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The Phrase That Lost Romney the Election
RCP ^ | 11/23/2012 | Heather Higgins and Alex Cortes

Posted on 11/23/2012 2:11:34 PM PST by SeekAndFind

What if we told you that the election was decided by a phrase?

You might not believe it, but assume we’re right for a minute. What word would you guess decided the election? Hurricane Sandy?

The answer lies in perhaps the single most illustrative exit poll question conducted, where CNN asked “What is the most important candidate quality to your vote?”

The response options were “Strong Leader,” “Shares Your Values,” “Has a Vision for the Future,” and “Cares about People.” Among folks that chose one of the first three responses, Mitt Romney won between 54-61% of their vote. But, among folks who chose “Cares About People,” Romney lost dramatically – 81-18%.

“Cares about you” is the single phrase that lost Romney the election. Those for whom empathy was the most important candidate quality clearly did not get a sense that he cared about people and worse, many eventhought he was antagonistic towards many Americans. Why was this so?

Romney’s business career, which was the central argument for his candidacy in an election dominated by the economy, was turned into a weakness by the left and the Obama campaign early on, with them portraying his experience leading Bain Capital as one of the opposite of care: harm. Laying people off, taking away their pensions, and destroying communities, Mitt Romney allegedly brought all of these across America.

The Bain attacks were less about vilifying Wall Street (though that too) and more about conveying the message “he’s not like us, he doesn’t care about us.”

Many voters bought into this early portrayal of Romney as one who does not care for people. Others, who did not quite buy into it, still held it as a potential lens through which to consider his future actions and statements.

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


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 47percent; care; coldfish; election; empathy; ifeelyourpain; romney
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To: SeekAndFind

Actually, the mantra of the left has been Republicans are heartless rich white guys for .... oh.... decades now ?

Republicans are heartless ! Everyone says so !

PR campaign on news, TV, radio, print, movies, schools, colleges...

Repub machine counters that with the “we’re kinder, gentler”, “compassionate” heartless rich white guys.

So... Repub politicians usually don’t even deny the accusation.

Romney campaign was continuation of the same strategy.


21 posted on 11/23/2012 2:47:17 PM PST by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves.)
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To: SeekAndFind
What if we told you that the election was decided by a phrase?

I's say you're full of crap........

22 posted on 11/23/2012 2:47:37 PM PST by Hot Tabasco (Jab her with a harpoon.....)
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To: Monty22002

I don’t want any political leader “caring about me”, especially a Democ***. I perceive a hefty cost to pay submitting to that kind of attitude.


23 posted on 11/23/2012 2:48:53 PM PST by KStorm (Don't ever worry that a progressive consults his or her --especially her --conscience.)
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To: SeekAndFind
A "phrase" didn't sink Romney...Romney was sunk before he started....as a matter of fact, any Republican candidate was sunk right out of the starting gate.

The liberals are crowing about a great win, but this "win" started years ago...with the first issuance of a Federal government welfare check, whenever that was.

The hyphenated American class, Deadbeat-Americans was spawned on that day.

Everyone should have been able to see the handwriting on the wall when it was admitted by everybody that 47% of Americans pay NO income tax. You have to know that if the government admits to a number like that, the situation has to be much worse. And it was. We were all kind of "taken in" by the excitement of the polls and pundants like Dick Morris who was "absolutely sure" Romney would win, knowing all along that the 47% was hanging out there like a cold, wet pile of excrement.

There have been many pundants and economists throughout the last 2 or 3 hundred years that predicted essentially the same thing:

When people realize that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury, they will, and freedom will start to slip away from that moment on.

That point has been reached IMO.

We will never be able to get our country back unless we find some way to tie a valid vote to a positive contribution to our Country.

WE SIMPLY HAVE BEEN OUT BRED AND INVADED BY TOO MANY DEADBEATS LOOKING FOR A HANDOUT. Their numbers will only increase exponentially from now on and take us to the scene of the crash.

I WANT SOMEONE HERE TO SHOW ME WHERE I AM WRONG. I want to be wrong, but I see no other PEACEFUL way out of this mess...

24 posted on 11/23/2012 2:49:25 PM PST by B.O. Plenty (Give WAR a chance.......)
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To: SeekAndFind
How many of those 47%ers actually follow the news enough to have heard what Romney said?

The 47% don't follow politics, don't follow the news, all they know is that the Republicans are evil........That's pretty simple really.

25 posted on 11/23/2012 2:52:48 PM PST by Hot Tabasco (Jab her with a harpoon.....)
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To: SeekAndFind

Yes...and Reagan spoke about hope for all!


26 posted on 11/23/2012 2:53:55 PM PST by fabian (" And a new day will dawn for those who stand long, and the forests will echo in laughter")
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To: SeekAndFind

Romney represented having to work and think for yourself.

Obama represented Santa Claus.

Santa Claus won.


27 posted on 11/23/2012 2:55:35 PM PST by PLMerite (Shut the Beyotch Down! Burn, baby, burn!)
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To: PieterCasparzen
Actually, the mantra of the left has been Republicans are heartless rich white guys for .... oh.... decades now ?

I was 11 years old in 1956 when I first heard it. That and Eisenhower would take away old people's Social Security checks.

28 posted on 11/23/2012 2:56:34 PM PST by Graybeard58 (What G.O.P.e. candidate is in store for us in 2016?)
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To: ReformationFan
The socialist public education brainwashing system has done its job very well.

Agreed and well-put.

29 posted on 11/23/2012 2:57:33 PM PST by elkfersupper ( Member of the Original Defiant Class)
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To: Monty22002
It's not really about "caring" in the warm and fuzzy sense.

Voters want to feel that office-holders are conscientious about fulfilling their responsibilities to all citizens.

A candidate who appears to be drawing distinctions between classes of citizens based on some criterion of worth is going to lose votes.

Of course this, was a fake controversy. I don't believe Romney was any less conscientious or dutiful than other candidates or office-holders with respect to poorer or humbler citizens, but it's a matter of appearances, and Romney lost that battle.

30 posted on 11/23/2012 2:57:43 PM PST by x
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To: SeekAndFind
Three observations...

47% of Americans who receive government assistance are a lost cause.

Romney lost by a total margin of ~340,000 in 4 states.

Voter fraud was rampant.

31 posted on 11/23/2012 2:58:31 PM PST by FreeReign
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To: SeekAndFind

The pony tail guy at the town hall debate in 1992 was THE turning point of American politics...when government acting as our ‘parent’ became the focus of presidential elections.


32 posted on 11/23/2012 2:59:30 PM PST by ilgipper (Obama supporters are comprised of the uninformed & the ill-informed)
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To: albie

I don’t think the “47%” remark hurt him as much as confirmed the beliefs and/or concerns of many.


33 posted on 11/23/2012 3:00:53 PM PST by GVnana
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To: SeekAndFind
I would bet that those who regularly pay NO TAXES voted for The Messiah.

When you can vote for benefiting ONLY YOURSELF and YOUR KIND, you vote DEMOCRAT.

When you want the Freedom to vote for the U.S. Constitution, and the RIGHT to Pursue Happiness, you DO NOT vote DEMOCRAT.

The 47%-Rule is in place now, and couple that with Blacks ALWAYS voting for a Black, you have no future in this country to look forward to, nor do your children and grandchildren....it's been stolen.

34 posted on 11/23/2012 3:04:01 PM PST by traditional1 (Don't gotsta worry 'bout no mo'gage, don't gotsta worry 'bout no gas; Obama gonna take care o' me!)
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To: Democrat_media

This is one of the most interesting questions in public life. I spent my working life either in the military or working for it. A fair number of the AF and Army civilian employees really believed ‘government has the answers’ in spite of the day to day reality of what n administrative regime actually is like. Other persons i went to college with or knew through alumni associations believe the same. I came to the conclusion these are people who believe as did Woodrow Wilson that the industrial and post industrial state would become a Hobbesian hell for the average man through monied interests manipulation of politics and the economy unless government was there to minimally provide basic economic benefits to the masses and to control the predatory behavior of the classes. People don’t talk in these terms but their comments do infer that. The belief is ‘nobody can save enough, be clever enough in predicting market behaviors, or be have enough foresight to see concrete trends that will impact average people. If government does not protect them they will be destitute or considering how many people live off of Social Security be more destitute than they are. That is why ‘a union job’, a’government job’ or a job with a hospital or a school system are seen as so desirable. These folks believe no matter what they do they can’t compete effectively as the deck is stacked against ‘the average man’ from the start and they have to be protected from greedy and evil rich and powerful persons and corporations.


35 posted on 11/23/2012 3:04:29 PM PST by robowombat
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To: Monty22002
Anyone that believes any government agent or any politician ‘cares about you’ is too stupid to live, much less vote.

The last thing I want is a politician spending too much time thinking about me.
36 posted on 11/23/2012 3:06:57 PM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: x
Voters want to feel that office-holders are conscientious about fulfilling their responsibilities to all citizens.

When is the last time that happened?

37 posted on 11/23/2012 3:06:59 PM PST by elkfersupper ( Member of the Original Defiant Class)
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To: ClearCase_guy

“It bothers me that 47% of the people want to mooch off of 53% of the people.”

It’s worse than that, because another 10% (or more) want to work running the looting and vote buying mechanisms.

Romney lacked the wit to attack the bureaucrat/foundation/academic iron triangle that is ruining the country.


38 posted on 11/23/2012 3:08:39 PM PST by Jim Noble (Diseases desperate grown are by desperate appliance relieved or not at all.)
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To: elkfersupper

Excuse me. “When WAS the last time that happened?”


39 posted on 11/23/2012 3:10:01 PM PST by elkfersupper ( Member of the Original Defiant Class)
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To: Monty22002

“they don’t have religion they will need something else to believe in ...”

You got it, and these secularists feel that they can make a better world than God - of course at our expense and misery.

Drudge Report declared Singapore the least emotional city in the world. Maybe that is our last refuge.

Could the Alinskyites expose them to the PC crap and teach them how to feel?

Then again seems like the Chinese are even having their fill of communism with the nail houses over there.

This picture is amazing:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/home-amid-chinese-highway-symbol-resistance-17791098#.ULAAqoW45hd


40 posted on 11/23/2012 3:10:01 PM PST by A'elian' nation (Political correctness does not legislate tolerance; it only organizes hatred. Jacques Barzun)
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