What should Republicans Learn from [Romney's Loss]?

Another blogger recently posed the above question. My response:

I am breaking with most commentator here who are obsessed with racial politics. While important, the Republicans are ignoring a substantive opportunity to attack Democrats on the issues, which, despite popular opinion, can be important.

 The Republicans need to develop a novel platform attacking the Bush/Obama Washington centrist consensus with respect to 1.) fiscal policy and 2.) the foreign policy of Bush/Obama.

 With respect to fiscal policy, Republicans continually get stuck on lower taxes for the rich, and lower taxes on investment. These taxes cuts are targeted at high savers and therefore are the least stimulative taxe cuts. Voters intuitively know this and scoff at "trickle down economics," deservedly so.

Instead, The Republicans should press the message that wage-earners  are over taxed in this country and that they are the party that will deliver you more of your take-home pay for every single pay check. This amount should be substantial, and it should not be off-set by spending cuts.

To get there, you have to admit that higher G doesn't crowd out private investment and that, as Reagen proved, deficits don't matter (except for inflation risk -- a real potential issue). Only then will Republicans have something to offer the wage earning electorate.

On foreign policy, which most voters don't seem to care about -- but still -- Republicans should criticize  Obama's reckless interventions in Libya/Egypt/Syria as idealistic grandstanding that will as a harbinger of future danger, instability, and, crucially, painful US-led interventions. Instead, Republicans compete to denounce Obama for not supporting rebels enough -- truly mind-blowing. I don't think a single Republican denounced the assassination of Gaddafi.

Another potential area of Republican innovation is reviving economic mercantilism with respect to jobs on US soil. As we are all aware, Apple and other major companies contract with Chinese companies to build products on Chinese soil etc. etc. Yet, neither party seriously questions the assumed dictum from Heaven that free trade is beneficial. Republicans could build serious popular support for government instituted trade regulations to support jobs on US soil (something the masses tend to prefer but economists hate). Again, I have not seen any evidence that Republicans are even open to this.  

- lydgate