Gingrich Briefing

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    THE CURRENT SITUATION: FEBRUARY 28,2013

    Newt GingrichDraft

    KEY PRINCIPLE:

    Someone playing chess will always beat someone playing tic tac toe.

    Strategy beats tactics.

    THE OBAMA STRATEGY FOR 2014 and 2016

    It is clear President Obama has decided that he can win a decisive realignment in 2014and then consolidate his party in power in 2016.

    To achieve that he will implement six specific strategies:

    1. There will be a permanent 24/7 campaign to dominate the media2. There will be a constant issue focus shifting to topics which isolate Republicans and

    arouse the President's allies at the grassroots3. Relentless cynicism will characterize the manipulation of facts, the choice of issues

    and the willingness to harm the American people and American institutions ("maximum pain for political gain" is the underlying system)

    4. The entire coalition of left wing allies will be mobilized over and over to overmatchthe Republicans ( think Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, unions, gay rights groups,

    etc etc)5. The Republican Party will be relentlessly attacked and defined in extremist language( anti-immigrant, homophobic, racist, waging war on women, etc) so the collapse andisolation of the brand makes candidates unacceptable and unelected with no regardfor their personal characteristics

    6. The 2012 turnout mechanisms will be modernized, improved and strengthened to tryto make 2014 turnout resemble 2012 rather than 2010.

    FACED WITH THIS REALITY THE CURRENT GOP IS HOPELESSLY

    OVERMATCHED.

    FIRST STEPS:

    1. The GOP has to admit that it is currently incapable of moving at the speed andintensity of the Obama system, with the scale of the Obama system, or with thestrategic depth and technological capabilities of the Obama system. UntilRepublicans understand how big the gap is they will continue to lose ground.

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    2. A new model Republican doctrine and system has to be developed capable ofmatching the Obama strategy and system.

    3. Virtually every element of the GOP, party leaders, incumbents, staffs, candidates,consultants, pollsters, need to be trained into the 21st century new model GOP.

    4. Metrics have to be developed for measuring performance.SOME KEY PRINCIPLES

    1. The system of planning has to beValuesVisionMetricsStrategiesProjectsTasks

    2. There has to be a vision focusing on a better American future not on an anti-Obamamessage

    3. There is no red and blue. There are 311,000,000 Americans who deserve a better lifethan the Obama big government redistributionist model can give them. This will requirean even bigger, better data system than the Obama machine built.

    4. The GOP has to match or surpass the combination of data and behavioral sciencewhich the Democrats have developed since 2004.

    5. Republicans have to build a system for a permanent campaign with a 24/7 strategyand media capability.

    6. If you aren't on offense you are on defense. There are no time outs. Every morningyou know your status. If you aren't on offense you are on defense. If you don't win theargument you won't win the vote( a Margaret Thatcher rule).

    7. Republicans simply must learn to communicate effectively, emotionally and in acompelling human way.

    8. Republicans have to learn to compete in the entire media culture including

    entertainment media and Internet based media. Republicans have to go where thevoters go.

    9. Including minorities is a key to success. This will be challenging, at times confusing,and fraught with frustration. Every Republican incumbent, leader and candidate shouldallocate one third of their time meeting with minority Americans. The first goal has to be

    to practice listen-learn-help-lead as a model. As Jack Kemp used to say "they have to

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    know that you care before they care that you know". This one principle is an absolutekey to any Republican hope to be a majority party.

    10. This scale of change requires systematic leadership, metrics for achievement, andencouragement for those willing to take the risks, spend the energy and lead the way. It

    is a direction not a structure and it will inevitably have some chaotic, imperfect and evenconfusing moments.

    11. Every Republican activist would do well to read California Lieutenant Governor (andformer Mayor of San Francisco)' s new book Citizenville. While we will disagree withsome parts of it, it is the best description I have found of the potential for a citizencentric model of civil society to replace the Washington centered bureaucratic modelwhich is currently serving a so badly.

    12. Humor can be an enormous advantage, especially at a time when people are

    anxious about the economy, tired of the political fighting, etc. Note Reagan and Lincoln

    used media constantly.