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One thing I realized, through out this election process, it was pretty clear that the majority of the country had already decided who they were going to vote for before the election. For all the bain capital attacks, 47% video, tax returns etc, Obama was never really able to seperate himself from romney. Romney continued to point to the disappointing jobs number every month, but that never did anything either. He was only able to make up ground, when he decided to go to the middle in the first debate. I think in hindsight, he should have went to the right in the primaries, and as soon as he won, he should have moved to the middle immdediately and dared the tea party to vote for obama. What do ya'll think
He did go to the right in the primaries, but then he was all over the place until the first debate.
That was one of Mitt's biggest things against him; he tried too hard to be all things to all people, and no one was ever sure of where his positions would ever be.
I think a couple of other things hurt him as badly; he should have just released his tax returns right off the bat. Everybody knew he is rich as Croseus, and if there was a hit in them, it most likely wouldn't have hurt him as much as the suspicion that was aroused and lingered to the end. Nobody likes a multi-millionaire who comes across as having something to hide.
The other thing was he should have come right out and announced his plans. People wanted some specifics about how he would handle the economy, and he gave them nothing but a little fuzz and a lot of vague generalities. He came across as only able to wing it if elected. People wanted solid stuff from him and he never delivered. 'Trust me.' didn't get him very far.
If that would have moved in in the middle early, his party could have been upset, but he might have pulled out two of the swing states. His party would have gotten over it soon enough if he had won.
As it was, the voters had a centrist they knew, and a centrist who might have been far right. They never knew from one week to the next where Mitt was.
What election were you watching. He did almost EXACTLY what you suggested...hard right in the primaries and then shift immediately back to the middle during the general election. Hell, it's been speculated that this massive shift is precisely why the first debate went so poorly for Obama. They were expecting and prepared for a much less moderate Romney and got caught flat footed when he came out acting like a true centrist.
As soon as he chose Paul Ryan, he could not distance himself from the Ryan Budget and the Ayn Rand association. The 47%remarks on video did not do much for his cause. The lies that were never retracted even when debunked were icing on the cake. There was too much against him, it was not just one thing that can now be zeroed in on...IMO. I cannot recall any one thing he stood by for the entirety of his campaign. Cannot wait to see the movie.
Romney's problems were a lot deeper than strategy, and the R party problems run just as deep. Romney started out having to convince MA voters that he was more moderate than Kennedy when he ran for Governor. In the R presidential primary, he came out right of Gingrich and Perry on a host of issues like immigration, and then he tried to convince people that he was a moderate again in the general. People didn't trust or believe him, and when you combine that with refusing to release his tax returns, the 47% remarks, and the last straw--picking Ryan as his running mate--it became laughable. It was obvious from the beginning of the primary that Romney was going to have a tough time winning a general because of his credibility issues.
As long as R's have to appeal to a radically right wing teavangelical base in the primary, I don't know how they're going to get around this, because they're forced to take such extreme positions to win a primary that it's really tough to transition in a believable way to appeal to voters on a national stage. Until the teavangelicals back down and support more mainstream ideas, it's just going to get worse for republicans every election cycle.
Here's where Karl Rove and FOX have really done the R party a disservice--they believe that enough spin will fix anything. That works when people aren't paying close attention and times are good, but the electorate has pretty much lost patience with Congress at this point--people DO pay attention, and they know BS when they see it. We had a very low rate of undecided voters this cycle because we had a much lower rate than usual of low information voters...
Romney lost because he is a relative liberal and a Mormon. The evangelicals (won't vote for a Mormon) and the right wing (won't vote for a liberal) never showed up to support him. He got fewer votes than McCain/Palin. The Republicans should have nominated a true Christian conservative like Huckabee.
Romney lost because he is a relative liberal and a Mormon. The evangelicals (won't vote for a Mormon) and the right wing (won't vote for a liberal) never showed up to support him.
The demographics don't show this. Romney actually received more (as a percentage) of the Christian and Evangelical vote than McCain/Palin.
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He got fewer votes than McCain/Palin.
Voter turnout as a whole was down.
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The Republicans should have nominated a true Christian conservative like Huckabee.
Do you want to lose that badly?
Sorry, but the white Christian/Evangelical voting block isn't the pathway to victory anymore. The demographics of the country have changed, and none of the swing states are exactly what you would call Evangelical strongholds, with the possible exception of Colorado.
You're wrong because Romney got 3 million fewer votes than McCain in 2008, but Obama got 10 million fewer votes in 2012 than he had in 2008 -- and that was in spite of major pandering for the illegal vote with promises of amnesty and government backed loans so they can go to college on the taxpayer dime.
If this continues and the Rep's lose 3 million more in 2016 and the Dem's lose 10 million more -- guess what.
You're wrong because Romney got 3 million fewer votes than McCain in 2008, but Obama got 10 million fewer votes in 2012 than he had in 2008
It was 7.5 million less, not 10. And again, voter turnout as a whole was down.
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-- and that was in spite of major pandering for the illegal vote with promises of amnesty and government backed loans so they can go to college on the taxpayer dime.
Yeah, the illegals. That's what did it.
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If this continues and the Rep's lose 3 million more in 2016 and the Dem's lose 10 million more -- guess what.
Except that is very unlikely to happen.
Either way, none of that really matters. The electoral vote is what matters, and Romney got absolutely crushed there. Romney didn't really gain ground with any portion of the electorate except religious and uneducated white males. All the fastest growing voting blocks in this country are overwhelmingly siding with the Democrats.
It was 7.5 million less, not 10. And again, voter turnout as a whole was down.
Yeah, the illegals. That's what did it.
Except that is very unlikely to happen.
Either way, none of that really matters. The electoral vote is what matters, and Romney got absolutely crushed there. Romney didn't really gain ground with any portion of the electorate except religious and uneducated white males. All the fastest growing voting blocks in this country are overwhelmingly siding with the Democrats.
The Conservative voters are not like the black voters who will accept being thrown under the bus.
Black voters obviously do not care about their unemployment numbers or the national debt and high taxes.
Conservative voters take their issues far more seriously. Never assume they're the same kind of blind partisan voters.
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