Mike Murphy: Obamacare Is a GOP Jackpot

The President's mess is an unexpected gift. Now Republicans must seize their moment

By Mike Murphy Monday, Dec. 09, 2013
    • Larry Downing / Reuters

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    Also, let's change our primary system to expand participation. We should discourage small-turnout caucuses and embrace big, open primaries. (Relax, Iowa, you get a pass.) Let's unlock the front door of the GOP and welcome lots of new members. It's free-market common sense; the more our nominating electorate looks like the general-election electorate, the better we are going to do in November.

    Some GOP operatives are pitching the idea of a Midwestern regional primary, and it's a good one. The concept is a bunch of key Midwestern swing states--Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and a few others--would all have their primaries on a single day, not long after the Florida primary. Those states are critical to winning a general election; let's make their voice in the primary system louder.

    All of this boils down to one tough choice. We can either stay in our comfort zone and endlessly high-five one another over the President's epic failure with Obamacare. Or we can do the hard work we must do to win: leave our comfort zone, face and fix our policy weaknesses, revamp our rusty tactics and focus relentlessly on tomorrow's voters instead of yesterday's. That is the way to win big and have a Republican House, Senate and White House by 2016. Winning is always possible. It's just never easy.

    Murphy is a Republican political consultant

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