Following an election where socially conservative candidates and issues were trounced at the ballot box, some prominent Republicans are pushing for a renewed focus on their party’s fiscal fundamentals.
But tempering the GOP message to appeal to Colorado’s vast middle without curbing the enthusiasm of social conservatives — and their extensive grassroots network — will prove tricky, analysts say.
Colorado’s social conservatives have historically opposed Republican leaders who don’t meet muster on moral issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.
As the party leaders consider how to reshape their brand, they must remember the GOP’s success lies in the hands of moderate and unaffiliated voters, said Marc Holtzman, who ran in the 2006 Republican primary for governor.
“I really believe what Republicans need to do is to reach independent and like-minded Democrats in Colorado with an economic growth agenda,” he said. “This is not a mutually exclusive agenda. All . . . segments of the party can embrace it.”
Coloradans consider education, public safety and transportation before socially conservative or liberal views, said David Beattie, the Democratic pollster who helped centrist Bill Ritter rise to governor in 2006.
Former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis has openly argued for a similar tack, moderating the GOP’s image and fielding more centrist candidates.
At least two Republicans tagged as social conservatives — former Rep. Bob Schaffer and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave — tried unsuccessfully to re-cast themselves this election cycle.
Voters in the largely Republican 4th Congressional District ousted anti- gay and anti-abortion standard bearer Musgrave by 12 percentage points.
State GOP chairman Dick Wadhams attributes Republican defeats not to social stances but to the enthusiasm generated by President- elect Barack Obama, the unpopularity of President Bush and the economic crisis laid at Bush’s feet.
On the stump and in the statehouse, Republicans “were not embarking on social-issue crusades,” he said. “This is a party of fiscal and social conservatives; we have to have both to win.”
Focus on ideology
Since 2002, Republicans have lost the governor’s seat, two U.S. Senate races and majorities in the legislature.
The growing consensus that the party must amp up fundraising efforts and modernize its political tactics means any internal fight probably would center on ideology.
With a vast network of churches and radio broadcasts in 30 Colorado cities, the social conservative movement led in part by Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family has proved it excels at groundswell when motivated. Take its 5-percentage-point win in 2006 over the well-funded Referendum I, which would have given gay and lesbian couples similar rights as their married, heterosexual counterparts.
On the flip side, the group that defines itself by its willingness to speak out against perceived wrongs can register effective opposition or silence when Republicans don’t line up closely enough with their values. Presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain did not receive an endorsement from Focus leader James Dobson until Gov. Sarah Palin jumped aboard as the vice presidential candidate.
Focus and its allies have effectively filtered which candidates come before voters, tipping the scales against moderates, according to Republican operative Sean Duffy.
“Hopefully those folks will be able to come to grips with the fact their perfect candidate probably doesn’t exist,” he said. “They can’t have a veto any more.”
Firing up voters
Tom Minnery, senior vice president of Focus’ political offshoot, said that if Republicans de-emphasize social issues, they risk losing a particularly enthusiastic part of their base.
“Candidates who reflect moral concerns have a better chance in the Republican Party than candidates who don’t have those values,” he said. “It requires enthusiasm to build a groundswell for a candidate.”
Charged with the difficult task of keeping as many voters on the GOP bus as possible, Wadhams says the party has already struck the appropriate balance with the anti-tax, education and transportation messages politicians espoused this year.
He points to the GOP’s 2008 bright spot — winning a majority-Republican Grand Junction state House seat that was held by a Democrat — as a way forward.
Republican businesswoman Laura Bradford unseated Rep. Bernie Buescher by railing against his support of Ritter’s fiscal policy while outside groups knocked him on social issues.
The type of candidate who rises to the fore as Republicans jockey ahead of the 2010 election will signal the direction in which the party is headed, predicts Colorado State University political analyst John Straayer.
The prescription is simple, according to Straayer: “Have the party move back to a more fiscally . . . centrist position, and jettison some of the social issue items.”
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
