[SoConPubbie]

Check out Brett Stephens in today’s WSJ, who says he had predicted the loss back in January, and that is because the GOP insisted on emphasizing the so called gay marriage and abortion, the former most people don’t care about, the latter, most people, he says, support in extreme cases.

Couldn't be more wrong.

Exactly the opposite.

Romney staked out a position guaranteed to tick off social conservatives and depress turn-out on our side.

THat position included the following:

1. Support for Gays in the Military.
2. Support for Gay Adoption
3. Support for Gays in the Boy Scouts
4. Support for Abortion in the cases of Incest, Rape, life, and HEALTH of the mother

Add to that no real clear vision with respect to limited government and reducing the size of Government coupled with his inability and refusal to clearly articulate a conservative message, and it becomes crystal clear that the problem isn't value voters, social conservatives, and/or fiscal conservatives.

THe problem was the moderate/liberal Mitt Romney representing a party whose base was conservative.

There was no excitement with the base, long term, to Get out the vote.

That is why we lost.

[cripplecreek]

Romney also ran his entire primary in urban areas that weren’t going to vote for him in the general while passing over those he would need in the general.

[Marcella]

“Romney staked out a position guaranteed to tick off social conservatives and depress turn-out on our side.
THat position included the following:
1. Support for Gays in the Military.
2. Support for Gay Adoption
3. Support for Gays in the Boy Scouts
4. Support for Abortion in the cases of Incest, Rape, life, and HEALTH of the mother”

And we actual conservatives, toward the middle and end, were stomped on by Freepers for mentioning any of that. What we got was, “Obama thanks you for your vote”. “Anyone who doesn’t vote for Romney is un-American and a traitor.”

I expect the same thing next time - the GOPe will push a liberal Republican so the Party won’t offend anyone. Bovine Scatology.

[Steelfish]

I agree. Romney was compromised as the RINO candidate he is. But once he was our nominee, it was left to third parties like American Crossroads to go on the attack and sadly, unlike the Swiftboaters before them, they abdicated this attack dog role and did not go for the ankle bites that would have crippled the Obama machine.