“A Republican Party raising a banner of bold colors, no pale pastels. A banner instantly recognizable as standing for certain values which will not be compromised.”
Ronald Reagan, 1975, The Conservative Political action Conference
An American Majority, Not a Republican Majority: Part One
April 13, 2022
The combination of Big Government Socialism, woke radicalism, a governing performance disaster, and weak personalities at the top of the Democratic Party is creating an opportunity for a new American majority to emerge that brings together everyone who rejects all three components—and supports common sense efforts to create a better country for everyone.
by Newt Gingrich
This is the first of four columns outlining the potential for a dramatic shift in the American political and governmental system. These columns are dedicated to turning a temporary opportunity into a permanent change that can create a stable reform government for several generations.
The combination of Big Government Socialism, woke radicalism, a governing performance disaster, and weak personalities at the top of the Democratic Party is creating an opportunity for a new American majority to emerge that brings together everyone who rejects all three components—and supports common sense efforts to create a better country for everyone.
Our polling at The American Majority Project (available to everyone) makes clear that free market capitalism beats Big Government Socialism by 59 percent to 16 percent. If forced to choose swing voters pick free market capitalism by 82 percent to 18 percent.
Woke cultural issues are even more decisively in a minority. By 67 percent to 20 percent of Americans oppose transgender men competing in women’s sports. An overwhelming 75 percent believe there are only two genders.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is even more common ground in America.
- Some 84 percent favor parents having the right to see everything their children are being taught in school.
- By the same margin, Americans think American ideals are worth fighting for.
- By 79 percent to 12 percent, Americans favor religious freedom.
- By a similar 77 percent to 12 percent, Americans oppose the canceling and censoring of people and speech.
- An amazing 91 percent oppose racial discrimination, and only 6 percent think people should be given preference due to their race.
What is emerging is the potential for an American rather than a Republican majority.
If everyone who opposes Big Government Socialism and leftwing woke ideology can work together, there is enormous potential to get good things done. This potential requires Republicans to think much more broadly about their language, proposals, and actions.
Done correctly, the 2022 and 2024 elections can bring together Republicans, Independents and anti-left Democrats into a grand coalition comparable to the one President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created in the 1930s (which in many ways has defined our politics for 90 years).
Building an American majority does not require accepting the policies of the left. There are tens of millions of Democrats who are tired of high food and gas prices, rampant crime, the collapse of the border, the inconsistencies of leftwing bureaucrats. This American majority can reject every element of the left and still be a broad coalition of Republicans, Independents and anti-left Democrats.
The members of the American majority are those who favor common sense solutions to the challenges that face America and oppose those who, for their own hard left ideology, try to force unworkable solutions down American throats.
The key ideas for this new American majority were developed and explained by Ronald Reagan, a Democrat-turned-Republican. As a movie star, Reagan knew his following was much broader than the Republican Party – which according to Pew Research after Watergate had dropped to 21 percent of all Americans by 1975. Internal polls at the Republican National Committee were even more disheartening, with only 17 percent identifying as Republican. There was a real danger that the GOP would become a minority party.
It was clear that a base mobilization campaign would get nowhere with a base that small. There had to be a base broadening campaign, and former Gov.Reagan understood this imperative.
Then-candidate Reagan, speaking at the second Conservative Political Action Conference in 1975 said:
“A Republican Party raising a banner of bold colors, no pale pastels. A banner instantly recognizable as standing for certain values which will not be compromised. Yes, we must broaden our base, but let’s broaden it the way we did in 1972, because those Americans — Democrats and Independents and Republicans — are still out there looking for a banner around which to rally. And we have what they want, what they’re seeking. But they don’t know that. And sometimes I wonder if we know it.”
Reagan’s vision of “no pale pastels” repudiated the Republican establishment’s desire to take the GOP to some kind of mushy middle, where Republicans could pretend to be frugal liberals and could be intimidated into accepting the establishment’s dumbest and weirder ideas.
When Reagan’s vice president, George H. W. Bush, was behind by 19 points in May 1988, there was a temptation to “move to the middle.” But the Reagan spirit was still there. The strategy was adopted to expose Gov. Michael Dukakis for the liberal he was. After five months of defining Dukakis as a Massachusetts liberal, Bush won with 54 percent, which meant that one-out-of-four voters switched between May and November. That was the power of Reagan’s bold colors.
After the damage done by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer, there has never been a more opportune time for a bold colors GOP. Done correctly, it will attract millions of Independents and anti-left Democrats. Then, in 2023 and 2024 – if the Republican majorities in the House and Senate govern with an American majority attitude rather than a narrower Republican majority attitude – there will be an opportunity to win in 2024 with a campaign that attracts everyone but the hard left.
Many Republican governors already understand the power of articulating solid conservatism while solving problems with common sense and focusing on helping people improve their lives. The key is for GOP House and Senate candidates and members (and their staffs) to learn this. They must create both the campaign in 2022 and the opening round of governing as a majority in 2023. The examples of the Republican governors and the Republican Congress should create an opportunity for the Republican presidential candidates to compete for the nomination of an American majority movement — not just a traditional Republican Party.
The difference between an American majority and a Republican majority is so important to the future of the country that I am dedicating four consecutive columns to outline how it can work.
The next column will be on President Reagan, his approach to governing, and his re-election. Then in the third column, I will turn to the bipartisan nature of the Contract with America. I’ll explain how it helped us win a majority for the first time in 40 years – and then win re-election for the first time in 66 years (since 1928). Finally, the fourth column will outline the polling data from the American Majority Project, which indicates the potential for a citizen’s majority that transcends the traditional parties.
Newt’s Latest Articles:
An American Majority, Not a Republican Majority: Part One
Boris Johnson Walking in Kyiv, Joe Biden Bicycling in Delaware
Inner Circle Audio Exclusive: This Week in Pelosi-land
No Long War in Ukraine
Biden’s Crisis of Crises
Newt’s Latest Podcasts:
Newt’s World – Episode 398: Easter Sunday with Father Enrique Salvo
Newt’s World – Episode 397: The Road to Midterms
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Newt’s World – Episode 395: The Future Global Food Supply Crisis
Newt’s World – Episode 394: Rigged – The Zuckerberg Funded Plot to Defeat Donald Trump
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Newt Gingrich on Ingraham Angle | April 12, 2022
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I do not like this guy. Don’t trust him. Gets a Republican Congress and the 1st frigging thing he does is talk about sharing power with the Democrats! Reaching across the aisle into our pockets. What a creep.
Hmmm… interesting take on it.
I thought it was probably a good idea to welcome the disaffected Kennedy/generation Democrats who DO share common ground with us. The Democrats as a political party are dead and days away from being buried.The RINOs in the GOP are dead right along with them, only it will be a slower death for them as we sweep them all out over the next two election cycles (22 and 24). But we will.
And then with a keen desire to return to our founders roots, we the people are activated and involved in our governance from the local city councils and school boards on up, we come together – no longer defined by Republican or Democrat, forming a new “party” coalesced with shared values for our children.
The key thing to remember is that not all Democrats are marxist left. Not all Democrats are OK with where they see the country going. Don’t forget, they were just as asleep as we were for the past 70+ years.
Almost all Republicans in Washington D.C. now are UNIPARTY RHINOS. R.N.C. are SATANISTS. TRUMP supports new RINO Candidates. What are we going to do ?????
Keep doing your research – learn as much as you can about the Sussman indictment. Then research the key players involved. (I’ve posted about it here over the last couple of weeks)
George, today, you are all the place….what’s up?
My question is “Who is Newt collecting money for? His newest book? Travel expenses? President Trump? No mention of that at all. What am I missing? Is he running for some office? Running away from something? He is so0 far ‘out of the loop’ and for so long, this makes no sense.
For so many Georgia residents who ‘knew him when’ he was married and had kids to feed, then met Calista… this is, once again, out of character. He is a very smart man who needs to sit down and write another book, and leave the money collecting to Real Candidates who can Help Our Patriotic Constitutional Cause. Why would he be pulling $$$ away from President Trump’s campaign?
I often miss things in the daily shuffle. Thanks for any inside information, I only have my cat to confer with…. she is ignoring me.