A Conversation With Senator Rand Paul On Cities And The GOP - Part 2
2) How The GOP Should Approach Blue Cities
There is a direct correlation between population density and voting patterns. The higher the population density, the higher the percentage of voters who elect Democrats; The lower the density, the greater the percentage of voters who elect Republicans. CityGOP asked Senator Paul for his recommendations on how we can work to fix this. He advised Republicans to become more engaged in cities - by showing up more, showing how the GOP would address the public policy problems that face citiesâ residents, and showing that Republicans care.
He explained, âThere has to be a concerted strategy, and I think the partyâs doing better. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has been a proponent of this. A lot of the places Iâve gone in urban communities, Iâve seen Reince. I was at the Urban League meeting, and Reince was there too [representing the Republican Party].â
Senator Paul explained that itâs important for Republicans to be more involved in cities and understand the policy issues residents face. âIt shows that we haven't been trying hard enough, and just trying will be helpful but not enough,â explained Senator Paul. âYou have to try, show up, then you have to have something to say.â
He says the GOP has improved when it comes to showing up, noting that the Party now has a Republican office in Detroit. âBut Iâd like to see it in every major city.â He suggests a permanent Republican office in each large city with staff from the community. âThat person would visit all the churches in the community, go to the picnics, the social occasions, the local economic development council.â Unfortunately, the GOP has been out of office for quite some time in these cities and, therefore, has work to do to build the relationships necessary.
Senator Paul described how he applied this engagement in his home state, âMy Senate office [there] does that as part of what weâre supposed to do. We have people who go to the Economic Development Committee for all the cities and go to not so much churchesâ official functions but also go into areas that are economically depressed. We do mobile offices there, to name a few.â
Senator Paul notes that âcities are harder to campaign in, because there are so many people that you have to meet, and you have to have enough money to engage them through media like television.â That can be hard for under-funded candidates whose donors are wary about the likelihood of a Republican winning in a city. However, he doesnât undercut the value of meeting lots of voters. He has spoken with candidates who have talked to thousands of voters. âThatâs what it takes to beat somebody whoâs an incumbent - you have to out-hustle them and out-raise them.â
He explained that many in cities vote Democrat because they think Democrats are the ones that care about them. He says we need to change that - we need to show them that we care, then show them that we have policy solutions and something to say.
Thatâs why when he speaks to urban audiences he talks about solutions that impact them, like âcriminal justice reform, school choice, education reform, economic opportunity, and economic freedom zones.â âI think those make a big difference.â He emphasized criminal justice reform, noting it is direly needed and has a big impact on residents in cities.
He added, âLowering taxes in Detroit would help poverty,â and that âwhile education is the great equalizer, public schools arenât always giving you a good education in most of the big cities, and the GOP has policy solutions to these address and improve these issues.â
Finally, he stresses that we need to be more welcoming and compassionate overall, across policy issues. âIf people don't think you like them, theyâre not going to vote for you. And theyâre not going to listen to why the Democratsâ plan in Detroit failed. And if theyâre not going to listen to you until they think that youâre more open and receptive and want them in your party and care about how their life is.â