rebranding

There have been a lot of great posts on this site about the future of the Republican Party and the Freedom Movement. I want to add mine to the pile, but do so in a way that offers a clear framework and three-step process going forward: 1. Reboot, 2. Rebuild, 3. Rebrand. 

1. Reboot – Coalesce around a Vision

Like many large, powerful organizations, the Republican Party began to suffer from inefficiency, mission creep and stagnation. Why does this happen? These organizations become victims of their own success. They lose their way because they lose site of the Vision. Losing site of the vision means paths diverge, the organization splinters—all of which can lead to dissolution. But isn’t it possible for an organization to get its footing back? Remember when Steve Jobs returned to Apple? He brought the Vision back. Now we have iPhones. Luckily, we already have what Jon Henke calls an “organizing principle” around which to coalesce. It’s called liberty. Or, if you like, the Vision of the Founders. Rebooting requires getting the vision back in the manner of a Thomas Jefferson circa 1774, or a Ronald Reagan circa 1979. In case anyone here needs a refresher, here are the Top 5 ingredients of that successful Vision, already given to us by the Founders:

• Freedom is good for its own sake. (We don’t like tyrants or nannies.)
• Freedom gives rise to prosperity. (It helps us to be prosperous.)
• Freedom can only be guaranteed through limiting government. That may mean “going local” (federalism), checks and balances (constitutional reform), or financial constraints (tax & spending reform). As Madison warned: There are no angels in Washington.
• Freedom must never be auctioned off. (That means must never be sold to special interests, politicians, corporations—even for short term political gain).
• Freedom’s protection and preservation is the sole purpose of government. (Freedom sacrificed to equality (or “crisis management” or “pragmatism” or X) gives us neither.)

Once everyone has bought back into that Vision, things get a lot clearer. People remember why they were doing any of this in the first place. They have a both a beacon in the darkness and a reason to fight. Right now, we’re still in reboot phase. But with a President-elect and Congress that is both Keynesian and Machiavellian, we have a perfect opportunity to re-embrace the principles of the Founding and define ourselves by way of contrast. (They, after all, are but sloganeers, demagogues and opportunists.)