What Needs to Be Done

Since 2003, America’s PAC has been involved in every national election and in 2002, many of the America’s PAC staff led by the late Richard Nadler operated under the group, “Citizens For Better Government” before the formation of America’s PAC.  Many Super PACs were formed in the wake of Citizens United but America’s PAC has been working to promote conservative ideas nearly a decade longer than many groups presently operating. 

America’s PAC has run campaigns in 20 states and placed some 200,000 radio and TV ads along with social media campaigns and newspaper campaigns.  Many of the ads have been run on minority media outlets but since 2012, America’s PAC has expanded into spreading the conservative message to independents and single white females along with other members of the Democratic base to expand the conservative majorities. America’s PAC has succeeded in expanding conservative majorities where others have failed. Since the end of the 2014 elections, America’s PAC and America’s Majority Foundation have polled 25,000 voters to gaining an idea of what worked in 2014 and what would work in 2016. 

Humans are very good at recognizing patterns, and they see that as the government grows, their opportunities for economic success shrink. National polls are showing that voters view an inverse correlation between government spending and their personal success.  There is a new prevailing economic agreement: Government spending hurts the economy.  Voters are rejecting Keynesian economics but neither party has yet to close the sale.  Republicans are faring poorly because they aren’t selling the product voters want to buy, thus allowing Donald Trump and his National Populism to gain foot with significant numbers of the Republican electorate.    

Business is about solving the customer’s "problem."  Every product or service sold—from the trivial to the life-saving—solves a customer’s problem.  Republicans need to start viewing voters as customers, and doing in-depth consumer research to understand the problem they really want a solution to and the product they will buy to solve that problem. To win in 2016, Republicans must understand the dynamics of voters needs including that the average voters does not trust the government to protect their interest.  America’s Majority Foundation researcher JD Johannes noted, “The voters, as customers, want to buy a product that solves this problem.  But the President and Congressional Republicans are selling the same forty-year-old products.”

Here is the good news: in our 2013 Illinois survey, respondents were given a generic Democratic plan which included increased spending for infrastructure, education and job training while raising minimum wage and taxing the rich compared to the Republican plan which included keeping spending in line, reducing the deficits, stopping implementation of Obamacare and while keeping the tax rates the same.  A year before the 2014 race, voters in blue Illinois barely supported the Democratic plan by a margin of 52% to 48% and when we simply stated the plans as the Obama plan and the Republican plan, 40% of Illinois voters supported the Obama plan and 37% supported the Republican plan with the rest undecided.

In 2014, Republicans made a strong showing when they took the governor seat and two congressional seats. Dick Durbin was also held to 53% of the vote against weak competition when ads ran in support of the economic prevailing argument against government spending and debt hurt voters’ opportunity to succeed in moving numbers toward the Republican position.  Voters, our customers, knew that the Obama economic plan produced eight years of stagnation and that they no longer benefitted from Democratic policies but as the rise of Donald Trump, it appears that many Republicans don’t even trust their own Party to follow through on producing a fair opportunity to succeed. The success seen by Republicans in 2014 including even blue States like Illinois are not being replicated now as Republicans appear on the way to losing an election they should be winning.

The Democrats have been good at framing their plan as a way to solve the customer’s problem.  The customer is no longer buying the Democratic plan but they are still willing to buy their product.  Republicans have the advantage that voters agree with Republicans on the key issue of government spending’s effect upon the economy but they have yet to find a way to sell their plan as a mechanism to solve voters problems. Trump proposals will even increase government debt and deficit and do not even make any serious effort to address those efforts. What he promises is to “Make Americas Great Again.” As America’s Majority Foundation associate J D Johannes noted, “Too often politicians and their consultants view voters as blocs or market segments.  For Democrats, this makes sense since they view voters as part of demographics groups but Republicans and conservatives succeed when they view voters not as blocs with specific issues, but address major macro concerns.”

Voters see the big trend that as Government debt and government spending has increased, their opportunities to move up the economic ladder has shrunk and their real income has dropped.   Going into the 2016 election, voters view politicians, in particular Republicans, as the problem because they are not talking and selling what voters want to buy: Fair Opportunity to Succeed.  Trump success in the Republican primary is that he is selling voters that he can make America great again.

Republicans have to defend Senate seats in blue states, and as part of defending those seats, Republicans need to simply point out what the customer wants and needs. Increased government spending and debt hurt the economy and a stronger economy creates a fair opportunity to succeed for all. Republicans and conservatives need to start selling what the customer wants. They need to articulate a message that stopping out of control government spending and debt will provide the working and middle class with a chance to move up the economic ladder.   The problem is that the political class and much of the mainstream media frames the debate over deficits, pension obligations or debt ceiling as a solving a government problem.  The debate ends up as being how we need to preserve government at present spending levels or the need to spend even more.  Republicans need to treat this not as a government problem but as a voter’s problem, how do we reduce government and grow the private sector?

Democrats want to increase spending and are not concerned about creating more government debt as they move toward Democratic Socialism. Republicans must recapture being the Party of Opportunity.  J.D Johannes observed, “Republicans and conservatives have the opportunity to rebuild a new conservative majority and unite activist Libertarians, social conservatives, pro-life advocates, gun rights advocates and fiscal, small government conservatives with a broad swath of the general public under the prevailing economic agreement…A solid majority of Americans understand Keynesian economics has failed and government debt and spending are bad for the economy. It goes even further because the increased debt fuels the expansion of the Bureaucratic State.  The IRS is being used to silence political opposition, NSA spying scandals and the attack on gun rights are connected to ever expanding government…Social Conservatives should be concerned about the ever growing State encroaching on religious freedom by interfering with the religious sacrament of marriage and forcing religious institutions to violate their beliefs on the sanctity of life.”

The original key to winning 2016 was for Republicans and conservatives to create an alliance that combines the concerns of different groups, including those who are concerned for gun rights, privacy rights, and fear the loss of religious freedom in stopping expanding government while increasing economic freedom and economic opportunity. This coalition has been threatened by Donald Trump’s National Populism.  The Republican candidates who articulate a message of A Fair Opportunity to Succeed will put themselves in the best position to win whether on a Presidential level, on a State wide level or a congressional level.  There are Democratic strategists who understand this dynamic but their Achilles’ heel is that they are so concerned with what individuals make or don’t make that they forget that a growing private sector provides opportunity for all.  As John F. Kennedy remarked a half-century ago, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”