The House GOP's Suburban Strategy Caucus

CQ Politics had a story yesterday about the House GOP’s recently formed “Suburban Strategy Caucus” which is focused on addressing the emergence of the suburbs as the new political battleground and the key to Republican success.

…[suburban voters hold] remarkably consistent views across different regions of the nation. Families in this area consistently report concerns about issues such as education, health care, the environment and the economy as among their top priorities for the work of the Congress…

The caucus, led by Congressman Kirk of Illinois, proposes a platform of “20 defining issues to win the suburbs and keep our Republican majority" that contains some appealing ideas such as legislation to empower local school districts to access national crime information databases to determine if prospective school employees might pose a danger to children, promoting limits on lawsuits that delay the cleanup of contaminated industrial sites, eliminating the estate tax, and creating tax-benefited 401(k) plans for children that can eventually be used for purposes other than college education. As the article states:

…Good policy makes good politics, the axiom goes, and the GOP members’ establishment of a suburban caucus reflects a recognition that the suburbs are the fulcrum of American politics today — and will be even more so in the future…

The group has met with solid principled Republicans in the Republican Study Committee and the more liberal Tuesday Group- so this seems to be a broad coalition although the leader- Congressman Kirk- is certainly more left-leaning. The need for this new suburban focus seems universal and the story touts Tim Kaine’s victory as a perfect example of this with him running away with NOVA’s exurban areas while maintaining the Democrat’s typical base.

Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard has more detail on the Suburban Strategy Caucus and discusses the polling the group has done in the inner ring of suburbs around Chicago to test the 20 issues.

…Twelve of the issues polled over 80 percent positive, and only two polled under 70 percent (while still receiving majority support). The top four were approved by 90 percent or more: teacher checks (95 percent), tax credits for small businesses that provide health insurance (93), portability of health insurance (93), and mandatory Internet filters (91)….

One surprise to all was the polling results regarding traffic congestion:

…One major issue in the exurbs-reducing traffic congestion-didn't register favorably in the suburbs. Asked if they wanted privately built toll roads, "voters said they'd rather the highways not be there."…

Noteworthy is the fact that some of the 20 issues are solidly conservative. Barnes points out that:

…The 14th--highest polling issue (79 percent approval) was barring states from issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The 20th was a flat tax at 20 percent to replace the federal income tax. Fifty--seven percent favored it, 55 percent of swing voters…

Of course the smart Blue Dog Democrats (descendants of the conservative Boll Weevils' who backed Reagan’s tax and spending cuts and military buildup) are probably engaged in a similar strategy aimed at the growing influence of suburban and exurban America- all the more reason why the GOP cannot ignore this new reality.

Only time will tell if the Suburban Strategy Caucus is merely political strategy masquerading as policy. But we can rest assured that if Virginia Republicans present tangible ideas such as some of these now being presented while remaining committed to Republican principles (as opposed to pure Republican power with no regard for principle) such as the value of faith, life, marriage, and opportunity- the GOP will quickly shore up our dominance of this growing demographic.