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Subscribe to RSSAlmost a month has passed since Mitt Romney’s defeat in the 2012 presidential election, but the finger pointing continues.
Some Republicans charge that Romney was a flawed candidate, while others insist the party’s image was a drag on the ticket.
The White House / Getty Images
Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shakes hands with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office November 29, 2012 in Washington, DC.
There’s the argument that the Romney campaign was outmaneuvered by the Obama effort, versus the belief that the country’s changing demographics ultimately doomed the former Massachusetts governor.
And then there’s the opinion of Romney chief strategist Stuart Stevens, who suggested that Republicans shouldn’t be pointing fingers at all.
But as the party begins looking ahead to the next presidential contest in 2016 and tries to learn from the lessons of November, the explanation for Romney’s loss is perhaps much simpler: all of the above.
“You win and lose as a team,” Republican Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, said in an interview on MSNBC last week. “We have to look at everything we do -- from logistics to turnout to technology to message to tone.”
The final result for the 2012 presidential election still isn't official, but the numbers keep flowing in day to day. The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd takes a deeper look at what the votes all mean with the Cook Political Report's David Wasserman.
Indeed, top Republican strategists interviewed for this article attribute Romney’s defeat to a combination of factors, including the candidate’s inability to better define himself, the Republican Party’s unpopularity, the country’s changing demographics and a campaign whose tactics seemed stuck in the 20th century.
Blaming the messenger and the message
There's an adage in American politics: Don't allow your opponent to define you before you define yourself.
But that's exactly what happened to Romney and his campaign, especially when it came to his business background.
Through television advertisements, its surrogates, and conference calls with reporters, the Obama camp and its allies portrayed Romney as an out-of-touch multi-millionaire who made his fortune, in part, by taking over companies that later laid off employees or cut their benefits.
One of the chief examples: “Mitt Romney made over $100 million by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives,” a man said in a TV ad by the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA Action. “Turns out that when we built that stage [to announce the company moves], it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick.”
Yet Romney’s campaign didn’t mount much of a defense -- particularly on the TV airwaves -- beyond arguing that such attacks smeared free enterprise. In fact, just a fraction of the ads aired by the Romney campaign and its allies portrayed the GOP candidate in a positive light.
The President continues to push taxes increases for those making more than $250,000 as part of his plan to raise $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years, but he suggested those tax rates could eventually be lowered. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.
“They did very, very little to prevent or defensively rebut the image Democrats put out there of Romney as the guy who laughed all the way to the bank with the mega-millions he made buying up companies and laying you/your dad/your brother off,” said one Republican consultant who requested anonymity to speak more candidly.
“There were voters there who should have voted for the Republican, but were never going to get behind Romney because of this perception. And that was predictable from the primary stage of the campaign."
What’s more, that perception of Romney was only reinforced by his infamous “47 percent” comment, the scrutiny over the release of his tax returns, and even his campaign's message, which seemed more targeted to entrepreneurs and business owners -- rather than teachers, firefighters or factory workers.
“We will champion small businesses, America’s engine of job growth,” Romney said at the Republican convention in Tampa, Fla. “That means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small business the most.”
What was the eventual result?
While the Romney campaign’s Stuart Stevens observes that exit polls showed the former Massachusetts governor winning a majority of voters from households earning $50,000 or more, Obama beat Romney by 10 points (53 percent to 43 percent) on the question of which candidate was more in touch with people like you.
In addition, 53 percent said Romney’s policies would favor the rich (versus just 10 percent who said the same about Obama). And the Republican candidate’s favorable/unfavorable score was 47 percent/50 percent (compared with Obama’s positive 53 percent/46 percent).
“At the end of the day, messenger and message matters in American politics,” said a Republican strategist who also requested anonymity.
Party crashing
But it wasn't just Romney who was unpopular; so was his party.
In one of the final NBC News/Wall Street Journal polls before the election, just 36 percent of registered voters said they had a positive opinion about the Republican Party, versus 43 percent who held a negative view.
By comparison, the Democratic Party’s favorable/unfavorable rating in that same late October NBC/WSJ poll was in positive territory, at 42 percent/40 percent.
In fact, the last time the GOP’s favorable/unfavorable rating wasn’t below water in the survey was back in Dec. 2010 – two years ago.
And during that time span, the party endured negative headlines involving its politicians and candidates. Consider:
- The GOP presidential candidates engaged in about 20 debates, with them often trying to prove who was more conservative on social issues, immigration, taxes and foreign policy
- In Feb. 2012, Virginia’s GOP-controlled General Assembly passed legislation requiring transvaginal ultrasounds for those wanting an abortion in the state.
- In August, Missouri Senate nominee Todd Akin explained his opposition to abortion in cases of rape, saying that pregnancies are rare. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
- And in October, about two weeks before Election Day, Indiana Senate nominee Richard Mourdock said this while justifying his opposition to abortion, even in the case of rape: “I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen." Both Akin and Mourdock lost their Senate contests.
What’s more, problems with the Republican Party’s brand go beyond what took place in the last two years. According to the exit polls from last month’s election, 53 percent of voters blamed George W. Bush more for the country’s current economic problems. Just 38 percent blamed Obama.
Then there’s the GOP’s problem with Latino voters. While Romney’s poor performance with that demographic has received plenty of attention -- he won just 27 percent of these voters -- the party as a whole isn’t faring much better.
In an October NBC/WSJ/Telemundo survey of Latino voters, only 22 percent held a positive view of the GOP (compared with 63 percent who did for the Democratic Party).
And by a 65 percent to 23 percent margin, Latino voters in that same poll said they preferred a Democratic-held Congress to a Republican-held one.
"The party has got to learn from this,” said GOP strategist Liz Mair. “We've now had two successive presidential elections and two midterms where the party's stance on issues that are important to Hispanics has hurt us in key areas."
And the GOP finds itself trailing on key issues – some of which are pillars of today’s Republican Party.
According to the exit polls from the election, a combined 59 percent of voters said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Sixty percent said that taxes should be increased either for all or for income above $250,000.
The good news for the GOP on the issues: A plurality of voters favored repealing some or all of the 2010 health care law, and a majority said the government is doing too many things that are better left to businesses and individuals.
Demography is destiny
Despite his inability to better define himself and despite his party’s unpopularity, Romney won white voters by a whopping 20 points, 59 percent to 39 percent -- higher than any presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
As Republican pollster Glen Bolger points out, Romney also won white women (by 14 points points) and independents (by 5 points), better than a victorious George W. Bush did in 2004.
But Romney still lost in last month’s election – and by a more decisive margin than Democrat John Kerry did in that ’04 election.
The reason for this: the country’s demographics have changed.
As the Obama campaign had long assumed, the white portion of the electorate this year dropped to 72 percent -- from 74 percent in 2008 and 77 percent in 2004 -- and the president won fewer than four in 10 of those voters.
Yet he carried a whopping 93 percent of black voters (representing 13 percent of the electorate), 71 percent of Latinos (representing 10 percent), and 73 percent of Asians (3 percent).
What’s more, despite all the predictions that youth turnout would be down, voters ages 18-29 made up 19 percent of the voting population -- up from 18 percent four years ago -- and Obama took 60 percent from that group.
“So, if you win the swing groups but lose the election, that means the Democrats have a clear home field advantage,” Bolger writes. “There are more Democrats.”
“That underscores that we have to do better as a party with Hispanics … It’s simple math, but it’s hard to do. We have to start today.”
Romney even acknowledged that reality at a closed-door fundraiser in April overheard by NBC News. "We have to get Hispanic voters to vote for our party," he said, warning back then that polling showing Latinos breaking in huge percentages for Obama "spells doom for us."
‘A late 20th century campaign’
The GOP also has to start today regaining a tactical advantage in presidential campaigns, Republicans say.
Whether it was its advertising, its polling or its get-out-the-vote effort, the Romney campaign paled in comparison to the Obama juggernaut.
"The Republicans basically ran a late 20th century campaign," said one advertising expert.
A case in point was ad buying. Even though the Romney campaign and GOP outside groups outspent the Obama camp and its allies in ad dollars, the Obama campaign still was able to run more advertising spots.
That was possible in part because the Obama camp bought its ads in advance -- often at a discount rate -- while the Romney effort was buying them the week before and not getting the discount.
For instance, in the last week of the election, a single advertising spot on the 5:00 p.m. local news in Raleigh, N.C., cost the Obama campaign $550 (because it was purchased in advance), while a spot on the same program cost the Romney camp $2,665 (because it was bought the week of).
So the Romney campaign here paid four times as much for the same programming slot, a practice which in the long run negated any kind of financial advantage it enjoyed.
Another example was the placement of those TV ads. One of the contributing factors why Romney lost big among Latino voters was that the Obama campaign outspent the Romney camp on Spanish-language TV by nearly 2-to-1 (and the margin was even greater during the summer).
And finally, there's the reality that the Obama campaign's ground game was more sophisticated than the one from the Republican Party.
“Future discussions about voter contact need to fit the times,” said Republican political consultant Phil Musser, who worked on Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign and Tim Pawlenty’s 2012 primary effort.
“Traditional door knocks and robo-calls are important, but are not what major donors want to hear about,” he added, referring to constant GOP references about the number of doors volunteers had knocked during the campaign. “They want to hear that our strategies reflect the more comprehensive, bottom-up, digital approach that the Obama campaign clearly excelled at.”
Of course, one of the big reasons for the Obama campaign's tactical advantage was its head start -- incumbents (especially those who don't face a primary challenge) simply have more time to prepare for the general election.
"Having four years to plan for an election is incredibly beneficial," said a Republican strategist who worked on the Romney campaign.
Leave a Comment:
Moderation in everything... that's why the RWNJs' takeover has pushed the GOP into DANGER Zone. The feigned outrage of the Tea Nuts has hurt the GOP. The same old bigotry against various minorities has destroyed GOP's credibility.
GOP's war on women has hurt women's rights, and hurt GOP even more. Women voted overwhelmingly for Pres. O.
Mitt Romney's call for 'self-deportation' led to 71% support of Obama among Latinos..the largest minority group now, and the fastest growing minority group in the US.
GOP's Christian Evangelicals have demonstrated that religious fundamentalism is still a serious threat to all Americans
P.S.: GOP's money advantage didn't buy elections...the GOP lost big in 2012, not only the White House, but also more seats in Congress...the beginning of the end of GOP majority in the House. Speaker Boner is officially the Worst Speaker of the House.
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GOP should learn a lesson, and stop hurting the feelings of We the People, especially various groups of minorities. Akin's rape remark, for example.
Finger pointing and the blame game aside... they still refuse to acknowledge the ONLY ones to blame for their ass-whoping are themselves! lol
The RWNJ's are still stuck in denial & anger, although some are slowly moving onto the bargaining phase of grief!
The sooner they move onto acceptence, the better off this country will be...
I find it VERY interesting that Mitt wound up with 47% of the vote. That little number is going to haunt him forever.
It's probably going to take them that long to figure out what kind of a party they are going to be and will they truly kick the tea baggers out the door.
Well, this explains the reporting on this site:
President Barack Obama met with several MSNBC hosts this afternoon at the White House to discuss tax rates, according to Huffington Post reporter Jennifer Bendery. The reporter wondered if an "MSNBC love fest" was going on at the White House.
"So... in the last hour, I watched Rachel Maddow, Al Sharpton and Lawrence O'Donnell all walk into the West Wing. MSNBC love fest?"
Layton, I call it divine intervention! Yes, that number will, and should, haunt that man forever. It is no wonder he has gone back into the protected arms of the private sector where he can continue to rape this country.
So, WCA, what's your point? Everyone knows that MSNBC is left leaning, while Fox is extremely conservative. I don't think it is lost on anyone that watches that news channel, that Rachel, the Rev, and Lawrence are big supporters of president Obama. At least when any of the three are on they provide statistics and facts to support their analysis of the day's events or a subject they feel important to be talked about.
AlaskaGirl ....
I'm a HUGE Maddow fan. That woman can break down an issue and support it with all kinds of facts. I must admit the only time I watch Fox is when there are snippets posted here and there on the vine. It just makes my skin crawl!
WCA - are you just pissed that Fox wasn't invited?
Yet, you can't get enough of it... lol
Day in and day out, you're here pissing yourself about MSNBC being left-leaning!
Sane people don't continue to visit someplace which brings them so much discomfort, you on the otherhand "get off" on it!
Me too, Layton!
Huge Maddow fan as well! I do not miss her show. She has some of the very best people on for interviews, and she is very savvy when it comes to politics. Now, Fox on the other hand, which I will admit that I watched sporadically during the election season, but would have to change the channel after about 10 minutes of my jaw dropping in amazement at the lies and things any of them would say. I didn't notice in this article, and it probably would not be appropriate for them to say so, but I really believe that Fox did a great job in highlighting the crazy base of the right wing, thus turning moderate Republicans away from their party, and many Independents turned around and ran like crazy in the other direction!
Feisty, WCA is one who says he comes on here to get a rise out of us lefties. What he doesn't understand is that the only rise is the one in his pants.
Hey, Layton-3733410 and Feisty Red,
U both a huge MadCow fan? OK. Me two.
.
Beef up!
AlaskaGirl ..
But only with those happy little blue pills . . . .
Lots of reasons for why they lost, but hey Clint Eastwood was a big help!, Ha that was as funny as a turd in the punchbowl, right there on prime time TV, the night Romney gets the nod, Eastwood causes everybody watching to nod off, or just stare in horror at whatever that was supposed to be, that will be political convention classic for the rest of time. That made my day Clint, but I think it gave Ann Romney the Rawhide.
I first joined Newsvine because of the Rachel Maddow show.
It was later that I discovered First Read and found you all!
If I watched Fox I would have to put a piece of Lexan in front of the TV so I did not throw a shoe through the screen.
How about both of those being to blame? Sounds about right to me.
Can 2012 elections teach the GOPigs a lesson?
Can people actually change GOPigs? When you try to train a pig, it wastes your time, and aggravates the pig.
Forrest,
"Ha that was as funny as a turd in the punchbowl,"
LOL.... I will now be ready to begin using great Holiday figures of speech thru December.
Yours is a winner.
Layton:
But only with those happy little blue pills . . . .
That we are probably paying for!
WCA,
Aren't you going to source what I assume is a quote?
Well Northstar that's kind of how people were staring at Eastwood, they were shocked, disgusted, disappointed and dismayed. Ooooh what is that?
tonybeerm .... LOVE the new avatar!
Da Noid, I believe WCA was quoting a Huff Post reporter.
Northstar,
One more reason to totally ♥ Rachel!
Feisty . . .
AMEN! :-)
Right On, Sista!
The GOP gave Obama an early Christmas present by having Mitwit run against him. He lost because he is an A-hole and a freak that belongs to a cult. I could have had my dog run and win,GOP,,,what the hell were you thinking ???
Rachel is the best! Very intelligent, very logical. And fair, though the RWNJs would never admit it. She's not above criticizing the President, which is good. Her shows are balanced.
But how either of you can watch Fox for more than one second is beyond my understanding. I would be throwing the nearest object at the TV!
The blame should be McConnell's agenda started the first day of this presidency. It would please me if he were held accountable soley.
McConnell and those that own him, threw what little honor they had, away.
That is the root, and it is STILL, being manifested. Quite pathetic to have witnessed it all these years.
At the least, hope McConnell is in future history books the following: Most unhonorable american to ever walk her soil. Also the biggest reason the republican party went the way of dog @!$%#.
Same here, Jack!
Two minutes of NewsforDumbFux and my blood pressure is through the roof!
It's just not healthy... lol
Kudos to those who can stomach that @!$%#...
Why did the republicans lose? Well, it's because they say that:
1) Only very wealthy people should have rights; no one else should.
2) Only white, male straights should have rights; no one else should.
3) Only bible-appeasers should have rights; no one else should.
4) Only very wealthy, male, straight bible-appears should have rights; no one else should.
And republicans think they can win on that? In America?
They got four long years to figure it out. ;)
Let's see how smug you people are when reality of what you've done by re-electing Obama sets in.. Just a quick reality check.. Just since the election, Obama has fired 20,000 Marines. Obama has promised $6 Billion to Muslim Groups developing "Green Energy In Asia". Anyone worried about our undeveloped energy sources here and oil dependency to the Middle East.. Obviously Obama isn't too worried. Over 120,000 jobs lost in Ohio just since the election. And this is just the beginning. Don't forget the National Debt is over 16+ Trillion; of which 7+ Trillion is directly related to Obama's 1st term and he plans to add $1 Trillion per year over the next four years to the national debt.. YEAH... This is really the "FORWARD" this nation needs....
The GOP will never accept the fact Romney showed us who he is! "The candidate's inability to better define himself" I thought that he had no problem showing us who he is. They may want to find someone that has better morals, not a coward, and definitely has a set of values that he sticks with. Flipper will never be anything more than a corporate raider, able to lie and steal his way to success.
I can't stand Hannity but I can sometimes take O'Reilly in very small doses. I watch FOX occasionally because my Dad always told me to never enter a battle unarmed. Of course, he was talking about verbal battles. It's helpful to know what riles them up. It is usually crazy but it helps sometimes.
No it doesn't.
Republicans are in denial it seems about everything!
What it means is that even Republicans voted for President Obama.
How does the GOP think they can run the country, when they can't even tell the truth!
Mitt was a flawed candidate? Oh gee, now there's a news flash! But what could the GOP expect? Look at the collection of misfits they collected to compete for the nomination - Romney was probably the least objectionable.
Could the GOP's "image" be a problem? Well, I make a Pavlovian association with angry old white guys whenever I hear GOP - you decide....
MadCow, Rachel is my favorite too...pun intended..
hey, My Fellow Ribs (libs? - pun too?) ..don't be too serious...relaxation and fun attitude helps digestion after dinner?
BTW, one month is not enough to turn around for the GOP which has been on wrong track since 1921? Warren Harding died from food indigestion when it became really hard to stomach the wrong policies that led to the Great Depression near the end of the decade.
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Hannity is scary..he hannitizes everything --- committing ethical cleansing..brain-washing?
MSNBC is still whining about Romney and the Newsvine Libs are all over it like flies on dung.
I have one name for you: Ron Paul.
They fought and spurned him every step of the way and he is the only guy who could have actually challanged the president. The one guy who brought in energetic young supporters is the only guy they bent over backwards to stop.
Once Paul lost the nomination, a large percentage of his supporters went on to vote for Gary Johnson or another candidate or to no one.
Heres the thing though: In many locations, Romney lost to Obama by less than the number of votes given to Gary Johnson and other third party candidates.
Paul supporters did not have the numbers to outright win, but they damned sure had enough to make sure Rmoney lost. Heck, many people in his own party only voted for Romney because he wasnt Obama; Ron Paul is the only one who actually attracted supporters from both sides.
The rank and file republicans would have voted for Paul had he gotten the nomination, it doesnt work the other way around with Paul supporters voting for Romney.
Suggestion to republicans. Stop representing the top 2% and then saying you don't care about the 47%. Be honest and stop telling lies and you might see a change? Also, stop letting the extreme right run ads. that are so full of lies that they make your whole party look extreme? Get FOX off your case as people no longer believe Murdock's rag!
TO: mike277 who wrote:
They had four years last time to "figure it out", but they still came out being stuck in the past. I believe Romney thought that it would be pretty easy to beat President Obama because Romney is white, and President Obama is black, or as some like to call him "Halfrican-American". That's old time racist thinking, which is probably why Romney's Team basically only polled whites.
In the end, Romney's own team hurt Romney the worst, by telling him repeatedly that he was ahead in the polls and that he was going to win, when they had their information all wrong.
The pub I go to because they have the greatest 1/2 pound hamburgers usually has one of its TVs on the Fox News channel. I watched the Foxies try to discredit Bob Costas in regard to his comments about gun control. What a bunch of ninnies.
Fairleigh Dickinson University had it right: people who watch Fox News exclusively are less well-informed than people who don't watch any cable news at all.
Jack in Portsmouth,
Enjoy the lies and court cases ahead for Murdock and his lying piece of crap called FOX.
Jack in Portsmouth,
Enjoy the lies and court cases ahead for Murdock and his lying piece of crap called FOX.
Hey, Chris-766055
He is the wrong pal for you. Even if he is really a good fit, he is ...well...a geezer gang...too old to save you.
the mainstream old guard Republican party does not represent the viewpoint of conservative Republicans like myself....President Obama does not appeal to conservatives, he distains our idealogy as we do his. By the way, MSNBC seems to be stuck on this subject...as all you Democrats have said...let's move FORWARD which strangely enough is similar to the tag line for NBC News (lean forward)...gee, go figure.
Republicans have a "one size fits all" mentality.
They think that, for example, if Republicans don't want to have an abortion, then no one should be allowed.
That, to me, is the mind of a dictator.
This is a "free country"! To each, his own! Not, "If I can't do that neither can you."
Ronzwyf
Umm... could you, I don't know, provide some PROOF of what you are saying? Or am I going to called a libtard (or whatever you would say) for asking you to provide facts that back up your arguments?
Pigotry
Could you PLEASE stop acting like a idiot? There's disagreeing with a group of people on ideology, and then there's HATING a group of people because they believe something other than what you do. And you are exceptionally close to being under that "hate" category.
Yes, Ron Paul would be something like 86 if he was elected and if he served one term 90 if two. No way. You republicans are so out of touch with reality.
Yes, Ron Paul would be something like 86 if he was elected and if he served one term 90 if two. No way. You republicans are so out of touch with reality.
Right, because it had nothing to do with your demonization of anything that isn't white, male, straight and Christian. It wasn't a political problem, it was an ideological one.
thanks, Layton. Actually, I used that one last Christmas and in fact, the Abominable Snowman character from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer is on in about 10 minutes on CBS. A classic with Burl Ives narrating and singing "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!"
I could have sworn the topic was why the Republicans got a smack down during this election. Now here's the real interesting part; "top Republican strategists interviewed for this article attribute Romney’s defeat to a combination of factors, including the candidate’s inability to better define himself, the Republican Party’s unpopularity, the country’s changing demographics and a campaign whose tactics seemed stuck in the 20th century." They probably should have included policies stuck in the 16th century.
In short, the Republicans offered nothing. So what are the Republicans offering up to correct...same sh!t...different day!
So how do you think 2014 will go? Suppose the demographics will improve for you?
The Republicans can strategize on how to win an election, but nothing changes the fact that they are in the minority of the US citizenship. They will win elections when they succesfully redistrict strongholds, inhibit voting rights of non-republicans, or cheat/steal elections, or create enough fear to sway weaker voters their way.
As long as they hold to their strong-held beliefs and principles, their popularity will not change - but America beware - what they will do is develop even more strategies based on Bernays principles and funded through superpacks and the Koch brothers that will mislead hundreds of thousands more than they already do.
TonyBeerm,
That special creeps me out. It's creepy.
The Repubs are looking in all the wrong places to place blame. There is only one place for the answers that they are looking for - it's in front of their faces and they still do not see it: try a mirror Repubs! Not to preen, but to look into your own eyes as you ask questions about the relationship between your basic beliefs and being off the Deep End.
Also, trust has to be earned. All these shallow excuses cause me to wonder if the Repub Party really did sell its soul and character. Anyone trust that a Repub means anything he/she says to get elected and how can you trust them to be for "JobsJobs!" but pull the old bait and switch by tearing into social issues the minute they get into state legislatures?
I will not vote for a Republican again for any office in my lifetime. They all walk lockstep and put party over country.
TO: juanita dominguez who wrote:
"The mainstream old guard Republican Party" are the only Republicans that are acceptable in today's society because they're the only Republicans who seem to have at least "some" sense, but they're horrible liars.
Just because someone is a "RWNJ" and identifies with the Republican Party, does NOT make that person "a conservative" UNLESS you're talking about "social conservatives" commonly known as "racists".
all the hand wringings and monday morning quarterbacking is useless until the repugs can face these facts, you must get rid of the loony tea baggers, they hurt you with rational thinking americans. you must stop thinking you're better, because your skin might be a lighter hue. WOMEN VOTE. they also think for themselves and want to control their bodies, old white men have no voice with this issue.
gingerly dip your toe into the 21st century, you are woefully behind and out of touch. it is not 1950.
do what the president wants, he has the american people's back and we have his.you're going to look stupid and you're still going to lose.
When your party is being run by unelected people who's first desire is to acquire more power and wealth, what do people think will happen eventually?
The average American isn't that bright, but enough information is made available that people who are historically distrustful of megawealth and corporations become even more distrustful of who is representing those entities.
Ultimately Romney's Presidential campaign started during the primaries. He defined himself as the "super conservative religious businessman out to cut welfare to make the rich more money" and that is exactly what the Dems took and ran with. The GOP's first and foremost mistake was assuming swing voters and moderates don't watch primaries the same as they watch elections.
As for who "might of won", Olympia Snow, end of story.
Good analogy. They also have a "i'll follow along even if it's wrong" mentality as well. A Republican leader could say "the sky is pink" even though it's blue and the conservative flock of sheep would agree just to show unity.
What messed up his campaign is he lied like some of the years never happened. Its like they acted like people only watch Fox News. Some of the lies were so bold and he flipped flopped so much my mouth had to drop a few times. The debates it was like a different person, he did a 360 and on the last one I knew he was only helping big oil. He talked about the other countries and I realize he isn't for big business he's only for oil business.
He didn't seem to care people travel overseas for business. He didn't care during the Bush years when you went overseas it was very dangerous to admit being American. I could see it happening all over again if he got into office. Most Repubs that knew what was going on had to secretly vote Obama.
News Flash! Captain of Titanic:" We must be more orderly in manning the lifeboats. We just didn't abandon ship properly." Ah...there's the problem.
ninnafaye
Love that line. I'm just glad I wasn't eating or drinking anything at the time I read it or I would have had a "spit take". Really sums up the Republican thinking, doesn't it?
More thoughts to republicans. You are just a party of losers who are still coming up with excuses to the fact you tried to lie to the American public, had no specifics other than Mitt saying, " I will create 12,000,000 jobs. People don't like being told that they aren't cared about either and then Mitt's campaign aide saying, "We got the votes that counted!" LOSER talk!
@whitecollarauto - people who come to news sites they don't like to moan and whine about not liking the sites they don't like are very stupid people.
Nonetheless, it's good to see devotion. Iit's good to see someone so devoted to increasing America's income/asset inequality till we resemble Mexico that he is willing to demonstrate that stupidity for all to see.
jdmb03 . . .
The article above is about the Republican party switching gears and distancing themselves from Romney and the campaign. Reading comprehension not your strong suit, eh?
(Sorry for creeping you out Sarah, but I love Rudolph the original! ;-) )
Or they could stop fielding idiots. Their choice.
hey, Total at #1.66 ... you mean those 'total' idiots from Tea Pot you happen to have drunk from.
Everyone is saying the same thing:
They miss calculated the number of white democrats.
Only votes count, there is no IQ or legal test. Walmart will always wins.
99% vote for their back pocket.
They will NEVER figure it out because they keep blaming others for their own failings.
This story was hilarious; a gem was "just 36 percent of registered voters said they had a positive opinion about the Republican Party, versus 43 percent who held a negative view." I wonder what those figures are going to be after the Tea Party infested House takes us for a barrel ride over the financial falls..... whee.....
Then we find that even though M.T. Suit and his business "experts" had piled up all this cash, they were paying retail for ads while the "people that didn't know anything about the economy" outplayed them there as well.
Well, gotta go put in my earplugs to quiet the din as the GOP circular firing squad continues to misfire.
Layton, I also love the original Rudolph! I still watch it every year! I also watch "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" with the voice of Mickey Rooney as SC. Love it! I put a reminder on my t.v so I won't miss Rudolph tonight! I really am just a big kid when it comes to old Christmas animated classics! My 23 year old daughter laughs and shakes her head!
Hey Jack! I only watched Fox a very little bit. I wanted to be real clear as to where all the nut bags were getting some of their hate and their misguided, not to mention lies, from. I had heard Fox was bad, but I needed to see it for myself. I actually switched right over to Fox from MSNBC when the election was called right as Karl Rove was looking completely perplexed as to what he was witnessing! That was priceless!
As long as the GOP folks keep playing the game of divisionism and the "Angry old white guy" card, they will never win again, that I'll bet my ass on it.
As long as the GOP keeps playing the' Superior race card", they aint fooling folks with that crap....
Hillary Clinton, if she decides to run, I am willing to bet my ass again that she will be the next president of the United States, for 2 terms btw.
So where does that leave the GOP? Somewhere between Mississippi and Texas...Speaking of Texas, by 2020, that good ol state of mine will all be BLUE....Texans are becoming smarter by the minute folks...lol, unlike them other RED states...God have mercy of em
These are different times folks, it aint the 1960s
This is the America Abraham Lincoln was talking about, he was smart enough to forsee that sh*t was never gonna be the same; cant say that about the GOP of the 21st century!!!
Really?? They learned that they need to run campaigns differently?? You have to be kidding me. I am a Republican, and the campaign would be simple if they would simply do and vote for what is best for the American people. Not what is best to protect the filthy rich and the lobbyists. Change the way you work for the people. How many politicians work a 40 hour, even a 30 hour week?? Absolutely ZERO! This goes for both parties. Do your job for the people who elected you. Stop putting out ultimatums and compromise. You cannot have it your way all the time. All of you are worse than a group of school kids at recess. Run the country, NOT into the ground.
id have some respect for the republicans if they just admitted to the rich look we cant get elected if we just represent you.the best advertising,lies and deceite arent fooling enough people.enough people know now when we say we want to cut entitlements were saying we want to cut social security and medicare.when we say were against tax increases were only talking about tax increases for the rich.republicans want to become revelant again,cut the military not social security.represent the middle class not just the rich.were watching.some far were not seeing anything from you
Here's a tip for the Republicans.
"It's the middle class, stupid!"
Start representing "THE PEOPLE" and stop being the paid lapdogs of corporations and billionaires. I'm a private sector union member who is watching as 50 million dollar a year CEO's of profitable corporations try to steal pension fund money, outsource American jobs, and take away other important benefits from middle class workers.
Seems to me the end result of this type of system is that there will be a few hundred people who are billionaires presiding over a serfdom of 300 million minimum wage, no benefit workers.
The Republicans dont seem to have a problem with any of this. As a matter of fact, to them it's just good ole Ayn Rand capitalism.
By 2020, all of America's Baby Boomers will be retirees. This huge-in-number demographic -- living on a fixed income like Social Security and in need of more public sector health care -- will have even less in common with the conservative GOP Tea Party culture than ever before. They'll still remember that the right-wing wanted to take away their jobs, impose right-wing Christian beliefs into their lives, and do away with their senior citizens' safety nets. And how they vote at the ballot box in the foreseeable future will surely turn the GOP into a much smaller political party in the U.S.
It's nothing but a circle jerk here. You still don't get it.
In order to make a difference, the Republican party has to begin by getting the impact of organized religion out of their politics. They are always into damning any that don't buy their fantasy, wanting women "in their place", prayer in school, no women's rights, shun most black people, shun most brown people, shun most yellow people, shun Gay people, shun lesbians, and all other religions and basically make a pain in the ass out of their hypocritical hollyness.
From there they have to consider this is a democracy and not a theocracy.
Republicans need to get people educated in math if they are to be their economic advisers. They cannot have guys that run show horse enterprises as FEEMA managers.
Their canditates need to be likeable people that like people. Their people running elections have to get with what democracy is about.
Rush Limbaugh has to be gagged and FOX News should hire educated people or at least some that have been around in the real world and refuse to lie everytime they open their mouths.
Once they have all that taken care of, they should all resign and make room for a third party.
AlaskaGirl ....
Me as well! No wonder we're Vine friends!
Sorry for the detour posters ... but hey, Christmas comes but once a year and GOP BS seems to come daily as of late . . . .
P.S.
RedheadRanting ...
Your posts are always so typical, they define you as a bottom-feeder with nothing of merit to offer a conversation.
Maybe, the Party of Divine Rape is simply bankrupt of ideas.
Learning from Romney's Loss---that is what the Republican party chirped about after Sen. John McCain's loss in the Presidential Election, 2008/9.
The GOP had a very small pool of Leaders to sell to the American Public--bad. They have to make a 360 degree turn, and accept Abortion as part of their Platform---Women's rights- not addressed by Romney at all. The GOP needs Strategy the next time. I'm not sure they "get it" on how to win anymore--very disappointing, because they do not want to Change--Stubborn.
Romney lost because he did not appeal to the Minority Vote. Never did I see him with a Black Person, a Jew, or show interest in Hispanics. He could have turned the Economy around, but a President needs more than just a Business Degree.
Here we are with President Obama. A good Politician, but just cannot get the Country to move on his Issues---his Handouts is what appealed to the Average Voter. Wrong---This is a Capitalistic Country based on the US Constitution. People have to get back to work, even if it is for their own sense of pride, support themselves, taking responsibility. Where is the Self Esteem that people need. How about a work Ethic? There are jobs out there--be creative.
The general Taxpayer is very tired of supporting a Majority of People--If the Fiscal Issue goes through in Obama's favor, watch the Economy slide even more, less jobs, less small businesses, less everything because EVERYONE will be overtaxed; having less disposable income. A Depression may be looming in the future.
If you think this Country is in bad shape, just wait. Meanwhile Romney blew it big time--he was afraid of being a Bold Leader, and directly confronting issues when they were happening like Benghazi--"America the Beautiful". "America the Poor".
We cannot lose our right to all the Freedoms this Country Offers. In the meantime, Romney is lucky to have a life outside being President. Most would not be able to survive.
Nice avatar, Layton! Yes, I would agree! I would also agree with your (had me laughing) description of RedheadRanting!
Have a good evening. It is off to shopping I go! Home in time for Rudolph!
Ronzwyf . . . .
Cite a source other than a bodily part. Good grief! Give it up already! Facts and truth prevail over your dire little basement predictions.
P.S.
Thanks AlaskaGirl! Enjoy your shopping! (I personally hate it and do most online or ask my shopping daughter to do it for me!)
Lord, Lord, how subject we old men are to this vice of lying! ~William Shakespeare
After what these so called Republicans Party Leaders did to Ron Paul and the other Libertarian Members prior to and at the Convention, they might as well get used to being the Party of Not....As in Not Getting Elected!
Romney lost because of the fact that most Libertarians and true Conservatives stayed home! Better the Devil you know than one picked by Shenanigans and Charlatans in a smokey back room on Wall Street!
Not that the Democrats are any less corrupt! Both are the same, controlled by the same!
Impeach Obama in 2012 and Prosecute Hillary Clinton for the Criminal Conspiracy to Cover Up the Murder of a US Ambassador, their Secret CIA Prisons, and their Secret Aid to AL Qaeda in Benghazi-Gate & Syria!
Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both.~John F. Kennedy
REPUBLICANS! Realize that your party, my old party, has become a pile of crap!
american girl: "...social conservatives commonly known as racists"...upon what documentation and/or other proof do you have to support this allegation?
I agree with Redhead Ranting... One BIG partisan hack circle jerk... from the same 10 or so people...no real discussion just name calling and hatred and bickering like little kiddies.
Same thing they did ALL YEAR... understanding little about the TWO party system.
Partisan show stopping sensationalized crap is what is mostly posted here....by NBC and the partisan hack people who think politics is just complaining about the OTHER party.
This article is just to bash the republican party by the VERY LIBERALLY BIASED and complete infotainment tabloid... NBC.
The article has very little political value other then to incite poor behavior and be completely ONE SIDED REPORTING... and it has worked.
Here i thought it might be a good discussion going on and once again the same 10 or so liberal posters trash it out with name calling, sound bites, poor facts, if any, and the same ol' rhetoric.
Sounds like Redhead Ranting is correct...One BIG partisan hack circle jerk.
The GOP still doesn't get it. It's not about strategy, or running a late 20th century campaign in the social media age, it's simply that they are out of touch with such a huge percentage of the American voters. Even many of those who agree with the Republican message on fiscal conservatism were aghast at the parade of Christian Taliban candidates during the primaries, and the 11th century discussion of women's reproductive rights.
Even Romney, who deep down is really a moderate, had to play that "extreme conservative" game just to get the nomination, and then as he tried to move more toward the center during the general election campaign, he came across as phony and insincere -- even to those (like me) who might otherwise have been inclined to support him.
The GOP has got an awful lot to learn, and it's not about strategy and tactics -- it's about principles that resonate with more voters than just the wealthy elites and the religious fanatics.
MYW,
You need a dose of reality fella or mam!!!!!!!!!!!
DON'T FRET CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS. Our hope comes not from the man we put in the White House...our hope comes from the man we put on the Cross.
Shosyn.
And when we go to FOX what do we get article after article, report after report, news cast after news case, interview after interview? Nothing, but propaganda from FOX. Lies and conservative, close to NAZI like in its level of extremism from Murdocks rag!
The Republicans lost because they've let the nutjobs take over the party. Any Republican with an ounce of sense winds up being called a RINO and ostracized.
If the Republican Party ever wants to be relevant again, they need to stop listening to Rush, Fox, and that idiot with the tax pledge.
Shosyn ....
What exactly about the article above is making you so nervous? Liberally biased??? There were contributors ...
So they decided to remain anonymous. But you seriously feel the article above was biased? It's about the GOP shaking themselves down and trying to get a good footing for the next elections. What pray tell should we read that isn't as "biased" as you seem to think this is?
Having the GOP shake themselves up is a GOOD thing for this country. By doing so, they might be able to contribute the next go round. Right now, it's like a ship of fools.
Liberal spin ignores the real reason Romney lost:
He rejected the support of Ron Paul and Sarah Palin and therefore their contingent of votes.
Romney had Obama on the ropes in debate one and voter enthusiasm started rising, debate two the moderator was allowed to get away with lying and debate three Romney completely let Obama off the hook on Benghazi. Dull and boring.
He should have had Gingrich prepping him and he would have won.
After nearly 4 years of Republican obstructionism and constantly hearing those on the far right saying "Obama is TOAST, he's going to lose in a landslide!", this win was SOOOOO completely gratifying. Big thumbs up for the American people.
When they say they have to change that's Republican speak for "We have to do a better job covering up our lies".
The Republican Party cannot be trusted, today, next week or ever again; they lie about EVERYTHING and don't give a damn about the American people.
You just don't get it, do you? And, actually, that's a large part of the problem!
Just once, let me spell it out: WE REJECT YOUR PLATFORM! IT IS WRONG! IT DOESN"T WORK! IT HAS BEEN PROVEN NOT TO WORK IN THE WORST RECESSION SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION! TRY AGAIN!
But, no, I don't expect you to listen. It will take at least 3 more failures to convince you. Well, bring it on! I am in no way finished punishing the Republican party for putting those @!$%#s Bush and Cheney in the White House!
Anyone who has decent enough eyes should have been able to see how the republicans were screwing up, and how they mostly all ways screw up. Because of what many republicans believe, they will never agree with the fact republicans need to learn how to talk to ALL of America, not just white America.
Here's my observations of the campaign trail before the election, and please, open your eyes, it's a very logical point I'm about to make.
At the Romney campaign stops, all you need do is look at the faces on the stages behind him, than pan out into the audience and look again, what do you see? What you see is 99.9% white faces. Now, on the other hand, look at the faces on the stages behind President Obama, than pan out into the audience and look again, what do you see now? What you see now is a cross section of ALL Americans, in President Obama's audience, you see Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, etc....
Get my point?
LOL Your moniker reminds me of the acronym... GOWR!!
I like that photo, it's like President Obama saying...hey Mitt, finally made it to the Oval Office, huh?!!
Thanks clwyd-2621393 I didn't know that One Line TROLLS cared!
Psst speaking of Hillary Clinton.....
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry some days. But I really have worked hard to put a lot of the anger and disappointment in the past. ~Monica Lewinsky
I did not have sexual relations with that woman~William J Clinton....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBe_guezGGc
Just imagine how much more appealing the Republican Party would be if they simply fact-checked their ideological assumptions against the framework of real-world, human history. Not against their own misleading, marketed narratives that convince them to vote against their own interests, nor based on their own subjective, emotion-based,"patriotic" hyperbole, or their communicated propaganda of fear imagery; rather, they should fact-check themselves against measurable, quantifiable, social and economic trends and patterns.
But considering how historically-revisionist and how "anti-science" and "anti-public-education" their religion-dependent party has become, I don't expect any internally-motivated, constructive changes to improve their lot, any time soon.
Thus, in the long interim, they are dooming themselves and their leadership into embarrassing irrelevance.
So basically prior to the 2014 elections the GOP has to:
1) Rebrand itself
2) Moderate it's strident, ultra-conservative platform
3) Muzzle it's radical TeaParty wingnuts
4) Suppress it's religious loons
5) Stop it's anti-government, anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-middle class rhetoric
4) Become a "friend" (or at least look like one) to the "little guy" as well as -
Blacks,
Hispanics,
Moderates,
Independents,
the Middle Class,
Women,
20-somethings,
College Students,
the working class,
The blue color worker
Lower income seniors
The disabled
and Veterans
HA! Like this is going to happen! If the wacking they just got in the 2012 election and their continued obstructionist behavior is any indication it's very likely the neo-cons will also lose their majority in the House in 2014.
Sucks to be them!
The problem is you can't get out of their primary without being a racist, misogynist, religious nut-bag and if you do win the primary by being a racist, misogynist, religious nut-bag you can't win the election.
The Obama campaign did not use robo-calling at all to my knowledge, certainly not in my area. We called thousands of voters every week in this county. We were told repeatedly by our field organizers that face-to-face, door-to-door canvassing was the most effective form of voter contact, and we did that for weeks on end. It was hard and sometimes frustrating work, but it paid off.
Republicans did very little of that here. While we were out registering voters all the way back in January, the Romney campaign had almost no visible voter outreach. Maybe they thought they didn't need to bother with a reliably red county.
To their apparent surprise they lost the election. What lessons, if any, is the GOP willing to take away from their defeat?
Zardoz ... great summary ... and yep, they do need to do EXACTLY that.
Agreed. I hope they all grow some of listen to the amazing women in their party ... whoops ... who are they (Ayotte - NOT! She cries everytime she talks) ... any way ... I do hope they can reconvene and become a party that cares about this nation.
The GOP allowed themselves to be hijacked by the extremists: Tea Baggers, misogynists, religious zealots and fundies, robber barons and plutocrats, white supremacists, immigrant-haters... they all found a home within the Republican party. But the Fox News sheeple and the Rush Limbots were deluded into thinking they were the majority of "true" Americans, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. The Archie Bunkers were still living in the 1950's. On Nov. 6th, 21st century reality splashed cold water in their fat faces. This ain't their grand-daddy's Norman Rockwell America any more. The USA is going from vanilla to mocha, and they better acquire a taste for it, cuz it's gonna get even darker.
Thanks, ozzy1957, for demonstrating why the Republican party lost in 2008, and again in 2012 and likely will not be a contending force in 2016. The majority of them are ignorant, simple minded, gullible, arrogant, intolerant fools who think like you.
Three Lessons:
1. Hide your plutocrats. Nominating Romney betrayed the GOP as the party of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and most of all, for the billionaires. They need somebody who can at least pretend to be down to earth and relatable. They also need to do a better job of hiding their donors. When the public knows the party is being bankrolled and run by the Kochs and Adelsons of the country, that doesn't reflect well on the party or give the impression that they care about anybody without at least a nine digit bank account (preferably offshore).
2. The Republican party doesn't have a demographics problem; it has multiple demographics problems that have painted it into a corner. It is losing ground with non-whites, women, and young people, and it is hard to see how they fix that without alienating a big part of their base. They can trace most of their damaged brand to the religious right. They can't break with the religious right without losing their base and their dominance in the South, and abandoning the national political scene for a decade while they reform themselves. On the other hand, they might embrace them, but in a more ecumenical, compasionate manner, hoping to gain ground with religious minorities and women, though even that would strain relationships with the most conservative evangelicals and it would also serve to further alienate their standing with the ever increasing irreligious demographic, putting American youth ever further out of reach and also likely losing the truly libertarian wing of the party.
3. The GOP needs to start over on foreign policy. The neo-con approach is dead in the water, but the party cannot get away with just pretending that the rest of the world doesn't exist either. They need a cogent philosophy on the world and the United States' place in it that doesn't amount to "bomb everybody (except Israel)" or the opposite libertarian extreme of "build a fence to keep everybody out and let the rest of the world take care of itself". Foreign policy is an important topic when it comes to selecting a president, and the Republicans today have no meaningful voice at all on it.
The real problem the repubs have is that they don't understand the nature of the "game." Beginning in Kindergarten when the teacher tells the little mush brains to "put all your pencils and crayons into the the communal tub for all to share," the beginning of the end of the American dream has begun. Unfortunately, the parents aren't informed of this brainwashing. If they were, they'd march down to the school and in front of the entire class, they'd ask the teacher to share her wages and wealth with everyone in the class. Of course you'd hear protests, but that would be the beginning of the correct education of the kiddies. Whenever anyone asks or demands that you share what you have, just demand that they do the same. Let's face it, you look at Obama's plan and what all his supporters here say, and it's that "THEY" should pay more. I haven't heard anyone here say "I" should pay more. To let you know, I'm a really compassionate person. Therefor, for all you libs, I want you to know that I am available to share your wealth with you. Contact me and I will let you know how to send me money. I figure if this doesn't work then my next step is to say I'm the government and will see if that will get you to part with more of your money. Now, we'll see what happens. If you don't offer to share your wealth then it is obvious that you are out to see how you can get other people to give you their money rather than being a person of compassion.
Obama's volunteers worked our butts off because of the affection we had for our president. We were willing to make huge personal sacrifices to help in the re-election effort. For example, we had a campaign fellow who came here from another state who left her family and took time off from her job for weeks to help us out here. Other volunteers drove up here on weekends from a nearby state to help us win.
The Romney campaign had to pay people to do what we willingly did without pay.
It infuriates me to hear Obama's supporters called 'takers' by the people who supported Romney, people who were not willing to do what we did unless they were financially compensated.
It felt wonderful to win that election. Absolutely wonderful!
The republicanCrimeCarteSoldiers don't want to change, those sociopaths are saying: "Gee!! We have to Change HOW we run our campaigns of lies and treachory, and repackage Our Crapola; Much like OUR WallStreet brothers repackaged worthless real Estate mortgage and holding partnerships and sold that $H!T to unsuspecting Victims; Individuals and governments alike. So these Criminals of the KingGeorge, "Aowww' Hellll' ahm' ah fre'market guy" ERA thought "Let's use some "CleanCut" looking types, the likes of Rommel and Lyin'Ryan" to conduct our campaign of Lies and Death so American voters will believe US!!! And! AND!! AND!!!!!! The Majority of the Primitive American Male Mind DID BUY THAT $H!T and voted for those two Clowns; The Ladies??? No No NO; WAY TOO SMART and SAW right through the EvilRichParty and their Worthless Lackies. IT IS FACT That the Female Vote Saved America from the Clutches of The Most Evil political group in our History. Thank the Good Lord for Women's Suffrage as The Ladies Saved the Day; We Kept Prez O in the WhiteHouse. And WE Guys?? Well aside from 30,000Lb, 10 foot high Phallic Trucks too make up for something tiny tiny and the NFL mentality we operate from, well, Back to the Drawing Board.
Romney lost for two reasons:
1. He completely failed to counterattack the mean and silly personal bulls**t Obama hurled at him, like the dog on the car roof.
2. He did not exploit an obvious opportunity by hammering Obama's miserable first term performance...one of the worst in the history of the presidency...all because he was afraid of being called a racist. Instead, he's now called a wimp...who lost!
If you take away the foodstamp crowd and illegals obumbo would have gotten about 10% of the vote. Even so, the idiot only got about 50% of the vote which means that the other 50% that DO pay taxes don't like him or his socialist agenda. So, dance in the streets libbies, the worst is yet to come and you will suffer right along with the rest of us. Fools!!
The Republican Party is the party of billionaires, bigots, birthers and bozos. Until they completely abandon their greedy and prejudicial hate-everybody-but-themselves attitude, they will never win another election.
Another tip for Republicans. Don't run a candidate who won't reveal 10 years of tax returns to the American people.
Any astute politico knows that sooner or later, no matter what fringe you may live on, you've got to move to the middle in order to win an election in a two-party system. When the GOP finally woke up to that fact, it was too little and way too late. Romney's clumsy about-face at the first debate only drew applause from the choir loft - no one else was impressed. The only way it would have worked was if Ryan could continue to attract some of the independent vote toward the Tea Party position while Romney attempted to convert the more moderate independents. Trouble was, Biden kicked Ryan's butt in their only debate and that left Romney out on an island.
Vilify Obama for four years without any attempt to offer an alternative and then, at the last second, hand the ball off to a guy who has only one ability - to run around in circles. Bad strategy, and completely predictable.
@spider -- good points. Romney did not address all those "don't roof rack me bro" jokes about his cruel treatment of his own dog, nor did he exploit the fact that the economy was so bad under 4 years of Obama that the stock market doubled, the banks & auto industry were spared liquidation, 4 million new jobs were created, and...oh wait a sec...nevermind.
It's not that Romney was so bad -- he probably would've made a fine president. But he was running against an incumbent who rescued the economy from the brink of disaster. That's tough to beat no matter who you are.
ozzy1957
I really feel sorry for you. So much hate aimed at the wrong party. Red states receive more federal aid than blue. More white males receive unemployment than any other group. Its called a Democratic-Republic, the democratic part gives you and I the right to vote. The republican party is leaning toward an Oligarchy (please look it up) that is run by corporations and the wealthy. Republicans lost because they wanted a Rich White Corporate Owner.
I think it will be interesting to see what message the GOP puts forth in the 2014 mid-term elections. That will be the time we will all know for certain whether they have taken control away from the extremists in their party or not. If they do not take control away from the extremists, they could probably run a re-incarnated Jesus Christ and still lose.
The first thing the GOP has to take off the table is the idea of overturning Roe v. Wade. There is no way in the world women are going to allow the government into their health care decisions. My personal position is that if Congress can get the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, then the women in this country should be able to decide men's health care issues, starting with mandatory vasectomies for all men convicted of a sex crime, men over the age of 40 and any man who knocks up more than one woman that he is not married to (aka the 'Frequent Flyer program'). Sounds ridiculous, I know, but so does overturning Roe v. Wade. Why should women have to return to getting back alley abortions like they did before Roe v. Wade became law, while the men who got them pregnant suffer no consequences at all?
ninnafaye ....
I know Kim H loved this line above (as did I!) but it so does need to be repeated. Great post!
If anyone wonders why the Republicans lost and will continue to lose, it is because their supporters are arrogant, selfish and ignorant.
Exhibit A:
The majority of Americans are better than that!
The Democrats are out bull @!$%#ting the Republicans lately.
Neither party gives a rat's ass about the american people, they are mostly dedicated servants of the rich and corporations, but the Democrats are more sophisticated in their con game right now
Having an appealing, personable black opportunist in the White House right now is helping a lot for the Dems, too.
Unfortunately they didn't vote that way. How much more arrogant can you get than "we're what we've been waiting for" and "I won, you lost, so sit down and shut up?" But, I guess 7.9% (the lowest for 4 years) unemployment with millions of people who have stopped looking for work and a sizable number of those who are considered employed now making peanuts flipping burgers rather than have the real jobs they were trained for, is better than 7.6% (the highest for 8 years) unemployment, with people making good money and working the jobs they want and are trained for. And, spending a trillion dollars for shovel ready jobs that "I guess weren't so shovel ready (chuckle....)." But, please enlighten me as to what Obama has done to create the wonderful economy we have now. If you can spell out what policies Obama has put forth that have been designed to create jobs, then you will be the first. Now, I have heard someone claim that by raising taxes on the employers that this will cause employers to hire more people. I think the logic was that employers would rather spend the money hiring people rather than giving the money to the government. Of course, why anyone would put forth more effort to make no additional money hasn't been explained.
The only thing the Republicans have managed to successfully accomplish is to send American jobs out of the country - as soon as we can figure out a way to send them out of the country we will all be better off.
Kaybee:
Spot on; no other examples are required.
When your party has to be exclusive and spout hate messages about 47% of the people in your country, they are a sorry lot that deserves to lose.
The rich getting richer will not return our economy to prosperity. The GOP members of Congress need to wake up and realize the middle class (and small businesses) will bring the economy back to life, not the wealthy. This is almost 2013, not 1980; Reagan is dead and so is trickle down economics.
oldfatguy-1144960 . . .
Stupidest post EVER!!! You totally forgot the sarcasm tag.
Support of Palin? Gingrich? Sheesh .. I've heard some idiotic stuff in my life but this takes the proverbial cake!
Why oh why is "old fat guy" such a taken name that you all have numbers? I've explained my "numbers" in my bio. But you CHOSE that screen name? Interesting.
Again ... Idiotic post. I hope you meant it as sarcasm.
If the Republican Party didn't learn anything from the disaster of running Generalissimo McCain and the Wasilla Halfwit, how in the Wide, Wide World of Sports can anyone not be surprised that they put up Citizen Romney and his youthful ward, Paul Ryan, this time?
I mean, it's like they don't want to win...
Hey, wait a minute. I may be on to something here!
Better to sit on the sidelines and kvetch whilst someone else cleans up the Great Decider's sorry excuse for a presidency than to shoulder the burden yourself!
Well played, Republicans, well played.
You have elevated the concept of Machiavellianism to a whole new level.
That sentence should be tattooed on the hand of every Republican in Congress.
Well said, Just Wrong.
After being a member of the GOP for over 30 years, I switched around 8 years ago to independent. The GOP became way too extremist for me - religiously extremist, economically extremist, war mongering extremist, socially conservative extremist, etc. IMO, they need to give up their extremism on abortion, gay rights, illegal immigrants, low taxes for the wealthy while whittling away at the middle and lower classes, etc. I watched all the GOP primary debates - Huntsman was the only candidate I could have considered - especially after Romney self-proclaimed as a severe conservative. The obstructionist GOP in Congress seemed to me to obviously be placing their own good ahead of the country's good - and they are at it again as the fiscal cliff talks fail to occur. The House should pass the Senate bill re: the extension of tax cuts for non-wealthy - and then both parties better also address spending (including defense). Social Security is a relatively easy fix - but the parties can't agree on much of anything for fear that the "other" party might get some credit. The tea party (I love how the Capital Steps calls them the "pea tardy"!!!!) needs to learn that our lawmaking process was intentionally designed by the founding fathers to require compromise and quit threatening to take their ball and go home if things aren't done "their way". Grover Norquist should be considered as treasonous - and all who sign a pledge to him rather than to the American people ought to be voted out of office.
Born - I think you nailed it. I warned my republican friends early last spring during the primaries, while they were all mentally masturbating watching the likes of Rick Perry, that the country was watching too, and that less than esteemed panel was alienating the center of the bell curve (where elections are won). Oh no, they assured me; we have the country's pulse.
Huntsman was far and away the most viable and electable candidate then, and he still is. Had he been the candidate I would have voted for him - and I supported Obama in '08. Yet consider how the GOP threw Huntsman under the bus.
My choice on Nov. 6 was easy, after seeing how the republicans treated one of their own who had genuine conservative credentials, a record of accomplishment, and bipartisan achievements. Not enough for them? Got it. They're not right for the country.
Romney and the republicans lost because they intended to lie about everything but ended up telling the truth about everything.
They told seniors, we're going to take away your medicare and make it a voucher program so from now on you will have to buy your own health insurance.
Poor and handicapped people on SSI and Disability- we're going to end these programs and leave you homeless.
Veterans were told, sorry you got hurt in the war we started, but now you are on your own, we're not paying for any help you may need,
Women were told, we just don't like you.
Union workers were told, we need to kill your union because the company owners haven't made enough money so they will need to lower your wages.
There are plenty more examples about republican truth telling but I'll leave it at these.
It still surprises me that so many people voted for Romney at all.
Even the GOP didn't originally want to elect Romney as the nominee. They just stuck with him after it was apparent he would be the nominee, and only after more than 100% certainty. You saw how they were testing practically everyone else to see before they went back to Romney. They didn't want that lying weasel, and as someone who had to live through him as governor of Massachusetts I didn't want him either. But there was no one there to seriously challenge him and had a chance (I know it's sad that Romney of all people had the best chance to win the general of all GOP candidates) at winning the general. So they supported that spineless, flip-flopping window mannequin (Romney) because he was in their party.
The only person running for the GOP that might have stood a chance was John Huntsman, but he was the only one the GOP didn't seriously look at. He was simply too moderate for there increasingly radical and unrealistic ideals. I also don't know if he would be exciting or charismatic enough to get elected. But I do know that he was the only one with a plan besides Mr. 9|9|9, had plenty of credibility and experience, and the most moderate one there. I might have voted for him if he could have stayed separated from his increasingly radical and out of touch party.
I am not a Democrat. I am an independent, one of those voters that Mitt Romney said he needed. I have not been satisfied with the first four years of democratic leadership under Obama, although I'll admit there have been some good things. Despite having their hands tied by an inept congress (particularly the house) with extremely disruptive Republicans, I think the Democrats had opportunity to do more in certain areas and be more responsible with how they spend. Still, they were far better than the GOP. The Republican party had become so extreme. In general, we independents tend not to vote for radicals. They had no plan besides disrupt Obama and hope we didn't remember it was them so they could blame him for the failures. None of these candidates seemed to have any sense of rationality or reality. The Republican campaigns were to lie and spew slander about the other person and change the subject when asked about the serious and realistic plans they (Republican candidates) did not seem to have. And personally, I can't vote for disruption of our government (let alone simply for the sake of political agenda) by people who were elected by us (the citizens) to help run that government in the first place. Their only goal was to win. They forgot about doing their jobs, and tried to stop the Democrats for doing theirs. Had they actually focused on doing the jobs we elected them in to do in the first place instead of trying to shut down our government because it wasn't under their party's leadership, they might have actually done better in the election. Well, that, losing the excessive slander campaigns, and being even slightly moderate might have helped.
On another note, I'm glad to see other people here agree with me about Huntsman being the most viable GOP candidate.
GOF - that should have been an easy call for the party. I recall seeing something just after the election where the Obama team acknowledged that Huntsman was the candidate they were most afraid of. They were tuned in to the country, its pulse, and political realities, and recognized the threat Huntsman posed for hearts and minds.
Unlike the GOP.
The GOP will learn nothing from this election. It will continue to be the party of the right wing lunatic fringe, aligning itself with christian extremists and offending the American electorate with its crazy-as-a-basketfull-of-@!$%#house-rats political ideology. This fetid concoction of political craziness didn't work for the Republicans in 2012 and it sure as hell isn't going to work for them in 2016. The only question is who will be their #1 loser in the next election? Santorum, perhaps? Rubio? It won't be anyone as sensible as Huntsman, I can tell you that right now.
Well, it is clear that the GOP has learned "some" kind of lesson, from the whipping they just recieved. It now remains to be seen if anything actually "sinks in" ! The whole belief system of the GOP has forever been, "conservatism", and what they have been the most concerned about "conserving", is the PAST ! They never believed that people "of Color", not to mention Women, would ever have a significant voice in our Nation's Elections. (SURPRISE !) They have been determined for DECADES, to focus exclusivley on the White Vote, and they have also, it seems, not taken much notice of just how much the population of this Country has GROWN, and diversified, since the 1950's, which is the Era that they seem to want to Revert to the most, at least Socially. And that is the Impression that the GOP give, when they talk about "Taking Our Country Back", because this is the rhetoric that always follows that sentence; "End Roe v Wade","Out law same-sex marriage", "Get rid of the Dept.of Energy","Get rid of the Dept.of Education","Get rid of the E.P.A.", "End Medicare", "Privatize Social Security", "De-Regulate Wall Street","Get rid of the Capital Gains Tax","Get rid of Planned Parenthood","End the Separation of Church and State","Deny Women affordable Contraception", and on, and on, and on !! I had always thuoght that this was "The United States of America", not the "Conservative States of the Republican Party" !! Since when did it become "THEIR COUNTRY"?? I thought it was....... "One Nation, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for ALL" !! NOT, "Liberty and Justice for SOME" !!! The Republicans, have a REALLY LONG road to travel, if they are going to "appeal" to other than just their "base", and the extremists that currently control the GOP today, and TRULY join the 21st Century !!!
I think those of you who just can not watch Fox are approaching it wrong. Treat it as a comedy. I watched a seious round table discission the other day on Bias in television news. All four talking heads went on and on about Fox being the baseline for unbias reporting with everyone else being slanted, It was jaw dropping...I could not stop laughing
Why would any woman, racial minority or gay person vote for a neoconfederate Christofascist bigot like Paul?
Read his "We the People Act" and "Marriage Protection Act" to learn just how bad Paul really is. Most of his supporters seem never to have read his legislative proposals.
-usa1967-
If you take away the foodstamp crowd and illegals obumbo would have gotten about 10% of the vote. Even so, the idiot only got about 50% of the vote which means that the other 50% that DO pay taxes don't like him or his socialist agenda. So, dance in the streets libbies, the worst is yet to come and you will suffer right along with the rest of us. Fools!!
Us SUFFER riaght along with YOU..??
I hate to break it to you Pal but Comrade Obama isn't going to be taking LIBERAL GUNS away
he will be GIVING US the ones he takes FROM YOU
along with the bullets & your daughters so we can get them pregnant & abortions too !
When the BIG ROUND-UP time comes & we cart you off to the New World Order Camps
then you'll really have something to whine about !!
Did you really just say "Comrade Obama?" Seriously? This isn't the f*ing cold war, although I'm sure you think it is. I don't know how so many make that disconnect. Among other things like this which people like you say, it has given the perception of an extremist, radicalized Republican party. I'm not even a Democrat and I'm sick of nonsense like this.
Good for you god of fate. The ols definition of stupidity reigns in that party. They go beat for being a bunch of obnoxious liars and they still continue to beat the dead horse of socialism since Eaygun used it back in the 80's. Fact of the matter is their party is out of touch with the people in this country and had they not been privy to the right wing racists votes this would have been more of a slaughter. Even republicans could not believe a president who had weathered the storm their party had fostered was as bad as Romneys lies portrayed him as in their ads. Under the circumstances he did a job in his first 3 plus years few if any could have done under the circumstances. Now faced with a chance to unseat him they took the wrong approach again nominating the loser in their last election for president as their standard bearer who was the poster boy for what people hate today. A parasitic big business silver spooned nothing. Now as we continue with them doing their latest circular firing squad act and seekeing new ways to disguise the fact they represent only the 2% in America the answers they seek are too plentiful to ever get them back on the right track as long as they have the elements in that party that most Americans find extremely distasteful. Heres a start. Get the moderates back into the party and give them a voice. You see they were the deflector shield that prevented the people from seeing the right wing sewage at the bottom of that party. Your cleansing action by kicking guys like Lugar and trying to oust Hatch and others turned the moderates who are now independents off and now you stand bare assed and exposed with all that garbage now being the face of your party. You are a party that is run by of all things one of the most hated things in America and that is a lobbyist. Wiil you change? No of course not because once you sell your soul to the devil it is forever. A third paty may be the answer cause I know it is becoming a lot more appealing to my old Republican friends who want nothing to do with the party in its present form.
OBAMA ONLY SPANISH BALLOTS!!!
See no ENGLISH
Hear no ENGLISH
Speak no ENGLISH
The GOP is doomed to consistent failure so long as there is even mention of potential candidates such as the blithering incompetent, McDonnell of Virginia, and the maniac Santorum, of wherever (as Pennsylvania has made abundantly clear they want to have nothing of him). Yet, people like this continue to be bandied about, and the Party wonders, after loss upon loss: "wha' happened?" Just find some good thinkers, normal people, ignore the ridiculous "base" and find success. This isn't rocket science. There are tons of morons who will vote red no matter who the candidate is. All you have to do is convince the rest that your candidate isn't going to torch and burn the economy like Dubya, and start stupid, costly wars, like Cheney.
Nice, well-reasoned arguments that appeal to the voters. Explanations (hell, just a description of the Republican actiosn when elected would have been nice!) of the Republican platform that clearly show how it will benefit the country. A lack of personal attack on the other party and a graceful acceptance of the voter's decision when it doesn't go their way.
Yeppirs! These are the ideas that handed Republicans such decisive victories in the last election! Keep it up!
Republicans stand no chance of ever again be taken seriously if they keep talking and acting like the only people that vote are white men, also they must end their obsession with making the rich, richer at the expense of everybody else.
The face of America is changing, republicans ignore tens of millions of people that vote and then act surprised when they lose an election. The people are telling them, you ignore me, come election time, I will ignore you.
Republicans were counting on white men to put them over the top, but even that was just another republican trick, because if they had won the last election, the white men they counted on, if they are not rich, would have been treated the same as everybody else that are not rich.
If republicans don't acknowledge all the races and realize they were elected to serve all the people, their only legacy will be, people saying, remember years ago when there was another political group that called themselves republicans?
SPider posting "Obama's miserable first term performance...one of the worst in the history of the presidency" does nothing but brand you as an historical illliterate. Look into the Presidency of WOoodrow WIlson for reference. (NOtice I didn't even nominate the obvious recent example we've had of a Montezuma scale disaster. Bush only created tension betweeeen Muslim and Western Socities. WIlson was indirecdtly rsponsible for WWII.
How do you like me now!!!!!!!
Should be the GOP Logo in 4 or 8 more years. We should just keep our money in the bank and let the little beggars run the Country for a few more years. Immm Lovin it.
Absolutely brilliant, gcooper8!
Add 'lazy' to the list of GOP character flaws.
Keep it up right wing nut extremists here and in the party. Each day I go to the Approval Poll on FOX for information and during the campaign it had Obama down as much as 4%. Yesterday he was up 5% the day before it was only 4% and today he is up by 7%. Soin reality he's probably up by 10% considering FOX lies!
Congress has dropped from 17% to 16.4%. Tell you something nut cases?
Romney did not win because we have too many people (Liberals) who do not care that our country is financially broke. When the dollar crashes (when the cost to GDP hits 90%, Obama has already raised it from 43 to 70 something) we know who to blame. As much as I despise Rush, he said it best. You can't beat Santa Claus.
Truth Squad,
I voted for Ron Reagan, Nixon and Goldwater years back, but I think these men would be called liberals by today's extremists in the republican party. They all knew the meaning of negotiation and compromise. The republican party is just a sick pile of crap right now, but taking some of these nut case teabuggers off committees and chairmanships could help a little like the party did yesterday! I'd rather the party devour themselves which they seem to be doing rather than facing the fact they lost because they don't represent America or Americans anymore.
The more informed the voting public becomes, the more difficult it will become for Republicans, if the continue with their present agenda. When your success depends on your ability to deceive,as it does for the GOP, you should recognize that as being a problem. They don't. They think the answer is becoming better at their deceptive practices.
Hendy,
Get in touch with reality man or woman? Romney lost because he told the American people, at least 47% of them, that he didn't care about them. Then he didn't represent the middle class with his support for millionaires and billionaires. Then you got several nut case right wing teabuggers making ridiculous comments about rape and such. Then he said he would create 12,0o0,000 jobs with not one bit of specifics how, except more of the "Trickle Down" approach for the rich. Then we had the image of Greed!
Purnell,
Not as bad as the Worst President Ever after 8 years. GW bushwhacker! I think he's currently rated 42nd and dropped two spots since 2010. Now known to be hiding on his ranch in Texas for 4 years because the World Court in the Hague has and arrest warrant out for him and his "War Crimes!
Romney only got as many votes as he did for the following reasons:
Huge amounts of money were poured into his campaign. He was the anointed one;
His reputation as a businessman (and the attending baggage) was never seriously questioned by the GOP, although during the primary there were some rumblings about his history as a vulture capitalist;
GOP voting along strict party lines ruled the day. I spoke to a man who said he would only vote for a Republican, so he was voting for "Romley";
Romney is a nice-looking man with a nice-looking (for the most part) family. He looks like central casting's idea of a president, and that matters in the GOP;
He's enough of a spineless puppet to suit the GOP establishment, who were able to bend and shape him to suit their purposes;
The voting population has been so brainwashed and dumbed down that they either believed his outrageous lies or were too dense to catch them;
Racial bigotry made a white man the only choice for some;
Voter suppression by the GOP, although that largely backfired on them because voters were outraged by it;
The economy hasn't been turned around fast enough to suit Republicans;
The misogynistic, anti-gay crowd who think persecution equals morality;
The evangelical "Christians" who haven't a clue what Jesus said or did.
Any other reasons you Republicans voted for this LOSER?
Why was the GOP presidential primary field so weak, so filled with whack jobs and losers?
Perhaps the GOP establisment understood that the groundswell support of Barack Obama in the 2008 election was going to make him very hard, if not impossible, to beat...even with a struggling economy.
So they didn't put forth their best, only to watch them get slaughtered.
Unfortunately for the GOP, their 'best' is still way down there in the ditch, far below the stellar field of candidates that the Democrats can field in 2016.
Prepare to lose again, GOP, and learn how to lose gracefully next time.
I see it this way, four years ago, McCain was the best of the best that the republican party had, Along with Palin, who turned out to be a Nitwit that went Rogue. Now i use the term rogue in a different way than going rogue in an heroic im taking over and show everybody that I am an unstoppable well Educated, Change the world, make everything right again and win big. No. Sarah palin redefined the word going rogue, kind of like a robot that has short circuited and went haywire, shooting lazers out of its eyes, or whatever you would call eyes on a robot. She short circuited and went all out nutty, she embarrassed these old white rich men, Im not sure how. These GOP idiots have been doing a damn good job of sticking their feet in their mouths on a daily basis. This campaign it was Romney who was apparently the best of the best. How the this got so far in life is beyond me, oh wait no, I know how he got here, Handed everything he wanted his whole life, If it was an average nobody with Mitts mentality, they might be able to hold a job at McDonalds or something of that sort of job. Im sorry, but he doesn't seem that bright. As a matter of fact, it doesn't seem like a whole lot of them are competent in any way whatsoever, We all know for sure that they are clueless when i comes to winning over the women voters. Or the hispanic voters, Hell, how bout well over half of Americans, I see the GOP glory days behind them, way behind. I think that they Have no chance to reinvent themselves. They need to dissolve the party. Essentially ending it, and starting fresh. New party with new thinking, The GOP all need to just quit and go home, party is over. Let some fresh thinking, actually let some people that actually can think, Start a new party. While they are at it, add three to make it interesting. This two party system is designed only to confuse the average american into thinking that they are two totally different entities. Left wing, right wing, same bird people, and this bird could give a @!$%# about you or me. We don't belong to their club. The club is exclusive, and they like it that way, they think that they are so brilliant and so friendly to big business and their all one big happy family. The average american sees it differently. This club is just a big old whorehouse. Filled with GOP whores, They will suck the rooster of any big corporate donor (well call them johns) while giving them a reach around to try and get more money. These guys would sell their daughters into prostitution in Thailand if the money is right. without batting an eyelash. So why wouldnt they sell us average Americans out. Every time i hear the word teabagger, i cant help to think about being violated by these people. lol ok im falling off my soapbox now. I will now wait for every single person that identifies themselves as conservatives, misunderstands every word i said, twists them around so that nobody understands but them, and make it out like im against people being successfull. when in fact that's not even the subject Im ranting about. To be perfectly clear. I am ranting about stupid people. Now bring it on dummies
Republicans - if you want to not go the way of the Whigs of the 1800s--
These aren't all the things you need to do but it's a start.
Amen truthsquad. But face it, nothing is going to get any better, in the next four years unless the GOP sticks to it guns, and I am not sure if that will help, obama will destroy America. Fifty three percent of Americans have lost their minds. Obama is going to find away or create away to do anything he wants. According to every mathematician I have read, the American people can not ever pay back the money that obama has spent and he is not through yet. I agree with that sheriff who said buy, buy, buy lots of guns and ammunition because you are going to need them. This administration is going to attempt to disarm American citizens and there will be hell to pay.
1-28
Fiesty
Hearing the truth does hurt and is the very reason most of your friends don't go there either.
You all really have no clue as to what's happening because the other news channels only give you the news you're wanting to hear.
How sad.
Charlie
You are absolutely right. People who think analytically recognize that. People whose thoughts are driven by emotions don't. Period.
Mmmmm!Mmmmmm!Mmmmm! Obama Zombies giving advise on what the productive members of society MUST do to get along! Thanks, but no thanks.It was said centuries ago that Democracies always fail once the looters and the irresponsible,(those evil,cynical, manipulators,who get voted into office by the looters, with the promise of free stuff),figure out they have the keys to the treasury, and that is what has happened, so, the black racist gets their man no matter how incompetent and destructive to the nation he is, as long as he has the same color skin,( When 93% of any race, in a multiracial nation, vote for any one individual, that is pure unadulterated, shameless, racism, I mean, even in the American Civil War for God's sakes, the country only had 20% of the nations White Population's support, and that was because of economics, not race),so now the Black Obama Zombies in Detroit, and elsewhere, are openly demanding from their master ,"We voted for You! GIVE us Ours!",and then there's the Mother Flukers, demanding they be GIVEN their FREE contraceptives so they can continue their chosen avocation as human sperm toilets,of course with the option to murder any human life they happen to create, that is inconvenient to them, during their pursuit of happiness,so Churches,Hospitals, and any other People with actual morals and an aversion to the taking of innocent lifeare now forced to differ to the Obama slut zombies, and on and on it goes," Came into this country illegally? no problem,join the zombie fest! here, have some money, free housing, free education, bring your families!We'll,( I mean They ,the producers,their money anyway), will take, care of You! Want drugs? here's a welfare check and FREE drugs! Don't worry about the chidren you spawn,let em roam the streets while you party,later we'll warehouse them for you in daycare, public schools, and prisons, until they become full fledged zombies themselves, joining gangs and killing each other,and making more little baby zombies, then of course there's the union thugs, they gotta get their share of the pie.Yes, as Margaret Thatcher said,"Socialism is a great system until You run out of other people's money", so,let all hell break loose! fiscal cliff? what fiscal cliff! Drive on Zombies! FORWARD! the quicker we hit bottom the better! Then while you are turning on and destroying each other, the rest of us can go about rebuilding the country.
I haven't heard 1 Republican (except Bill Kristol) complain that the payroll tax holiday will be ending on January 1st. A 2% tax increase that is fine with Republicans. There has also been a pay freeze for federal workers for 2 years now and the Republicans are insisting on extending that for 5 years and for federal workers to kick in another 5% for their retirement.
That's a 2% tax increase (7% for federal workers) that Republicans haven't stood against at all.
So, witchrunner (and all the other Republican drones), what can you pay for?
Why oh why has the Republicans insisted on increasing tax revenues thru closing loopholes and limiting deductions? Could it be because if nothing is done the rich will see tax rates increase, and, deductions limited anyway? This get's us closer to the $1.6 Trillion vs the $800 billion the Republicans are offering. It's the Pease provision and it's coming back:
From the Tax Policy Center:
The limitation on itemized deductions—known as Pease after the congressman who introduced it—cuts itemized deductions by 3 percent of adjusted gross income above specified thresholds but not by more than 80 percent. The income threshold—projected to be $174,450 in 2013 ($87,225 for married couples filing separately)—is indexed for inflation.
In its full form, the personal exemption phaseout (PEP) reduces the value of each personal exemption from its full value by 2 percent for each $2,500 or part thereof above specified income thresholds that depend on filing status. Personal exemptions are thus fully phased out over a $122,500 range.
The president proposes to allow both PEP and Pease to resume for high-income taxpayers in 2013 but would markedly change the income levels above which the provisions apply. The threshold for the phaseouts would begin at 2009 levels of $250,000 for couples.* $200,000 for single taxpayers, and $225,000 for heads of household, with both values indexed for inflation.
It's interesting that neither the Republicans nor Democrats have brought this subject up. it might be because the Republicans don't want people knowing they are trying to limit any tax increase on the rich, and, the Democrats don't want to be accused of "double-dipping" on tax increases.
So why did the Democrats win the Presidency?
There are now 47 million families that get free food and cash aid, and they credit the Democrats for 'giving' them that largess. At $550 per month average, that's about $300 Billion per year in 'freebies'.
These families are typically also the ones that get an average of about $440 Billion per year in free health care (Medicaid - that figure comes from Obama's 2013 Budget projections).
That amounts to a total of about $740 Billion per year in 'free benefits' that these 47 million families get each year, which amounts to about 70% of the $1.1 Trillion Deficit.
These people have become dependent upon the government, so they naturally will continue to vote for the Democrats. A cynic might suggest that the Democrats are 'buying votes with taxpayer funds', but of course that would be considered 'heartless towards those in need', or even 'racist'.
In addition, the Democrats keep promising 'Amnesty' for the 11 million illegal immigrants in this country, so the 12 million Hispanics that vote will naturally want to vote overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats who promise to let their friends and relatives stay here and be eligible to work (competing with legal American workers), as well as getting welfare benefits. Ironically, the Democrats don't actually want to 'pass' Amnesty, because it would remove a valuable campaign tactic that they use over and over.
Since Obama got about 65 million of the 126 million votes in this last election, but won by only about 4 million votes, this huge group of roughly 50 million that has become 'dependent' on the government will form a formidable voting block that will ensure the Democrats maintain power well into the future. So how many of the roughly 50 million families that have become dependent on the government voted for the Democrats for purely selfish reasons (Don't touch my benefits)? If only 4 million of the 50 million voted for continued 'free benefits' from the Democrats, that was enough to ensure a Democratic victory. According to exit polls, Obama won this group by almost 11 million votes.
Ironically, even though these policies by the Democrats will drag down future economic growth, ensure high unemployment, and make everyone 'poorer' - witness the $5,000 (10%) drop in average family income over the last 4 years, this actually helps the Democrats win even more votes because it creates even more people that will become 'dependent on the government'.
All of this comes at a great cost (witness the $740 Billion per year spent on welfare and Medicaid above) and the huge cost to taxpayers of the massively growing Debt (which Obama's Budget projects to increase to $20.379 TRILLION within less than 4 years - even if he gets his 'tax increase on the wealthy'). The Debt was only $9.986 Trillion at the end of fiscal 2008. But the 50 million that get welfare and free medical care don't really care about that, because they know that 'someone else will have to pay for that' (those who actually pay income taxes).
And of course the Democrats will continue to 'play to their base' by claiming 'the rich don't pay their fair share', and the Republicans are 'heartless and racist' for calling for 'entitlement reform'.
We are well on our way to the ruin that Greece brought upon itself by promising benefits that we can't afford.
PS – The Democrats also do not care that much about improving education in this country because uneducated people are much easier to manipulate. Those that dropped out of High School voted for Obama by a 63% to 35% margin. And an important constituency is teacher's unions that fight against any education reforms.
Some other facts for Roy, our beloved statistician, who loves to make all kinds of false correlations.
The average monthly SNAP (food stamps) benefit per person is $130, or less than $1.50 per person, per meal. The average benefit for a household with children is $419 per month.
Most participants run through their SNAP benefits by the third week of the month, and 58% of food bank clients currently receiving SNAP benefits turn to food banks for assistance at least 6 months out of the year.
Most food stamp recipients currently not subject to the means test would still meet the criteria, but not all. The CBO says imposing the test on more recipients would shave 1.8 million people from the program each year. That's about 4 percent of 2011's average monthly caseload of 45 million applicants. The White House has suggested that closer to three million fewer people would receive benefits. The change will reportedly save $11.5 billion over 10 years.
Who's next Roy? The disabled? Immigrants? (Tucker Carlson said on Fox last night that there are "good" immigrants and "bad" immigrants - those from Latin countries who "contribute" and those that haven't).
Who are the
GestapoRepublicans going to blame this economy on next? Should we sterilize them Roy?Pigotry and Feisty, You're both inconceivable half-wits. Make no mistake that Romney will be just fine. Even if you remove 1/2 of Romney's brain, he'll still be left with 2/3rd's more than your president... he'll still have 5 times better of an understanding of Macro and Micro-economics than your president (and the private sector experience)... he'll still 100 times richer than your president... and he'll still be smarter than your president when it comes to avoiding it's taxation. Watch the jobs and money continue to leave America for overseas. Business owners are smart enough to realize that there's no longer any point in investing in America. We're a forgone nation existing only for largesse to a lazy welfare-soft electorate. You won an election and lost your standing as a world leader. Kudos, idiots.
It's sad to say but Obama doesn't really care if we 'drive off the fiscal cliff', because he will have someone to blame for his incompetent leadership when the economy falters.
The other sad thing is that Obama doesn't really care if he drives the country into bankruptcy because the main people who will get hurt are those that have savings - they are the ones that will get stuck with worthless money. The 'poor' have nothing to lose, and they certainly won't have to pay any of the debt back - only the 'rich' and middle class will be stuck paying that bill.
Personally, I think we should let the tax cuts expire and let the 'cuts' take place. History shows that the sooner we address the debt problem, the lower the pain will be in the long run. And the beauty of that approach is that the President and Congress just have to do what they do quite well - NOTHING. The changes are automatic.
The only question is 'who gets the blame'?
I'll tell you why a lot of people like those lines. These are the people that realize that the status quo over the last 30-40 years hasn't really got us anywhere. That pandering to oil (and now natural gas) companies has got us nowhere. Heck, pandering to big business in general! We want "change". We want investment in R&D. We want investment in green technologies, which is the only way we will be energy dependent (a good thing!) without poisoning our land and ourselves. "Forward" works because we want to advance and improve.
Who is stupid here? No president has ever released their school records. And, no, President Bush's weren't 'released', they were 'leaked'. And also, no, Obama's haven't been 'sealed'. There is no reason to do that since personal records such as those are not publicly available. For instance, I couldn't get access to yours now, could I!
Who is stupid here? It was provided and documented.
Who is stupid here? The more comes out, the more it makes the nutjobs look like... nutjobs.
You have your answers now. I'm not even that big of an Obama fan. I've been disappointed in some of the things I heard from him in 2008 that haven't really happened (lobbyists, more open government, etc) and he isn't above criticism. But some of you people are just off the charts and at a point I feel compelled to say something.
A typical example of the type of nutjob who is causing the GOP to lose. Obama is not going to "destroy America". He might do a bunch of stuff you don't agree with. He might even get some things wrong. But he won't "destroy America". He won't take all your guns, either. You were probably saying that 4 years ago too. Hasn't happened, has it. Your looney toons "run from the apocalypse" just makes the whole lot of you seem more extreme.
By the way, if Romney won I wouldn't be running around saying he would "destroy America". Would he continue policies that I think are detrimental to the country? Hell, yes. But you don't destroy a country in 4 years, or even 8. The impacts of decisions made now only really start to be seen many years down the line and only if continued over a long period.
And yet this is the same person who's campaign paid more than 4 times the amount Obama's did for ad slots. That's great business acumen!
StoptheCannibals-2908428 "Who's next Roy? The disabled? Immigrants? Who are the
GestapoRepublicans going to blame this economy on next?"Next for what? Obama had the perfect strategy for re-election. When he took office there were about 32 million families getting freebies at public expense (free food and free cash aid). In 2012 there are about 47 million getting those 'free' benefits. That's an additional 15 million families that became dependent on government assistance, and all Obama needed was for about 4 million of them to vote for him to win against that 'heartless, racist, rich, out of touch Romney'.
When the economy/jobs picture does not improve over the next 4 years because of Obama's anti-business/growth policies, Obama will continue to blame the Republicans. He is the most divisive President in history, and when the final results of his 8 years are in, people will wonder what happened.
Obama will make Jimmy Carter actually seem competent.
Roy Wilson - here's a thought for you. What does 'full employment' to you? The idea of 'full employment' more recently is that unemployment is at around 4%, so in reality it isn't "full employment" at all. What does that mean? The capitalist model wants there to be people out of work. Why? It gives businesses/employers bargaining power over employees. It means they can do things like offer lower wages because there is more competition for jobs. It's supposed to mean increased production too ("there are other people I can offer your job to if you don't work hard enough/harder"). Problem is, what do you do with the people that are (inevitably with this model) not working? That's where welfare comes in. Your capitalist model necessitates it, unless you want more people sleeping on the streets and children not being fed, etc.
By the way, the added numbers claiming welfare since 2008 is a direct result of the recession, which wasn't actually caused by Obama. You can't just put a little box around everything that happens in a presidents term and say "every stat there is his fault". That is, frankly, preposterous.
The numbers of people claiming welfare and the numbers of people in poverty have been increasing for years. It goes hand in hand with more and more of the money in the economy heading towards the top. Compare 2 situations - 100 loaves of bread and 20 people share 50 of them, or 100 loaves of bread and 10 people share 80 of them. In which situation are more people going to starve?
Do tax cuts for the rich count as 'gifts'?
Rob
Right on brutha!, Yup,we be too highly intelligent and edumacated for themuns, cuz we be told by MSNBC,(Marxist Socialist Nothing But Communist) how smart we be,and they sez What has been created here, by Producers, really isn't real, and it's not good for anybody,(everybody knows windmills, and electric batteries are where it's really at), just think if they had had electric cars on Long Island after Sandy,why then they wouldn't have had to worry about gas for a couple of hours, and they're gonna get their electricity back anyday now cuz Obama was there and did a photo shoot huggin somebody so it must be o.k cuz we ain't heard nothin else about it on the MSNBC), I mean just because Our poor had a higher standard of living than most of the rich in the rest of the world in the past 30 years doesn't mean anythang! sure, maybe we might be havin a car,air conditioning ,and color tv, and be fifty pounds overweight,but weuns don't got two cars! and now twinkies are gone!(the horror!, just becuz the evil rich won"t give the unions what they demand,!cuz, cuz they say they would go broke, do you believe that! why, they could always go on welfare, jus like everybody else, right?) They jus don't wanna do it cuz they be baaaad! and college transcripts? Now, maybe Mr. Romney did release his, and maybe it did show he was an Honor student and Worked his way through college on his own,But Now, jus cuz Obama has never shown anything about his, or where and how he got the money to go to school, or how an alcoholic, doper who never studied and got poor grades,( by his own admission,read his book) even was able to get into school, but, he's still be smartest man in the whole world !, just ask him! he'll tell you! And Benghazi? He be workin on it! and gonna tells us everythang as soon as he be ready! jus like he Did wid fast and firious, and illegal campaign contributions and massive voter fraud an , an, all the rest of that stuff an if youins don't believe it, why you all jus be stoopid! Not smart like usins.
We can talk technicalities like the ground game, the ad money spent, the content of the ads, negativity versus a positive message, etc., etc., etc.
Or we can start the discussion on a major realization... had the Republican opponent had the exact same message and capabilities, but was a white male, how would that have changed the election?
I say the GOP would then have been absolutely crushed. They would have lost their advantage on racism and the hate message game.
Analyze your loss on that assumption and you'll come up with a better answer for your party. Start with truth and inclusion and you may have a prayer in the next decade or two.
And Roy, you can complain all day long about the gifts, but anything appears to be a "gift" when the other side is giving you the finger.
The GOP could not win the day on the economy or on foreign policy. The extreme right defined them and all Obama had to do was continue to point that fact out. And by the way... no one likes a liar. And a liar is what your party forced Romney to be.
J.D., your disgusting post shows us just how difficult a road the GOP has... keep it up, bud.
JD Still - I'll bother to read what you're saying if you bother to actually use paragraphs.
If anyone wonders why the Republicans lost and will continue to lose, it is because their supporters are arrogant, selfish and ignorant.
Exhibit A:
The majority of Americans are better than that!
If you want pencils and crayons, go get your own job and earn them. It's not about being selfish, it's about personal responsibility and pride, something liberals have nothing of.
I mean, here we are a month later and you dumb @!$%#s are still gloating. Get the @!$%# over it already and move on.
Charlie - wake up.
Truth Squad -- continue ignoring reality if you choose but remember -- people like you are the best friends liberals have. Again --- the cold war ended 20 years ago. Calling some one a communist just makes you sound stupid.
It does not matter what republicans do or just how bad they do it, there will always be people that will find any excuse to blame Democrats and President Obama. Romney said, the majority of the people that voted for President Obama wanted the free stuff he was giving away, doesn't matter that he was lying, a lot of people took that lie and ran with it. They seem to believe if they keep saying it everybody else will finally believe that lie like they do.
I still find it hard to believe this many people can be so gullible as to believe everything republicans say even when the entire world know they're lying and say so, to the truly stupid, the entire world is lying and only the republicans are telling the truth.
Republicans know the whole world isn't lying, but think about one important thing, since republicans continue to lie and play tricks about everything, who do you think all of their lies and tricks are aimed at?? It has to be only people stupid enough to believe everything they say.
Treat somebody as if they're stupid and if they believe everything you say, in all honesty, they must really be stupid.
"He rejected the support of Ron Paul and Sarah Palin and therefore their contingent of votes."
What a delusional world you live in!! Did Ron Paul win a single primary? I don't thinks so and Palin is a joke. Her negatives are off the charts. Both of them ave a very small, very loyal followers who would vote for them no matter what. But both have a much larger group who will NEVER vote for either of them no matter what.
LMarcT and Rob
Awww, You didn't like it? I am crushed,really, I am, but sometimes, You must communicate on other peoples level,(Have either one of You even bothered to read one tenth of the vile filth that is posted on here by the left everyday?),just to break through, (and from your responses, it appears I have). Now, I know truth hurts, but denial is fatal,lets start with you comment on positive vs negative messaging, What is the positive message in calling Mr Romney a tax cheat,and that he was responsible for the death of a woman?,neither true, but picked up and continuously trumpeted by Obama's lap dogs in the media,and as for racism, what racism? the only racism I heard was Biden telling Blacks Romney wanted to put them back in chains.The painful truth is Mr Obama had absolutely nothing positive to run on except his promises to continue the looting of the treasury for the benefit of his zombie followers, and sadly , that worked. One last point, as far as what would have happened if a white man had run on the same record, one did, his name was Jimmy Carter, He just wasn't evil and immoral enough to loot said treasury.
Cognitive dissonance. The louder, the more irrational, extreme, factually challenged and cognitively dissonant the rank and file Repubs are, the less appealing their message and leaders become . Many of the frustrated and angry posters on this very page, believe in their hearts and minds that those who don't believe the conspiracy theories, the factually challenged mumbo-jumbo and the circular barroom logic of the Tea Party et al, are living in a deluded fog of "liberal" propaganda and need only to "wake up" to understand how out of touch with reality they truly are. I repeat...cognitive dissonance...
Jeffrey
Wow! Cognitive dissonance! Such big words!, I don't know what to think about that! I'm conflicted!
J.D., you give yourself too much credit. You think you "broke though" with your vile post? My only comment was that it was disgusting... I took nothing from any content whatsoever.
From your comments I can tell that either you blindly repeat talking points or cannot look at data beyond the charts given to you. The notion that Obama raided the treasury is a laugher. Instead, the truth is that we are all still living with the Bush/Cheney "deficits don't matter" debt train. They got it started and it will take decades to stop. Those two bozos left us all with an automatic $1 Trillion annual deficit that cannot be corrected until the wars end, we no longer need Homeland Security, Medicaid Rx gets killed, AND we recover the economy OR we otherwise raise taxes and/or cut our way to another depression on the backs of the middle class... some choice we got, huh?
Had your Grand Old (boy) Party at least acknowledged their part in this travesty, then maybe someone would have listened to their solutions... absent that, we knew we would get only lies.
"But face it, nothing is going to get any better, in the next four years unless the GOP sticks to it guns, and I am not sure if that will help, obama will destroy America."
Republicans told us the same thing in 1996 when Bill Clinton won a second term. What followed --- the greatest economic expansion in the history of the world. You cheered when Bush won a second term -- promising us a great 4 years. What followed -- the worst economic downturn since the depression. It seems your predictions come true when the opposite party wins.
LMarcT
Interesting,You took nothing at all from my "content", but You can tell by my "content" what I think about things, and where and how I get those thoughts? hmmmmm????We'll leave that one for Your Therapist, but I can't leave the Bush Comment alone,with Your beloved Obama, having now created more debt than all previous Presidents combined,(the fact of whichYou are in firm denial of), and wanting to raise more taxes,(read revenue,mad money to spend), with no spending cuts offered, and demanding the unlimited power to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling anytime he wants, and yet, You still believe He is "THE ONE" to restore fiscal sanity inspite of four years of hard evidence to the contrary?,(We raised an army, fought and won a World War in that length of time at a much lower cost than what Obama has spent!) Well, "Bud", maybe We should refer this one to Your Therapist also.
Ranting Red Thing - Apparently you guys still don't get it. Where were you on Nov 7th? Did you catch the news that day - President Obama won the presidential election!!! I know you think you are Mary Tyler Moore but grab your hat, get a grip and join the parade before it passes you by.
Isn't it cute that "jd" and "truthsquad" have no clue that the Republicans lost because they wasted all of their time and money pandering to people like "jd" and "truthsquad"? Swirling down the toilet they go....
"jd" and "truthsquad" have proven one thing. Ignorance is not bliss. In fact...it looks pissy and deceitful.
republicans should rewrite their party platform -- the US is not a center-right-right nation
Well, first of all, the Republicans nominated a man who is a Bishop in the Mormon Church, which condones lying, so long as YOU believe that your lies will benefit the god of Mormonism, who, they believe is Adam.......
Romney stated, as governor of Massachusetts that he favored abortion rights, said so with Ann at his side in numerous TV ,radio and newspaper interviews...also trumpeted his support for STRONG gun laws, and HE was the Father of ObamaCare..literally, as he created a mandatory health insurance program in Massachusetts, which worked so well, that Obama sought out and hired Romneys team of health,insurance and legal pros to create ObamaCare, which is a watered down version of RomneyCare....so, how can ANYONE trust this guy....he bragged as a presidential candidate that he liked to "shoot critters", but was unable to give names of anyone who ever hunted with him.......he stated at a fundraiser for big shots, that 47% of the nations citizens were not worth talking with and dismissed nearly half of all AMericans........
That dismissive comment caused millions of low-earner Republicans to stay home from the polls. And sane Republicans could not stomach anymore of the Tea Party fruitcakes...it's as though mental patients have hijacked a big portion of Americas conservatives......
Something like 3.8% of human beings are Gay......Republicans hate* Gay people, and dismiss them out of hand, so,of course gays joined the Obama parade.....
* Former V.P. Dick Cheney used to state his hatred of "queers" until his only daughter came out of the closet as a lesbian and married her girlfriend.....Former President Ron Reagan, was a notorious "queer basher" but had a son,Ron jr., who became a ballet dancer and came out as Gay....Reagan basically disowned him and only met him twice during the 8 years of his presidency.
Newt Gingrich had lots of snide and filthy asides and comments about gays, until his sister came out as a Lesbian....seems Republicans shoot first and think last.
Until the last two election cycles, I thought that the rise of a viable third party, that could actually consistently win electoral votes and place a sizable contingent in Congress, would come from Moderates who had grown tired of Congressional gridlock, caused by the ever more extreme elements of the Republican Party. Led by RINOS voted out of office and and conservative and moderate Dems, it seemed the most plausible path for a new party to form.
By after observing the rise of ever more extreme and cognitively dissonant (the woefully misinformed Tea Party), or irrational (the misinformed Ron Paul crowd) POV on the conservative side, it seems that Republican "rebranding" may lead to the rise of a radical third party formed from those previously mentioned extreme entities. In this scenario, the two major parties will collaborate to create a more functional Congress, while the new more extreme party will be able to be more ideologically pure and may have some effect on more controversial issues within Congress, but will become ever more marginalized and radical with time. This would leave the nation's business to be rationally and functionally completed by a coalition of solution-oriented centrists from the two major parties, who don't fear retaliation from the extremists who are hijacking today's Republican Party.
I did have to come a long way down to comment . I am an old white guy . also I am also a believer in Labour unions . I also am well educated I also am a Liberal Democrat and believe that women should be allowed to have medical abortions I also believe in fair tax for all and that the P.O.T.U.S. tax reform should be adopted. I also believe that the Rep/T.P. is an aberration and that the Rep .Party should censor those of their party and those of the Dem . party that were bribed by Norquist to sign a pledge of no increase of taxes should also be censored also . I agree that our S.S. and Medicare are of the two entitlements and as they already paid for by workers should not be considered as anything but true entitlements
The GOP brand is in serious trouble. If RepubliCONs don't believe in evolution, then they won't evolve and change with the changing time. That's a recipe for failure. Mitt Romney is not to be blamed totally
Mitt Romney was actually the best of the Republican candidates. What killed his campaign, in my opinion, was that the Tea Party forced him so far to the right that when he tried to swing back to the center after the Republican convention, it was too late. If he had been able to run as a moderate pro-business candidate from start to finish, and not flip flop so much, he probably would have won easily. And if that infamous "47%" speech had never been made public, he might have won anyway.
However, I'm glad it turned out like it did. The election was a debacle for the Tea Party, and hopefully it will be the tipping point for their demise.
This alone is proof of the GOP's horrific condition. A venture capitalist whose only "business" acumen (his biggest claim to being "qualified" to be President) is the worst kind of predatory, damn the morals, scruples and humanity type of looting and bankrupting solvent companies for personal profit is vile, despicable and, thanks to the entrenched corruption in our legislative, judicial and their corporate bedfellows calling the shots, perfectly legal. Romney is the best example of why America has been plummeting: sociopathic opportunists who came of age idolizing the "Greed is good" philosophy of Gecko from "Wall Street" and putting it into practice. What Romney did was illegal thirty years ago but with the largely Republican dismantling of regulations stealing pensions and services paid for by the working class is now commonplace. The Republicans have masterfully mesmerized the under-educated, economically illiterate poor and working class who live hand to mouth doing menial manual labor jobs into thinking their equally struggling neighbors are to blame for the deck being stacked against them, not the upper 1% who somehow "deserve it all". Is it any surprise that so many who blindly follow religions, vote overwhelmingly Republican? They both require "faith" and no facts please.
Alan1234 -
Having two rational parties will encourage rational debates and the stimulation of new ideas for economic growth. Couldn't agree more!
During the republican debates his opponents pointed out his refusal to show his returns, explain his offshore accounts, his record at Bain capital and being the father of Obamacare made him the worst candidate. The tea party said none of that mattered because no one could prove anything. To millions of voters it did matter. We don't have to prove you've done anything wrong you have to prove you're worthy of being POTUS.
Romney kowtowed to the Teabags and picked a Teabag for a running mate. Not a chance anyone not a Teabag or Xtian could risk voting for him.
Alan....I don't believe Romney was 'forced' anywhere. He went along willingly and maybe even with enthusiasm. A real person doesn't think of them self as an etch-a-sketch. Running the USA is an awesome responsibility, not to be taken lightly. To think that you can start off on that journey by disavowing everything you've seemingly believed in for a lifetime in your quest for votes can only set the stage for failure. The simple fact that he got 47% of the vote is beyond extraordinary and a testament to the power of power of money and advertising to convince people to do something that their good sense would never allow them to consider.
I thought when McCain announced Palin as his running mate in 2008 that he was so pissed at the GOP he intentionally threw the election. Now, I'm beginning to think the GOP is so clueless that they cannot decide if T&A or Right-wing nut jobs will tip the scales in their favor. What a sad state of affairs.
Years ago the Democrats had to oust their own demons and find credible candidates. Remember when they ran Dukakis, McGovern and Mondale? Ugh. The GOP laughed at the Democrats then; and now - karma is a you-know-what.
zflynn - nailed it !
I don't think there was that much of a difference between Romney and Obama:
Obama administration to allow further US media consolidation
By David Maynard
5 December 2012
Five years ago, widespread public outcry halted a plan by the Bush administration to allow corporations to own multiple media outlets in a single market. Now, the Obama administration is quietly planning to pass the same changes and permit even greater media consolidation.
Reports surfaced last week in industry newspapers that US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) head Julius Genachowski would be proposing changes to relax regulations for companies that owned newspapers and television stations in the same market, and would eliminate the current ban on cross-ownership of either radio and TV stations or radio stations and newspapers.
The new rules are being introduced under the guise of helping the Tribune Company, which currently has a waiver from the FCC allowing it to own both the Chicago Tribune and WGN television network, to emerge from bankruptcy. The five members of the FCC, three Democrats—including Chairman Genachowski—and two Republicans, are not required to hold public meetings or solicit any input on the changes, and there are no such meetings currently planned…
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/dec2012/fccp-d05.shtml
Here's the deal, be yourself and say what you mean and mean what you say. Don't change what you believe in depending on who's asking or whose vote you want to get. Flip-floping just means that you will do and say anything to get elected and to me that kind of person is un-trustworthy.
Pig,have you ever considered being a national socialist?I think you would have an awesome future in it.Bashing on anyone who disagrees with you comes so naturally.Why,I could just see you out there on the streets beating the resistance and shouting racist to those you could'nt beat.The FrieKorps is something you should really consider.
Yep you are right Mittens is not to blame..... You really have to blame the people who allowed a VULTURE CAPITALIST to run..... If you want to make the Republican Party Relevant again then get rid of the Tea Party.....
Spc, you are right. Positions kept changing and there were no specifics on how to solve our problems. The GOP's actions defied their message. Case in point:
"So the Romney campaign here paid four times as much for the same programming slot, a practice which in the long run negated any kind of financial advantage it enjoyed."
So, which party is fiscally conservative? Same thing with military spending.
"Mitt Romney was actually the best of the Republican candidates."
I agree with that. Mitt was the best of a terrible, terrible batch of candidates. Think about it --- Bachmann, Perry, Pizza Man, Gingrich, Santorum --- if you took the best all and combined it into one candidate, you still had a terrible candidate. John Huntsman was probably the most electable announced Republican and he went nowhere. Republicans need to stop allowing the crazies to run the show.
"Laugh all you want, God will not be mocked."
Step 1 for a Republican comeback:
I don't think anyone with a logical mind could vote for any candidate that was so highly endorsed and promoted on a news media rag like FOX news.
The GOP and Tea Party think that this biased news source is beneficial to their candidates, but I am so rebuffed by the slanted and obviously prejudicial viewpoints of that newsroom that I can hardly stomach to watch more than a few minutes at a time.
All rational Republican politicians that hope to be elected by the American majority in the future, should distance themselves as much as possible from that tabloid-like channel and focus serious commentary on any and every other station. They should publicly announce that they disagree with the skewed media representation of FOX news and intend to focus their campaign in more serious and reputable venues.
FOX news is outlandish brainwashing of the worst kind and has led too many gullible citizens to believe its outrageous lies and misleading coverage.
Truth Squad - Calm down! You're going to blow and artery.
"truthsquad"...re-posting you barrage of lies does not make you any more credible. I will mock your "god" every chance I get...I always feel I'm on the better team when I make fun of the antichrist.
You are the reason Republicans lost, "truthsquad". The majority of Americans know trash when they see it.
From the point Romney got the nod from his party that it would be him against the President, you knew that the President was going to win re-election. From the start Romney and his camp just made so many mistakes that proved that he was in the minor league and was not ready to be President.
He also has too much baggage.
GOPee, we want to see you play the role of loyal opposition...please harden up to have a bone in your boner...we don't want to see an impotent Boner the Speaker...Please work with the President to improve our fiscal health, don't be a fish - selfish.
No, actually, Wrongme had a chance. There are too many people in this country that are dumb as a stump and have voting rights.
The 47% video thankfully swayed enough of them. I still can't believe this flip flopping, double talking empty suit even had one supporter.
U R a Wrong Total ' R ' Us?
The Republicans just don't GET it. It is not their IMAGE the American people rejected. It is their outdated, plutocratic, misogynistic; and, in some cases racist IDEAS!
Great point, one missed entirely in the article. It's the mistakes, the disorganization that I think had people believing all the business about him having these great organizations and leadership skills was nothing more than hype.
Great campaigns win, not just because they re organized, but at some level people realize it's a representation of the years to come. It won't effect the partisans, but a race is never about them, it's about getting the people on the edge.
Romney was doomed from the beginning and the only reason he stood a chance is because the economy. And as much as Obama has faltered, he didn't create it, nor does he have the control that people think. Spain and Greece kept the global economy at bay, had Europe been rocking and rolling, we would have bounced back a lot quicker. And as much as the right tried to act like they didn't run the economy off the cliff, they did, and they did when the economy was flourishing.
Back to my point, Romney's own party didn't even like him until it was obvious he was going to be the candidate. When 9 republican primary candidates spend months bashing him, it's pretty hard to act like that's just the game, that nothing stuck. And this article acting like Obama was behind it is beyond dumb, Obama jumped on whatever stuck, but nearly all of it was republican primary fodder.
And lastly, the article states Romney was portrayed as an out-of-touch multi-millionaire who made his fortune, in part, by taking over companies that later laid off employees or cut their benefits. This seems to be a republican sentiment. It's like it never occurred to anyone on the right that it wasn't challenged and that people bought it because.... let's see.... it just might be true ? I don't know, but he certainly comes across that way and his Bain history indicates that it's at least partially true. If you are going to act like it's not true, you had better prove it.
The partisans believe anything tossed their way, but again, they don't decide elections. And in my opinion, Mitt Romney lost because what he said about himself, about his policies, about where he stood on issues, and his experience, just did not jive with reality. He said this, but his record, which is pretty good proof, said that. He said he cared, but was caught blowing off nearly half the country. He said he nothing to hide in regards to his income, yet no tax returns for you suckers. Just take his word for it that he isn't hiding income from Uncle Sam or that he pays his fair share. He told us running Bain gave him the experience to run the government and create jobs. But Bain is a hatchet company, a conglomerate of kazillionaires whose only goal was making money. I despise what he does, but he has the right, and by all accounts did very well with it. The problem is it is exactly the opposite of what the government does. making money because you have a ton of it, it's actually a marketable skill that extends to the government.
What surprise me the most, is the right hated him before the primaries, during most of the primaries, liked him for 2 months, and now they still seem to like the guy. I really believed they would toss him to the sharks and put the loss on him. They aren't, many blaming the party, their policies, the tea party, and on and on. And rightfully so. They force their people to take these hard position in the primaries and wonder why they aren't appealing to moderates. I am glad the did, I am glad they are losing minorities, Mitt would have been a disaster, like GWB. And while not a huge Obama fan, the right is just becoming so disconnected, they eat up the BS Fox sells and it's leading them to believe an alternate reality. Too bad for them, I guess, the election spin met reality. They really believed they were going to win when it was fairly clear a week out, that was a remote possibility. They spun the polls, they used republican pollsters to distort how close the election was, they did what Fox does, but thank god they could not spin the results.
Republicans, stop the dirty tricks, the lies, and the racism, the sexism, and just present you ideas and policies for what they are. not what you think people want to hear and you will be back. Funny right, that isn't in there forte' and with any luck, neither will winning elections.
Great post, Scott and voted up!
Uhhh, no! I am sorry, but the biggest problem with the Republican message is not its presentation (although there is one helluva lot about it that just sucked this time around), no, the biggest problem is that it doesn't make sense!
Let's take a look right now at what they are proposing. Part of their criticism of Obama's plan is that taxing the rich (>$250k) 2% would not generate enough revenue to make a difference. For the record, we can calculate what that would be: ~$60B per year. So Republicans gave it a shot: $80B per year, about 1.33X Obama's plan! But wait!, Based on what loopholes would they would close? Well, they didn't bother to list any, they couldn't! every independent analysis says they can't find enough loopholes to make up that kind of money! So where did this number come from?
This is the same crap Romney ran on. We won't tell you, because then people would pick on it. Or, maybe, just maybe, you don't know! Don't give us BS! Give us facts! That would be a start.
Oh, and that "trickle down" crap! Ain't buying it! Didn't work before, ain't gonna work again!
Scott,
Well said, sir.
You know what I would like to see.
A reunion show on , oh say Charlie Rose, on the anniversary of the first primary debates. Let all the participants
do a little self reflection and see if any of them learned anything from the experience.
Because there is one person out there in the Republican party that will win the nomination in 2016. It will be a great tutorial for that person.
For my own partisan leanings, I think it would be a hoot.
Don't know the inside story of why the pig doesn't like the turtle.
that's right,Mitt had too much documented baggage,unlike Obama who could deny anything that did'nt exisit in the 1st place.And no i am not talking about his birth cert.I would sure like to see his tax forms and college transcripts.heck i would even settle for a high school diploma if he had one.To make a long story short,It would seem Americans would rather have a mystery filled past than on that is'nt..oh well.no biggie.
Well, when the core voters of a party are outdated, plutocratic, misogynistic, racist and, I might add, homophobic, they don't see (and won't see) a party platform that reflects those values as being a problem. In short, they're clueless. The only solution is time. If they die off before the GOP, that party might yet be saved. And, I say this as a recovering Republican, from a long-line of Republicans.
Scott,
Very Good Point!
Proving again that success has a thousand mothers and fathers...
...but Failure is an ORPHAN....
Better candidates, better policies, Papa John's!...whoops wrong commercial...
(The one good thing about failure is that it gives you a chance to reevaluate and change .)
... still Bush's Orphan
dangerfield,
Failure can be good for your soul.
But If you have never failed in your whole life, and if your group(GOP) lives in a echo chamber of their own making, change comes very slowly.
Usually if only the pain gets life threatening, will change happen in this case.
The destruction of the GOP is coming our way due to the Church converging on State matters more aggressively than the past. It's just that simple. The Church has aligned it's tea party members to oust moderates with an attempt to buy a Government with Coporate/Church loot for greater benefits to those within the new Partnership forging the two together. The new "Harlot". Middle class voters resent that............
It's the message that was shot down by voters. Not the messanger. And to top it off.....this new crowd thinks they can dictate women's child bearing decisions on religious grounds. Yea....right !!! I've got news for them......many husbands cannot even dictate their wives child bearing decisions. What makes the Church think they can buy a Government that can do it...........LOL.
The Republican Party could start by looking right at the party platform. If they don't dump the social neanderthals, and not only kick them to the curb but OVER the curb and down the nearest cliff, they are doomed to marginal performance in national elections. Women are NOT going to tolerate the old men of the Republican Party dictating the most intimate decisions that they and their families make.
Quit calling yourself the party of freedom and liberty unless keep your nose out of people's personal lives.
Good points newday.
Their idea of freedom and liberty equals we want guns, but you can't vote.
They are so 18th century aren't they?
Or, maybe 16th century, Pat!
Instead of the Republicans pointingfingers at each other if they used their brain they should know its Obama's fault they lost__he was the best man for the job and the voters knew it.
newdaydawning: Those men that were making the outrageous comments about abortion during the election, were very much in the minority and not representatives of the majority conservatives or Republicans. But I'm pretty sure that you already know this...afterall I'm sure that you're aware that the media made the most of these stupid comments of a couple Republican nit-wits to the extent that many voters thought that the whole Republican party shared their views.
And yet, Romney found time to endorse Murdock *after* he'd made those rape comments. The only guy, in fact, he *did* endorse. Sort of makes you wonder how much the former governor did share those views, doesn't it?
"If you don't want tax dollars helping the sick and poor, then its time to stop saying you want a government based on Christian values" --- John Fogelsang
Juanita: Well, let's start with the fact that the GOP has, as a major plank in its platform, the intention to outlaw abortion in all circumstances. That's part of the war on women. Don't call yourselves the party of freedom when you do your very best to intrude yourselves into peoples' bedrooms and try to govern not only what they do, but how they do it. And politicians have to stop practicing medicine without a license. What medical decisions people make should be strictly between them and their doctors, without government involvement. The government establishes criteria of medical education and knowledge, and examines and licenses physicians to ensure they are being met. Period.
Smaller government may be desirable in some measure, but I don't want a government small enough to fit into my bedroom, my children's bedrooms, nor those of my grandchildren. That where your party wants to be.
Add in the plank wanting to add an amendment to the Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage, and you have another reason people regard your party as a bunch of hating busybodies.
Someone earlier offered the notion that the Republicans need to move into the 21st century and not act like it's 1950 anymore. I have to disagree with that statement somewhat. In the 1950s we had the last good Republican president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The rest of the Republican presidents have been sorry excuses for statesmen, especially the sainted Ronald Reagan. He introduced the notion of trickle-down economics that has resulted, and, yes, there are statistics to support it, in the movement of the major wealth of this country from the middle class to the 1%.
Trickle-down economics, "voodoo economics" as George HW Bush called them, were a chimera, a mirage. Nothing ever trickled-down to the middle class, it all percolated upward to the 1%.
Your party would be a lot more popular if it attended to the nation's business, and not to the businesses of the rich, or the private business of its citizens. Your party needs to rethink its premises, not simply develop a better way to attempt to deceive people into voting for it.
Oddly enough, juanita, my comment was specific to the party platform. The men you refer to made comments specific to the widely held belief of their party as demonstrated by that platform.
Do you really NOT get that?
Bigotry and War on Women???? What the hell is THAT supposed to mean? All that means is that unless you believe EXACTLY like the left/progressives/liberals you are a bigot and hate women.
The facts are the voters that saw the democrats as their sugar daddy were what pushed things to the left, that and all those districts that SUPPOSEDLY had less than 5 votes for Romney...... LOTS of them.
Kinda sums it all up doesn't it?
Kinda.. sums up..what???
Great article Mark.
President Obama was an excellent candidate with an excellent campaign first off. People like and trust him. That's why he won.
As far as Romney the candidate, as a person running on his background as a leader, then that is what he needed to show the country. Romney at no point did that. He seemed too eager to please all aspects of the GOP. He looked weak.
He should have stood up to the haters in his party; instead he joined them. Particularly on Obamacare and immigration.
I didn't see him campaign much until after the convention. He just seemed to be attending a ton of closed door campaign fundraisers with the 1%.
I thought the democrats absolutely defined him early to those across the nation who knew very little about him. Those ads were devastating, but Romney's 47% video killed him.
So after his 6 year quest for the presidency, this is what Mitt has to show for it:
The Daily Kos:
Mitt Romney may not have won the popular vote, the electoral vote, or even his former home state of Michigan, but that doesn't mean he's a loser—much less a "sore loser."
Among Mitt's notable achievements are:
_________________
Mitt was the candidate who represented the GOP of today. And that's why he lost. He was as greedy and exclusive as the rest of them. Something he was proud of.
His foreign policy trip as well was a disaster. Not just to us, but to you know, foreigners.
I still don't understand how they thought they were going to win. It defies logic.
Can't wait for Inaugeration Day and 4 more years.
Pat,
Great post, as usual! Because of his exclusivity, he never related to the country and they in turn, couldn't relate to him. Not a winning characteristic.
Layton, speaking of today's GOP.
TOD/Media Matters:
Bob Costas Responds To Fox News Attacks: "Sometimes The Quality Of The Thinking Of Those Who Oppose You Speaks For Itself"
Bob Costas - a class act always.
Bob is a sportscaster/journalist. Romney could learn a thing or two from him. Instead Mitt became knee deep in GOP crap that he should have disavowed right from the get go. That's what defines leadership. Real leadership. He evidently thought he was running as a right wing radio host instead of President of the United States.
His narcissism, and Ann's "It's our turn" attitude is what ultimately did them in for many. Then there is his refusal to release his tax returns. That right there says, "I don't play by the same rules as you, and you will not like what you see".
AlaskaGirl, I think what really did it for me was when we found out Romney protested for the draft during the Vietnam War. That was unforgivable in my eyes. We all do things in our youth we're not proud of, but protesting for a draft when he himself wouldn't serve?
No way did I want him as our president.
In the spirit of the season, and since it is snowing here and I hate driving in the snow, I think my new avatar is fitting!
Pat, the whole Republican party has problems, but it would seem that there were just so many reasons not to vote for Romney, no matter what party he represented, and people, even if they weren't thrilled with Obama still saw that going with Romney was bad for this country, even worse voting in a party whose ideology is stuck somewhere in the 19th century in many ways.
... there were just so many reasons not to vote for Romney, ...
And we didn't even get into the cookies comment, the NASCAR jacket comment, the Olympics comment, his I'm out of work comment, his self-deport comment., his $10,000 bet comment,...
So many issues with him, so little time. LoL.
"Corporations are people, my friend!" ..............The Flip Flopper
Yup, great avatar!
He was "The Chameleon" ...no identity of his own, he invariably assumed the identity of whichever political/economic power that would bring him the most gain. The GOP saw it themselves a year ago,
redstate.com/erick/2011/10/31/mitt-romney-the-magically-malleable-man-of-mystery/
or should we say, "The Narcissistic Chameleon"
Info, I think you bring up a great point - no identity of his own.
Info ....
Now, don't you all go bananas on me but seriously that is very characteristic of the Mormon faith. They blend in and become one as they are promised unique and different when they get to populate their own planets. Please remember I live in Utah, ex-Mormon (with a lot of Mormon friends) and I'm not making an ignorant comment. The Mormon faith encourages their members to not make waves. Pale and stale lives, grows, and prospers here in my fair state.
Mitt tried very hard to make an image for himself during the election. But, alas, even the Salt Lake Tribune could not endorse him stating there were just too many Mitts. Poor kid, never knew how.
Pat Boston MA: "President Obama was an excellent candidate and that's why people like and trust him"....I'm a "people" and I neither like nor trust him.
well, juanita dominguez, I'm a people too and I thought Mitt Romney stunk. Feel better?
Well that's the republican party for you, not taking responsibility for their own faults blaming it on the other party telling them to fix it.
that is funny, since all the current Pres can do is point fingures every time something comes up, such as the current fiscal cliff issue at hand. how does he handle it ?
throw it at the other party and make statements like "I'm not going to do anything until they do"
go figure
sit back and point fingers at others, that is how the past four years have been, and that is how the next will be. lets see if anything will get done this time, I doubt it looking at the track record.
Your statement reads that you have not looked at president Obama's "track record" over the last four years. When you have researched his achievements using independent sources, come on back and let's have a discussion.
AlaskaGirl-759554 Explain why our job market has improved, President Obama wanted to close Guantanamo Bay but Congress would not let him. I thought you republicans in here would have learned by now that all this mess is the republican party's fault. President Obama was handed all this to him.
Hey, I'm on the "good" side! Are we getting our wires crossed or something? Totally a twice for Obama girl!
Hillary 2016!
Gals, PLEASE!!!!!!! YOU Mean Elizabeth Warren/ Hillary Clinton for 2016. Now THAT'S A Super Team!!!!!!
Bobby Jindal will be the next POTUS
Yeah, Jack, in your dreams.
Hillary 2016 ONWARD!
If I were a welfare scum bag, I'd think the exact same way as you. What's really funny, is you leach liberals, think something good is happening by keeping this complete and utter failure in office. What's he done, what's he going to do? He has no clue. Only borrow, tax, spend and keep those great entitlements rolling to ensure the liberals win elections. Can't have too many self sufficient people now can we.
I notice the Republicans have stopped sneering at Obama's background as a "community organizer." Turns out that a background in community organizing is a good thing to have on your resume, if you intend to win elections.
I think you meant unlimited campaign funds win elections
Ahhhhh, Romney had what you call "unlimited campaign funds" so why didn't he win?
FireBlade,
What about all that money from Sheldon Adelson? He alone contributed $150 million to change the laws that he was breaking. Then there's Karl "Rover" Rove and the $300 million he stole. The GOP (the Brotherhood of Bigotry) raised more money than Obama, tried to suppress the vote yet still lost.
My way of thinking about coomunity organizers are the majority of them are in it for betterment of the community and they are do gooders . CEO's on the other hand doesn't care a bit for any one but themselves and their pocketbook if they can make a buck off you they are more than happy to fire you.
The republicanAristocratParty has NO intention of changing their Very VERY Evil Greed and Mechanisms of Death, Mainly Wars EveryWheres they can wage to make a buck. Look at S.C (R) Sen Jim DeMint standing against war returned veterans from getting help to find Jobs and or Retraining for Careers/Jobs. There is NO Reason other than military might that Americans can March on Crapital Hill, round up the Politico SEWAGE and CLAP the B@$T@RD$ In Jail. replacing them with COMPETENT and dedicated Legislators. Just like the French Revolution. There is Going To Be Change; Good Change For America.
“Mitt Romney through Ann Romney’s blind trust—not so blind, they could see where the money was going—gave their money to Paul ‘The Vulture’ Singer. Singer with two of his hedge fund buddies bought up the auto parts division of GM for only 67 cents a share. They were able to turn 67 cents a share into $22 a share by threatening GM and the US Treasury with a shutdown of the auto industry. They had complete control of all the steering wheels and steering columns of every car that was being made in America. GM would have been liquidated. And so the government allowed GM to pay them $12 billion. About half of that was straight from the US Treasury in a takeover of Delphi’s pension fund.
“Almost every plant was then moved by the Romney group to China. Delphi is making a fortune today. So you have 25,000 workers who lost their jobs to China. Three hedge fund managers made at least $4.2 billion. And the Romneys have made at least 15, but the evidence suggests that it’s more like $115 million, a 4,000% profit.
“What we can’t get from them—this may be why they are not releasing their 2009 taxes—they’ve moved their incorporation of the auto parts division of GM from Michigan to the Isle of Jersey in the Mediterranean Sea, which hides their taxes and also, of course, their accounts.”
Romney’s Bailout Bonanza: How He Made Millions from the Rescue of Detroit http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/18/greg_palast_mitt_romneys_bailout_...
Mister Fids,
Think I figured out why they haven't found anything - your investigators are looking in the wrong place - Jersey is located in the English Channel, not the Mediterranean.
Details matter.
DGOL: The ONLY reason Obama was elected in the first place is because he's black. The only reason he was re-elected is because of his promise to keep putting more and more people on government assistance, as well as the liberal biased media. Just call it what it is.
How brain dead is the Republican Party's leadership ? Reince Priebus isn't a grounded realist, or a communicable disease. He's the semi-addled purveyor of some of the most reprehensible, repeat early and often, brain dead rhetoric ever spewed forth, by what used to be a party led by intellectuals. Where do these people come from and how in the hell do they rise to positions of leadership within what used to be a political organization of some rational capabilities ?
Republicans are continuing on their path to oblivion. Today, 38 Senate Republicans voted against ensuring that disabled people are treated with respect, dignity and provided opportunities consistent with their physical conditions. The issue is in fact a treaty sponsored by the General Assembly of the United Nations that has already been approved by Great Britain, France, Russia, China and 150 other nations.
Republican Senators object to adding more 'outlandish' regulations on American businesses.
89-year old former Senator Bob Dole, who's disability is the result of his military service in WWII, was on the floor of the Senate urging approval of the international treaty. If feel eight votes short of the two-thirds majority required.
So much for the disable Americans vote, not to mention the votes of all thinking veterans.
Thanks Senator Dole for making the effort from you wheelchair to support this treaty.
Bruce, so true. Even Senator Dole couldn't convince them to do the right thing. It must have taken a lot physically for Dole to show up today, yet even he couldn't make a difference in their votes.
I wonder how that made him feel.
Obviously America no longer leads the world on human rights.
Republicans voted no on the disability act vote that Bush drew up in 2006. Why do republicans oppose other countries supporting the disabled like we do?
Larry,
I just heard about this vote in the Senate this evening.
It was about some hysteria about sovereignty of nations and home schooling ?
Another "black helicopter" paranoia that five GOP Senators caved in to this crazy thinking.
Romney was defeated by his own party. The votes for Obama were votes against nasty, racist old people who hate and fear nearly everyone and everything. This is the Republican 'brand', and it's not a pretty sight. They actually thought that we were all like them. Imagine that.
Romney was beaten by conservatives. Not republicans - they voted for him. Until they get a true conservative that wants to hold expenditures down and has new ideas on running government instead of more of the same but not willing to pay for it than they will continue to get throttled and rightly so! Also, romney is a rich boy who wanted this job to so he could put the win on his mantle. Not someone I would have over for a beer, I can tell you that.
A plan of I'll cut revenue 500 billion and spend 200 billion more on the military and a few hundred billion on a new space program abd pay for it all like Bush did wouldn't sell. I wonder why?
romney lost because of the 47% comment, privatizing medicare, expanding medicare and the military but not cutting anything..... Also, when asked what he would do on taxes, he came up with a blank stare. Here is a guy who makes millions but cant even deliver a good sound bite. Loser loser loser loser comments. If he just wants to be stealthy and empty suited, than he deserves to lose and this country deserves to have a loser sitting in the white house. Listenting to that man, made me want to puke and I would have held my nose just for about any potential conservative..Romeny was no where near being a conservative.
...Time for an extreme makeover ... of the GOP
but .... a plastic surgery can still go horribly wrong; it can get worse... without any chance of ever getting better
Yeah, just ask Mickey Rourke!
Oh SNAP AlaskaGirl! Or Lil Kim (I think that's how you spell it!) That could be a post of it's own! LOL!
I blame the Looter-in-Chief Obama and his horde of parasites.
Thanks, I'm happy to hear that there are still people who are dumb as a box of rocks out there. I salute you!
Given the fact he won re-election, would you call those parasites another word? Say "American?' since they constitute the majority, or are only the minority "Americans" and the rest "parasites?' what a horrible comment you made for our democracy.
Seems like the Re-Pubs would be happy at the much-improved numbers over what the freak show of McCain-Palin pulled in.
The Republican Party has twice proven now that they can't even beat a black man running for President. In 2016, they will establish that they can't beat a woman, either. Sorry, but your party is too old, too male, too white, and above all else, too rich. The Dems tried to throw the election in 2008 by running a gentleman of color, (Repubs take care of the rich, and Dem office-holders are also rich). But the Dems didn't count on how mad the American public is at the career politicians slopping at the public trough for generations. Stand by your belief that the rich must get richer (or they'll stop contributing to re-election campaigns). Drive America off the fiscal cliff and see how popular you are after that. Stand fast, fiercely resistant to changing a political system that just doesn't work anymore for anyone but billionaires. Good Luck, America.
It occurs to me that it might not be such a bad idea to go off the fiscal cliff. We get rid of the Bush tax cuts, and then the other 98% get so mad at their representatives we have the potential for two very good results. First is that taxes on the middle class get cut as a separate deal early in the next Congress, then in 2014, while people are still mad at their representatives, and Grover Norquist fills his pledge to retaliate on anyone who voted for higher taxes, he runs Tea Party opponents to everyone who did. The Tea Party is so bankrupt of ideas, and so thoroughly disliked by moderates, that they vote for the Democratic opponent, and we get a better Congress next time around.
Well, I can hope, can't I?
Jolly joker, I have some empathy for you. My father was a fiscally conservative Republican who passed away many years ago. Being a moderate'liberal I always enjoyed our discussions - with Mom always calling us to dinner at exactly the correct moment.
One thing that really resonates today is Dad's warning that the Moral Majority would destroy the Republican Party. He fervently believed that government had no role in telling people how to live and knew that as the Party moved to prayer in the schools, abortion, and other social issues, the Party would devolve into a splintered mess.
Looks like Dad was right . . . .again.
Gop Lessons:
--Don't Run a RINO
--Don't Allow Democrat Voter Fraud, which turned a popular vote tie into a 3 point Obama win
Hey yoyo or Chesty,
You are still living in the echo chamber of the RWNJ.
BTW, I see three of your little buddies have disappeared"Oh, my..."
Delusional
Any proof or just trying to use factless slander (or is it Libel, i forget?)
Yes! Please please please keep thinking it was voter fraud and then do EVERYTHING the same in the next election. It's in the Democrats best interest for you to be so stupid to think it's voter fraud. What's next? You going to blame Sandy? Then please do everything the same for the next election and see what happens when there is no hurricane.
Libel is written, slander is spoken.
Unfortunately the popular vote means nothing. If the popular vote determined who won, Romney would have won this election. Not based on these numbers; but if it was known that the popular voted determined who won many, many more would have come out to vote. When you live in a state that is predetermined a Democratic or Republican state no matter if you vote or not, dissuades many from voting. If people knew all of their votes counted it would be a different world.
Chesty Puller... Winner of the "Poorest Loser" AND "Most delusional Poster" Awards!! Runner up for the fourth time running in the "Swim-suit Competition" and voted by all other pageant contestants as "Mist CON-weenie-ality"
You can have my kleen-ex chesty... I'm not using it.
Actually chesty, I have to come clean on this... Aliens abducted over five million loyal Republican voters (again) that fateful day... Otherwise the Republican party totally had this!
Your Beef is with the aliens, but cattle mutilations are an entirely different subject.
Hey NBC and MSNBC and all you lackeys over there - GET OVER IT! Yes the GOP lost but quit gloating about it and move on. Geez, Romney's moved on but you guys can't seem too!!!!!!!! Hey Mark - can't find anything else to write about????? Fiscal cliff thing gettin kind of old? Don't want to bring up the murders at Benghazi??? Doggone then just keep chewin' over this race. BUT ITS GETTING OLD TO EVERYBODY BUT YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Isn't Benghazi getting old. You are the ones whining so much about this that it's pathetic. You Lost and it was a GOOD DAY FOR AMERICA. Bye now
Judy, it takes a while for things to settle after a presidential election. A lot of Romney campaign people are now giving their thoughts on what they feel went wrong.
It's always interesting to read different perspectives from both the winning & losing sides.
Talk about irony!
The old broad is telling US to get over "it", while dry-humping Benghazi-Gate like a bitch in heat! lmao
Noooo Judy, honey, time for YOU to get over getting spanked a couple of weeks ago.
Don't like the election results, you're free to haul your fat ass out of MY country, sweetheart...
PS: Next time, use a few more !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! will ya? Makes you look like the raving loon you are...
Judy, Judy, Judy - I'm just not ready to "GET OVER IT" nor are my friends here on FR. You will have to excuse us for gloating. I am sure you can just shut your eyes and imagine yourself in our shoes had things gone the other way (God forbid). I shudder to think how wacko right-wing goof balls like you would be rubbing our noses in it. Also, you need to move on from this Benghazi issue. Take Feisty's advice.
She has an undeserved thumbs up - that was me - in error. Once you "vote", you can't take it back.
I thought I was hitting "reply".
I need better glasses.
Pat - I've done the same thing. It's a combination of my glasses and my race to reply that gets me in trouble.
Judy has a point. The election is over. And yet MSN and NBC continually play it up. Let em', in 4 years they'll want to run from our Emperor like all of us. Believe me he'll be throwing his own supporters under the bus in the next four years as he has nothing to lose. Politics is a dirty game.
Eagle, the election is over, but the opinions and back stories aren't. Don't forget about all the books focusing on this election that should start appearing in the spring. Only then will it be over.
Until then, we still have the inaugeration in January. Yeah. 4 more years.
Ahhh but Pat you'll be the minion who buys the books to read what we already know and watch the festivities and commercials and then think....wow it's a beautiful world in here isn't it? It's just your world Pat. Enjoy and pay because you will support program. See you have no choice besides you'll believe anything.
Eagle ....
Again ... the point of this article was to show how the GOP is distancing themselves from the election and moving forward. They are trying to redefine themselves.
Judy ...
Where exactly has Romney moved on to? So happy he's not going to be in the political field anymore or do you think your beloved candidate is going to go for a third shot? The man ONLY knows how to campaign as that has been his job for the past six years!
Blue Christmas for Romney!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llxSoKLG-i4
Eagle, that's not true. I don't believe anything.
Take for instance - Iraq.
And the GOP foolish nonstop talking points about how fiscally responsible they are.
We all know why we're in this mess. And President Obama had nothing to do with it. He's just trying to get some help from the party who caused it, but of course, they're not in to responsible anything. They would love nothing better than to let the rich keep their tax breaks while the rest of us pay the bill. Thaty's what they're holding out for. It's the only thing they know how to do.
I have no faith in the Republican Party.
Now I see Karl Rove and Dick Morris have more or less been fired from Fox.
Karl Rove. He's a monster. Sarah Palin, the darling of the GOP not that long ago is unwelcome practically everywhere.
I'm sticking with the Democrats. There is something seriously wrong with the GOP. Their long slow decline has been in the works for decades. It's their own fault.
4 more years. Thank goodness.
Rommney lost from lack of votes. To get more votes GOP needs to represent more people instead of writting people off
And they only way to do is to win segments of the population with promises like student loan forgiveness, entitlements programs, increased spending on government work programs. Does this agenda sound familiar?
Want to know why the Republican lost. This is their belief which was posted in the Oregonian:
Gee Truth, That looks a lot like a Fork calling a Spoon a Kitchen Utensil. And they think we can't see through their bull? Dems and Reps are both guilty of all of the above, but I usually (usually) only see Reps arrogant enough to believe that we feast on their every word.
You are right. This is why they lose. It chills me to think that they are more concerned about losing then are about working and fixing our nation's problems.
Yeah Jesse, now your the pot calling the kettle black. All Obama and his cohorts did in the election was tell lie after lie. The guy has lied out his azz since he was running in 2007. What was it he said about Bush. It was un american, un patriotic and a few other descriptions to "run the deficit up" He has done virtually nothing he said he would do while campaigning in 2007. It's the dems that will stop at absolutely nothing to win an election. They are the most worthless scumbags in the country. The GOP is not much better but are no where in the same league.
yet he WON!!!!!!
Thing is the Dems or Liberals fix nothing anyway. Their way of fixing a problem is to constantly throw money at the problem and hope is lands on the right solution. And that throwing motion is called entitlements programs, which does three things, it promotes a socialist agenda, it reduces families to check collectors, and it wins votes!! See the liberal agenda is not really liberal, it's an agenda whereby the government does everything for you including supplying you with income. So why are they called liberals? They really don't want to be liberal they want to be controlled.
After all the negitive ads by Obama, set the tone early. The media was in Obama's main cheering section. Republican were correct to stand by the current immagration laws. The war on women was one of the biggest lies told.
maybe a winter storm will destroy it first, then Ill pray
They are all pro-“choice”, for homosexual marriage, for salary equality, voting for more Democrats and less individual freedom.
How is allowing choice voting for less individual freedom? I get a little amused when people talk about freedom in the same sentence where they want to outlaw something.
To poster Truth:
The Republican Party has been and continues to try to have Christian dogma beliefs injected into the American political system. A majority of Republicans think and assume that they and religious institutions have the right to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. They also think and assume that it is their right to dictate whether two consenting adults can get married. They favor the rich as they always do.
They need to cast off the shackles of religion if they want to gain the confidence of the American people. Religious nutcases and the rich are the ones who support the Republican Party.
Religion is fine so-long as it is confined to the person's home and place or worship. Theocracy is one of the worst forms of government a nation can have; sadly that is the direction that the religious nutcases want this country to become and to do so they support Republicans who agree with these archaic beliefs.
What a bunch of babies. You lost because there are not enough rich discriminatory old white guys left in America. Unless you take on the issues that the Democrats support (or lie that you support them like Romney tried) you will never win a general election again. It's that simple.
Good bye and good riddance Grumpy Old Party
If the GOP wants to survive, they really need to get back to their roots of being fiscally conservative and socially responsible. Dump the racists, whackos, haters, and plutocrats. Remember that a country can be judged based on how it treats its weakest.
The GOP would be far more competitive.
Yeah, but then it wouldn't be the GOP.
1. Change how they vet candidates for primary runs
2. Learn the basic 101 statistical math approach to polling
3. Retire Karl Rove and Dick Morris
4. Separate themselves from Grover Norquest and the like
5. Leave Fox Network or re-educate the staff about lying and echoing each other
6. Hope that Rush retires by then (2016)
They vet the same way as all the other parties, they just tend not to be as extreme liberial.
The polling was pretty close to actual numbers, no problems there.
Dick Morris was working for Bill Clinton, so he is a republican? '
Gover Norquest belives in not raising taxes. (nothing wrong with that, The Government must control Spending.
FOX is the only station that has concertives, and liberials side by side talking about the issues. That is what is needed from the other stations, like Current, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and the rest. Why do you think FOX is the #1 Station?
Rush is just like so many concertives, and liberals that grace our airwaves. I care as much for Rush L, as I do for Jennifer G. Both are extreemest at times. But to cut any one group off the airwaves means that your group could be next.
The Republican need to get thier agenda out before Liberals make one for them first, as was the case during the 2012 election.
Michael, you are so full of delusion and mis-/disinformation that it's not funny.
gdsmithtx Michael is a typical fox news fan. Doesn't have a clue that big money interests drives their lies. Harry's Paris Bar predicted the outcome 4 days before the election as they had in 16 out of 17 previous presidential elections. I had been following a electoral college site since January which was updated weekly. It predicted the outcome actually in January.
In other words, get better at playing the game and not by relaxing any of the out-of-tune/date ideologies? Nice try, but a losing formula. America didn't like the GOP plan. Period.
yes Michael, and you prove the assumption that "low info voters watch fox" quite well. The statement "concertives watch fox" just about says it all. Although I haven't a clue what a "consertive" is... I would suggest it's a knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing near neanderthal. Oh wait, that's primarily who voted for Myth, ain't it? As Rick Perry so eloquently stated during the republican debates, "I would cut the department of education" before he went on to forgetting the third government department on his hit list. It's how republican's don't think.
As I see it, Romney lost because of 2 reasons. 1. His policy on immigration. He lost the Spanish vote for that.
2. His view on abortion. He is ProLife. That is OK, but whoever is in favor of abortion will get the women's vote. Probably 99.9% of the women between the ages of 18 and 50 will never get an abortion, but they just don't want a man telling them what they can and can't do with their bodies.
Paul
A woman wants the right to choose, they are not necessarily in favor of abortion as you quoted. They want to be able to choose if need be.
Those are 2 very different things
Paul - Your #2 is a very uninformed thing to say. NO ONE is in favor of abortion. It is a horrible and tragic decision to have to make. Please use the term Pro-Choice.
Most men, even those with good intentions, should just not speak about what they do not know. They will never know what it costs a woman emotionally to make the decision to have an abortion, so to try and speak about it is just going to get them into a bit of trouble. Paul is today's case in point.
Yes, Paul, I second kimH. Please, if you are going to speak about it, use the term pro-choice as that is really what it is. The right of a woman to choose her path.
Please leave women alone..on this. Everyone should enjoy the same Constitutional Right and Freedom to Choose.
.
Some men use women as 'breeding machine' and 'sex slave' and want total control ... NO, NO, NO ... it takes 2 consenting adults with the woman as equal partner in every major decision. And the woman doesn't need anyone else's consent to decide what to do with her body..unless she is gracious enough to ask for your input.
AlaskaGirl - Thanks for your comment. I am fairly sure Paul spoke without thinking but it is important to point out the distinction.
An abortion is an abortiion. Changing the name changes nothing. It is true women have the right to control thier bodys, up until another live is involved. With the exception of rape and incest, having a child is volintary. What if the father wants the child? He has no say, which is fine for most, as they just push the woman to get an abortion. That way they get to keep thier sex slave going, and they have no responsibility. This will continue until women and men start taking responsibility for thier lives. And a little self respect wouldn't hurt either.
I agree. The more that people, men especially, are educated about this distinction the better. The Republican party has done such a job on demonizing this whole issue that I think when we as women have the chance to set someone straight, we gotta do it. I think you are probably right about Paul, but better to point it out anyway.
Aww, geez, 300Michael! There is really no hope for you, so please just crawl back under the rock you currently reside under and let the adults handle this.
Wow. Deja vu: 300Michael is back somewhere in the 1940's.
Yes, Newday, it would seem so. I don't believe that 300Michael has heard of Roe V Wade. This would explain the 1940's attitude.
So I guess personal responsibility is dead, according to liberals. So I guess you want men to freely open thier zippers and Women to keep spreading thier legs then. So Sad. To have such a low openion of what men and women can be. You want the state to have total control of our lives.
Yes alaska girl, but it doen't mean Roe V wade was right, just like the Dred Scott case concerning slavery wasn't right, but the Supreme court did it also.
I am asking you this sincerely. Do you have some sort of mental impairment?
To answer your rather sick comment, yes, I do want men to continue to freely open their zippers and I want women to freely spread their legs. I do not want you or any government on the state or federal level telling me or any other person for that matter what I can do with my body. It is my body and it is my bedroom. If you are not pro-choice then I suggest that if you find yourself pregnant you will opt to bring the pregnancy to term. That is your choice. See how that works. It's called PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
The Roe V Wade stance you take is your opinion, but it is the law of the land. That trumps the crazy thinking.
I can't engage in a discussion with you anymore. I really can't do crazy and irrational. Peace.
So sorry you have to deal with attacks from cowards. My sympathies.
But you want the government out of your life, except for to pay for the birthcontrol, abortions, etc. If you want it out of your live then keep them totally out of it, and pay for your own control. I would be fine with that. I just think people should not be acting like dogs and cats, and take responsibility for thier own actions, but I guess that is too much to ask of liberals. I was brought up with values, that is soorly missing today. I hope you come to your sences, soon, before nature take care of it for you. I am proud of what you call a mental impairment, comming from a liberial that is a badge of honor I will gladly accept. Thank You.
"that is soorly missing"
dude. What is sorely missing is your ability to spell & write a coherent sentence.
Hey, buckwheat elvis, if you're going to criticize the writing of others, make sure your writing is up to par. You should have written, "Dude, what is sorely missing is your ability to spell and write a coherent sentence."
300Michael, you are stupid as hell.
Stop posting. Your mindless drivel is making conservatives look bad.
Thanks.