'Scary' Republican party needs widespread change if it is to win in 2016 For the GOP to appeal to younger voters, we do not have to agree on every issue, but we do need to make sure young people do not see the Party as totally intolerant of alternative points of view. As the party debates the need for immigration reform, including allowing America's 12 million illegal immigrants a 'path to citizenship', the report warned that Republicans could not ignore the fact that more than four fifths of ethnic minorities voted Democrat in 2012. If Hispanic Americans hear that the GOP doesn't want them in the United States, they won't pay attention to our next sentence. It doesn't matter what we say about education, jobs or the economy; if Hispanics think that we do not want them here, they will close their ears to our policies," it said. Other 'fixes' include spending $10m (£6.6m) to compete with Democrats on community outreach and shortening the marathon primary process that included 23 televised debates in 2012, giving far too much air-time to Republicans attacking each other. Aside for calls to embrace immigration reforms, the report was light on policy specifics, but urged a greater focus on helping America's hard-pressed middle classes, rather than getting hung up on 'hot-button' social issues such as gay-marriage and abortion. Citing the successes of the 30 Republican state governors, the report quoted Bob McDonnell, the governor of Virginia, as saying "Republicans need to focus on a results-oriented conservatism.." Scott Walker, his Wisconsin counterpart, observed that "People in the middle need to feel that someone is fighting for them." The report, which was given the corporate-sounding title "Growth and Opportunity Project" was released days after Conservative grass-roots organisations gathered for their annual CPAC conference in Washington where many are openly hostile towards the party establishment. "Now is the time to furlough [lay off] the consultants, and tune out the pollsters, send the focus groups home and toss the political scripts," said Sarah Palin, the 2008 presidential running mate and Tea Party cheer-leader to roars of approval, "Because if we truly know what we believe, we don't need professionals to tell us." The report will dismay many traditional, grassroots conservatives who argue passionately that the party must stick to its core values and rather than attempt to become a poor imitation of Mr Obama's inclusive, middle-of-the-road agenda. Jeffrey Lord, a former Reagan aide and Republican party historian, said the recommendations were merely the latest iteration of the long-standing tension in within the Party between fiscal and social conservatives. The core Republican values - self-reliance, small government, vigorous economics - would be made relevant through a compelling candidate like the Florida senator Marco Rubio, not by cosmetic adjustments, he told The Daily Telegraph. This is 'moderate conservatism' 2.0 and it's a big mistake. Mitt Romney was a moderate candidate, and it didn't work. This is put together by establishment Republicans who don't understand the grassroots and effectively want to nationalise the party," he said. "These are the same people who were running around in 1965 saying that Ronald Reagan was too extreme to be governor of California, and look how that turned out," Mr Lord added.