Posted on 11/12/2012 2:19:14 PM PST by GlockThe Vote
Worse still, Ekdahl told Business Insider that the Romney campaign failed to provide poll-watching volunteers in his region — Jacksonville, Florida, a key Republican city in a major swing state — with proper credentials and accurate voter strike lists, rendering them unable to perform their duties even if the ORCA app had worked.
In interviews with Business Insider last week, sources close to the Romney campaign confirmed Ekdahl's account, and described a technological undertaking that failed at every level. According to several of these sources, ORCA was developed by a small, isolated tech team working under Romney's political team. These sources told Business Insider that the product was never properly beta-tested, and wasn't revealed to the rest of the campaign — including the digital team — until the week of the election.
Most people on the campaign "weren't that surprised" by ORCA's failure, said one Republican communications strategist close to the Romney campaign.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
As bad as McCain 2008.
The best run I ever worked was W 2004 by far.
Another Republican activist, an attorney in Hamilton County, Ohio who declined to be named for fear of “burning bridges,” told Business Insider that the campaign’s GOTV organization in that crucial swing county completely collapsed in the weeks leading up to the election.
In an interview last week, the attorney, one of the “Lawyers for Romney” who volunteered to help the campaign’s legal team by watching the polls on Election Day, described how the Romney campaign sent its legal volunteers the wrong training information, failed to provide volunteers with information about where they were supposed to be on Election Day, and stopped responding to phone calls and emails in the final two weeks of the campaign.
“It was basically a disaster,” the attorney said. “They never explained what we were supposed to be doing — where we were supposed to start, where we were supposed to end, what I was supposed to do at the end of the night — they didn’t explain any of it....A month before, you couldn’t get a phone call or an email answered.”
“Four out of eight of my polling places didn’t have a poll observer,” the attorney continued. “How you don’t even get people credentialed properly is beyond my comprehension.”
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/romney-project-orca-election-day-collapse-2012-11#ixzz2C37aHa6f
In an interview last week, the attorney, one of the “Lawyers for Romney” who volunteered to help the campaign’s legal team by watching the polls on Election Day, described how the Romney campaign sent its legal volunteers the wrong training information, failed to provide volunteers with information about where they were supposed to be on Election Day, and stopped responding to phone calls and emails in the final two weeks of the campaign.
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This is exactly what happened to me. They sent out wrong info, never responded to requests, refused to pay for anything at all.
Sooooo he did take a DIVE...... I told you so....
It’s almost like Romney was a stalking horse that never intended to win the election...
I don’t know - but i will tell you as somweone who signed up as a volunteer - even McCain Palin ran a better campaign internally.
I was horrified in the month or two leading up to the election on the legal team efforts. Horrible.
Ever think that when several hundered million is spent on a project (ran by a legit captain of industry with a hell of a good business sense) fails that the collapse was in fact, intentional?
Because that’s a hell of a lot more plausible than some megafailure. But then again, to consider that, people would have to rethink a lot of their ‘realities’ and no one wants to eat crow.
Could be, all I know is this article DEAD ON 100% ACCURATE as far as the legal volunteers go.
I know I was one of them. We got ridiculous emails all along that were sort of like fundraising emails and offered no direction, no plan, nothing.
I have a theory:
Romney’s wife Ann and son Tagg took control of the campaign in it latter days (smile). Romney lost.
McCain’s wife Cindy took control of his campaign in its latter days. McCain lost.
Kerry’s wife Theresa took control of his campaign in its latter days. Kerry lost.
Insert between Romney and McCain:
Gingrich’s wife Calista took control of his campaign in its latter days. Gingrich lost.
==
Perhaps, candidates should hire and heed the advise of political experts, rather than family members.
It does make you question if Romney really wanted to win.
Maybe we need candidates that can be their own political experts, you know, like Reagan.
I tried to volunteer, just so frustrated that there was no phone# on the campaign site.... too hard to navigate
Just had to resort to e-mail, which only got me donation letters every day :(
When he took a dive in the 3rd debate it sort of seemed that way to me but dont know.
Maybe he realized the horrible things coming our way over the next few years and just figured its better to be hung around obama.
Who knows. But the article 100% accurate as far as the internal campaign being a complete fiasco.
You mean a guy with principles to stand on? One we can trust and not easily imagine threw an election?
Yup. We also need an electorate that stands for the same things and not gives in to ‘the lesser evil’ when the going gets tough.
But I ask too much.
Between the Romney campaign and the GOPe this election was a disaster. What I find remarkable about it was how it was so unnecessary, and comes down to the political stupidity and stubborness of Mitt Romeny himself.
I have been told that in years past much of the “footwork” was done by an army of conservaitve volunteers, people who were basically shut out of this year’s Republican campaign.
Before the Tampa convention, an experienced and savvy politician would have reached out and enfolded conservatives, Tea Party folks, and particularly Sarah Palin, into the campaign. Yes, Romeny would have had to negotiate some issues but winning should have been his goal. He adamantly refused, though pressured, to reach out to Sarah Palin - this I’ve read but do not know any details. Perhaps you know something about it.
Obviously, there were factors Romney and the GOPe refused to deal with within the Party and it may have cost them the election. In my opinion, the election was stolen by fraud, so in the end it really may not have mattered much.
Some of us lawyers at first were asked to spend a week in a swing state and asked for airfare to be covered and we would split the hotels costs w each other and go 4 to a room and they denied us.
Then - we got fundraising emails from the legal team and offers of a sweepstakes dinner w Ryan or mitt we got other lawyers to sign up!
But guess what there was never - EMAILS ON WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO!
I remember something Michael Savage said a year or so ago. He said that the 2 parties work it out between them - 2 terms for Republicans, 2 terms for Democrats, etc. There have been a few deviations from this pattern, but, basically, its the way it works. One side takes a dive. I don’t know if this is what happened or not, but I’m beginning to wonder if Savage hit the nail on the head on this.
Your point is well taken. Gore also used family memebers on his campaigns, so your theory has merit.
We are not supposed to consider, much less acknowledge things like that. We are supposed to shut up and vote as the betters tell us...and be shunned if we resist.
Anyone remaining GOP and not working to form an opposition party in light of the last 3 elections is part of the problem. Period.
I signed up as a volunteer to poll watch, at least 6 weeks prior to the election, maybe more, never heard a peep one from them.
Reagan (forcefully): I paid for this mic!
Romney (sheepishly): Yes, ma’am. (I’ll be quiet and defer to your superior knowledge, madam moderator).
The more I read of the incompetence from within, the more angry i get at the hundreds f millions raised and wasted on total bs.
Not too difficult to believe at all.
I"ve got a post somewhere on FR all the way back in August ~ which is findable if Google.com picked it up, that says as much. A prediction ~ or an observation ~ take your pick.
Obama cheated. His people stuffed ballot boxes more than the number of people allowed to vote in many districts. Romney simply failed to stop him.
Seriously, though, if the campaign was so poorly organized (even with all of the money it raised) that would not reflect positively on Mitt's ability to run the Executive branch. We should have known last time, when he couldn't beat Huck and McAmnesty.
Obviously, Romney was not the super-manager that he claimed to be. However, he was doomed from the start, anyway. The GOP cannot win with a liberal.
If I were a big donor reading this stuff man would i be angry right now at such horrible incompetence and ridiculousness in how they ran this thing.
Amazing what a man with a microphone (or a website) can accomplish when he forcefully and without compromise, puts forth his vision, isn’t it?
Use that mic Jim. Call for that resistance party. You DO have the power, the audience and the ‘authority’ to make it real.
Please.
All BS. Republicans don’t need to be told to go vote on election day. Ignorant libs... yes.
Makes me sick to read this. Romney should have had 60 million show up with EASE.
Yes, there was fraud, but there was also slack on the Romney team. He was pushed as this great businessman and yet, his campaign was a disaster. How can we reconcile the two?
From what I understand, Bain Capital didn’t put up their own money with failing businesses. They required companies to take out huge loans to stay afloat and Bain would cut jobs or merge offices within those companies. Bain then got a huge cut from those loans. So, maybe he wasn’t that astute of a businessman after all. This leaves me scratching my head in wonder.
Does the GOP-e want the status quo?
Is the GOP-e ultimately in cohoots with the DNC as to the direction the country is going?
Personally...I think we are being run down the sewer by both parties..............
He still ran a horrible campaign internally. I worked for W 2000, 2005, McCain 2008, and this one on the Legal Team.
This one was by far the worst and most unorganized and useless.
Even McCain ran a better campaign as far as the legal team went.
WHERE THE F DID ALL THE $$$$$ GO?
It’s hard to beat the democrat ground game when they can turn out a democrat vote equal to 120% to 140% of total residents in a precinct.
Now, that’s what I was trying to say way back when we could have made a difference.
The Mittbots beat me quite forcefully for proposing that ~ kind of like I'd hit a sore spot somewhere ~ pulled off all the scabs!
What is bs?
The inside of the campaign was a complete mess.
It seems that we have to relearn how to do these things in every election cycle, and we're regressing. I worked for both of Bush's campaigns, and although the technology was nowhere near comparable to what we have now, I never had a runner come late to my polls, and I never missed getting a call.
We have FOUR registered Republicans in this house, and two of us contributed money to Romneys' campaign. Because we all like to vote together, we're usually the last to vote in our small sub-suburban polling place, and we head over to the fire hall around 7:30 PM. During McCain's run, there were only two of us. We got multiple calls on election day reminding us to vote. We did not receive a single call on Nov 6th reminding us to vote.
NOT ONE CALL. In a state Romney supposedly believed he could win: PA.
Perhaps you should file some appropriate papers in appropriate courtrooms and find out?
Me too... I knew it way back.. the election was “fixed”....
HE KNEW IT TOO... the debates were a cartoon.. Kabuki Theater..
Either that, or he delegated too much authority to out-of-touch campaign managers who fed him bogus internal polls.
Perhaps he believed in some sort of LDS Church "predestination" prophecy that he'd win, and overlooked the details of effective campaigning.
Most likely, he just overestimated the intelligence of some segments of the electorate. He and Ryan were too wonky, and could not bring themselves to dumb down the campaign to get enough ignorant voters in swing states.
I think he ran a good campaign in many ways....very impressed.
But, it’s clear this was a disaster. Hopefully the party will learn from the future.
Bush’s GOTV was great. Follow that model instead of the top-down approach Romney did.
That is the point, despite thousands of lawyers like myself willing to donate our time, hundreds of millions of dollars raised etc, ROMNEY HAD NO PLAN TO DEAL W ANYTHING AT ALL.
I’m really angry reading all of this TBH. I know what the demos do - but that does not excuse imcompetence and half steps and bs like Romney gave us internally.
Did Romney ever go on Rush? did Romney ever go on Savage?
Did Romney Ever extend a hand to the Paul or Palin supporters?
GUESS WHAT - 3 MILLION PLUS VOTES AT LEAST THERE ALONE IF HE WOULD HAVE DONE THAT.
The two GOP lawyers who came to my polling place - where I was poll watching - did not seem to know what to do if something had been going wrong. They did say that ORCA was not working for a lot of people.
I do think ORCA was hacked at some point during the day, because it shut down on me after working fine. But even if it had worked perfectly, all it was going to result in were texts, calls and visits to voters to remind them to vote. I didn’t see the Obama campaign do more.
Which brings me back to the belief that touting ORCA as the reason for the loss enables the reader to ignore vote fraud. I didn’t see the Obama campaign doing anything in my area of my swing state. But I did see a whole lot of “likely Obama voters” at the polls in my exurb. Many of them had not bathed recently, did not speak English hardly at all and in some cases did not know their own addresses. But they showed up, gave names of registered voters and voted. We only have one electronic machine and the only early voting is limited, so perhaps in my town the fraud had to be done the old-fashioned way.
I have to believe Romney had every intention of winning. You could see it in his final weeks. I do agree that many on his team probably were not committed to do what needed to be done. Parts of this campaign were managed beautifully. Others, not well at all.
I find it hard to believe that Romney lost on purpose. I think his whole life has been aimed at the Presidency—whether or not it has anything to do with the White Horse prophecy—but that he has simply surrounded himself by a bunch of hacks—party insiders who don’t know their ***s from a hole in the ground.
If you read Sarah Palin’s book about the McCain campaign, you get the picture. It has been suggested that maybe Romney sabotaged McCain by lending him handlers who purposely lost, so Romney would get his turn. But maybe not. It looks as if the same guys have done the same stupid things all over again.
No fire in their bellies, no principles, just do the same stupid things over and over again because they think that’s what they’re supposed to be doing.
One reason Romney lost is because of massive voter fraud. I’m not sure if the base stayed home, or if Obama’s guys merely stole millions of votes. We’ve seen millions of votes added by double voting and dead people. Now we’ve seen millions of votes stolen and lost. Something that has been done before on a lesser scale, but seldom like this.
If Romney had actually been WATCHING in those key places, either he would have blocked some of that massive fraud, or he would have demanded investigations and recounts. Instead, he meekly retired without a peep.
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