How many votes did the failure of 'Project Orca' cost the GOP? (GOTV experiences massive screw ups)

American Thinker ^ | 11/09/2012 | rick Moran

[lovesdogs]

I had a project ORCA guy in my polling place. I was a plain ole poll watcher. It was hard to figure how they were going to get names of voters when they checked in and of course he couldn’t. When the poll watching provision of FL statute says that we must be “allow close enough to reasonably do our jobs”, the architects of this program should have seen a problem with foundation...getting the names. SOE’s in dem counties put poll watchers in the corner. As long as dem and rep are treated alike, we have no grounds to complain.

I was as least able to use the ORCA volunteer to help me as a second set of eyes, but he had little training in what you are and are not allowed to do in the polling place. I would not be shocked to find out that the fair number of ORCA people were ejected in dem areas.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Personally, in 2006 I was part of one of these ORCA-type things, and in that case our problem was that we had lists, we got names, and we called them, but the people were dissallusioned by republicans enough that a good number of the people we called came out to vote Democrat. We turned out opposition, because we didn’t do a good job of making the lists clean.

Anyway, I think part of the real problem was that the Romney campaign targetted “unlikely” voters in their early voting campaign, assuming the likely voters would show up on election day.

That works if you can talk your low-propensity voters into voting early. But it seems easier to just target ALL your voters to vote early, so they don’t get dissallusioned at the last minute and decide not to vote.

Imagine how better it would have been for popular vote if the GOP had gotten most of their voters in New York and New Jersey out to vote early, before the storm hit.

I think if they are going to let people freely vote early, it is time for the GOP to try to get every one of their voters to go out and vote early. Especially if they have just determined that the voter will actually support the GOP.

[Sonny M]

I could be wrong, but didn’t Rove handle that for W? He is worthless as a pundit, but if he took care of GOTV efforts, why not get him back. Unless this is his mess too.

Actually he didn't. It was Ken Melman (I forgot how to spell his name, but it was the guy who came out of the closet as gay and is the former chairman of the RNC)that was in charge of the GOTV and the actual implementation of the plans.

[ABQHispConservative]

Thanks. Then hire that guy. And play dirty, they do and we should not be above it.

[VAFreedom]

from my personal experience, on the week of the election, 3 dems visited my house. one on election day. I got nothing from gop. Not that it matters since I voted anyway.

But I’m in VA, you’d think the money being spent in a swing state would cover the volunteers.

[GraniteStateConservative]

What Republican voters have the free time to do crap like that? Democrats are shiftless bums, and have ample free time to shuttle people here and yon for a week.

[gunsequalfreedom]

GOP is old and old school. Until the Sununus of the party and other GOP estblishment are gone, it will be a continuing downhill slide...if we dont get to the financial Cliff first.

Meanwhile, when Ron Paul voters ask to be accepted into the party they need to be welcomed instead of shunned. And the stupid destructive social agenda wing of the party needs to come back to reality. How much more ground do they lose before realizing what they are doing does not work.

[riri]

I want to know who the idiots are that need phone calls to get to the polls.

Anecdotal, but my sister lives in Florida. She said she went to early vote 4 times and the lines were so long she kept leaving and coming back. She said the oldsters in line were foaming at the mouth to get rid of this corrupt bastard.

Another anecdotal, someone (FL again, different county) showed up at my 70 year old MILs house to help her vote. She has no idea who it was, they never really identified themselves, I guess. She filled out her ballot for Romney and they left with it. Good guy or bad guy? We'll never know.

[wildandcrazyrussian]

Why would that be? My understanding is that the Orca project was simply a method to call in the voter info on people who HAD voted, so as to reduce the expense of calling everyone else to remind them to vote. So the GOTV effort should have absolutely unaffected and in the worst case just call ALL Republicans in an area lacking Orca data. I have done plenty of calls to people on election day not knowing whether to not they have voted; and if they have, they usually pleasantly thank you for calling and are even glad to know that there is a GOTV project to help out.

In fact, isn't a project like Orca psychologically backlward for just that reason?

[nutmeg]

One guy called Rush yesterday with the excuse, "Romney wasn't conservative enough and wouldn't take drastic enough measures, so I sat out." Really? So if you have a cancer med that is only 70% effective, you won't take it?

Very well said, LS.

[JoeProBono]

[9YearLurker]

Those 30,000 ORCA volunteers weren’t applying themselves otherwise to traditional GOTV—that had to hurt.