Insiders Explain How Mitt Romney's Campaign Completely Fell Apart On Election Day

BI ^ | 11/12/2012 | Grace Wyler

[robowombat]

Interesting, the GOP either wanted to take a dive or really were just self deluding fools. The latter does happen. Back in 1966 when I was a Young Dem type I remember that the Michigan-Oakland County Dems came to our campus for a supposed introduce the candidates and get volunteers rally. The guys from Lansing and Pontiac made it clear they didn't want no stinking volunteers. I actually had a fairly long discussion with one of these greasy hacks (and that is what they were. Older middle aged guys who wore tacky suits and looked like they were race track touts who exuded that combination of ignorance and arrogance that men with little education , narrow minds, and a lot of experience in petty chicanery always have. The old Air Force Security Service had many NCO’s that reminded me forcefully of these people. This fellow basically said ‘kid we got it sewed up and we don't need no amateurs f-cking things up.’ Based on a lot of people at day to day levels like grocery stores and barber shops I had been interviewing for two months as part of a professors voter attitude research i told him many regular dems disliked much of what they were seeing about the Great Society, and supported the Viet Nam War but thought LBJ was doing a crap job running it and they would vote their displeasure on election day. Having a lot of volunteers contacting the faithful to remind them of FDR, HST, JFK and the new Deal, blah, blah might get a fair number of votes. This hack smiled his greasy knowing smile and said ‘well, we'll see’. They did, 1966 was one of the three biggest midyear congressional bloodbaths for the Dem's in the last 100 years. Even in Michigan they got hammered. It was an interesting chapter in my political education.

[StPaulRevert]

excluding Sarah Palin was a HUGE misstep The Convention was a joke, The GOTV was a joke. I called several times to volunteer even went to hq it was closed nobody manning the store. Nobody ever called me back despite my begging to help.

[StPaulRevert]

I am a woman and I would not have voted for that fraud if my life depended on it. I couldn’t vote for immorality and lies.

[GlockThe Vote]

Yup. The entire campaign was a ruse.

[Tennessee Nana]

GTC: refused to pay for anything at all.

willyd: It’s almost like Romney was a stalking horse that never intended to win the election...
___________________________________________

and all those people who sacrificed to send money to these crooks...

[GlockThe Vote]

Sarah was right all along

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFruN-PDAzY

[ican'tbelieveit]

Poor Ryan, did he know?

[ican'tbelieveit]

You know, I think you are right. I had maybe 3 types of calls (I didn’t answer but one) over the course of the campaign: a robo call gal, can’t remember her topic but she left a handful of voicemails; an Unavailable that never left a voicemail; and someone calling for my son from a Hispanic education something or other that I sent away (sorry, not interested, leave us alone). But, I don’t think we got a single call on election day.

[dirtboy]

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.

I was in a PA victory center on Tuesday, manning a phone for 9 hours. I asked the director of the center what demo I was calling. Basically, it was all low motivated GOP / swing voters. A vital demo, but no effort to reach strongly motivated GOP voters that I could see.

[xzins]

blockquote>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

Please allow me to say, as one who grew up in Hamilton County, and who still lives within 2 hours, that Hamilton county absolutely should not be difficult for a republican to organize. It is historically republican, it has neatly defined township, town, village, etc., lines, it has wondeful leadership assets, and it is not impoverished at all.

I must take this as evidence that Mitt Romney took a dive.

It's one thing to say your site crashed on election day, but it's quite another to deny access to your local legal teams for weeks leading up to the election. Refusal to communicate is NOT a failing of a system. It is a deliberate act.

Were they afraid that this economy could not be healed and the GOP-E didn't want to take the fall?

[GlockThe Vote]

This lawyers’ experience is exactly the same as mine.

I sent emails asking where I supposed to go what to do etc etc.

All I got were cheesy fundraising emails.

[GlockThe Vote]

Here is the typical email I got.
_________________________________________________

Friends:

I hope you are as excited as I am about the home stretch of this campaign. The momentum is clearly on our side, and the Romney-Ryan ticket is surging in the polls. We are going to win this thing! And we are so thankful for those of you who have provided assistance along the way.

There is more to do. If you are interested in volunteering in a battleground state for Election Day, email deployedlawyers@mittromney.com. We are still accepting applications.

But even if you can’t volunteer in a battleground state, there are plenty of ways to help ensure a fair and open election. Each state has one or more Lawyers for Romney chairs who are working hard to help our cause. If you would like to join the efforts in your state, email ssutter@mittromney.com and ask to be put in touch with the Lawyer for Romney Chair in your state.

Finally, please let’s make one final push to sign up new Lawyers for Romney members at www.lawyersforromney.com. This is your last chance to become the person who has recruited the most new members. Whoever recruits the most new members gets to spend election night in Boston with our team! We will notify the person this coming Wednesday.

Thanks,

Lee Rudofsky
Deputy General Counsel
Romney for President, Inc.
857-288-3724 (office)
202-258-4204 (cell)
lrudofsky@mittromney.com
Lawyers, sign up here: www.mittromney.com/forms/legal-volunteers

[xzins]

Please allow me to fix my formatting on that previous post. I didn't tag the beginning of my blockquote. Sorry.

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

Please allow me to say, as one who grew up in Hamilton County, and who still lives within 2 hours, that Hamilton county absolutely should not be difficult for a republican to organize. It is historically republican, it has neatly defined township, town, village, etc., lines, it has wondeful leadership assets, and it is not impoverished at all.

I must take this as evidence that Mitt Romney took a dive.

It's one thing to say your site crashed on election day, but it's quite another to deny access to your local legal teams for weeks leading up to the election. Refusal to communicate is NOT a failing of a system. It is a deliberate act.

Were they afraid that this economy could not be healed and the GOP-E didn't want to take the fall?

[GlockThe Vote]

Here is another one I got
___________________________________

Friend,

There are only 55 days to the election! Indeed, some Americans are already voting absentee in North Carolina. It’s crunch time!

We are very close to meeting our goal of recruiting enough lawyers to ensure a fair and open election. I am asking for your help in one more final recruiting push, particularly in some of the larger legal markets in the US. If you know Republican lawyers, especially any from New York, Washington, D.C., Texas, Illinois, or California, please get them to sign up at www.lawyersforromney.com.

When the lawyers you know sign up, they should list you as the person who referred them - anyone who refers 5 people will receive a limited edition Lawyers for Romney lapel pin.

Thanks,

Ben Ginsberg
National Counsel

[xzins]

Amazing letter. I've fixed the formatting on my previous post. Sorry about any confusion.

How could they be soliciting your help on the one hand and ignoring those who responded on the other. It just doesn't make sense.

[GlockThe Vote]

Check this one out I got in return to an email I sent.

______________________________________

As an advisor to and legal counsel for Congressman Paul Ryan, I wish to reiterate the Congressman’s excitement in joining America’s Comeback Team. Congressman Ryan and the rest of his team are wholeheartedly committed to electing Mitt Romney as the 45th President of the United States. The election of the Romney-Ryan ticket, and the policies of a Romney-Ryan Administration, will put this country back on the path to prosperity and opportunity.

I have known Congressman Ryan for many years now. In fact, our close friendship dates back to our childhood growing up together in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a bright, passionate and patriotic man - full of ideas and dreams to better the country he loves so much. He is also a humble family man and a loyal friend. I know how humbling it is for him to have the opportunity to potentially serve his country as Vice President of the United States. But I also know that Governor Romney selected a man who is more than up to the task and who is ready to help Governor Romney lead this country into the future.

You can help the Romney-Ryan ticket by forwarding this email to your friends and encouraging them to sign up at www.LawyersForRomney.com.

I am pleased to officially join the ranks of Lawyers for Romney and to play my part alongside you to elect the Romney-Ryan ticket. Please join me by making sure you and other Republican lawyers and law students you know are signed up at www.LawyersForRomney.com.

Thanks,

Tim Kronquist

[xzins]

How do you explain their refusal to communicate with you lawyers at the end of their campaign?

[GlockThe Vote]

I think it was all a shell game, the entire campaign. They never intended or thought they were going to win and just did not care. The slimey ben ginsburg is another political hack.

McCain 2008 on a fraction of what romney raised had better communications - go figure that out!

W 2004 was the best run I have ever seen.

[GlockThe Vote]

Check this out. i have literally dozens of these type of emails. After awhile I was getting ANGRY.

____________________________________

Friend,

Thank you very much for all you are doing to help our campaign. Over the past month, and particularly in the last week, our Lawyers for Romney ranks have swelled at an enormous clip. And I know we have our current members like you to thank for that!

I understand there is one week left in our informal competition to get lawyers and law students to sign up at www.lawyersforromney.com. The competition for a great piece of mystery swag from Governor Romney and his running mate is apparently fierce. Good luck to you all. I am excited to see which five supporters win and how many lawyers they have recruited for us.

Here at HQ, in addition to normal campaign operations, we are getting ready for some big announcements and events this month. Of course, you all know that this month the Governor will announce his running mate, completing America’s Comeback Team - the team that is going to defeat Barack Obama and get the American economy back on the right track. We are looking forward to sharing this announcement with you. For those of you who want to be among the very first to know the Governor’s selection, you can get Mitt’s VP app here.

Also, the Republican National Convention is just around the corner, and we are extraordinarily pleased with how things are shaping up there. By the time the Convention ends, I am confident that the American people will recognize just how different and better our vision for the economy and the country is than the “you didn’t build that” worldview of Barack Obama and the Democrats. I hear that many of our Lawyers for Romney members are hosting Convention-watching parties, and I can promise you will not be disappointed.

Onward to Victory!

Katie Biber
General Counsel