On Monday, RNC Chair Reince Priebus, in a much-anticipated appearance at the National Press Club, will lay out a blueprint of reforms to make the GOP more competitive. The goal is to correct a number of missteps that cost the party a number of close elections last November. Breitbart News has learned, exclusively, that the RNC plans to revamp its political education efforts and put a renewed emphasis on direct training of activists around the country.
In the 1990s, a Republican organization, GOPAC, ran a very successful training and education program. Using the technology of the time, it distributed tens of thousands of audio cassettes to candidates and activists throughout the country. The materials provided issue education, as well as tips and tactics for successful campaigns. The new RNC effort to be announced Monday is, in many ways, a return to these roots.
“In order prepare for 2014, 2016 and beyond the RNC needs to lead the way in training our candidates and activists with the tools and techniques they need to win,” Sean Spicer, Communications Director for the RNC, told Breitbart News. “Utilizing both in person and online classes, we will ensure we have people from coast to coast training in the key areas of campaigns.”
Tellingly, the RNC’s reboot of its outreach strategy is built explicitly on a “community organizing” model. The left has used this strategy, emphasizing locally galvanizing issues and person-to-person contact, to great effect over the past decades. Barack Obama pioneered its modern application to political campaigns. It’s a hopeful sign that the RNC is adapting this approach for its own outreach.
For its training, the RNC says it will tap the expertise of leading figures in every aspect of a campaign. The training will cover specific mechanics of a modern campaign, from how to structure an ad buy to how best to utilize on-line communications.
The concept is a solid strategy to strengthen the party, provided that the training is based on the input from the “best and the brightest” in their respected fields. If, however, it is based on the advice of the same small bevy of consultants who guided the party in 2012, it will simply be a well-organized effort to further isolate the party. That the RNC is taking this approach, however, affords them the benefit of the doubt for now.
The RNC is also going to retool is cooperation with state and local GOP parties. Better coordination could improve a party infrastructure that has atrophied in recent years. It is a critical component in any rebuilding of the party.
The 2014 midterms are fast approaching. A more robust and energized Republican party is critical to winning important elections next year. The blueprint Priebus will announce on Monday is just a step down that path. It looks, though, like a step in the right direction.
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