Serving political contentiousness won’t appeal to swing-state voters, the author writes. GOP's success is on state level

With both cocktails and political messaging, it all comes down to the mix. Most people don’t want to guzzle down a glass full of gin, but with the right proportions of tonic and lime, a large majority of people will enjoy a gin-based cocktail. The Republican brand, as it is currently being served to the American people, is too much 100-proof Washington whiskey and not enough club soda, which is overpowering the successes the GOP is having at the state level. Rebalancing the recipe will be essential for national electoral success in 2014 and beyond.

In Washington, some Republicans have ginned up a whole lot of agitation. After the last debt ceiling faceoff and the 2012 elections, others recognized the need to broaden their message. Instead, a few loud voices hijacked the discussion and decided to attach an unattainable goal, the repeal of Obamacare, to a must-pass spending bill, generating a maelstrom that crowded out efforts to address entitlements, tax simplification, immigration or trade expansion.


The end result has been a seemingly endless torrent of D.C. news items that reinforce the “party of no” narrative that the GOP has been attempting to change since last year’s presidential defeat. It’s been overpowering the other elements of the Republican brand.

In the rest of the country, Republicans have a host of successes.

The GOP controls 30 governor’s mansions and 27 state legislatures. They have achieved goals that many conservatives in Washington say they want: trimming budgets, simplifying tax codes, reforming government employee pension programs, growing economies, adding jobs and reaching out to the full demographic spectrum.

Republican governors head seven of the 10 largest state economies in the United States. They also are in charge of eight of the 10 fastest-growing states.

GOP governors represent a vibrant and diverse cross section of the nation. My former House colleague, Republican Governors Association Chairman and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, is the nation’s first Indian-American governor. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is the first female Hispanic chief executive of a state. Overall, Republicans show more gubernatorial diversity than the Democrats do. The three youngest governors are Republican; two of the three oldest governors are Democrats. More clearly communicating the party’s big tent would take some of the edge off the charge that the GOP is the party of elderly, white voters.

Some governors, including Jindal, have voiced frustration over the amount of influence the Washington branch has in defining the party as a whole. “Conservative principles, when turned into actual policies, are working out in the real world. But the dysfunction in Washington casts doubt on conservative ideas and whether they work or not,” he writes in a Daily Caller op-ed.

Republicans’ past success in capturing the White House was largely a result of party unity in the face of a divided Democratic opposition. The tables have now turned. Party division already has resulted in more defense cuts and more tax increases than could have been achieved with a unified voice.

If Republicans do not wish to watch another Democratic inauguration in 2016, they must unify around a new mix. That mix must involve Washington Republicans shining the light on the conservative successes of governors and seeking to leverage those examples as they strive to match the governors’ blend of less acrimony and more accomplishment.

Serving political contentiousness straight up may win you the Iowa Straw Poll — and perhaps even allow you to retain the House in 2014 — but it won’t appeal to the swing-state voters who rejected the hard stuff in 2012. Getting the mix right is essential to influence how the American people order the next time they belly up to the ballot box.

Mark R. Kennedy leads George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management and is chairman of the Economic Club of Minnesota. He previously served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and was senior vice president and treasurer of Federated Department Stores (now Macy’s).

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this piece misstated the number of governor's mansions the GOP controls. Republicans control 30 governor's mansions.

CORRECTION: Corrected by: Andrea Drusch @ 10/15/2013 12:23 PM CORRECTION: An earlier version of this piece misstated the number of governor's mansions the GOP controls.

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