Notes from the collapse
posted at 10:35 am on November 5, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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This morning, after having absorbed the substantial victory of Barack Obama, I noticed a couple of interesting items in the data. Barack Obama certainly won this race, but he won it with just a little more votes than George Bush won in his re-election bid, and the turnout models came up short.
In 2004, Bush beat John Kerry by winning 62.04 million votes. In 2008, Obama won 62.443 million, a gain of only 400,000. In 2004, Kerry garnered 59.028 million votes; John McCain only got 55.386 million. That means this election saw 3.24 million fewer votes than four years ago. Far from being more energized, the nation appeared to be more apathetic.
Using these numbers, we can see that Barack Obama succeeded in turning out his base much more effectively than McCain did his. How do we know that it’s a base turnout rather than a tsunami of opinion to Democrats? For one thing, Dems didn’t pick up a boatload of new seats in the House, and they may underperform expectations yet in the Senate. They did gain some strength with independents, but only gaining between 11-20 seats in the House tells us that they found votes in districts they already control, more than finding converts.
There’s nothing wrong with that; George Bush won two elections doing the same thing. He only gained 3 million votes over John Kerry’s 2004 performance. It does reflect a certain brittleness about Obama’s support that may not be evident in the flush of his Electoral College victory. That doesn’t mean he can’t broaden his appeal after winning office, but it does mean that he primarily won among friendlies and not through appeals to bipartisanship.
John McCain and the GOP didn’t get their turnout in this race. They lost almost seven million voters from 2004, a rather stunning number. We’ll be chewing on this for a while, but that’s more than 10% of the Bush vote that got lost in this election. Did they stay home, or did significant numbers of them defect to Obama? I’m guessing the former. The GOP demoralized their base by acting like Democrats for too many years, and the winds of “change” proved too dispiriting this time around.
Is it his fault? I don’t think it’s his fault as much as the historical trend. Republicans faced two strong headwinds in this race: history and their own fecklessness as a party. History tells us that the White House almost always changes party after two terms with one, and Bush is a particularly disliked incumbent. The Republican Party lost its soul when it launched its K Street Project, and the spendfest of 2001-6 only made that more clear.
If the GOP wants to win 60 million votes in future national elections, it has to stand for something other than being Democrat Lite. The Republican Party needs clarity, purpose, and most importantly, an end to the hypocrisy of talking smaller government while porking up their districts. When given only a choice between real Democrats and fake Democrats, Americans will choose the former, which we found out in 2006.
Update: I wrote “latter” when I meant “former”; I don’t think that defections account for Obama’s victory.
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Hear, hear! The GOP needs to go in the paleoconservative direction and return to its small government, prudence on foreign policy principles.
Palin is a good start, but she needs to shed the hawkish rhetoric.
MedSchoolCatholic on November 5, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Those who didn’t vote aren’t citizens in my view.
tomas on November 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Hey folks, really headed out to work now. One more thing I have got to say. We can say and do a lot of things, but kicking each other in the teeth over the loss is not going to help. We have talked about for weeks the effect of the media on the conservative base. Folks, I have friends in PA and VA who stayed home because the media convince them it was a lost cause. You have got to believe there was at least an element of real voter suppression. I’m dissapointed at any of us who didn’t get out there but holy smokes remember what the media has been saying about this eletion from the beginning and lets cut each other some slack here. the other side and the media certainly won’t. As a matter of fact, it’s exactly what they’d wish us to do.
hawkdriver on November 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
I’ll add another one:
The death has started. And it has not been very long after adopting universal voting rights without any voting requirements or responsibilities.
progressoverpeace on November 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
This wasn’t the base’s fault. This is the candidate and the candidate’s campaign’s fault.
They took every opportunity to stick the base in the eye.
jbarkley on November 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
McCain was an epic fail.
Palin was great, but no one was good enough to save that sinking ship.
MadisonConservative on November 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
It’s time for Contract with America v2.0, baby!
Get the conservatives on the steps of the Capitol. Have them make their case for what they want to do to move America forward and then actually fight for those ideals.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on November 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Pretty hard to argue that the day after.
But his policies were not defined specifically, that also hurt him.
The “anything he can give, I can give better”.
right2bright on November 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Oh, that’s an easy one to answer. They only looked at the record turnout of Democrats. They’ve never had that many before.
Tennman on November 5, 2008 at 11:00 AM
If the stock market didn’t tank, Sarah Palin would’ve nailed a victory for McCain.
Palinpuma on November 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
The idiot that planned these interviews to be aired over a period of 2 to 3 days should be fired and never step into politics again.
haner on November 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
I think Mitt Romney has some hope today. To be frank, I begrudgingly voted McCain, and almost did not. I regretted my vote when the day before the election he again reiterated that comprehensive immigration is his top priority. He lost hispanics because they are natural democrats, not natural republicans. Even in CA, many are voting against the marriage amendment while blacks are voting OVERWHELMINGLY for the pro-marriage amendment. Just see CA, as soon as Reagan gave them amnesty, they voted democrat and turned CAli blue. Geraldo Rivera tries to claim hispanics voted against McCAin because of rejection of amnesty. He is the biggest fool I have ever seen. The man cannot think, after all, he recently said he was friends with Arafat. What a joke that man is.
immigrantchick on November 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Look we can spend infinite typing ink on conservative values ad nauseum or we can just face the reality that has stared Repubs in the face since 2004.
The Repub party has TWO main core issues. FISCAL responsibility and SMALL government. All the other features that folks discuss as core issues are not core, they are attributes. They come with fiscal responsibility and small government.
Because we violated these principles with such bravado these last eight years we are now rightfully in the extreme minority.
Furthermore, if anyone thinks they are going to rebuild the party by having social issues litmus tests you are dreaming. The economic headwinds that are coming, entitlements, will be calling out for only two things–fiscal restraint and small government. That’s the party’s future. It was also our past that we lost under Bush and both houses of Congress. Face it, we blew a historical opportunity. It will be years until we get such an opportunity again.
So to repeat, the only criteria we should have for the party is staunch fiscal conservatism in word and deed and a demand, a core political belief that small government is good government. You will find that most people who hold these beliefs will also, as attributes, have many of the other social beliefs that you favor. The one begets the other. Concentrate on the core. Concentration on the attributes alienates.
patrick neid on November 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Obama will be a failure because he set himself up to be able to do anything and everything. People and I mean all people will only take excuses for so long before they will get pissed. Obama and the media will not be able to hide or spin tax increases, high fuel prices and all of the other things that are sure to happen next year. They will blame Bush for everything but that will only work for a short time. Obama said he would fix all of these thing and the people believed him without really listening to what he was actually going to do. They will be shocked at not just the economic policies that are to come but the other issues that were not really discussed guns, affirmative action, death penalty and such. Obama will have no one to blame for any of this other than himself.
Howcome on November 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Don’t forget the crafted financial crisis, and the Bush Bad taste.
leetpriest on November 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Lower taxes and less regulation on business and individuals.
Tim Burton on November 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
The “base” was an epic fail. It is either smaller than we assumed or it flew the coop for Obama largesse.
And the precious punditry did everything they could to taint McCain early on. They slammed him while making no attempt to speak up for anyone else…until McCain had it locked up.
clnurnberg on November 5, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Posted stats make sense from personal perspective. Relatives of mine passionately hated both candidates and stayed home – absolutely refused to budge.
heroyalwhyness on November 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM
I too would have voted for Chuck Baldwin but he wasn’t on the California ballot, so I voted for Bob Barr.
The GOP needs an enema.
MedSchoolCatholic on November 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Shock-la-blu you mean a Repulicrat couldn’t draw off enough democrats from the DEMOCRATIC president to win?
If you believe a winning strategy is to out democrat a democrat and debate how much more you can give compared to the socialist option, maybe you should just run in the democratic primary and not try to run for the so called other side. At least then you wont need to worry about things like throwing scraps to base you strong ideological divides with.
The Rhino-squishy strategy losing (but only because of the conservative/Republican base they are supposed to represent) since 2006.
C-Low on November 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM
McCain-Feingold – failure
Taking public financing – failure
Supporting amnesty to get Hispanic votes – failure
Not fighting against affirmative action – failure
Not developing Wright, Ayers, Khalidi, Pfleger, Dohrn, and so many others – failure
Not using birth certificate, medical records, and drug use issues – failure
Using Palin to get women’s votes – failure
Ignoring Internet – failure
Not defending President Bush – failure
Believing conservative talk radio has the power to win an election like 1994 – failure
Not talking to reporters on your plane – failure
Describing America’s economic fundamentals as sound – failure
Not calling Obama on all his lies – failure
Not calling Obama on the different faces he presents to people, particularly with regard to the coal industry – failure
John McCain is a good fighter. He is just not the type of fighter we needed to win this election. We needed someone aggressive, a teller of hard and difficult truths who could have stood up to the liberal media, the Liar, ACORN, and egregious violations of the voting system. That was Romney. (I am not a Mormon.)
indythinker on November 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Tru dat, playa. Even though, I still did support the ticket.
Without Gov. Palin, I can explain would would have happened. (Channeling Joe Biden) Two words: 46 state landslide (with 400+ EVs)
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on November 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Where can I buy- bumper sticker,t-shirt,
hat and yard sign! Mama always said “The early bird gets the worm”
christene on November 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM
I’m not sure where you get your numbers and reasoning, ED.
I’m not even sure I exactly understand what you’re trying to say. The numbers I’ve seen, and the analysis by experts say, this was anything BUT a waning voter turnout.
This was the biggest voter turnout in the last century, or in 40 years, depending on whom you talk to. Either way, I think you need to investigate your numbers again, ED.
FlatFoot on November 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Well, this is an entirely different discussion. And, Ed or Allah, I’m waiting for this thread. In the meantime, with regard to post-mortems, I’m not really all that interested in evaluating the screw-ups in Campaign 2008 that would have saved McCain if avoided. But I do want the people responsible for those screw-ups to be outed, publicly humiliated, and embedded in our memories so that we make sure that they have nothing to do with any major GOP campaign again.
For starters, I’m not at all impressed with Steve Schmidt, Rick Davis, Tucker Bounds, Nicole Wallace, and some economic adviser running around with a hyphnated last name–which, forgive me, made me shake my head every time I saw him on TV as a surrogate. I’m still chafing that the party of relative austerity got excoriated because some idiot staffers thought it was a good idea to drop $150K on a wardrobe for Palin and her family, let it get out in the press, and left Palin hanging out to dry. I want to know exactly who those morons are.
BuckeyeSam on November 5, 2008 at 11:03 AM
Both. Put ‘em in which ever order you like.
eyedoc on November 5, 2008 at 11:03 AM
My thought is that when there is little difference between the Rep and the Dem, the folks will go dem. To me it is the Gearld Ford effect. Or at least it seemed obvious to me during that election cycle.
And when Joe-off-the-street can cut to the chase better than the party leaders, makes me wonder about the party leadership.
And I still dont like that our standard bearer is picked out in the first couple primaries held in the most liberal part of the US of A. Kind of self defeating seems to me.
Is what it is. Chin up, face foreward, get things in order.
Da_Hutt on November 5, 2008 at 11:03 AM
I agree about Obama’s fiscal and media advantage, but I never doubted for a minute that McCain was a “weak candidate”…and I’m not sure the reasoning how he was “chosen by the other side”…
Even the Dems were able to quickly heal the rift between the Obama and Hillary camps. The GOP “Base” just couldn’t rally behind McCain. And Palin was a bust, a last-minute attempt to rally the base, who never really showed up.
McCain lost…and it’s the self-described “base” that’s to blame.
JetBoy on November 5, 2008 at 11:03 AM
Add to that list that some conservatives even wrote in Ron Paul.
MedSchoolCatholic on November 5, 2008 at 11:03 AM
And Envy hides itself by painting self reliance as greed.
Look, you stratagize all you want on this nob or that button that lost the election, but the fact of what happened is that the democrats put up someone who lied strait faced to the country and the gateways through which most people get their information not only didn’t call him on it, but backed him up. The press owns this election.
Count to 10 on November 5, 2008 at 11:03 AM
The “base” if such a thing exists, sat on their asses or voted Obama. Throw laurel wreaths around them all you like, they failed miserably if they did either of the above and have no cause to cry today
clnurnberg on November 5, 2008 at 11:04 AM
Geez almost incoherent there. What the hawkster meant to say was …”this election from the beginning and lets cut each other some slack here. The other side and the media certainly won’t. As a matter of fact, fighting amongst ourselves is exactly what they’d wish us to do.”
hawkdriver on November 5, 2008 at 11:04 AM
I’m getting pretty tired of this RINO thing. Each group of Republicans would say that another group is Republican in name only: social conservatives say fical conservatives are RINO, foreign policy conservatives say social conservatives are RINO, and fiscal conservatives say the others are RINOs… that gets us nowhere. Like it or not we need all three legs of this stool to get us anywhere!
In fact you could say that McCain being rejected by ficals and social cons was what gave us Obama.
We really need to find ways to build the party in all areas not reject people with disagree with on certain issues. Prioritizing is what will build the party not purging.
At any rate Ed has an excellent anaylisis and it is actually heartening to see the numbers were not something that can’t be overcome.
With any luck after 4 years of socialism America will have enough of that and we can get back to building a sensible foreign policy, a financially self-sufficant population with a and fiscally conservative government and a morally strong cultural of life. I hope that 4 years is long enough to expose the error of this election.
petunia on November 5, 2008 at 11:04 AM
Kinda hard for Palin to defend conservative economic priciples when the GOP was back in Washington jumping on board with the biggest bailout in history.
Which idiots in our party who voted for that are still here ?
William Amos on November 5, 2008 at 11:04 AM
“leetpriest on November 5, 2008 at 10:57 AM”
“MedSchoolCatholic on November 5, 2008 at 11:02 AM”
and president-elect duh1 thanks you BOTH for your votes for HIM …
/jerks …
Buckaroo on November 5, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Now, I just can’t wait to JAnuary so I can watch the circus. I can’t wait to see this guy just flop big time. I can’t wait to see what Russia will do. Medvedev is not even mentioning Obama. The Russians must be laughing at us, big time.
immigrantchick on November 5, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Theworldisnotenough:
I don’t think Rush is right. Where was he himself? He supposedly has all sorts of influence. Why didn’t Rush get behind someone early and support him or her? What was stopping him? Better yet, why not run himself?
McCain won the primaries fair and square because Republicans thought he had the best chance of winning. And the truth is he probably did have a better chance than any of the other nominees would have.
There were a lot of obstacles out there, not the least of which was Republicans turning on each other.
I mean really, first there were the Tancredo battles, and then the Rudy skirmishes, and then the short lived Thompson romp and then the Huckabee charge and then the Romney rise and fall and all along the way there were significant parts of the GOP swearing they would not vote for this guy or that guy or this fellow…and then of course they blamed Bush and then McCain and then Palin.
I mean come on. I can not think of a better way to run people off than constant sniping amongst ourselves.
Terrye on November 5, 2008 at 11:05 AM
You missed the main one. He failed to communicate that the economic collapse was largely due to democrats and not republicans.
carbon_footprint on November 5, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Ed…
Nice analysis, but you forgot one vital element. McCain-Feingold.
McCain died by his won sword.
swami on November 5, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Son of Dole!
ronsfi on November 5, 2008 at 11:06 AM
There was a lot working against McCain: Bush fatigue, the war, the media and finally the economic fiasco. Having said that, McCain was a poor candidate. He was hand picked by the liberal media because he was the most liberal Republican in the primaries. He ran a terrible campaign. Perhaps a better candidate could have won. I thank McCain for his service, especially in uniform. However, I have lasting impressions of him in the senate:
investigating steroid use in baseball while millions of illegal immigrants were pouring across open borders, Kennedy/McCain, McCain/Feingold, gang of 14.
Bi-partinanship is greatly over-rated.
We are now stuck with a far left Executive, Legislative and potentially left Judicial government.
May GOD help us.
mountainmanbob on November 5, 2008 at 11:07 AM
This is what happens when the party runs a candidate that alienates his base. McCain’s amnesty debacle, along with being more of a democrat than a conservative cost him this election. Unfortunately, it cost other Republicans as well.
I sincerely hope the RNC learned it’s lesson. If not, there will more of this in the future. If the GOP is to win in the future, they need to return to their conservative roots. This election proved that the GOP cannot out democrat the democrats. Enjoy the next four years.
voiceofreason on November 5, 2008 at 11:08 AM
I really don’t think either of those or anyone else has emerged to lead the party. Both of those governers needs to prove themselves a bit before I jump on that bandwagon. Let’s see what the future brings.
petunia on November 5, 2008 at 11:08 AM
McCain DID NOT win fair and square, he barely won 30%.
immigrantchick on November 5, 2008 at 11:08 AM
It was an extremely poorly run campaign in my opinion…and many others inside the beltway feel the same.
DCJeff on November 5, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Yup. We tell our kids to be responsible and thrifty. It’s a conservative world view. And I think we ought to stop bashing people like Noonan and George Will. These are smart people that conservatives will need to get any sort of majority.
And no, we shouldn’t celebrate mediocrity or brush it off just because one is “on our side.”
haner on November 5, 2008 at 11:08 AM
We have to break the media. We have to expose them as the lying sacks of sh!t that they are so even the lazy, idiotic morons of this nation will entirely tune them out.
I’m not sure how to do it, but that’s what we’ve got to do. The voter registration fraud, voter fraud, campaign finance fraud, broken laws not investigated, lack of voter standing to sue, law enforcement “truth squads”, Obama’s failure to prove his eligibility none of this could have happened if our media was honest. The machine of war hinges on the media.
We have to destroy them.
justincase on November 5, 2008 at 11:08 AM
William:
If that bailout had failed to come about the and the markets had collapsed, banks shut down and widespread panic had sit in, the Republicans would have been blamed for not doing something to stave off disaster. Besides, the Democrats were not hurt by supporting it were they?
Terrye on November 5, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Most Conservative Republican voters were not excited about John McCain and nothing he could do would change that – even the possibility of someone to the left of Ted Kennedy being elected. He ran a poor campaign and took things off the table that should have been made issues. Imagine if he had not add Sarah Palin to the ticket. What kind of monster blowout would he have faced? For all she was, would Pawlenty or Ridge been any help? Maybe if he had gotten Romney but I still think it wouldn’t have helped.
This is no longer the party of Reagan. There is no leadership or standard bearer. When Newt got run out they all started acting like Democrats. This whole “Compassionate Conservative” crap has done nothing but weaken us. Conservatism is compassion by definition! But that is another discussion.
woodman on November 5, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Hammer, meet nail.
Bigfoot on November 5, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Mitt Romney has no need to be hopefull. He couldn’t beat Mccain and Huckabee. What makes you think he can beat Obama in 2012?
I have been saying this for a long time that the GOP needs to extend its base beyond the rural voters. No offense but is a fact.
I think that the talk show radio hosts have some soul searching to do too. They didn’t do anything to make peace with McCain. On the contrary:they insulted him and kept saying that he is not a conservative and keep on waiting for the next Ronald Reagan. Rush went evan further at a given moment saying that an Obama win will actually be good for the party. The lack of financial contributions and lack of volunteeres in battleground states like Virginia or Florida can be traced to this atitude.
clemycali on November 5, 2008 at 11:09 AM
I’d say a good 3 or 4 enema’s might be in order. :)
leetpriest on November 5, 2008 at 11:09 AM
The redistribution of wealth is tyrannical and the hard working victims from whom Obama draws his booty will not tolerate such blatant tyranny for long. We are truly experiencing the tyranny of the majority. Communism failed in Europe and it will fail in this country.
rplat on November 5, 2008 at 11:09 AM
The problem with conservatives, I am listening to it on talk radio now (glenn beck, neil bortz- let’s not rain on BO’s parade today). Are you kidding me? If it was the dems, they will start their attacks NOW. That is what we need to do. We need to start the drum beat NOW. BO is and will be a failure, let’s start taunting him.
immigrantchick on November 5, 2008 at 11:09 AM
“swami on November 5, 2008 at 11:06 AM”
does ANYONE outside of hopeless poly. junkies give a rip about mc-f??!! it was immigration for most, it was the bailout for some, and, as we see on this very thread, people who stand the most to lose from a duh1 administration ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTED TO HIS ELECTION by throwing away their vote to a 3rd party …
Buckaroo on November 5, 2008 at 11:09 AM
This was not an election for Vice Presidents. When people are voting for the “Chick”, you’re not getting the votes that you need. If Palin was running for President, we would have gotten all of those votes that stayed home.
danjrussell on November 5, 2008 at 11:10 AM
I don’t know if people are going to support smaller government or not. It seems to me that most people want more government, not less. Hopefully that will change. Every day I hear people whine because the government is not doing more for them. I am afraid there are too many people with a sense of entitlement out there.
Terrye on November 5, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Nice ideea but how are we going to do it?
clemycali on November 5, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Well, Dole and McCain are both honorable and respectable men. So if that is meant as an insult, you failed.
terryannonline on November 5, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Excellent analysis.
teffertoes on November 5, 2008 at 11:11 AM
I am so disenchanted with the GOP right now. The feckless nature of Republican leadership post Reagan is horrifying.
Obama is going to sell the country on socialism. Give t to ‘em give ‘em a big healthy dose of what they want. Burn it down Barack.
Theworldisnotenough on November 5, 2008 at 11:11 AM
To add to this, Primaries are decided by delegates, most of which are currently RINO.
Take Arnold for example…..
leetpriest on November 5, 2008 at 11:11 AM
I never understood this at all. I don’t know for a fact that it would have saved him, but at the time, the country needed a villain and now, because the GOP presidential candidate largely went mute on this point, the Dems will never be held to account.
BuckeyeSam on November 5, 2008 at 11:11 AM
The blogosphere is a start.
William Amos on November 5, 2008 at 11:12 AM
terrible typos
Theworldisnotenough on November 5, 2008 at 11:12 AM
” having social issues litmus tests you are dreaming. The economic headwinds that are coming, entitlements, will be calling out for only two things–fiscal restraint and small government. That’s the party’s future”
hear hear — this social con can CERTAINLY rally around that!!
Buckaroo on November 5, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Agreed . . . but you must use a “head from butt” extractor before you can give the enema.
rplat on November 5, 2008 at 11:13 AM
You know that message is the one that needs communicated. Democrats are so good at getting the public to believe they don’t make mistakes only Republicans are to blame. The mortgage crisis and the bailout are both Democrat messes and the public should be educated. That should be the message the RNC gets out there today and everyday before it is too late.
petunia on November 5, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Ron Paul is not a conservative, he’s a crack-pot paleo-libertarian Anarcho-Capitalist. Something Conservatism, notwithstanding his lies and half-truths about it, has never been.
This is after all the guy who called Reagan a Traitor, left Reagans party and signed up to run as a lunatic in the LP race that year.
Murray Rothbard, that is Paul’s idol. It is very much anti-Reagan and America for that matter. They take the Marxist, far-left view on Foreign Policy, basic history and worldview. Which is why Lew Rockwell post articles by leftist propagandist.
jp on November 5, 2008 at 11:13 AM
RE: turnout, AP is reporting that the current 120 million is expected to rise above 130 million once all the provisional, early, and absentee ballots are counted (which is one reason Georgia and North Carolina haven’t been officially called yet, ditto with Prop. 8 in California, etc.). So it really may end up being a record turnout overall, and probably a generational record for turnout percentage.
okonkolo on November 5, 2008 at 11:13 AM
“At home, Obama must revive an economy experiencing some of the worst shocks in more than half a century. Abroad, he has pledged to end the war in Iraq and defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He ran on a platform to change the country and its politics. Now he must begin to spell out exactly how.” (Dan Balz. Washington Post)
Really nice of the Post to get around to a vetting process??? Nice job MSM—–you’ve elected the first Manchurian candidate. Should we dial over to the Discovery Channel for reality?
Rovin on November 5, 2008 at 11:14 AM
If a conservative like Bachmann can win in Minnesota where Al Franken is deadlocked for the Senate, nobody is going to convince me that running as a true strong conservative GOP party would lead to more disgraces like the last 2 elections
jjshaka on November 5, 2008 at 11:14 AM
The message should be “Effective Government” rather than smaller government.
The Party needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Not from the top down.
We need to go after every elected and appointed office in the country – local, state, and federal.
We can have principles without having litmus tests.
huckleberryfriend on November 5, 2008 at 11:14 AM
BTW time for Pajamas media and the right wing blogosphere to push the party in the direction we want.
The party uses the blogoshere as its cheerleaders. The Dailykos proves that the net can play a pivotal role in a parties politics.
Its time to stop being cheerleaders and start being leaders.
William Amos on November 5, 2008 at 11:14 AM
The one and ONLY reason I voted for shamnesty RINO McCain was that I even more strongly refused to vote for the flim-flam man Obama. Palin did nothing for me as far as my vote goes. Actually, if anything, she sort of made me want to vote McCain less but that didn’t outweigh my refusal to vote for Obama.
The only other non-viable alternatives were Barr, McKinney, Nader, Keyes, and Baldwin.
This election stunk like leaking sewer gas.
FlatFoot on November 5, 2008 at 11:15 AM
I’m not sure the Republican base is as large as it was in 2004. And I believe the defections occurred during the immigration reform debate and then more when the Iraq theater wasn’t looking too good.
I agree with most of the post though, that Republicans need to rebuild along Conservative principles and quit this nonsense about moderate/centrist/Dem Lite/spend alot.
One more point and its the biggest one really: The Republicans need a standard-bearer that can ARTICULATE true Conservatism in a digestible and inspiring manner. Sarah Palin may be that person. I honestly don’t see anyone else out there who can do that right now. And now she’s been tried by fire.
JonPrichard on November 5, 2008 at 11:15 AM
I don’t want to see McCain on TV ever again urging people to reach across the aisle or working with President Obama to put together his pacifist agenda. And I don’t want to hear “maverick” ever again. Maverick is code word for attention whore.
CanadianGuy on November 5, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Well how many Micky mouses are in that group ? Many of the provisional ballots are there because they are questionable in the first place.
William Amos on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Death of a brand.
http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2008/11/04/the-death-of-a-brand/
a capella on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Well Said – Well Said
jake-the-goose on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
voiceofreason:
I am tired of hearing that lame excuse that McCain did not excite the base. Who did? Where was the base with their own people? If they are so damn worried about the candidate being just right or screw it they will sit home and let the Democrat win then it seems to me they have a responsibility to support an alternative they can vote for.
Terrye on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
We have to be the party of Reagan, or we will not re-group.
that is Muscular Foreign Policy, stand for limited Govt. and when you can’t do it for political reasons be able to articulate it to provide political cover for yourselves and Social Conservatism has to have a place in the party or its doomed as well.
that is why Sarah Palin(or Jindal) are the future of the party. The left knows it, going the Paleo route would be the end of the party, especially in the modern world. Just wait till what happens internationally unfolds with a weak president in office like Obama. We have invited disaster, practically begging Putin to seize weaker countries among other things
jp on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Bush was the bipartisan; McCain the turncoat partisan. It all adds up.
anti-boomer on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
The good news is, democrats are convinced they just impeached George Bush.
Let them savor the self-deception, enhance their catharsis by acting dejected.
Then, they’ll get back to their substantive issues like legalizing pot and freeing Mumia.
jeff_from_mpls on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
In presidential politics, the fight is always over the voters who are on the fence — the “mushy middle.” There are two ways for a Republican to go after those voters. The first is to present yourself as an Almost-Democrat, moderating conservative policies (or dispensing with them altogether) in the hope that you will attract a number of undecideds that will exceed the number of hardcore conservatives that you’ll alienate. This was McCain’s strategy, and it failed. He repelled many conservatives and the centrists went mostly for Obama.
The other approach was Reagan’s. That is, communicate true conservative ideals effectively enough to draw the mushy middle voters into the conservative camp. If you can do this, you bring new voters into the party without alienating the base. In fact, you build the base.
Bush was terrible at communicating. He was never able to explain why conservatism benefits the country as a whole. This left a blank slate on which Democrats created their own definition of conservatism — that is, party that protects the wealthy at the expense of the middle class, seeks to impose backward religious beliefs on society, and recklessly engages in foreign misadventures in the service of greedy corporations.
I believe that Obama was able outdraw McCain for the mushy middle primarily because he is a skillful orator, even if his oratory was relatively free of substantive content. This makes it clearer than ever that the next conservative standard-bearer MUST be someone with superb communicating skills. If Obama could win the crucial middle by silken oratory that was deviod of any coherent set of principles, imagine what an equally talented conservative candidate could do as when he or she has conservative ideas to sell.
Reagan’s victory was not a fluke. He was a superb communicator of ideas. That talent must be the first requirement for our next candidate. No more George Ws!
Cicero43 on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
I have been saying that the McCain is the weakest candidate for the GOP. The media got him elected in the primaries including all the intellectual pundits (I should say). The fact that McCain keeps saying that he wants to reach across the isle and praises the Democrats, of course the base gets demoralized. Blame it to Huckaphony as well. He orchestrated the division successfully.
mariloubaker on November 5, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Pajamas media? Are you kidding me? This is such a tiny little subset of the populace it hardly matters.
clnurnberg on November 5, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Well, we’ve finally gotten the “America will never elect a black President” socio-politcial loogey out of the way.
AubieJon on November 5, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Morning all, I thought last night was a dream. Guess it wasn’t. Guess ugly truth’s are now reality. We must prepare ourselves for this so called National Civilian Security Force that the Dictator is going to do. The ugly truth is, Looks like we will have to go to war with in our own Country. I won’t be dictated by this non sense joke. I will fight like I have never fought before. I don’t believe we will ever have a election. After all, he helped Odinga become who he was. A ruthless killer! Looks like it won’t be just the Jews now. The white race is in serious trouble. I realize that other Nationalities are with us also. There were many that didn’t vote for the Dictator. Sorry to sound so bleak. But this is how I feel at this time.
I wish ManlyRash would come back. Not the same not seeing his posts. Was not his fault. He gave us hope in fight! If anyone knows how to email him. Please write him. Tell him that idiot that he made the bet with. Is not worth making it stick. Even though he is a stranger, as most of you. I have become fond and have trust in most of you and him too. The trolls are just a pain. They can be ignored. Going to take my shower. But will be back in a while.
sheebe on November 5, 2008 at 11:17 AM
In a Question and Answers session McCain gave in New Hampshire three days a woman asked him about securing the border and he replied that “comprehensive immigration reform will be a top priority of my administration.”
He recanted “secure the border first” pledge in May 2007. What he said to the base from summer 2007 until after he secured the nomination was a bald-faced lie that he said to win primaries. After this deception I’m surprised he did as well as he did.
aengus on November 5, 2008 at 11:17 AM
I think a lot of the absentee ballots are actually Republicans, so the total number might not all be Democrats at all.
Terrye on November 5, 2008 at 11:18 AM
Where to start?
My townhall.
Our good police department has been in open hire mode for the last two years. They can’t fill the slots because the pay sucks. Three grocery markets no longer have grocery stores in them. Three great big drinking holes have replaced them. Bennigans, Red Robin, COMPUSA, K-mart, Steak-n-Ale, and Sam’s either went under or moved out to greener pastures. The buildings sit empty.
Those are where I start. Inside the townhall. We can’t pay the cops until we get the revenue. We can’t get the revenue without the businesses. If my township is smart they will intice new businesses. Time to work on making my voice a bit louder in the townhall.
Once the towhship straightens up and flies right then it’s about the county chairs, congressional district, state senate, governor.
One step at a time.
Limerick on November 5, 2008 at 11:18 AM
I have a feeling that we are going to start hearing…………
in the coming years.
Ed nailed it:
The only reason this race was close was because of Sarah Palin………… If the Republicans ever want to win another election, they have to go back to their Conservative roots, govern, and pass legislation that reigns in the power and size of government, securing our borders, and gives back individual freedom to the citizens of this country.
The next two years we are going to see the exact oppostite of that…….. and once a Democrat is in power, especially the goons that Barak will bring with him into the White House, they will use the “Chicago Way” to keep it…….
………… get ready for ACORN on steroids people, you bought it……………. time to eat it!
Seven Percent Solution on November 5, 2008 at 11:18 AM
I’m disappointed today and there are a lot of recriminations coming. Its the Democrats turn now and Obama starts with a clean slate in my book. I honestly and fervently want him to become the greatest President the US has ever had for the sake of the country.
The ball is in his court.
JonPrichard on November 5, 2008 at 11:19 AM
If the base sits home and whines, why take it seriously?
clnurnberg on November 5, 2008 at 11:19 AM
All this talk about “returning to principles” and whatnot is completely pointless.
Italian communist Antonio Gramsci’s call for a “long march through the institutions” has been acheived in Western Civilization. The Left has achieved an ABSOLUTE stranglehold on govt bureaucracy, education, news media, and entertainment. And what small islands of non-leftist media exists – i.e. Rush, Fox News, etc. – are about to come under a withering attack.
I’m already sick to death with all the “Barack Obama ran a brilliant campaign”. Bullsh-t! Obama ran around saying “hope” and “change” for two years…what’s brilliant about that? The US news media ran a brilliant campaign, ensuring that NOTHING would be allowed to harm Obama’s chances at winning. Obama was just smart enough to stay out of the way.
The REAL lesson that Republicans need to learn from this “selection” is that the US news media is our mortal enemy, and they are engaged in nothing less than a campaign to destroy political pluralism in this country. The first order of business needs to be the establishment of a well-funded, MASSIVE conservative/libertarian alternative to the MSM. It may take twenty years to reach the critical mass needed, but so be it. Because since they were able to get away with this so successfully this time, nothing is going to stop them from going even further in the future.
It’s very simple, people: whoever controls information, controls power. Until we learn that lesson…with BRUTAL FINALITY…any chances of steering our nation away from utter collapse are completely hopeless.
rvastar on November 5, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Bingo – nice man – lousy candidate.
LOUSY CANDIDATE
jake-the-goose on November 5, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Folks I hate to be a defeatist but the nailin’ of the coffin has begun.
1) Obama will get at least 3 SCOTUS judges of his choosing all Ginsberg’s or worse.
2) Kennedy will make one more go at CIR from his bed and McCain will go along with it and it will pass.
Those two factors will install a permanent Democratic majority. I will not see another non Democratic President before I die.
Dr. Dog on November 5, 2008 at 11:19 AM
in addition to being Reaganesque Conservatives, all regrouping efforts have to figure out some effective way to deal with the MSM. Bush would be at atleast 40% approval if not higher, and Obama would not be President if not for the MSM
jp on November 5, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Carl Cameron from Fox News asked Bill ORielly to have him on again tonight. He said he has a lot of McCain inside stories that he going to talk about. This guy is a straight shooter and leans our way. I plan on tuning in to listen to what he he has to say regardless of how painful the truth may be to hear.
hawkdriver on November 5, 2008 at 11:20 AM
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