Kimberley Strassel's "Michael
Steele's Job" (Potomac Watch, April 2) accurately describes my
reason for cutting up my Republican National Committee membership card
for the past several years. The recent revelation of out-of-control
spending of donor money only adds to my frustration with the lack of RNC
leadership.
Effective leadership
first requires developing a positive vision of the future which excites
imagination and generates enthusiasm. The vision then must be converted
to strategies, tactics and implementation plans which can be
communicated to a wide audience. To be effective, those plans must be
"actionable."
Republicans have not had a
leader since Ronald Reagan or Newt Gingrich capable of creating a
compelling vision or an actionable plan. Rep. John Boehner promised a
Republican alternative health-care reform plan over a year ago. Rep.
Paul Ryan's presentation at President Obama's televised photo-op
conference is the closest thing to a plan yet presented by any
Republican leader—lots of excellent ideas, but never consolidated into
an actionable plan which could be widely communicated to American
voters.
Ms. Strassel is right,
Republicans will win many seats in November simply based on the nation's
strong opposition to Democratic policies and President Obama's
leadership. But with real Republican leadership, we could recapture the
House and Senate and bring the kind of change to America that Americans
actually want. With real RNC leadership, I will start contributing
again.
Phillip A. Scott
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 