Betcha didn't know that Louisiana has a new Republican Govenor:
As the nation focused on presidential campaigns — who's up in the polls and who's raising the most money — in Louisiana a quiet revolution occurred. The Republican Party, which has had it pretty rough of late, found its footing, in the election of the first Indian American to the office of governor. Governor-elect Bobby Jindal gave Louisianans a fresh and winning message of competency, good governance and high ethical standards. In doing so, he proved the "conventional wisdom" wrong and provided Republicans across this country with a blueprint for success.
What is this blueprint? And how do we present it without it coming across as hyperbolic rhetoric?
Mr. Jindal successfully tapped into the frustration and skepticism that voters have with their government. In a very personal and important way, he made it clear that voters would no longer have to accept corruption and incompetence as government's way of doing business. The foundation of his message focused on restoring the public's trust in its government through policies that freed up capital and locked down corruption. A Jindal administration would be something different.
The key here is "personal". It's easy to get up in front of a group of people and say "I am this". It's more difficult, and effective, to get up in front of a group of people and present yourself in an honest way and let them convince themselves.
Throughout his campaign, Mr. Jindal advocated creating jobs by eliminating taxes that prevent job creators from entering the marketplace and expanding their businesses. In addition, he stressed the importance of streamlining Louisiana's regulatory process to make it fair, predictable and transparent. But perhaps what resonated most with voters was his honest acknowledgment of Louisiana's struggle to deal effectively with crime and corruption and his willingness to target the underlying causes of most crimes and to aggressively pursue remedies that will have a long-lasting positive impact. It was his tireless effort to involve the people of Louisiana in making government work for them, to listen to them and to act in their best interest that gave voters confidence in the leadership of Bobby Jindal.
I want you to notice something here. Jindal did not go out and say "Republican is better" and then give a list of talking points.
Instead he went out to the people and showed real concern for their lives and livelihood. And offered solutions that made sense to a broad range of people, solutions that he was willing to fight to enact.
Lessons to remember for our upcoming political battles:
-People want to vote for people not bureaucracies.
-People from both parties are sick of how the established government is behaving
-Certain conservative positions can easily appeal to people in both political parties if you avoid framing it as "us vs. them"
-Hope and effective change is going to be a very effective platform this season
The above article was written by Michael Steele, head of GOPAC.
The Jindal message - - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper
