We’ve been joking for months about the Republican party’s outreach initiative, or a lack thereof, but now they’ve made it official with the release of the RNC’s 2012 autopsy report which details how they can turn things around. Or so they think.
There are many ideas contained in the report that are entirely contradicted by well-established GOP policy positions, which ThinkProgress documents here, but this one is my favorite.
“Our candidates, spokespeople, and staff need to use language that addresses concerns that are on women’s minds in order to let them know we are fighting for them.“
This does not say that they need to alter their positions or abandon their tropes about rape, abortion, and contraception. What it says is that they need to “use language” that will make you feel better about their positions. Because, obviously, women are just that gullible, right?
To be fair, this critique could sum up virtually every other prescription the report offers for curing the party’s electoral ailments, from attacking “corporate welfare” while preserving subsides for Big Oil, to telling young people that they’re tolerant of your views while Boss Limbaugh laments those views.
The dark, comical nature of the GOP means that a report detailing the party’s outreach efforts released in the morning has already been effectively countermanded by the afternoon hours from within the party.