Top Republicans kick off campaign to reshape their party's imagePosted: 01:48 PM ET
From CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand
ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) – Three prominent GOP leaders kicked off a campaign Saturday to reshape their party's image, gathering at a restaurant in Northern Virginia for the first of a series of town hall meetings.
The goal of the initiative, called the National Council for a New America, is to connect Republican leaders with voters across the country to help get the party's electoral fortunes back on track.
"Certainly our party has taken its licks the last few cycles, but that's why we're here," said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor. "The reality is the prescriptions coming out of Washington right now are not reflective of the mainstream of this country."
"It's time for us to listen a little bit, learn a little bit," said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who advised Republicans to work on the party's message and "not be so nostalgic."
"I would say you can't beat something with nothing. The other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it," said Bush, who repeatedly praised President Obama's tactical approach to politics, and commended his 2008 campaign as "forward-looking."
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney compared the GOP to Americans fighting the British during the Revolutionary War. "We are the party of the revolutionaries, they [Democrats] are the party of the monarchists," he told the overwhelmingly Republican crowd, saying the Republicans needed to "once again lead the American Revolution."
He blamed Washington for setting in motion policies that led to the collapse of the housing market, and painted his party's current minority status as a boon.
"We have an advantage," said the former Republican presidential candidate. "When a party has the White House, communication comes [from the] top down, and there's a strategy that everyone has to march behind." Instead, he said, the GOP had the option of drawing its strategy from the grassroots.
"We don't have to come up with all the answers today. Thank goodness, we have a little time," he said. "Certainly by 2010, we better."
The venue — a packed pizzeria in an Arlington strip mall — had the feel of a small-town campaign stop Saturday morning, with a supportive crowd tossing friendly questions at the panel. But outside the front doors of the establishment were twin reminders of the challenges facing the party.
The parking lot out front, even with the heavily Republican crowd inside, was dotted with Obama bumper stickers. Northern Virginia has shifted solidly Democratic in recent elections, and surrogates for John McCain's campaign made a series of statements late in the race that acknowledged the party had all but conceded the area.
But the handful of peaceful protesters out front weren't Democrats — they were conservatives upset over the new group's agenda and leadership. They brandished signs criticizing McCain, calling the NCNA "RINOs" — Republicans in
Name Only — and urging them to push for stricter immigration enforcement.
McCain is prominently featured in materials for the new group.
Health care, education and small business growth were all major topics of discussion Saturday — but immigration was one entry on a long list of potentially divisive social issues that went unmentioned.
Cantor told journalists that the group was not avoiding any topic, although the group's Web site and YouTube video released did not mention abortion, same-sex marriage, or any of the hot-button issues vital to the social conservatives that form a
significant part of the party's base.
"Any topic will be included in the national dialogue," he said. "There are no limits."
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/02/top-republicans-kick-off-campaign-to-reshape-their-partys-image/#more-50212
