After Losing, GOP to Increase Local Outreach to Blacks and Hispanics

Want to become more "community-based" party

Since losing the presidential election and failing to take a majority in the U.S. Senate last November, the Republican party may revive its local election division in an effort to become more "community-based," according to chairman Reince Priebus. On Monday, he met with African-American leaders at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. during his listening tour, part of the GOP's self-examination and review after losing. "We can't just be a party that shows up three months before the election and expects to do well. We have to be an organization that embraces candidates at a local level," he said. Returning to local elections would allow Republicans to begin "building a bench of African Americans and Hispanics that are running for things like city council and school board," Preibus added.  The GOP has also acknowledged a big disadvantage in using technology to reach voters, and Priebus said local elections are good places to test new technology. (USA Today)

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GOP Leader Cantor Looks to Rebrand Party, Changes Tone

Of course, there are still many issues on Capital but he gets an “E” for “Effort.”

Eric Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, seems to be looking to rebrand his party. In a speech  prepared for the American Enterprise Institute, Cantor said he hoped Republicans and President Barack Obama could “set differences aside” in the interest of helping ordinary Americans.

Cantor isn’t known for his bipartisanship as much as he is known for being combative. But his speech made only passing referencing to the bitter fights with Obama over the debt ceilings and immigration; he made no particular concessions on anything. The only thing he did was change his tone, which deserves some acknowledge after the loss Republicans took last November. A rethinking of their image and approach among Americans is just what they (and America) needs—maybe a change in tone is the first step in a journey of a thousand miles to true bipartisanship.(Reuters)

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