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January 31, 2016 10:12 AM UTC

Newsworthy and praiseworthy advice from Colorado's Republican leader

  • 14 Comments
  • by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Steve House.
Steve House.

In a wide-ranging radio interview last week, Colorado GOP Chair Steve House had some newsworthy (and praiseworthy) advice for Colorado Republicans who seek to actually win elections:

  • Don’t just hate Obamacare but focus on solutions.
  • Don’t talk so much about the gun rights and the 2nd Amendment.
  • Talk about education more–but not so much about charter schools.

House’s advice came during a discussion with KFKA 1310 AM’s Stacy Petty about how Colorado Republicans have “got to start thinking a little bit differently on how we talk to people, especially the 490,000 or so unaffiliated or ‘leans right’ voters that we have got to make sure vote Republican, on top of our base in this coming election.”

First, “stop talking at every one of our discussions about the 2nd Amendment,” said House, adding that “we own that issue” and Democrats want Republicans fixating on it.

“You know, no matter what happens in the world, we’re not going to give up on our 2nd Amendment,” said House on air. ” We have defenders in RMGO and NRA and our sheriffs and other people.”

“So, what should we be talking about?” asked House, before answering his own question.  “And I suggested we should be talking about education, because I think it’s the number one issue for us as a state, for us as a Party.”

To do this, House suggests that Republican discussion go “beyond charter schools” in addressing education issues and put more emphasis on graduation rates and third-grade reading levels, which he cites as a reliable predictor of future individual success, a bedrock GOP value.

Similarly, House told Petty he’d like to see Republicans explain how to have the “right processes, regulatory structure, and incentives in place to see us solve some [health] problems.”

House says, for Republicans, “it’s not about hating Obamacare.”

This actually leaves the door open to improving it! How great would that be.

So at a time when the trending news analysis is obsessed with the “outsiders,” you can make a case that the real “outsider” thinking, at least among the die-hard Republican base voters, is reflected in a guy like House.

Or his predecessor Ryan Call, who calls out the “arrogance” of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and argues that Republicans need “to grow the coalition, even if people don’t agree with us 100 percent of the time.”

Those are the kinds of Republican messages that need to be elevated by reporters, in this dark moment of extremism and carpet-bombing outsiderism, to give Republicans themselves a wider window of the possibilities for escape and redemption.

Listen to Steve House on KFKA’s Stacy Petty Show 1.28.16

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14 thoughts on “Newsworthy and praiseworthy advice from Colorado’s Republican leader”

  2. In the words of my friend Moderatus…

    The smartest thing Democrats Republicans could possibly do for themselves would be to get on board with Caldara House on the magazine ban changing their focus. This law obsession is costing you votes. If you compromise come back to reality and allow standard magazines talk about things that actually affect peoples' lives again it will remove a big arrow in the Republican Democratic quiver.

    DO YOU THINK I WOULD TELL YOU THIS IF IT WASN'T TRUE? Why would I want to help Democrats Republicans? Of course Colorado Pols Moderatus' bosses will not take my advice. But maybe there's a Democrat Republican out there who will……

    1. Pretty sure in the words of your friend Moderatus any R who says the things House and Call are saying is the anti-Christ or in league with the anti-Christ.

  4. So House is advocating that Republican candidates not named Trump should put on their best public party dresses …

    … and, lie, lie, lie to voters about what they actually believe and intend???

    Truly, earth shattering stuff …

  5. Noted that Mr. House is saying some smart things. But he says nothing about the right wing segment of the party and its obsession on abortion, Planned Parenthood, and contraception. Sad to say, but Mr. House owns the Tim Nevilles of the state. 

    1. Probably says nothing on those subjects because the 21st century GOP as a whole, as evidenced by the overwhelming concensus among elected GOP pols, is one of strong  approval, or at the very least the appearance of strong approval, of all the obsessions you mention. 

    2. House is repeating the call of the national GOP. "Tone it down, folks! People might think we're crazy if we keep focusing on our core issues." It's not the policies, it's the messaging.

      If he really meant it, he'd call out all of his state party officials making extremist statements. (And then he'd be voted out of office at the next meeting – without back room dealings.)

    1. And don't bother to adjust your actual positions or votes. Just make less noise about that stuff in races outside of safe red zones.The voters House alludes to are too low info to notice what any of the candidates actual vote for. 

      1. Agreed, ultimately talk is cheap or worse, but wouldn't you like to hear Republicans not talking about guns so much, offering more solutions on healthcare, etc. House gets credit for even saying these things, even though, yes, they don't mean much.

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