7/30/2019 Guest post by GOP Media Consultant Kim Alfano: Education reform & the GOP

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 Kim Alfano 

EDUCATION REFORM CAN SAVE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

The future survival of the Republican Party is most definitely about whether or not we can find ways to enlarge our personal connection to people who haveclearly and rightfully lost faith in our party. It’s about a desperate need to movebeyond white males and find some way to speak to women, minorities, Hispanics

in particular; independent voters or more importantly swing voters.

Right now -- at this, we stink!  

Much of what is coming from the self-flagellation sessions the party leaders areundergoing, is a way too simplistic conclusion that, “We need to change our message. We need to match and best the voter contact that Obama’s teamexecuted, we need to showcase more Republican females and minorities toshow people how much we care.”

My reaction? – Duh. But, it won’t work.

If we only attempt to refine tactics or say the same old things in a new way, thereis NO WAY we move any new voter into our coalition. That is such a meatheadpolitical hack way of looking at our problems. It’s just not enough.

The true issue we face is that none of these people trust us in any way anymore.None of these groups believe we give a flying flip about THEIR lives and how wecan make them better. Since the tea party revolution, our party has beengobbled up by the caricature that we are only about austere fiscal policies and adeep protective love for the rich. We did this to ourselves and the Democratshave been brilliant about exploiting it.

It isn’t true and it doesn’t have to be this way.

The answer is so, so clear. We don’t have to change the way we say what wesay – we have to DO things that PROVE, by our actions, we do care.

OUR party needs to be the one with the ANSWERS again. We need to speak tothe issues that matter to these groups most. We need to be the party that offers

7/30/2019 Guest post by GOP Media Consultant Kim Alfano: Education reform & the GOP

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hope and opportunity and ideas again. We should be looking to drive the changeon issues like immigration reform. We need to be the party that pushes for economic policies that help the middle and lower class first; WE especially needto be the party of EDUCATION REFORM.

Just look around. Where are Republicans having ANY real success? Take thesuccessful governors in our party for instance, like Mitch Daniels and ChrisChristy. Daniels was widely considered a perfect candidate for President. He wonhis reputation by creating conservative policies that yielded tangible real resultsfor ordinary people. Yes, he cut budgets, but he also built a public / privatepartnership with pharmaceutical companies to provide health insurance for thosein need. He focused like a laser on applying conservative principles to createpolicies that, as he says, “give people a way to get on the ladder and move up.”His entire campaign message was centered on results and personal connectionto ALL voters. You rarely saw him even mention party.

It worked. Daniels’ overall approach was extremely successful for his state, butperhaps the most important policy he adopted was historic education reform for Indiana.

Education reform touches the lives of real people in the middle and at the bottomand gives them real OPPORTUNITY. Remember that word OPPORTUNITY?Used to be owned by the Republican party, and now you would be laughed out of the room if you maintained we care the most about this. But we are the partywho first focused and pushed real reform. Newt Gingrich pushed for vouchers,and started charter schools in DC in the 90s. Education reform, charters,vouchers and scholarships were born of Republican policies that began withleaders like Jack Kemp and Bill Brock. Republican states led by reformers likeJeb Bush and Mitch Daniels are the ones where the most reforms have beenenacted and are working. This is OUR idea and we have left it on the table to dieor be stolen. Just plain nuts!

On education reform we have history, credibility, results, and proof of lower andmiddle class families being given REAL OPPORTUNITY – and being lifted up bythese policies. WHY aren’t we using that? Why isn’t our party offering thesefamilies this HOPE? Why aren’t we the one with the ideas that lift up andempower families to reshape their own futures?

Consider these statistics:

  “Those seeking the Hispanic vote in 2012 should know that education isan issue that resonates with the Latino community. Almost 60 percent of those we surveyed say they are “very” or “quite a bit” interested ineducation issues.”

- Education Next, public opinion poll.

7/30/2019 Guest post by GOP Media Consultant Kim Alfano: Education reform & the GOP

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Controversial at the time, (these) reforms now have bipartisan support inFlorida, where black and Hispanic pupils in particular have made hugegains.

- Education Next, public opinion poll.

Stanford University just released results that show charter school students- and notably African American students - in Indiana and New Jerseyoutperforming their public school counterparts in math and reading. Andcharter schools are seeing even stronger results in urban areas likeIndianapolis and Newark. This is a strong message to minorities.

Ed reform is still deeply valued by core Republicans, but women, Hispanics, allminorities, powerfully support its appeal. (Remember my first paragraph?) Andwhy not? There is no greater issue that can provide opportunity for so manypeople at the middle and the bottom, at the same time it changes the trajectory of our country’s economic and social fabric so substantially. Now those are REAL

results people can support. It’s not just repackaged rhetoric – it’s proof – quantifiable and tangible proof that we DO care.

Successful Education reform can transform our party’s entire image back to oneof hope, and opportunity and GENUINE results. THIS IS WHAT WOMEN ANDMINORITIES WANT – this PROOF. PROOF we have compassion for people.PROOF we understand THIER lives. PROOF we are the HOPEFUL PARTY OFTHE PEOPLE, AND OPPORTUNITY, AND THE FUTURE.

This begs the question, “why aren’t we all over this?” in fact, why isn’t our partytaking up this issue and frantically looking through our portfolio for 10 more

issues that so powerfully showcase these ideals of opportunity and hope. And if we can’t find ten, then why wouldn’t we make it our mission to find conservativeanswers that reach for this ideal and shout it from the rooftops?

The future of the Republican Party is indeed in peril. We have gone from theparty of ideas and results, to the party of obstruction and whining. We will never win elections by tweaking or even overhauling our GOTV efforts, by building abetter voter contact file, by campaigning and saying things differently. We onlysurvive when WE provide the answers on the big things that matter most, andlearn to communicate about them honestly and effectively. Only then will any of these new tactics and techniques work. SO lets start by winning something we

already have won in so many places – Let’s win the debate for real,compassionate, empowering Education Reform for all our children.