Newt Gingich

Today's style section in the Washington Post features newly minted House Minority Whip, Congressman Eric Cantor. He seems to be decidedly undecided on what can move the GOP forward in upcoming election cycles:

On his nightstand, Cantor heaps prescriptions for his ailing party: "Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again," by David Frum, formerly a speechwriter for President Bush; "The Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream," by Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam. He pores over newspaper columns, he says, seeking wisdom "from the George Wills of the world, the Bill Kristols of the world, the Charles Krauthammers of the world."

"I'm very fixated on trying to determine what went wrong and how we can fix it," he says over toasted cheese sandwiches and tuna melts at a pharmacy diner here.

But the answers aren't east to find.

He keeps looking.

"Nobody," he says, "is right on the money yet."

(Is there a difference between "grilled cheese" and "toasted cheese" sandwiches?) Anyhow, let me humbly attempt to present a "prescription" that Cantor and others could consider.

There have been a lot of healthy debates on this site, most of which I've been proud to contribute to: how to view and use new media, fixing the movement vs. resetting the movement, top-down idea creation vs. grassroots idea growth. Michael Turk asked a few weeks ago: which comes first - ideas for message? The answer is clear: ideas. But it means that we have to increase our intellectual capacity and creativity with both the ideas and the messaging of those ideas. Example: McCain Health Tax Credit = Good Idea; McCain's Explanation of His Plan = Terrible.

Like Newt Gingrich's Contract with America in 1994, Republicans need to coalese our principles and our ideas into a unifying theme: An Agenda of Equal Opportunity. With a specific set of economic issues, Congressmen Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor have made good attempts with the Roadmap for America's Future and the Middle Class Bill of Rights, respectively. But, of course, there are more than economic issues, more than fiscal conservatives in the movement, and many principles tied to those issues. Having our unifying theme being an Agenda of Equal Opportunity can battle the New "New Deal" that the Obama administration is and will be presenting. Let's take a look at the principles, the issues, the infrastructure and the reasons why this theme might work.