Obama Starts Fundraising; GOP Urged to Revamp

After only a brief pause, President Obama is returning to the campaign trail to raise funds for Democratic candidates in 2014 races. Obama's fundraising plans are reportedly more ambitious than previous second-term presidents. He has committed to hosting at least 14 fundraisers for House and Senate Democratic hopefuls this year. According to various news stories, he will kick off his effort April 3 in San Francisco. The Republican response? Well, after some party soul-searching about its 2012 database and digital lags, the Republican National Committee announced it will be going to San Francisco as well -- to open an office in the heavily Democratic city in order to better connect "with people who can improve the party's technology," per a quote from RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. The RNC is concerned with changing more than the GOP's tactical approach, of course. A recently released RNC analysis urged an overhaul of party message, warning that female, minority and younger voters have been alienated by what they see as the GOP's stale policies and image of intolerance. However, the report came up short on policy changes that might woo these voters. For more on the RNC report, see The Los Angeles Times story at http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-new-gop-20130319,0,4073628.story?track=rss