To Get the Numbers, Get the Vision

Two interesting post-election articles on the Texas GOP website ...
GOP Needs a Compelling Vision
Thursday, November 13, 2008, By: Ken Blackwell

History Favors Republicans in 2010
Thursday, November 13, 2008, By: Karl Rove

While Rove's number-crunching is helpful and interesting (like much of his vote gains over Kerry were from increasing share of minority votes), any takeaway that relies on inevitable shift in tides of history without actually learning from this election is doomed. Parties bounce back because and when they've learned to get more competitive. Ken Blackwell puts it this way:

But the truth is the only way the Republican Party can regain power is through having better ideas. State constitutional amendments protecting traditional marriage passed in several states, including liberal California. Other conservative measures passed in various states. These show America is still a center-right nation. Voters have not rejected conservative principles, and in fact still favor them.

In one sense, elections are simply mathematics. If the GOP wants to regain power, it must communicate an agenda in such a way that it gets more than half of the voters to vote for it.

The electorate, however, is changing. Hispanics voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Obama over Mr. McCain. The Obama campaign also made gains among Catholics, immigrants, churchgoers, women and young voters. If Republicans want to retake the White House and Congress, they must find ways to appeal to those voters.

In short, to get the numbers, get the vision right, and communicate it well to those voting groups that you are trying to reach.

UPDATE:
11/21/08 Rob Portman's advice:

The renewal of the Republican Party starts with an embrace of the core principles of fiscal conservatism, smaller government, traditional values, personal responsibility and ethics, not just when we campaign, but when we govern.

But adherence to these core principles is only a starting point. The key to success is turning these principles into compelling policy solutions to real-world concerns.