As the saying goes “A picture is worth a thousand words”

                              This picture is worth three words “Time For Change”  

In today’s world, brand matters. But, as you enter the Connecticut GOP State Central Committee office in Middletown, instead of a professional sign, visitors see a slightly off center, piece of paper.

Would you use a doctor whose office sign is unprofessional or soiled? The brand, “Just Do It®” is worth billions. The MAGA brand is now the unifying principle changing our nation. The brand is the symbol that means something. It matters. Our brand is symbolized by a taped paper sign. It is time to restore it.

This whitepaper is not intended to focus on the past, but rather to offer ideas for the many conversations that need to happen across the state that will hopefully inspire passion and action for change. The intent is not to play “Personality Politics”. We all owe respect and appreciation to those that have worked for our common cause. But that doesn't mean avoiding the hard truth. From professional sports teams and companies to volunteer organizations, the collective purpose is to create a plan, accomplish objectives, execute and win. When that doesn’t happen for whatever reason, you don’t “rinse and repeat”. You look for new solutions.

There is a Playbook for success. And, the best news is that we can restore our brand and rebuild our party as a unified team. Here are a few ideas to start a purpose-based discussion;

Get rid of Personality Politics and operate as a party dedicated to Principles. We are the party of Lincoln and Douglass, and it is time to regain and act upon the honor of this distinction. When we re-empower our members across our state with our common theme and message of unity about shared values and principles, we can gain traction and build momentum. Every Republican should be proud to be a Republican and be able to explain why. That starts with leadership that can explain why. Blaming the other party may be useful for a few internal fundraising emails, but offering concrete solutions and a plan to win is going to resonate much better, because Republicans want to win and are ready for a new Playbook. We need a message that attracts, not divisiveness that repels not only new potential Republicans, but many of our own, who are ignored or shut down.

Implement a modern organizational structure. For a Party to effectively execute and then scale, it must have a clear organizational structure, with explicit goals and efficient delegation of authority to get the jobs done. For example, Action Team Committees (the term “action team” or “ATC” connotes more than just committees, these ATCs are all about action), can be established for everything from candidate training and messaging to ethnic community outreach. There are people in our RTCs today that are already working on these things and more. A key ATC is a Tech-Ops team that can modernize how we communicate digitally, train, and much more including how to harness AI.. “A great example here is how an RTC member created complete “How-To” kits on early voting, which included digital templates and artwork/graphics. With efficient and effective tools and training, each District and individual RTC could have had materials at their fingertips to engage with voters on this new voting system. The key is to Organize, Prioritize and Deputize. Forwarding other organization’s programs is not enough.”

Invert the Funnel: Use our RTCs as our source of talent and grass roots action. Instead of leadership that bemoans our state’s 169 towns and their RTCs, we need to respect and support them, including listening to them. The fact is, once re-empowered and re-engaged our RTCs represent a feeder system of new candidates, a test bed for new ideas and a source of manpower. This means increasing coordination. For example, since we win by district, why are we practicing by town? In any given month many RTCs have events that conflict with one another, and during state elections  a plethora of different color signs, sizes of print and slogans are in full view. Imagine the power of some incremental and practical coordination and collaboration. Doing this, sharing resources and supporting the resource or skill gaps in our neighboring RTCs, can open the door to more possibilities and success. Consider the fact that no one could find a job description for the State Central Committee Representative position. No wonder RTCs do not know what to expect. What if we had a clear and consistent job description like this https://pdflink.to/sccrjobdescription/

Coordinate our overall messaging. There are many practical reasons why separate and focused messages may be required by the SCC and our elected Republican officials on certain matters. But more importantly, there are many opportunities to align and magnify the impact of our communication by coordinating messaging that attracts others to our cause through positive, personal and consistent messages. Now is the time to make gains by positioning our party as the party of families; the party of people who are proud of hard work; and the party willing to listen. From fragmented messages to aligned and sustained themes, we can break through the media-imposed biases and filtering. Only together.
                                           

Now is the time to Restore Our Brand

Let’s start the discussion to rebuild pride in our brand and enable a new era 
of re-emergence of the Connecticut Republican Party.

Endorse this whitepaper today!

Why are they afraid of ideas?

After publishing our white paper, and gaining attention across the state, it appears some are threatened and switched on their default state; “Personality Politics” and attacked the people behind ideas, not the substance. In several cases, we have heard first hand that threats were made by current SCC representatives and elected republican officials that, if people support these ideas, “they may not receive funding for their campaigns”. Really?

There are several important points to consider;

Leadership vs. Leaders: Leadership is about ideas and principles. The question of who is or will be the leader is a different question. Ultimately, leaders must demonstrate leadership. Leadership requires a plan and the ability to organize and delegate. Our whitepaper is an idea they may want to consider.

Business as usual or disruptive innovation: Some have suggested that the state GOP State Central Committee representatives should determine things in private and that exposing our whitepaper to the public lets the opposition know that we don't have a plan. Our thinking is quite simple: One, the past history of CT SCC does not appear to indicate working inside the system is effective. Second, our 169 RTCs are sources of strength; we must engage them. 

We are solid in our fundamental belief that our approach is intentionally “disruptive innovation”. We are not looking for currying favor. We want to join with people who want creative change and a bias to action for a stronger GOP SCC. It is not about personalities; it is about principles!