Gary R'nel: Internecine Debate Not Always Healthy
By Gary R'nel
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The newly elected Republican majority seems to have lost the navigational skills necessary in order to secure a White House victory in 2016. Hillary Clinton, despite her email woes, still maintains healthy margins against an expected field of GOP challengers. Much can transpire between now and the January Iowa Caucuses. Republican strategists are counting on Hillary for performance continuity. Her campaign skills thus far have been more representative of a nascent campaign then a seasoned and experienced politician. This disheveled presentation began in earnest when Clinton toured in 2014 to sell her book Hard Choices.
Note to Republicans. Stop filibustering against your own possible success in the upcoming presidential election. Allowing Senate Democrats to blame the GOP for stalling passage of an anti-human trafficking bill is a strategy immersed in irresponsibility. The legislation has bipartisan support save for an insertion by the Republicans forbidding funding of abortion for victims using monies from a 30 million dollar fund. This is not taxpayer money, but revenues derived from fines paid by those convicted of trafficking crimes. Pass a stand-alone bill. Execute a cease and desist order to Democrats gloating that Republicans do not care about human trafficking.
The recent drawn out debate over funding the Department of Homeland Security was another self- inflicted wound. Republicans morphed into the bill the defunding of President Obama's executive orders on illegal immigrants. Astute political pundits, myself included, knew that DHS funding would pass as a stand- alone measure. The animus filled rhetoric concerning debate over the single bill served no purpose but to weaken the Republican message as the campaign season unfolds.
Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, is well aware that the composite make-up of constituent demographics in the 2016 Presidential election could be very different from the 2014 sweep.
Voter turnout was the lowest since World War II. Poll numbers increase dramatically during a Presidential election with minorities historically showing up in bigger proportions. Republicans can persuade a sizable number of these voters that their vision will accommodate prosperity and upward mobility for now and future generations. Republicans can and should win in 2016. Stay on message. Just keep that message separate and distinct from mainstream legislation supported by both parties.