Romney wanted to be president, but to what end? A conservative looking at the Obama administration would have been ready to describe one thing after another that needed to be different. Romney wanted to fix the economy … and absolutely nothing else.

The fiscal conservative vote was huge in this election, but not huge enough to overcome Obama’s radicals. Romney needed to appeal to the other two legs of the conservative stool: the social conservatives and the national security conservatives.

But Romney looked at Obama’s foreign policy and found nothing to criticize other than a vague comment about an “apology tour” that he was quick to back away from in the third debate.

And rather than criticize Obama’s radical positions on social issues, he was petrified that someone might link him to the conservatives. All he wanted to run on was the economy.

And his whole campaign was based on the assumption that absolutely no one else cared about anything else.

There’s absolutely no evidence to suggest that would’ve made any difference. Didn’t seem to when Romney supported the Ryan budget while folks like Gingrich were decrying it as right-wing social engineering. But, we’re to believe support of CCB would’ve drawn thousands more to the polls?

changer1701 on December 4, 2012 at 4:38 PM

Ryan’s budget was destructive to conservative ideals. How would it enthuse people to go out and vote?
It was social engineering. I would not have given it the title right wing though… That was a mistake. I would have just simply called it what it was. The Republicans being the tax collectors for the welfare state. A dirty job we should never volunteer to do, EVER.
I almost got excited with Romney in the first debate when he said that it is just not moral to spend a trillion more than we take in. That saddling our children with debt was also not moral. Unfortunately, he did not follow through with the core of the argument. Since it is not moral, we need to stop it, and in order to do that I propose we follow through on my pledge to Cut, Cap & Balance the budget. By the end of my first term a constitutional amendment will be presented to the states doing just that.
That would have woke up the people who did not trust Romney and got them busy getting people to the polls. Why? Because it would have been a Read My Lips moment if done like that. It would have locked Romney into either a single term or would have held his feet to the fire to actually get ONE of our goals done.

100,000 people invigorated to turn out an extra 20 to 30 of their coworkers, neighbors, family members and so forth could have done quite a bit of good. I think the number would have been a nice cool 2 million more excited voters. EXCITED TO SHARE, EXCITED TO TURN OUT.

That was the problem with Romney from the beginning though. He was always going to be a progressive and run like a progressive, and attack like a progressive. Obama is a nice guy that just is in over his head!

astonerii on December 4, 2012 at 4:16 PM

There’s absolutely no evidence to suggest that would’ve made any difference. Didn’t seem to when Romney supported the Ryan budget while folks like Gingrich were decrying it as right-wing social engineering. But, we’re to believe support of CCB would’ve drawn thousands more to the polls?

That wouldn’t have meant a hill of beans to the folks voting on birth control and Big Bird.

changer1701 on December 4, 2012 at 4:12 PM

Would have meant a hill of beans to the people who would have used that to embrace Romney rather than protest vote Obama.

100,000 people invigorated to turn out an extra 20 to 30 of their coworkers, neighbors, family members and so forth could have done quite a bit of good. I think the number would have been a nice cool 2 million more excited voters. EXCITED TO SHARE, EXCITED TO TURN OUT.

That was the problem with Romney from the beginning though. He was always going to be a progressive and run like a progressive, and attack like a progressive. Obama is a nice guy that just is in over his head!

Divorced Reagan?
What was Perry’s sin?

Bachmann needs some serious message discipline.
Newt Could use some discipline too. But his conservative sins have always been easily turned by the base.

Water under the bridge. But the part that is not under the bridge is that progressive (R) does not win the presidency. At least, not unless it seriously camouflages itself like George W Bush did. But then, when it comes to governing, that progressive (R) causes immeasurable but extraordinarily huge amounts of pain.

astonerii on December 4, 2012 at 3:51 PM

I think the strategy was aimed at the media and the garbage can diggers and the woman who crawls out of the woodwork from 20 years ago. Those things were taken away from the left as ammunition.

CUT, CAP & BALANCE! That stated at every single appearance alone likely would have put Romney so far over the top that Obama would have likely found a reason to leave the election before the votes started.

astonerii on December 4, 2012 at 3:39 PM

That wouldn’t have meant a hill of beans to the folks voting on birth control and Big Bird.

yawn. We lost because lots of voters no longer believe that Republicans stand for individual liberty. Democrats and the media have convinced them that we’re the party that wants to limit their choices.

hawksruleva on December 4, 2012 at 4:01 PM

Voters also no longer believe the Republicans are the party of small government and fiscal sanity. A decade of voting for every increase in government power that came from an (R) made that happen.

Self inflicted wounds.

Until either the entire electorate is 100% progressive or the republicans work to fix their brand name, they will be out in the wilderness.

All of these people no longer work for the Republican Party.