>Letter to Michael Steele, Chairman of the RNC

>Dear Chairman Steele:

Congratulations on your selection as Chairman of the RNC. I am hopeful that you will unite the Republican Party by communicating the core values that we all share as humans: our desires for liberty, dignity, respect for ourselves and others, integrity, personal responsibility, and autonomy; in short, the opportunity for personal fulfillment, innovation, and achievement that leads to each individual reaching his or her fullest potential and contributing to the good of society and our country. This is our commonality as human beings, and what I understand the Republican Party to stand for.

That is why I was dismayed to hear that you intend to segment the population so you can market the Republican Party to us based on our differences. I believe this will divide us, serving to fracture the Republican Party even more. You rightly believe it is important to reach out to segments of the population to whom Republicans have not lately appealed, but I believe the way to do that is to leave aside our differences and make the Republican message reflect what is common to us all as humans, as I have outlined above, regardless of our skin color or what kind of music we listen to. Those matters are irrelevant to an organization that is made up of individuals who share the same political values.

You do not classify those in your personal circle of relationships as “Hispanic,” “hip-hop,” or whatever other label you can think of, when you interact with them. Why would you look upon Republicans at large (or potential Republicans) that way? Do not be offended when I say that has the faint aroma of elitism and is just a tad insulting and patronizing. Also, this is too important an effort to handle as you would any other marketing campaign.

I ask you to consider a different strategy: Make the Republican message very simple and strong, make it appeal to people based on how they want to be able to conduct their daily lives, and make it personal to us as people, as human beings. Please do not try to dress it up as Hispanic, or Black, or Gen-X, or Middle Class. There is enough division and classification of people elsewhere. You should help people get beyond their differences so they can hear the same message and be truly united as Americans who stand for the worth of the individual, and for liberty – the things that have made America great.

Good luck to you.