Another Contract With America

A chief architect of the 1994 GOP Contract With America that helped to end Democratic control in Washington is back with some ideas on how to return Republicans to power. Pollster and wordmeister Frank Luntz's simple message for the losers in the last election: Fess up you were wrong, stop wasting money, woo the middle class, and don't let the Democrats get away with anything. In a 13-page memo, he boils the GOP problem down to one sentence made famous in Cool Hand Luke: "What we got here is [a] failure to communicate." In a do-or-die tone, Luntz calls for new leaders and themes. "Every other political party in the free world changes its language and starts over when it loses. Don't be the stubborn exception."