politicians know the way around so many Americans. They can talk their way into, and out of things. Persuading is what they are best at. I honestly don't think they really care about anything that they say. They do it for the votes, but they are right. To go after they younger voters and women to get votes was a pretty smart idea. Younger voters are more acceptable to anything that the politicain says to be true.
I agree that most of the
I agree that most of the things that politicians do they use to target the area that they think will create their demand for getting vote although on the other way seem to impower women to some extent
I am agreeing with you that
I am agreeing with you that most of what politicians do to the society is the way to create a means for people to vote for them although on the other had is the part of empowering women and for the youth is to create the good futre generation which will have the strong political inspiration
Hmm.
This article is completely one sided. Yes, republicans are working on getting younger adults and women to vote, but aren't democrats doing the same thing? Young adults are the future of this country, so why not target the younger voters?
Many of the quotes in the above article may sound ridiculous, but let's not discuss all of the ignorant things democrats have said. Both parties have their faults.
The conservative party does
The conservative party does not attract young, women, and minorities; that is just a fact. So, any effort the party makes to try and bring them in really isn't hurting anything. They're not really losing anyone because they didn't have that support in the first place. And republicans are not the only party guilty of offending people.
don't say it, do it
There is nothing wrong in trying to get votes from younger adults, women, minority groups, or any target voters.
As long as all politicians, republicans or democrats, are genuine and truthful about what they are saying and promising.
There is a lot of hipocrisy from both parties going on and everybody knows it.
Show us what you have been doing, instead of just saying.
I'll admit that i do not
I'll admit that i do not follow politics either because every time i have tried to get involved in discussions, i always get told i don't know what i am talking about, which is true, so this article was a bit hard to read as well. I do agree with the above comment that there is absolutely nothing wrong with gaining votes from people, but that it is just really important that they stick with what they said in the first place to obtain those votes.
Stupid Politicians
Keep up the good work, stupid politicians. We the people thank you for showing us your true colors so that we remember why we aren't voting to keep you/let you into office.