Rebranding the GOP

>> senator demint, part of the calculation for republicans is whe where do they push, where do they fight. this is part of the self-examination of the party. bobby jindal spoke out, was outspoken on thursday, talking to republicans. here's part of what he said.

>> we've got to stop being the stupid party. i'm serious. it's time for a new republican party that talks like adults. it's time for us to articulate our plans and vision for america in real terms . it's no secret we had a number of republicans that damaged the brand this year with offensive and bizarre comments. we've had enough of that.

>> he is arguing about colorasome getting in the way. colin powell talking about the republican party . how do you view that?

>> i talked to governor jindal yesterday. we are on the same page. he knows that spending more than we're bringing in is a moral argument that we need to connect with the american people . and not just in numbers. but we need to help people see that what we're doing here in washington, the politicians are the real takers because they are taking the future away. every paycheck is going to be worth less. and the future of our children with the debt on their head means that the opportunities that they could have are going to be diminished.

>> that's not quite what he was speaking of there. what he's talking about is how the brand positions itself.

>> one of the reasons i left congress is because i don't believe that politicians are going to solve our problems unless the american people force them to. they're going to keep spending and borrowing in washington. they're going to keep implementing policies, as ben just said, that hurt minorities. they are worse off. and we can go to detroit and philadelphia and chicago where these liberal progressive policies have been in place for decades, and you see latinos and african-americans in failing schools, with high unemployment. what we're going to do, and i know what governor jindal is going to do along with a lot of other governors, is show the success stories where the right ideas are implemented. and we're going to show the failures in detroit and philadelphia and l.a.

>> ben, comment before we go to break.

>> you know, there are places where we can clearly work together. criminal justice reform is one of them. but the real question for the gop is whether they are willing to give up on the gasoline that has been the old dixiecrat rhetoric for the past 40 years. and when he talked about those bizarre and insulting comments, that's what he's talking about. playing to the cheap seats again and again. they need to stop. they need to say, look, we have an old brand, the grand old party, the party of lincoln, the party of people who united this country again and again. let's be that. and let's stop trying to be these dixiecrats. it just doesn't work for anybody.

>> senator, do you regret some of the comments about abortion in this last cycle, about rape, about what colin powell thought were failed racist comments from the party?

>> well, david, the fact that we are losing over 3,000 unborn children a day is an important issue. but republicans or conservatives should not engage in a debate about exceptions for abortions when the other side will not even agree that we have real people , real human beings . we need to fight the battle where it should be fought. life is important. we know from all of the new technology and improved sonograms that we do have a baby. and it's important that we fight for that. but instead of just offering my opinion on some hypothetical debate about exceptions for abortions, we need to move it back and particularly work with the states that are fighting for just the personhood of the child. if we can start there, i think america will move with