Strategic Plan

In his post titled Clear Out the Dead Wood, Eric Earling writes about

...cheering the electoral confrontation of Republican Members of Congress currently doing more harm than good to the conservative cause

This prompted a comment by Just A Grunt, excerpted here:

We need to start developing a short list of what we consider to be conservative values. It can be 5 -10 items, think Newt Gingrichs' Contract With America. Then we need a champion. As long as our voices continue to be all across the spectrum with no solutions offered we also will be a part of the problem rather then the solution.

This speaks to the following posts I've made since The Next Right was implemented:

• Strategic Planning and the GOP
• GOP Group Relationships (Part Deux)
• Call for Action: We Need an Executive Champion
• What Are Your GOP Core Values?

On the last topic, when Fred Thompson addressed the PA State GOP last Friday (read the entire Townhall.com transcript here), he thankfully addressed the Core Value topic succinctly, elegantly and eloquently:

• Strength
• Freedom
• Prosperity

In my post on Strategic Planning, I wrote:

Once we understand why we exist, then it becomes child's play to hang critical success factors, goals and objectives onto that framework. It’s also fun to examine our core values. What beliefs drive us to succeed in the face of insurmountable odds, small budgets, scarce resources, long hours and high risks? You can light up a whole room with the positive energy generated by a good strat planning session.

Here are seven Critical Success Factors which I elicited from Fred's key core principles, and from the input provided by several contributors to this website.  These CSF's represent the things that absolutely have to be done in order for our party and our country to be successful:

1. Our people must be free

2. Our citizens must have the right to equality and opportunity

3. Our government’s power must be decentralized

4. Our economy must be based on a Free Market

5. Our foreign policy must be centered on trade with other nations

6. Our nation has always been, and must always will be defended

7. Our leadership must govern with integrity and accountability

This list, once it's refined, validated and agreed upon, can then be used to propagate specific goals and objectives of which we can clearly measure success, failure, or "needs more work" status. 

I reiterate that Fred Thompson would be an outstanding Executive Champion for the grassroots activism we are hoping to help propagate via The Next Right and its distinguished blogging network. 

ACTION ITEM:  Contact Fred Thompson and request he act as our Executive Sponsor for GOP grassroots change

ASSIGNED TO:  Sean Hackbarth [apologies to Sean for earlier typo!] and Jon Henke

PRIORITY:  High

STATUS:  Open

Since it's well documented this weekend that the Democrats have dropped the ball on their core values of Equality and Helping the Less Fortunate and kicked it over to our team, let's see if our team actually has the will to pick the ball up and play.