WASHINGTON — 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 older, largely white base.
The other — one that hasn’t evolved since the GOP’s back-to-back presidential losses — occasionally took center stage at the Washington hotel where party delegates from across 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.
The national party launched a multipronged strategy a year ago to reach out to younger voters, women and racial and ethnic minorities.
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.
Agema released a statement Friday night apologizing for his use of words. But he declined to step down from the committee.
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.”
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 GOP-leaning voters. The project could help Republicans win close elections.
