Attention Republicans: Stop Making Stupid Mistakes

Republicans have no shortage of candidates for the White House.  There are former governors. Sitting U.S. Senators.  A retired United States Air Force Colonel.  An accomplished female chief executive officer.  An ophthalmologist and one of the premier neurosurgeons in the country.

It's an impressive and growing list.  But pundits are worried the field is too large and unwieldy. They fear a fiercely competitive race will leave the eventual presidential contender's reputation battered. The nominee's campaign war chest will be empty.  Those are legitimate concerns.

However, the alternative is to allow the Republican establishment to hand-pick a nominee.  Better for the party to let voters decide, even if it is messy and potentially divisive.  Sure the media will exploit the diversity of views among candidates, focusing on the most bombastic comments.

But the biggest issue facing Republicans is their penchant for making the same mistakes in the last two elections.  Whoever emerges as the GOP standard bearer will be doomed to electoral failure unless the party changes its approach to the primaries and the general election.

Here are three stupid mistakes the Republicans cannot afford to repeat this time around if the party hopes to reclaim the Oval Office:

1. Stop all the personal back-biting in the primaries.  During the last two presidential primaries, Republican candidates spent the warm-up for the general election trashing each other.  The bitter process sabotaged the presidential nominee's stature.  In both cases, the Democrat opponent Barrack Obama took advantage of the GOP's guerrilla warfare.  As one example, Republican Newt Gingrich unmercifully attacked Mitt Romney in 2012 in the South Carolina primary, zeroing in on his wealth and alleged unethical business tactics. The verbal mugging mortally wounded Romney, despite his having the nomination all but sewn up.  During the general election, Obama's operatives seized the theme and ravaged Romney's character.  Romney never fully recovered.  This time every single GOP candidate should take a pledge not to employ personal attacks during the primary. Instead, they all should focus on Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democrat nominee. Clinton is the enemy, not fellow Republicans. The candidate that best demonstrates he or she is unafraid to torpedo Clinton's record and her personal conduct should be awarded the nomination.  The last two Republican presidential nominees lacked the combativeness it takes to win a cutthroat election.

2.  Stop caring what The New York Times writes.  The last two general election cycles Republican candidates have pandered to the liberal media, softening their positions on critical issues in an effort to curry favor.  It doesn't work.  And it doesn't matter what The New York Times thinks anyway. Consider this: the three largest liberal media print outlets The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post have a combined daily circulation of 2,728,635 in a nation of more than 300 million people.  They have no influence on elections any more. Catering to the liberal media has never helped a Republican candidate in the last 25 years.  Even the big three television networks' nightly news shows are no longer relevant. The latest figures show about 22.1 million people watch one of the three evening news programs and audiences are dwindling.  Meanwhile, social media, especially Facebook, has become a news powerhouse.  For example, the Pew Research Center found that 30 percent of Facebook's 1.44 billion monthly users get their news from the social media Goliath. President Obama effectively used social media to reach the young and minorities. GOP candidates need to spend more time and money on social media.  Ignore the current media dinosaurs.

3.  Stop focusing the communications effort on old white men.  Here are some illuminating facts compiled on the last presidential election by the Roper Center for Opinion Research.  Romney carried both white men and senior citizens by sizable margins.  He won white males 59 to 39 percent. Romney did equally well with voters over the age of 50, winning by a five point spread.  Romney even won independents 50 to 45 percent.  But he still lost.  Obama made up the difference with minorities, racking up huge margins with African-Americans (93 to 6 percent) and Hispanics (71 to 27 percent). Equally as important, Obama decisively carried the youth vote (ages 18-29).  The president had a 60 to 37 percent advantage.  That margin coupled with an increase in young voters help swing the election for Obama.  Republicans must change those dynamics if they are to recapture the presidency. They cannot ignore blacks and Hispanics, ceding the vote to the Democrat. Part of the answer is to use social media to reach potential voters. However, it also means tailoring communications to a younger generation.  But, let's face it, it will take more than a youthful message. These voters are naturally attracted to hip looking and sounding candidates.  Yes, it is superficial, but winning is all that matters.  Just ask John McCain and Mitt Romney.    

GOP faithful need to stow their fears about the number of candidates who are seeking the nomination.  That will be sorted out by the voters. However, if those running for the nation's highest office repeat the same mistakes of the past, they will gift-wrap the election for Hillary Clinton.

If Republicans have not learned their lesson by now, then the GOP is destined to extend its current losing streak.