“Was last week a head fake, or were they just not that smart?”
“They ran a 20th century campaign in the 21st century,” said one Romney bundler, frustrated that the campaign made assumptions about the youth vote and voter intensity that didn’t pan out. “The anger is that they were entrusted to do certain things. It’s not like they were paid a $5,000 retainer to get a few dozen articles in an inside-the-Beltway paper. This is the major leagues.”…
Romney supporters point to a series of brash statements made by advisers that seem out of touch with reality in retrospect. Inside the Beltway, Republicans trained their fire on senior Romney advisers like Ed Gillespie and political director Rich Beeson for appearances on last weekend’s Sunday shows. Gillespie said the electoral map was expanding, and Beeson predicted a 300 electoral vote win for Romney.
“There were a lot of Republicans who were on calls that the campaign was having led to believe we had shots in Pennsylvania and Minnesota,” one Republican operative supporting Romney said. “I think Republicans are split right now between confused and shocked, and also I think they are wondering did the Romney campaign have numbers we didn’t have.”
In starker terms, the source questioned: “Was last week a head fake, or were they just not that smart?”
Blowback
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I’ll have to think about this. These people don’t believe their lying eyes, and think mediocrity is swell. I’m not suggesting that we shut up, I’m just suggesting that they don’t care.
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 8:56 AM
You’re crazy. The democrats and media attack the right FOR ANYTHING and keep attacking. In fact, most of their crap is made up.
We don’t need to make anything up. The democrat party is socialist and corrupt. The democrats win by pounding Republican negativity into the public consciousness. We need to do the same.
darwin on November 8, 2012 at 8:57 AM
So government is the new panacea…….UFB
dmann on November 8, 2012 at 8:59 AM
Young people showed up. The mood across all the campuses was that young people were disengaged and their turnout would return to traditional levels.
I heard clips of the last appearances by Barry and Moochelle, and both of them talked as if it was probably over.
phreshone on November 8, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Some don’t care. Most do. As an example of what I’m talking about. I work with a girl, college educated, who told me she doesn’t like Romney because he hates women. I said whaaaaaat? Luckily I was able to explain the rationale behind the ads and she went away better informed and with a clearer understanding of how the democrats work.
Pounding targeted negativity works. We have to do the same. The democrats will scream bloody murder, they always do and we never say well hey … you’re doing the same thing.
darwin on November 8, 2012 at 9:01 AM
I have a sneaking suspicion that the term “we tried to tell you” is going to become very popular.
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 9:04 AM
darwin on November 8, 2012 at 9:01 AM
+1000e15
dmann on November 8, 2012 at 9:05 AM
“Was last week a head fake, or were they just not that smart?”
If this refers to the American people..I hate to say it, but they are just not that smart.
Mimzey on November 8, 2012 at 9:10 AM
True, part of a coalition that shifted from state to state. They seem to have carried him across the line in Ohio, and probably Virginia
You said “ignorance and tribalism.” I merely summarized.
There you go again
Oh, we’re all stupid. Except you.
Had this been a Republican presidency you would be sure that a;ll these groups knew about everything. Gas and food prices would be front page news every day. Fast and Furious would be especially blasted on the airwaves in hispanic districts. Failed green energy kickbacks would rule and Benghazi, well everyone would know every detail. It would be blasted from the print and broadcast media everyday and democrats would be roaming their districts telling everyone.
darwin on November 8, 2012 at 8:42 AM
Fast and Furious was a fake scandal. Gas prices were in the news every day. No one cares about Benghazi — Arabs burning things is a “man bites dog” story if there ever was one, as is politicians spinning the news. Solyandra had its day, no one bought it. In fact, every onbe of these stories was exhastively covered. If you search “Solyndra” at NewYorkTimes.com you get more than 4000 hits.
Really, you too?
Yes. There are huge problems withing the black community. Conservatives may have some answers (I am a strong supporter of charter schools, which are thriving here in DC).
But, since 1964, Conservatives have systematically exploited white resentment and outright racism against the black community. And, while Romney and Ryan are honorable individuals, they are in bed with Rush “I hope he fails” Limbaugh and Fox “Scary Black Men on Video” News and Glenn “Obama hates white culture” Beck.
People are not going to listen to policy prescriptions — or listen to condescending lectures about their “best interests” — form a party that has systematically alienated them for 45 years.
urban elitist on November 8, 2012 at 9:13 AM
Thats hard to do when you have no mainstream means of getting our message out.
Mimzey on November 8, 2012 at 9:14 AM
Thats just dumb.
You have it exactly backwards.
Mimzey on November 8, 2012 at 9:16 AM
Really?
urban elitist on November 8, 2012 at 9:22 AM
No, you invented. It’s something liberals do often. I understand how difficult it is for you guys to accept the truth. As an example, I offer this …
Fast and Furious was a fake scandal.
- urban elitist
darwin on November 8, 2012 at 9:22 AM
Oh dear … not that old “southern strategy” thing again. You do realize that the south continued voting for democrats right? There was no “southern strategy” anymore than there was a democrat “southern strategy”.
darwin on November 8, 2012 at 9:25 AM
darwin on November 8, 2012 at 9:01 AM
I have a sneaking suspicion that the term “we tried to tell you” is going to become very popular.
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 9:04 AM
Yes! It’s already happening. Drudge has a story of a Vegas business owner who laid off a number of employees for this very reason.
Cindy, I appreciate your common sense around here.
NebCon on November 8, 2012 at 9:25 AM
Well, you have to be inventive and find ways to get the media to cover you.
darwin on November 8, 2012 at 9:26 AM
Much of the Dem base will believe whatever narrative their operatives feed them, which these days is “Republicans are biggoted rich people that want to throw you under the bus so they can pay less taxes”.
There is no way to combat that. You just can’t fix stupid or a stupid person’s right to vote.
I think this is the simple answer.
michaelthomas on November 8, 2012 at 9:28 AM
The south is the most solidly Republican area of the counbtry and have trended that way since Nixon in ’68, the avowedly racist Strom Thurmond switched parties and the old mossbacks died off.
urban elitist on November 8, 2012 at 9:29 AM
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 9:34 AM
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 9:35 AM
Spread out another 1M voters over 5 states for Romney, and DC would look like LA after Rodney King.
The Count on November 8, 2012 at 9:37 AM
This.
The reason Romney lost, so many conservative (not just Repub) legislators lost, and so many state ballot initiatives went the non-conservative way is the depressed turnout of Republican voters — and since Romney won Independents handily, he must have lost the base (i.e., conservatives).
And estimating based on the specific legislators that lost (or at least lost bigger than they should have) and ballot initiatives that all went the lib/left way in a total reversal of historical trends, I’d say that the voters who stayed home were largely social conservatives / values voters.
The Romney camp did everything they could to make their national campaign about fiscal conservatism alone and avoid ANY social issues. That strategy failed miserably.
With apologies to the crowd here in dextrospere Internet land, many of whom have advocated a fiscally conservative / socially progressive (or at least invisible) approach, the Republicans simply can not win without energizing the social conservative base. The failed candidacies of McCain and Romney, and the success of G.W. Bush should be evidence of that.
McCain was openly disdainful of the social conservatives, and was only saved when Sarah Palin’s overt Christian beliefs provided a counterbalance. Romney, while I’m sure personally a social conservative, did not campaign as one enough to win over the social cons who distrusted a man they saw as willing to condone the murder of babies for political gain — and Paul Ryan is not external enough in his Christianity (Roman Catholicism does not engender the same culture as Evangelicalism) to overcome Mitt’s distrusted record.
Like it or not, the three legs of the Conservative stool still exist. Economic conservatism, traditional American moral/religious values, and a strong national defense must be sufficiently in balance in both the campaign’s message and the candidate in order to achieve victory.
Harpazo on November 8, 2012 at 9:40 AM
Actually, I just think Republicans have a huge blind spot when it comes to the African American community. I’m no expert, but having worked with a couple of black politicians (at a low-ish level) and living in a majority black city, I am constantly astounded by what the Republicans don’t see. It’s really quite extraordinary.
Personally, I wish Obama had had a chance to put his policies in place, so they could actually have been tried.
At any rate, let’s talk about the youth vote for a while.
urban elitist on November 8, 2012 at 9:42 AM
Yes, those black people are violent as well as ignorant and tribal.
urban elitist on November 8, 2012 at 9:45 AM
Like you…stupid is as stupid does
dmann on November 8, 2012 at 9:46 AM
I have three young adult children. I know that they do no agree with the social issues of the Republicans but they voted for the economy. You know, the thing that impacts everyone daily. To equate gay issues with the Civil Rights issues is an insult to blacks. There is a huge difference between discriminating against someone based on their obvious ethnicity and who they “love”. I’m in the camp that no fault divorce has hurt marriage more than gay unions can. Now when we start another victim class requiring taxpayers to fork over money to these folks, as Lanceman said, “Houston, we have a problem.”. Immigration, I’m fine with allowing people to be here legally but no as citizens. You don’t get rewarded for breaking the law. We still need to secure the border.
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 9:56 AM
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 9:57 AM
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansa all voted for Wallace instead of Nixon in 1968.
Every state except Mass voted for Nixon in 1972.
In 1976 the entire south voted for Carter.
There is no southern stratgey except in the minds of liberals.
darwin on November 8, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Did you see the map of how the country lays out? Most of the country, based on land mass is Red, it is strictly the high population cities that are Blue. It is really amazing.
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Most of the youth I know — and with two kids in college I know quite a few — are your basic affluent progressive types, so it’s a skewed sample but I would suggest this:
Most people under 25 aren’t wildly political. But when one party runs Ward Cleaver and the other side Jay-Z; when one side hates the kids’ gay friends and calls law students “sluts,” and the other backs gay marriage and fights for women their friends’ age; when one side talks about tax cuts for millionaires as the cornerstone of their economic policy and wants to crawl in bed with the military-industrial complex and the other increased the availability of student loans and got us out of Iraq — it’s kind of a no-brainer, on symbols and on substance.
urban elitist on November 8, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Old/busted:
Older/busteder:
Oldest/bustedest:
New hotness:
(That being said, your strategy of division certainly works with today’s cultural psyche and demographics, and congratulations on the win.)
rogerb on November 8, 2012 at 10:36 AM
Yeah, it’s funny how that works. Our stupid people and those who just misspeak get world wide attention on top of being blamed for every shooting and act of violence perpetrated in the United States. Republicans don’t hate gays, they just don’t think we need another minority victim demographic. Do you think we don’t have gays in our families? It’s just stupid. Mine are all over 25 but if they would pick Jay-Z over Ward Clever they are really to stupid to vote. But they do.
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 10:41 AM
No, the problem with the the voting block demographic type of politics is that all of these groups feel that they are entitled. Where in our constitution does it entitle anyone to anything but the opportunity to succeed. I worked with teenage at-risk students. Do you know what they were all going to be when they grew up? Basketball players. And I had thirteen year old girls with babies. A society can not prosper like this.
Cindy Munford on November 8, 2012 at 10:45 AM
Numbers are showing white males ran highest for Obama in OH than any other state.
So, in OH it was union – private and public – plus college white males.
He lost almost every suburb though, even the ones that went for him in ’08.
He lost counties he won in ’08. I mean, they guy lost Stark, which is Canton/Massillon. And still won.
That, more than anything, says the old model is broke.
budfox on November 8, 2012 at 10:55 AM
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