The NYT describes it:
In a sweeping review of the party’s 2012 election efforts, Republican leaders say too many voters saw their party as out of touch with the country’s needs and call for a new approach to voters.
“The G.O.P. today is a tale of two parties,” the report begins. “One of them, the gubernatorial wing, is growing and successful. The other, the federal wing, is increasingly marginalizing itself, and unless changes are made, it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to win another presidential election in the near future.”
A good point to keep in mind as 2305's look into the nature of political parties nationally. They are decentralized, meaning that there is no one leader that determines what the party stands for or what its over all strategy is. Notice that the national party is looking at the states for for guidance. Here's more from the NYT:
Republicans, trying to heed the lessons of their 2012 losses in advance of the 2016 election cycle, unveiled proposals for improving the way the party talks about its ideas, turns out potential voters and raises money.
Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, outlined the plans at a news conference in Washington on Monday morning, acknowledging Democrats’ comparative success with digital strategy and outreach to voters in critical demographic groups.
The party will also work to overhaul the way it chooses a presidential candidate, including shortening its primary season and limiting the number of debates, party leaders announced on Monday.
The report notes that the party has lost four of the last six presidential elections, often by wide margins, after winning five of six between 1968 and 1988. “Public perception of the party is at record lows,” the report says, and the party’s image is particularly weak among younger voters.
It remains unclear, though, whether party leaders mostly want to change their tactics and messaging — and whether such an approach can work — or whether they also want to change policies. Although some Republican strategists have called for an overhaul of strategy, most elected officials continue to say that many of the party’s policies, especially on economic matters, are sound.
