As the Republican-controlled Alabama legislature debated raising taxes last week, I began to consider the potential fallout for not only the legislators who would vote for such a plan, but for the Alabama GOP as a whole.
Brands matter.
Companies spend a lot of time and money building their brands because they influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. Similarly, political parties build “platforms” because they attract voters with whom their values and beliefs — their brands — align.
Companies are fiercely protective of their brands.
A single bad product can be disastrous. Remember “New Coke”? Coca-Cola’s 1985 recipe experiment lasted only seventy-seven days before they had to bring back Coca-Cola Classic. In less than three months the century-old company’s brand had suffered a stunning blow. Coca-Cola lost $30 million in “New Coke” concentrate, $4 million on taste testing, and untold millions in lost revenue after once-loyal customers bailed on the brand they had grown to love over generations.
For political parties, “bad products” often come in the form of poor candidates and elected officials.
Many conservatives — the GOP’s most loyal customers, if you will — have become disillusioned with candidates who run as one of them, but don’t end up governing like it. They keep buying what they think is Coca-Cola Classic, only to realize they were actually being stuck with New Coke all along.
But things have been different in the Yellowhammer State. Republicans in 2010 ran on a platform they dubbed “The Handshake with Alabama.” Then the strangest thing happened. Once in office, they actually did what they said they would do.
The Republican brand in Alabama was strong. They reformed and shrunk government — just like they promised — and voters choose to grow the ALGOP’s ranks in 2014.
Then things went terribly wrong.
They raised taxes, leaving many voters to feel like the principled, reform-minded conservatives they elected had been replaced by, well, politicians.
Not every Republican went along with raising taxes, of course. But how will the party’s anti-tax brand be impacted? After all, not every gallon of Blue Bell Ice Cream tested positive for Listeria, but they were all recalled anyway. Could the actions of a relatively small bloc of party leaders end up hurting even the Republicans who fought against them?
It appears so.
This week I stumbled upon a Facebook conversation between State Rep. Ed Henry (R-Hartselle) and one of his constituents, Micah Stephenson, who appears to be a middle-aged man with a family, and a conservative.
Ed Henry is one of Alabama’s most ardently conservative legislators. He dubbed this session “Taxmageddon.” He bucked his party’s leadership throughout the whole process as they pushed for tax increases. He filibustered the tax bills. He fought them publicly. He fought them behind the scenes. He angered a lot of people in Montgomery, including many of his colleagues.
But in spite of that, Mr. Stephenson was still furious with Rep. Henry.
“I tell you what no matter which way you vote I will be voting for someone else next election,” he wrote on Henry’s Facebook page. “You need to be working harder to stop this.”
After another constituent defended Henry’s efforts, Stephenson doubled down.
“Fact of the matter is ain’t none of them working to stop this. Every person I have talked to has said that there are deals going on under the table. So YEAH I will be voting for somebody ELSE. Sometimes a bit dog hollers loudest. And he sure is yelling loud about the tax train, like there ain’t nothing he can do about it.”
And then Stephenson came back from more.
“Well now tell me how did they go from having no taxes last session to passing new taxes this session? And now tell me how ED did not know a thing about it? Something STINKS. And you want to absolve ED of all blame. I ain’t buying that, not now nor later.”
If a guy like Ed Henry — who not only voted “no” on every tax increase proposal, but fought each one tooth and nail — is not safe from the wrath of the newly angered conservative Alabama electorate, who is?
The good news for Republicans is that brands can recover, if they act quickly to correct their mistakes. Coca-Cola’s market share in the soft drink segment is an eye-popping 42 percent today, in spite of the New Coke debacle of the 1980s.
After a contentious few months in Montgomery, GOP legislative leaders would probably like to check out for a while. But if they care about their Party’s brand, it’s probably a good idea to start crafting a strategy to right the ship when the budget debate heats up again next year. Delivering on the structural reforms they promised is the only way to restore trust in the tattered Alabama Republican brand.
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— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) June 9, 2015
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