Saul Anuzis is a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee. He is currently a member of the Republican National Committee from Michigan, where he previously served as chairman of the state's Republican Party.
After a hard-fought election that just 18 months ago looked potentially disastrous for Republicans, grassroots activists from across the country came together to win back majority in the House of Representatives, make serious gains in the Senate and sweep an impressive number of governor's offices and state legislature seats.
This is truly an exciting time to be a Republican. But this is also an opportunity; it's a second chance from the American people. It's an opportunity full of huge responsibilities and challenges that culminates in 2012 with the presidential election. But the simple fact is that without dramatic change in the way the Republican National Committee operates, we will not win back the White House.
We cannot be misled by our victories this year. In 1994 we won the House and Senate yet just two years later Bill Clinton cruised to re-election. As we’ve seen in the past two years public opinion can change with breathtaking speed.
To help ensure victory, the Republican National Committee leadership must change. Our party deserves an alternative.
We can’t rely on our wins in 2010 to carry us to success in 2012. We also can’t win in 2012 unless the Republican National Committee re-establishes itself as the powerful force that put us over the top in 2000 and 2004.
But to be a force, the Republican National Committee must change and that requires new leadership at the top. I am offering an alternative, a choice, a different approach to the leadership and stewardship of our party.
Chairman Steele’s record speaks for itself. He has his way of doing things. I have mine.
We will not win in 2012 if the Republican National Committee is not able to provide the financial resources we need to support the organizational efforts and ground games of our state parties. Without a fully funded victory program we will be overwhelmed by the efforts of the unions, the Obama campaign and all their allies.
This will require a chairman who understands that nuts-and-bolts organizing is more important than being a television pundit or book author. It's about putting together the best possible team to ensure one thing: a Republican victory.
As chairman of the Republican National Committee, my focus will be fundraising. When I was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, I raised record amounts of money to ensure our party's efforts were funded. I know what it takes and I will devote myself to raising the dollars our party needs.
I will also work with our party's elected leaders and candidates -- not compete with them for airtime -- to give them maximum exposure and guarantee a consistent message that leads us to victory.
Come two years from now, I want to say Republicans knocked on more doors, called more phones, mailed more literature and ran more advertisements than in any previous campaign.
But the first front of the 2012 campaign will occur over the coming months when boundaries of congressional and state legislative districts are redrawn. I will take advantage of this year's success to create a state of the art nationwide program that focuses on the efforts of state Republican parties and Republican legislative caucuses to win this crucial front.
My agenda is straightforward. I have no interest in running for office. I won’t be writing a book. It is not my goal to be famous. However, you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who will work harder, more diligently and be more committed to electing Republicans at all levels and all across this great country of ours.
Our party has a proud history, but the Grand Old Party has an even brighter future as the Grand Opportunity Party that leads us into the second decade of the 21st century with innovative solutions based upon our proven conservative principles.
In 2012 one of two things will happen. We will either win back the Senate and White House and set America on the right pathway forward, or we will squander this opportunity and allow President Obama to continue moving our nation to the left, to an era of unprecedented government growth and intrusion into our lives.
Avoiding the latter requires a new direction for the Republican National Committee.
