As predicted, 2022 was an historic wave election. What was historic is that President Biden’s Democrats outperformed almost every other incumbent president’s party in modern history. This was a “blue” wave election, outside of Florida, Virginia and New York. In Pennsylvania, it couldn’t have gone worse.

It’s understandable that pundits and many Republican activists, elected officials, donors and candidates are pushing for new Party chairs at the RNC and PA GOP. Our party woefully underperformed, so, let’s change leaders. Fair enough. But the problem is much deeper. And our real focus should be on determining a path forward.

There’s an important question that needs to be answered first: what is the role of the Republican Party in 2023 and beyond? Until there is consensus on this, changing leaders will not likely do enough to increase Republicans’ success.

The focus should be on what is expected from these organizations — their goals and tasks. Then, there can be a debate about whether the current leaders or their would-be successors can get it done in the future.

READ MORE — Seth Higgins: If Mastriano can’t learn, will we?

How do you hire someone to run an organization when it doesn’t have a clear mission and goals? And, respectfully, “Republicans have to stop losing and start winning” doesn’t really clarify what the party’s role is or how the committees will turn things around.

We are losing too much and too often. And, in many regions and states, we’re either trending in the wrong direction or losing too many close races. This is especially important in Pennsylvania, with no clear senior elected office-holder, fewer registered voters than the Democrats, and far less money. Having most major media opposed to our ideas and officials, it’s imperative that we have clarity of mission, and as much unity as possible in working to execute a plan of action to achieve agreed-upon goals.

There is nothing even close to consensus on what the national and state party mission and goals should be. That should be apparent to even the casual political observer.

Some “leaders” expect party chairs to use their “bully pulpit.” But even they’re divided, for example, on whether the Republican Party ought to distance itself from or defend Donald Trump. Some prioritize election law changes: the party ought to lobby to get rid of or change mail-in voting laws; or, lobby to allow Independents to vote in our primaries. Some are thankfully (now) in the “let’s learn how to ballot-harvest (legally)” camp. And there is also a deep divide as to whether the state party ought to endorse in primaries.

So, without an agreement on mission and goals, it’s hard to get things done, and you can’t truly measure success — nor hold a chair or his/her team accountable. It’s hard to urge local party organizations to help execute a plan if there is no plan. And how do you ask donors to donate to an organization without a plan — be it $5 or $5 million?

No serious, properly-motivated leader would step forward to run any organization without a clear mission or measurable goals. No serious organization would hire a CEO who didn’t articulate the organization’s mission and set-forth measurable goals, and a plan to achieve them.

Why does the Republican National Committee exist? What does the Republican State Committee do? What are the goals and plans of the Republican Party, and how will they execute them? How will the party committees be stronger in 2024? What would success look like? How will these Committees contribute to more wins? 

We better start asking these questions — and getting answers we can unite around.

There’s too much at stake. It’s time for leaders to lead or to step aside. We should accept nothing less.

Step one: reach a consensus on what the RNC and Pennsylvania GOP ought to do — define each party committee’s role, before deciding who should lead either. Let’s require that the current and would-be chairs tell us the party’s role is and what his or her goals are — and how he or she will get them accomplished.

Becoming the leader of the party at any level is similar to becoming the CEO of any business or organization. Leaders are measured by one’s ability to execute a plan that fulfills or advances the mission. 

We need a mission, goals and a plan to execute it. Everything else is noise, posturing, self-serving, and will only lead to more losses.

The Democrats control the White House and Pennsylvania’s governorship. They have more registered voters, more money, most of the media — and are growing in our suburbs. Their agenda is aggressive and seeks to change our economy, energy policy, the criminal justice system, our children’s schools, the role of parents and America’s place in the world. 

A crucial part to stopping their agenda and advancing our platform (based on opportunity, liberty, security, and common-sense solutions) is having effective party committees. 

There’s too much at stake. It’s time for leaders to lead or to step aside. We should accept nothing less.

Guy Ciarrocchi is based in Paoli, where he writes, counsels — and coaches softball, too.

10 thoughts on “Guy Ciarrocchi: Pennsylvania Republicans need leadership and purpose”

  1. You cannot tiptoe around the Trump nightmare anymore. Either you support that lunatic, or you don’t. You are either loyal to America, or loyal to a failed politician. Take a side, you can’t be both. If you choose Trump you won’t win. Just know that.

    1. Donald Trump is a failed casino owner with a string of failed marriages, adultery scandals, bad businesses, a failed politician, nothing but corruption and scandal. But, go ahead and be loyal to the loser. Keep your losing streak going strong.

      1. Ok, as long as you keep supporting Isreal/Zionism overthrowing of America..

        Same perverted system back during the Weimer republic…

        Learn your history.. Not the fake one you’ve been told.

        THis ain’t about politics and party… never really was… its @ taking down the evil…

        Trump ain’t going away!

        But Elon is on fire, right? FANTASTIC…

        1. Disgraced, loser Trump “not going away” is the gift that keeps on giving to Democrats. Enjoy your years long losing streak. As you said, it ain’t going away. Elon Musk is not going to save you. No one cares about Twitter.

  2. Well said, Guy.

    Maybe you should be running for state party chair. Tabas is not present or leading and this articulation of our battlefield ahead is valuable for everyone to grasp.

    1. I guess writing to Tabas to urge him to vote against Ronna McDaniel would be futile. How does she get rewarded for repeated losses?

    2. I agree with you “Dung” the Republican party in this state is a shambles. Worse yet, it’s a mirror of what passes for most of the national leadership. We have to come to grips with the fact that Donald Trump is not the future of the party, and neither is The Squad the future of the Democrat party. Issues matter and today the nation faces issues that are not able to be effectively addressed by extreme ideologues.

  3. I agree with you “Dung” the Republican party in this state is a shambles. Worse yet, it’s a mirror of what passes for most of the national leadership. We have to come to grips with the fact that Donald Trump is not the future of the party, and neither is The Squad the future of the Democrat party. Issues matter and today the nation faces issues that are not able to be effectively addressed by extreme ideologues.

  4. Guy fails to mention he lost his own race because of his own complete failure to articulate a “mission and set-forth measurable goals, and a plan to achieve them.” Did Guy give his opponent Trump-style nicknames? Check. Did he run a ceaselessly smug and negative campaign? Check. Did he fail to address huge issues of importance to voters (and belittle anyone who dared to care about reproductive rights)? Check. Did he reveal his own ignorance about marquee legislation like the Voting Rights Act in the forum he begged for? Check. Has he assumed any responsibility for his loss?
    Nope.

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