Guy Ciarrocchi: Pennsylvania Republicans need leadership and purpose.

As predicted, 2022 was an historic wave election. Nevertheless, what was historic is that President Biden’s Democrats out-performed nearly each different incumbent president’s get together in fashionable historical past. This was a “blue” wave election, outdoors of Florida, Virginia and New York. In Pennsylvania, it couldn’t have gone worse.

So it’s comprehensible that pundits and lots of Republican activists, elected officers, donors and candidates are pushing for brand spanking new Occasion chairs on the RNC and PA GOP. Our get together woefully underperformed, so, let’s change leaders. Truthful sufficient. However, the issue is way deeper. And, our actual focus ought to be on figuring out a path ahead.

There’s an vital query that must be answered first: what’s the function of the Republican Occasion in 2023 and past? Till there’s consensus on this, altering leaders is not going to possible do sufficient to extend Republicans’ success.

The main target ought to be on what is predicted from these organizations — their objectives and duties. Then, there could be a debate about whether or not the present leaders or their would-be successors can get it performed sooner or later.

How do you rent somebody to run a company when it doesn’t have a transparent mission and objectives? And, respectfully, “Republicans must cease dropping and begin successful” doesn’t actually make clear what the get together’s function is or how the committees will flip issues round.

We’re dropping an excessive amount of and too usually. And, in lots of areas and states, we’re both trending within the fallacious route or dropping too many shut races. That is particularly vital in Pennsylvania, with no clear senior elected office-holder, fewer registered voters than the Democrats, and much much less cash. Having most main media against our concepts and officers, it’s crucial that we’ve got readability of mission, and as a lot unity as doable in working to execute a plan of motion to realize agreed-upon objectives.

There’s nothing even near consensus on what the nationwide and state get together mission and objectives ought to be. That ought to be obvious to even the informal political observer.

Some “leaders” anticipate get together chairs to make use of their “bully pulpit.” However, even they’re divided, for instance, on whether or not the Republican Occasion should distance itself from or defend Donald Trump. Some prioritize election regulation adjustments: the get together should foyer to eliminate or change mail-in voting legal guidelines; or, foyer to permit Independents to vote in our primaries. Some are fortunately (now) within the “let’s discover ways to ballot-harvest (legally)” camp. And, there’s additionally a deep divide as as to whether the state get together should endorse in primaries.

So, with out an settlement on mission and objectives, it’s onerous to get issues performed and you may’t really measure success — nor, maintain a chair or his/her workforce accountable. It’s onerous to induce native get together organizations to assist execute a plan, if there is no such thing as a plan. And, how do you ask donors to donate — be it $5 or $5 million?

No critical, correctly motivated chief would step ahead to run any group with out a clear mission or measurable objectives. No critical group would rent a CEO who didn’t articulate the group’s mission and set-forth measurable objectives, and a plan to realize them.

Why does the Republican Nationwide Committee exist? Why does the Republican State Committee do? What are their objectives, their plans and the way will they execute them? How will the get together committees be stronger in 2024?  What would success appear like? How will these Committees contribute to extra wins? 

We higher begin asking these questions — and getting solutions that we are able to unite round.

The 1st step: attain a consensus on what the RNC and Pennsylvania GOP should do — outline every get together committee’s function, earlier than deciding on who ought to lead both. Let’s require that the present and would-be chairs inform us the get together’s function is and what his or her objectives are — and the way she or he will get them achieved.

Changing into the chief of the get together at any stage is much like turning into the CEO of any enterprise or group. Leaders are measured by one’s means to execute a plan that fulfills or advances the mission. 

We’d like a mission, objectives and a plan to execute it. Every part else is noise, posturing, self-serving, and can solely result in extra losses.

The Democrats management the White Home and Pennsylvania’s governorship. They’ve extra registered voters, more cash, a lot of the media — and are rising in our suburbs. Their agenda is aggressive and seeks to vary our financial system, vitality coverage, the felony justice system, our kids’s colleges, the function of fogeys and America’s place on the earth. 

A vital half to stopping their agenda and advancing our platform (primarily based on alternative, liberty, safety, and commonsense options) is having efficient get together committees. 

There’s an excessive amount of at stake. It’s time for leaders to steer or to step apart. We must always settle for nothing much less.

Man Ciarrocchi relies in Paoli, the place he writes, counsels—and coaches softball, too.