Posted on 10/02/2014 3:29:13 AM PDT by cotton1706
Why is the GOP struggling? This was supposed to be a “wave” election. The money isn’t coming in, says Karl Rove in a cautionary column titled “Why a GOP Senate Majority is Still in Doubt.”
Races that were supposed to be push-overs are suddenly nail-biters. Kansas, that reddest of red states, is in turmoil over incumbent Republican Pat Roberts. In North Carolina, Thom Tillis, the candidate the GOP establishment assured was just the candidate to take Democrat Kay Hagan’s Senate seat, is now behind in the polls. The wave election that was once seen as a certainty is now seen as possibly more like a rain drop election, a splotch of water here, nothing over there.
How can this be? In two words? The Base. The very people who are needed to give the money and especially the votes to elect that Republican Senate are balking. But why?
There are two reasons.
First, for almost a year now in the lead-up to the 2014 election the GOP establishment has been hell-bent on eating its own. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has made attacking the Base of the GOP its mission in life. Senator Mitch McConnell boasted that he would “crush” the Tea Party. GOP consultants are running around assailing the very voters their candidates need to win, or making insipid, defensive and timid TV commercials like this one (“Republicans Are People Too!”) utterly devoid of ideology or sharp political elbows like this Reagan commercial run against Jimmy Carter in 1980.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Karl Rove’s wealthy donors have all become Democrats. Karl did the dirty work against the Tea Party for the Chamber of Commerce and now finds his wealthy Wall Street buddies are more afraid of what Obama will do to them if they give money to Republicans than they are appreciative of the GOPe selling out the base. Now that the cash is running low Karl is turning to the middle class conservative base and is learning they can vote with their dollars as well as their ballots. The base is voting no by keeping their wallets and purses shut. Those $25 and $50 contributions are missed when millions of them fail to arrive.
Lesson learned Karl. People who have been lied to and disparaged rarely voluntarily give money to their tormenters. It is clear the base has decided not to fund RINO campaigns. Now it remains to be seen if the base will turn out and vote for the RINO’s. I suspect Karl is sweating that one.
bflr
Excellent, but will be ignored by the GOPe.
Just remember, BOB = Bend Over B**ch
Great post. It illustrates the reason we should not vote for moderates. They hate us, but we’ve given them their power.
The GOP is failing because of the GOP. When you have leaders like Boehner who want to do the same thing Obama is doing who needs them? McConnell already said he will restore the filibuster rules that harry Reid nuked. The GOP pundits have called for amnesty and “fixing” obamacare. They have nothing to offer but pandering. Anyone with any conservative beliefs is cast out. I won’t send the GOP a penny.
So true . . .
Just ask Bob Michel . . . 14 years as Minority Leader in the House, because he didn’t have the guts to play to win. And so proud of the ONE DAY he got to raise the gavel before he retired.
Play to win, never play ‘not to lose’.
I’m 72 and don’t consider myself to be ignorant regarding politics and voting.
Why the hell do the political parties constantly push for citizens to donate money for their coffers? People ignore the expensive TV ads after seeing it ONE time.
My landline phone rings about every 20 minutes for around 8 hours a day now. They are just robo calls pushing for candidates and donations. .....I haven’t answered my phone in a couple of months, as my friends and family know that I wont.
People like Karl Rove and others of his ilk, regardless of party, are old school and think that throwing money at ads will garner votes. They are full of it!!
I believe that, other than the LIVs who like gimmedats and don’t even keep up with who is even in politics (except a black man), people who take the trouble to vote will vote for whomever they want regardless of costly advertizing.
The only folks who gain in this game are the PACs, the people who produce the ads and the people who air the ads.
Love the quote from Goldwater. It's what GOPe stands for.
Jeffrey Lord is dead on right. These are the reasons I am no longer a Republican. I became a Republican because of Barry Goldwater and remained one until 2004, when I finally gave up on them. For 40 years I voted a damn near straight Republican ticket and donated as much as I could. Damn near like a tithe. No more. To me the Republican party is as dead as Marley’s ghost.
Two sides of the same coin.
The only folks who gain in this game are the PACs, the people who produce the ads and the people who air the ads.
***
Well said! And so true.
Candidates do need to get their name out there, though. But, IMO, it is much cheaper and more effective to send mailers. I do not, however, mean the mailers that are 4 pages long and ask for donations.
Lay out the candidates vision succinctly and include the website URL. On the website there can be an obvious button for those who wish to donate.
The amount of money that is spent on political campaigns is obscenely wasteful.
bfl
Urinating on your base is a winning strategy. /sarc
The amount of money that is spent on political campaigns is obscenely wasteful.
Also, it makes some sense to keep in mind that the vast majority of this wasted money is being given to the MSM. The media try to gin up as much excitement about voting for socialist party A's candidate, or socialist party B's candidate, because they want, no they need the money to keep flowing. It's what keeps some of them alive.
Then, of course, you get hacks like Rove and other 'consultants' who make a pretty wonderful living manipulating this incestuous relationship between the MSM and politicians.
Does anyone think it is a coincidencethat the country is so nearly perfectly split 50/50 as far as voters are concerned?
Bkmkd, thanks.
I'm stuck living in Illinois for cryin' out loud -- it's not as if my vote matters anyway.
You can still vote, to help some down ballot races if you can. Those races where you’re given no choice, blank them.
I live in MA and have faced the same thing. I always go to the polls.
Actually, the people who matter don’t ignore the TV ads. But the people who matter don’t actually need to be swayed to one side or the other.
In many races the TV ads are designed to create and reinforce the notion that a candidate the viewer already supports is fighting and waging a successful campaign.
Look at the recent Grimes shotgun ad in KY. She’s not persuading anyone to cross over from supporting McConnell to voting for her. She’s motivating her own supporters to vote by taking swipes at someone they already dislike. It counters the perception that she’s not fighting, and/or already knows she’s going to lose. Perceptions that will demoralize her supporters and depress her election day turnout efforts.
So the ads aren’t designed to drive voter decision, but rather voter turnout.
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