Pat Caddell: Blame the Republican “consultant-lobbyist-establishment” complex for Romney’s loss
He then brutally told donors in the audience that the Republican consultant-lobbyist-establishment complex took millions of dollars from them to only enrich themselves without having any meaningful impact on the election.
“You donors and others were played for marks by groups like [Karl Rove’s American] Crossroads,” Caddell said, noting that establishment super PACs cared more about “preserving arrangements in the media.”
Too often, Caddell said the Republican consultant-lobbyist-establishment complex ignores anything that could be effective if it does not allow them to profit.
For instance, even though a Frank Luntz focus group found that the “Hope and the Change” movie was the most effective way for Republicans to appeal to independent voters, Caddell accused the Republican “consultant-lobbyist-establishment complex” of not utilizing the film because “that communication didn’t fit” in their conventional plans to make the consultant class wealthy.









Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2
Dire Straits, you mean Jeb Bush? Hes ‘perfect’. Skinnier than Christie, executive experience, and perfect republican credentials (his bro was POTUS, can’t beat that). /s
tommy71 on November 25, 2012 at 11:17 AM
Oh, I didn’t see that. Thanks. Green Room only. Well, better than nothing. Hopefully Bill gets some more traction elsewhere and it eventually seeps into this site….and everywhere else.
Dongemaharu on November 25, 2012 at 11:18 AM
No that is not what/who I meant..
PS..Dubyah won two terms as POTUS..No small feat from my view..But milage varies..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:24 AM
Dubyah was for all intents and purposes a wartime president. No doubt in my mind that, notwithstanding his incredible expansion of the federal government under his watch, the war on terror eased the path to his re-election.
gryphon202 on November 25, 2012 at 11:26 AM
While I see your point..I do not think the GOP is ready to go “the way of the whigs”..Not yet..(hint: $$$)..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:28 AM
I agree..Homeland Security Department was a hugh mistake..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:29 AM
The old guy who was hoping for a brokered convention…;)
idesign on November 25, 2012 at 11:30 AM
It’s a process. When enough people decide that they don’t want to donate to a party that won’t advocate for its own platform, the problem will take care itself. Just like it did between 1844 and 1856.
gryphon202 on November 25, 2012 at 11:30 AM
LoLz..C4P had to “purge” their board of a bunch that felt the same..But you missed that right?..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:39 AM
I see your point..
PS..OT:..Have you seen MadCon lately??..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:41 AM
Come on, not a piefight again. Can’t we all be friends? Kumbaya and all that.
tommy71 on November 25, 2012 at 11:43 AM
I haven’t talked to him since the last time we podcasted together. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if he was in a psych ward on suicide watch since the election, but I’m fairly certain he’s been busy with work and family stuff.
gryphon202 on November 25, 2012 at 11:43 AM
Funny that you didn’t respond about the person I suggested..:)
idesign on November 25, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:24 AM
Yes he did, and destroyed the Republican brand name whilst dooming the GOP to electoral wilderness. No small feat indeed, a mistake we are still and continue to pay for. Have you met Obama?
HerneTheHunter on November 25, 2012 at 11:46 AM
Looks like you bought into the meme..
PS..I thought Obie was Romney’s fault..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:51 AM
Sounds good..But I really like playing Nutters-R-Us
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:54 AM
Funny how you denied it all..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:54 AM
The irony…LOL
idesign on November 25, 2012 at 11:57 AM
Good deal..Thanks for the info..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:59 AM
What have I denied?..:)
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 11:51 AM
“Looks like you bought into the meme..”
No Child Left Behind Act. MediCare Part D. PATRIOT Act. TARP. All that compassionate conservatism nonsense. I guess you’re right, I did buy into the meme.
HerneTheHunter on November 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Gee, isn’t this exactly what Sarah Palin said in Going Rogue?
jaydee_007 on November 25, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Yes we both did..Which leads me to the question..We trusted Duybah enough to vote for him..Why should we just magically trust a “true con”?..:)
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 12:09 PM
The Democrats have the entertainment industry on their side. TV, movies, music, art, lifestyle, media. It’s the most powerful industry in America.
Gelsomina on November 25, 2012 at 12:18 PM
Good point..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Still waiting..nutter..
Dire Straits on November 25, 2012 at 12:42 PM
I was one of a sorrowful minority here in 2007-2008 who got slammed for predicting that McCain would lose. We were hopeful but predicted the same for Romney.
In practical terms, our losses – now made permanent, I believe – stem from one thing and it’s not a lack of “messaging” about the appeal and benefits of conservatism. Just the opposite – the valuable truths of conservatism are now precisely why it is rejected.
Conservatism, in all its aspects, is the very thing that built this Republic and kept it strong. Problem is, it has been so demonized in the mind of an ignorant, lazy public that they’ve been conditioned to reject anything that even smells conservative.
Whether Caddell is correct (I have no reason to doubt him) doesn’t matter. It has been proved beyond a doubt that enough of the voting public now knows just enough about what conservatism truly demands (namely, fiscal responsibility, no gravy trains and personal responsibility) that they want NO PART of it.
We are past the point of living in a Republic in decline. It’s not even on life support. America is now dead and it has been killed by an iniquitous populace led off the cliff by equally iniquitous politicians. The very predictions of Franklin, Jefferson and Tocqueville have been proved true. They knew then what conservatives have always acknowledged in theory but only now (if they have any capacity for facing reality) will begin to admit is the state of this new nation…that base human nature will always determine the ultimate fate of any people, and there is no human philosophy, no matter how noble, that can withstand it for long. Personal liberty or free Obamaphones? Sexual self-control or government provided abortions? What they value determines who they vote for.
And now, they outnumber us just enough to take control of what’s left of the country.
The communists have buried us. Worse – they got our own people to do it. The statists now rule us – yes, RULE, not govern – and they will NEVER let that power go. They have harnessed the one unstoppable force of politics: base, iniquitous human nature. Conservatism could never compete with that indefinitely. But then, this collapse is exactly what we were warned would likely happen. And now it’s arrived.
Take care of your own, however you can. As my elderly Dad says, get ready to hunker down. It’s all any of us can do now.
S.P. Link on November 25, 2012 at 1:22 PM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2