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The Voters who stayed Home (bitter pill: Republicans re-elected Obama)
National Review Online ^ | 11/10/12 | McCarthy

Posted on 11/11/2012 11:27:31 AM PST by pabianice

The key to understanding the 2012 election is simple: A huge slice of the electorate stayed home.

The punditocracy — which is more of the ruling class than an eye on the ruling class — has naturally decided that this is because Republicans are not enough like Democrats: They need to play more identity politics (in particular, adopt the Left’s embrace of illegal immigration) in order to be viable. But the story is not about who voted; it is about who didn’t vote. In truth, millions of Americans have decided that Republicans are not a viable alternative because they are already too much like Democrats. They are Washington. With no hope that a Romney administration or more Republicans in Congress would change this sad state of affairs, these voters shrugged their shoulders and became non-voters.

“This is the most important election of our lifetime.” That was the ubiquitous rally cry of Republican leaders. The country yawned. About 11 million fewer Americans voted for the two major-party candidates in 2012 — 119 million, down from 130 million in 2008. In fact, even though our population has steadily increased in the last eight years (adding 16 million to the 2004 estimate of 293 million Americans), about 2 million fewer Americans pulled the lever for Obama and Romney than for George W. Bush and John Kerry.

That is staggering.

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


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2012; 2012analysis; 2012electionanalysis; andymccarthy; conservatives; cutoffnosevoters; elections; gop; gopcivilwar; gotv; obama; republicans; rinos; romney; romney2012; voterturnout
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To: pabianice
The Voters who stayed Home (bitter pill: Republicans re-elected Obama)

Ok, let's start with this is NRO - NOT the most unpredjudiced organization in America.

AND, let's add in to the mix the reports from FL and OH about voter fraud, then ask yourself this question: Do these election results make sense??

Prior to the election, zero and Romney were pretty much neck and neck in the polls, even WITH Democrat oversampling. The DBM was telling us that zero's supporters were depresed and Romney's supporters were energized.

So, why on earth would ANY of us ever believe something from NRO that incorproates Dem talking points of gloating and piling on Republicans!?

Before the election, we knew that zero was soliciting and organizing union thugs, but we didn't see any overt signs of them and we didn't know what he was organizing them to do. Now we know. In many counties in FL and OH and even in CO (as well as how many other states that have not released this information) the election results EXCEEDED the number of registered voters in these counties!! Does that not make you go "hmmmmm"!!???

IMO, we are witnessing the tip of a scandal that will be, perhaps, one of the biggest in American history. Obama, so far, is getting away with stealing this election right out from under our noses.

We know, with the current state of affairs in America, that the rule of law is dead and the Constitution has been shredded, so DON"T expect any elected representatives to begin tilting at windmills to right this massive wrong.

That means we either DO SOMETHING, or we shrug our shoulders and say "oh, well, I can't do anything."

So, what's it going to be? The light of history is upon us. Do we fish . . . . . . . . or cut bait?

61 posted on 11/11/2012 12:08:26 PM PST by DustyMoment (Congress - another name for white collar criminals!!)
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To: bgill
They'll be in your face with attitude. Better prepare for race riots.

No need for that, for FR has enough Conservatives willing to eat the brains of those who still have a functioning conscience.

62 posted on 11/11/2012 12:08:45 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: pabianice

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.


63 posted on 11/11/2012 12:09:09 PM PST by EdReform (Oath Keepers - Guardians of the Republic - Honor your oath - Join us: www.oathkeepers.org)
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To: SpaceBar

Well said.


64 posted on 11/11/2012 12:09:18 PM PST by kabumpo (Kabumpo)
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To: GlockThe Vote; Kozak; driftdiver
Bingo. No excuses for these morons and idiots all now coming out of the woodwork now.

Kozak misread driftdiver's post.

65 posted on 11/11/2012 12:09:38 PM PST by Las Vegas Ron (Medicine is the keystone in the arch of socialism)
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To: BereanBrain
SELECT a HISPANIC CONSERVATIVE

Good idea. Here are two other good ideas:

- Fire up the old Ward Politics of the 1920s. Play identity but NOT grievance. Be the local Godfather and Patron that takes care of the neighborhood.
- Develop some bloody technology so we can match the personal contact the other side has.

Plenty of room here. Plenty of it.

66 posted on 11/11/2012 12:09:50 PM PST by superloser
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To: baddog 219
But the real reason the Republicans lost.....NO BALLS!
67 posted on 11/11/2012 12:10:00 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: TigerClaws

I’m getting that as a bumper sticker right next to my why shoudl I work and pay for YOUR KIDS and lifestyle


68 posted on 11/11/2012 12:10:18 PM PST by manc (Marriage =1 man + 1 woman,when they say marriage equality then they should support polygamy)
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To: Elsie

Not into cannibalism but I will cheerfully hang a traitor


69 posted on 11/11/2012 12:10:50 PM PST by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: Elsie

The only Republicans with balls are the women.


70 posted on 11/11/2012 12:11:34 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: Kozak

Amen.


71 posted on 11/11/2012 12:12:49 PM PST by Obadiah (Americans lusted for Obama. Give them Obama! Everything he Constitutionally asks for.)
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To: Kozak
In you stayed home STFU you lost any right to bitch about Obama or what he’s going to do.

Oh?

I've missed this little law.


The old saying is "If a man keeps a monkey, he should pay for the glasses he breaks."; not, "If a man chooses not to own a monkey, he gets blamed for the glasses he breaks."

72 posted on 11/11/2012 12:14:15 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: pabianice

This article seems to suggest voters stayed home because Romney or Republicans aren’t fiscally austere enough. It’d be nice if voters were that focused on the issues, but I doubt it. It’s implausible when most of the voters who stayed home were former Obama voters. That proves they’re either not fiscally austere or they are woefully ill-informed and vote mostly on emotion.

We really need to see more research on who the voters were that stayed home. They voted for Obama last time, but must have been disappointed with the direction the country took. But we don’t know why they couldn’t accept Romney. Was it because they still blamed Republicans for the financial collapse of 2008? If so, that’s Romney’s fault for never arguing the case for why LIBERAL economics caused that crisis. When Obama directly confronted him in the debates about it he ignored him and changed the subject.

The exit polls showed Romney’s biggest problem was that he just seemed out-of-touch and unable to relate to most voters. That could be attributable to his 47% gaffe, baggage from his Bain Capital days, or the simple fact that his personality itself seems to get in the way of him connecting with the average person on an emotional level. Bottom line, he was intrinsically a bad candidate, as many of the primary voters realized, but not enough.


73 posted on 11/11/2012 12:14:52 PM PST by JediJones (Newt Gingrich warned us that the "King of Bain" was unelectable. Did you listen?)
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To: GlockThe Vote
No excuses for these morons and idiots all now coming out of the woodwork now.

Then stay back inside!

74 posted on 11/11/2012 12:14:53 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Strategerist

“The simple answer is that millions of votes haven’t been counted yet.”

The simple answer is that there are millions of votes that will never BE counted.


75 posted on 11/11/2012 12:15:28 PM PST by beelzepug ("Why bother creating wealth when you can just redistribute it?")
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To: Bigjimslade
For those that keep repeating how they stayed home b/c Romney was as bad as Obama, please tell me how many of you voted for McCain and not Romney ? You have every right to stay home, but I know dozens of people that didn’t vote for McCain and turned out for Romney. I’ve yet to meet anyone that did the opposite.

I voted for McCain in 2008 and voted for Tom Hoefling in 2012.

I learned my lesson, that voting for a liberal just encourages the elitist GOP leaders to run another one. My fervent hope has been that Romney's support would be small enough for people to realize that the GOP cannot win by offering the voters a fancier liberal than the Democrats.

I suspect that they'll try it again in 2016. I hear Rove saying that the only reason Romney got beat is because Obama badmouthed him and suppressed the vote. It doesn't sound to me like Rove learned anything from this experience.

If you want them to quit running liberals, then quit voting for liberals.

76 posted on 11/11/2012 12:15:38 PM PST by Tau Food (Praise God. Trust God.)
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To: driftdiver
Yeah, at the very end on the Titanic, as the stern lifted into the air those selfish bastards refused to help bail water. Then, as the keel snapped they REFUSED to link arms in the effort to hold her together. Scumbags.

Face it this day was coming for several generations now. It has nothing to do with the disgust of those who turned their backs at this late stage in the game. This isn't the beginning of something dark, rather, it is the denouement. War is coming (and long before Obama’s term ends). Until it does enjoy having someone to kick around and blame everything on. When war is here you and I will be to busy or dead to care.

Initially I wasn't going to vote for Romney but my dilike for Obama overruled and I voted out of pure anger. As Christian I knew better. I wish I could take it back, I'd feel better not having voted for a guy who literally equates sexual deviants with normal people or who shoved health care down the throat of every single person in his state.

Live and learn. It will never happen again.

77 posted on 11/11/2012 12:16:01 PM PST by TalBlack (Evil doesn't have a day job.)
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To: pabianice

To the headline: bull excrement


78 posted on 11/11/2012 12:16:21 PM PST by svcw (Why is one cell on another planet considered life, and in the womb it is not.)
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To: dowcaet
I was a Newt voter in February but I realized it was more important for the country and went to vote with a clear head for Romney.

So YOU are one of the jerks who got Newt off the radar before I had a chance to vote for him!

79 posted on 11/11/2012 12:16:46 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Tau Food

“If you want them to quit running liberals, then quit voting for liberals.”

The GOP is going more liberal. Sure looks like they arent listening.


80 posted on 11/11/2012 12:18:27 PM PST by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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