Remember the Growth & Opportunity Project? It was also called “the autopsy.”
It was the Republican National Committee’s exercise in self criticism–involving the polling and focus-grouping of voters, officeholders and Party operatives–that dissected the 2012 re-election of Barack Obama. It was done weeks after the election and was characterized as a soul-searching effort to get right with the American electorate. Put more bluntly, how had the Party screwed up a winnable election?
Among the forthright findings: The Republican Party had turned off women and, most notably, minorities. The harsh talk on immigration–and the clueless call for “self-deportation” were beyond counterproductive. The resultant report offered one specific policy recommendation: “Embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform. If not, our Party’s appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies.”
For context: George W. Bush received 44 percent of the Latino vote in 2004. Mitt Romney got 27 percent. The trend is obviously ongoing and accelerating.
“You can’t call someone ugly and expect them to go to the prom with you,” memorably observed Dick Armey, the former House Republican leader from Texas.
So, fast forward more than 3 1/2 years. Beyond ironic. The GOP’s official presidential nominee will soon be Donald Trump–of Mexican wall, Judge Gonzalo Curiel heritage and misogynistic-insult infamy.
No, no one’s expecting RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to order up a 2016 post mortem.