Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Quick Post-Election Thoughts (A Prescription for Recovery)
Forbes ^ | November 07, 2012 | Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry

Posted on 11/07/2012 5:02:29 AM PST by Colonel Kangaroo

My main concern right now is a Republican Party that can win elections and majorities again, and do that for the conservative movement. Now is the hour of our discontent, when all of the factions inside the GOP turn on each other to blame each other for the loss.

Here’s what I think went wrong:

•NOT social issues voters. This will be a predictable line from elite/moderates/liberals. The fact of the matter is social issues voters are still around 30% of the electorate and the GOP can’t get to 50% without them. Deal with it.

•NOT “extremism”. And may I remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! Wait, the guy who said that lost in a landslide. Urm. Uh… Well. The point I want to make: there’s extremism and there’s extremism. Mitt Romney was down the line mainstream Republican in this campaign and he got to a hair of 50%. Americans just don’t think the Republican Party platform is wildly extreme the way they thought that about Goldwater or McGovern.

•By the same token, NOT “moderation”. A lot of people on the right of the GOP and in the grassroots will try to say that Romney lost because he was too moderate. Nope. Again, he was a down the line mainstream Republican...

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: postmortem2012
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-44 next last
I think this guy gets it. Populism, not elitism. More Reagan and less Ayn Rand and Thurston Howell.

All is not lost.

1 posted on 11/07/2012 5:02:35 AM PST by Colonel Kangaroo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

The Republican Party is history.


2 posted on 11/07/2012 5:09:47 AM PST by mosaicwolf (Strength and Honor)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

If there to be a future for this country, we must moderate the Democratic Party. I think there is enough room in the Democratic Party for a social liberal who is opposed to profligate spending. One could win a Democratic primary on such a platform.

Once the moderate Democrat wins the primary, rolling over the remnant of the moribund Republican Party should be no problem.

So, that’s the ticket. Say goodbye to every social wedge issue and vote for the guy who will cut spending and refrain from bankrupting the country. Because if we bankrupt the country, none of that other stuff matters.


3 posted on 11/07/2012 5:10:27 AM PST by Haiku Guy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

I think Rick Santorum was a better choice. Gingrich as VP would have rounded out the ticket.

A friendly face with a clear difference backed up by a man with a whip.


4 posted on 11/07/2012 5:11:47 AM PST by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

Reagan could not win, today. Americans (50% of them and probably 55% of them in 4 years) want no form of conservatism. Communism is on today’s menu.

The big question is....can anything change that? What event? What kind of environment?


5 posted on 11/07/2012 5:14:23 AM PST by ryan71 (Water, food and ammo.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek
I think Rick Santorum was a better choice. Gingrich as VP would have rounded out the ticket.

that would've helped in Ohio? PA? VA?

6 posted on 11/07/2012 5:14:29 AM PST by sam_paine (X .................................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

The Republic is brainwashed by the media and academia. They have a lot of free stuff and the media is not aware nor telling them that there is an end to it.

When they understand that their hatred and obliteration of “wealthy” people (everyone making $250 K and above)runs them out of their own future and their endless chasing of “consequence free” sex leads them to a completely godless existence, where will we be?


7 posted on 11/07/2012 5:14:45 AM PST by stanne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

One thing that must be borne in mind is that no third party is going to win on a national level without first establishing itself at the state and local level.


8 posted on 11/07/2012 5:16:22 AM PST by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

“I think this guy gets it. Populism, not elitism. More Reagan and less Ayn Rand and Thurston Howell. “

Exactly. That’s why Clinton and Dubya won and Gore and Kerry lost. People want someone they can relate to. They don’t know the difference between supply side or keynesian or whatever. But they want someone to be down with them.

GOP-e really wanted Christie to run but had to settle for Romney.


9 posted on 11/07/2012 5:18:04 AM PST by ari-freedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mosaicwolf

Agreed.


10 posted on 11/07/2012 5:18:17 AM PST by fortheDeclaration (Pr 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation:but sin is a reproach to any people)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

I guess things are gonna have to get bad, and I mean BAD bad before people get the hint, and then by that point, it may be too late... no, it will be too late for any “fix.”


11 posted on 11/07/2012 5:20:56 AM PST by Thorliveshere
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sam_paine

yeah the Dems plotted the GOP war on women and we’d respond with a guy who wanted to ban contraceptives and a pasty white chubby guy who married 3 times. Brilliant.


12 posted on 11/07/2012 5:21:02 AM PST by ari-freedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek

Nope.

Mitt was fine.

Any Republican is doomed in this media driven culture. The media is who and what drives the electorate. They put in whom they want to put in because they have the power.

Will CBS get into trouble over covering for the president’s behavior toward the ambassador, or will they have enough power to tell the country nothing to see here.

NOT one candidate can win against this media.

It’s where the real fight is.

Republican establishment didn’t take the fight to the media nor to acedamia where the real fight is.

Romney NEVER stood a chance with the Benghazi fight. The media ran the narrative on that.

Let’s stop recriminating him and look to where we can for support.

To whom should we turn?

Let’s not look back, please. We don’t have the time for that.

Bachmann. Cruz. Ryan. Rubio (smooth talking UN guy). MicCain is after the Benghazi thing.


13 posted on 11/07/2012 5:21:38 AM PST by stanne
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: stanne

They’ll never learn. The average human IQ is around 100. It is only with intensive training starting at childhood that any conservatives emerge at all. Nowdays kids aren’t brought up reading books that stress virtue, self-control, or hard work. They’re growing up with youtube, Jersey Shore, and Netflix. It’s over, I really believe this.


14 posted on 11/07/2012 5:23:49 AM PST by A_perfect_lady
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo
As I said before on a different thread ...

The key for Republican success in elections is to garner support of those "politically disinterested" groups who should be natural constituents: gainfully employed taxpayers. I know there are plenty of "takers" out there, but there are still a lot of these folks casting votes in these elections and pitting them against the misfits and losers who make up the Democratic base is a sure recipe for success.

15 posted on 11/07/2012 5:24:18 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

Sorry, but the people voted for the party that boo-ed God at their convention.

You cannot moderate evil.


16 posted on 11/07/2012 5:24:40 AM PST by Erik Latranyi (When religions have to beg the gov't for a waiver, we are already under socialism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ryan71; All

your joking right?? Bush in ‘04 received more votes than obama did last night...obama received 7 million less votes last night than he did in 2008....the elections was there to be won but last night was another case of the GOP snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...as far as Americans wanting no form of conservatism- they came out in droves 2 years ago and put conservatives in office, only to have the GOPe spit in the faces of those of us (the Tea Party) who were responsible for getting them there...

the article is spot on....


17 posted on 11/07/2012 5:24:44 AM PST by God luvs America (63.5 million pay no income tax and vote for DemoKrats...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

The Tea Party..needs to focus on statehouses. Each district in each state needs an active educational Tea Party...fomenting Constitutional Government.

the Feds ultimately are a creature of the States. We want a different, Constitutional Fed Gov...we need to create Constitutional State government....and most importantly..educating those around us in our communities as to the benefits of the freedoms of Constitutional Government.

The Libs have been hacking away at the Feds for almost 100 years at this point. Two RahRah Tea Party election cycles is scarcely the blink of an eye.

To keep doing what the Pubbies are doing...the same thing over and over...expecting different outcomes..is insanity.


18 posted on 11/07/2012 5:25:35 AM PST by mo (If you understand, no explanation is needed. If you don't understand, no explanation is possible.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

The lesson of all this is we have a liberal media which has madea very clear political choice; they are willing to lose viewer/readership to favor the left. We need to make sure this is as expensive for them as possible.

Mitt was my very last choice —I think someone like Santorum or Palin would have brought out more of our base.

The silver lining is we don’t have to watch for four years as “our guy” shows how big he is by letting Hussein slide for Bengazi or F&F and several other major scandals. Also we won’t get wrapped up in an expensive war with Iran that is a greater concern for Israel than for the USA.

The Israelis have deep experience looking after their own interests, but can they really now afford to NOT attack alone? If they do not I do believe it is only a matter of time before.....

Well, you know the rest.


19 posted on 11/07/2012 5:27:36 AM PST by gaijin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Colonel Kangaroo

The lesson of all this is we have a liberal media which has madea very clear political choice; they are willing to lose viewer/readership to favor the left. We need to make sure this is as expensive for them as possible.

Mitt was my very last choice —I think someone like Santorum or Palin would have brought out more of our base.

The silver lining is we don’t have to watch for four years as “our guy” shows how big he is by letting Hussein slide for Bengazi or F&F and several other major scandals. Also we won’t get wrapped up in an expensive war with Iran that is a greater concern for Israel than for the USA.

The Israelis have deep experience looking after their own interests, but can they really now afford to NOT attack alone? If they do not I do believe it is only a matter of time before.....

Well, you know the rest.


20 posted on 11/07/2012 5:27:48 AM PST by gaijin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-44 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson