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GOP Dilemma: Draw New Voters Without Irking Base
AP ^ | May 27, 2013 | AP, via WMAL.com

Posted on 05/27/2013 5:30:31 AM PDT by Timber Rattler

The Republican Party, having lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections, confronts a dilemma that's easier to describe than to solve: How can it broaden its appeal to up-for-grabs voters without alienating its conservative base?

There's no consensus yet on how to do it. With the next election three years away, Republicans are tiptoeing around policy changes even as they size up potential candidates who range from tea party heroes to pragmatic governors in Republican- and Democratic-leaning states.

(snip)

While they circle that conundrum, Republican leaders hope for a charismatic nominee in the mold of Clinton or Ronald Reagan. They yearn for someone who can appeal to less ideological voters without prompting conservatives to feel their principles are losing primacy.

(Excerpt) Read more at pro.wmal-af.tritonflex.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: corrupt; gop; gutless; republican; rino
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To: Timber Rattler

You draw new voters by articulating why your position is superior to the alternative - NOT by cravenly adopting some portion of the failed alternative, calculated to be just enough not to offend too many of your base. It is like Gresham’s Law applied to political platforms - bad positions drive out good.


21 posted on 05/27/2013 6:34:56 AM PDT by Paine in the Neck (Socialism consumes everything. Bolshies' gonna bolsh.)
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To: Timber Rattler

You draw new voters by convincing them you are right, and the other guys are wrong. You can only do this by: enunciating clear and simple principles, and then acting on them when in office. In short, you have to stand for something, advocate, believe, and evangelize for it. The object is to convert others to your point of view, much like what the Democrats have done. Attempting to become the secondary Democrats is a formula for complete failure- even the dimmest specimen of humanity can recognize such obvious insincerity.


22 posted on 05/27/2013 6:43:35 AM PDT by GenXteacher (You have chosen dishonor to avoid war; you shall have war also.)
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To: Timber Rattler

How about running conservative candidates rather than RINOs like Dole, McCain, and Romney?


23 posted on 05/27/2013 6:49:41 AM PDT by No Income Tax (You can fool some of the people all of the time)
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To: Timber Rattler

The base is irked.


24 posted on 05/27/2013 6:55:49 AM PDT by jimfree (In November 2016 my 12 y/o granddaughter will have more quality exec experience than Barack Obama)
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To: napscoordinator

Why would any conservative be thrilled with a liberal....no matter what he calls himself!!!!


25 posted on 05/27/2013 6:58:11 AM PDT by ontap (ion. Would you suggest that that organization)
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To: kabar
Romney received more than 1 million more votes than McCain did in 2008.

True. There was a problem with some places where Romney needed a doable number of votes, and they just didn't get to the polls. I think of OH. He just didn't get that vote that was there for Kasich for governor and Portman for US Senate two years ago. Both did a better job appealing to conservatives and not totally writing off the cities. In PA, an earlier push in coal country, the other rural/non eastern areas, and for supporting states rights could've been better. Fact is, Romney just didn't say enough about securing the borders, bringing good jobs to depressed areas for citizens, and going back to states rights.

26 posted on 05/27/2013 6:58:58 AM PDT by grania
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To: Timber Rattler
GOP ignoramuses... Here's all you have to do to "draw new voters without irking the base" - BE CONSERVATIVE!

Hey prospective voter, want a job? VOTE CONSERVATIVE!

Prospective voter, do yuo want to keep more of the money you earm? VOTE CONSERVATIVE!

Prospective voter, would you like to start a business without having to deal with thousands of unnecessary and costly regulations? VOTE CONSERVATIVE!

Prospective voter, would you like to repeal Obamacare befire uit completely destroys the finest healthcare system in the world and endangers your family through rationing of care and the unavailability of drugs? VOTE CONSERVATIVE!

IT'S REAL FRIGGIN' TOUGH TO COME UP WITH A WAY OF GAINING NEW VOTERS ISN'T IT.... YOU FRIGGIN' MORONS!

27 posted on 05/27/2013 7:03:56 AM PDT by Common Sense 101 (Hey libs... If your theories fly in the face of reality, it's not reality that's wrong.)
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To: muawiyah
The answer, as provided by Thomas Jefferson, is to go out and find people motivated to vote for your candidates ~ get them to the polls.

The GOP has a more basic problem ... FIRST they have to have a candidate that people can be motivated to vote for. I don't care how far ahead they start, if they run somebody like Jeb Bush in 2016, the saying that applies is "that dog won't hunt". The GOP lost the "hold your noses and vote" contingent in the last election and it appears they might be too stupid to have learned a lesson from it.

28 posted on 05/27/2013 7:06:03 AM PDT by MissMagnolia (You see, truth always resides wherever brave men still have ammunition. I pick truth. (John Ransom))
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To: Timber Rattler

How about nominating candidates that are right for the job, rather than just being around long enough that they have moved to the front of the “it’s my turn” line?

How about nominating candidates that people can actually get excited over?

How about nominating candidates that will actually fight for the job they are seeking?

How about nominating candidates that aren’t afraid of offending their opponents’ supporters who won’t vote for them anyway?

How about nominating candidates that aren’t worried about being nice to their opponents?


29 posted on 05/27/2013 7:13:02 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.)
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To: Timber Rattler
The base is gone. It shrinks every year. And I don't mean demographically. I mean, they have no representation so they are not involved in the political process. They are hunkered down, waiting.

They COULD try to appeal to them. Bring them "out of the shadows". But, then, they hate the base. The GOP has made it's bed with the global elite communists. They plan on remaining a minority socialist lite party and living off the carcass of what money raising ability they have left.

Both political parties are putting all their hopes on amnesty. Then they can forever be socialists while claiming it's what the hispanics, who have the power and numbers, want.

30 posted on 05/27/2013 7:18:09 AM PDT by riri (Plannedopolis-look it up. It's how the elites plan for US to live.)
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To: Timber Rattler
Millions of us are already irked at the gop/e and all it will take is more of the same loser mentality and the party will implode. I have wasted enough of my lifetime and money trying to support the gop/e... I stopped after Bush and on my honor... I will never support them again.

There are new Conservatives in town and they are taking over power from the likes of mccain and graham. It will be our party or a new party but there will be no more romney/bushcabal/dole/rove/priebus progressive mandated candidates or they will find themselves the party of old progressive hacks... progressive abortion loving biddies... log cabin poofters and a handful of mexican speaking parasites.

LLS

31 posted on 05/27/2013 7:19:57 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
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To: kabar

Let us not forget that our vote was illegally suppressed by a huge and out of control progressive administration that is led by an America hating muslim marxist, combined with outright voter fraud and stealing the election through this fraud and a gop/e that put up the author of obamacare... an abortion loving, gun grabbing leftard governor of the most liberal State in the Union and we lost by 4 million votes. I see nothing but easily corrected mistakes.

LLS


32 posted on 05/27/2013 7:33:46 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
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To: grania
True. There was a problem with some places where Romney needed a doable number of votes, and they just didn't get to the polls.

There is this mythology out there about the 2012 elections (including being pushed by Rush) that Romney lost because millions of conservative voters failed to show up. The facts speak for themselves. Obama received 3.5 million less voters than he did in 2008 and Romney received one million more than McCain did in 2008. The reality is that it was Obama's voters who stayed home. And Romney got more votes than McCain in 8 of the 9 battleground states.

I think of OH. He just didn't get that vote that was there for Kasich for governor and Portman for US Senate two years ago. Both did a better job appealing to conservatives and not totally writing off the cities.

First, comparing off year elections with Presidential election years is like comparing apples and oranges. The turnout is much lower in the off years. In 2012, Romney received 2,661,437 votes compared to Kasich's 1,889,180 votes, which were just 49% of the total vote. Kasich won by just 78K votes. Portman received 2,168,736 or 56% of the vote.

McCain received 2,677,820 votes in OH slightly better than Romney and the only battleground state where McCain received more votes than Romney. Obama received about 110,000 less votes in 2012 than he did in 2012.

In PA, an earlier push in coal country, the other rural/non eastern areas, and for supporting states rights could've been better. Fact is, Romney just didn't say enough about securing the borders, bringing good jobs to depressed areas for citizens, and going back to states rights.

Obama won PA with 52% of the vote compared to Romney's 46.6%. Romney received 15K more votes than McCain and Obama received almost 300K less in 2012 than he did in 2008.

The last time PA went Rep was in 1988 by a scant 2.3%. PA was never really in play for Romney. He lost by 300K.

Again, there is the mythology that Romney lost because his voters failed to show up. It is just wrong. The problem is that the non-Hispanic white population has declined and will continue to decline in the future. In 1970 non-Hispanic whites were 89% of the population, today they are 66% and will be 50% by 2042. Romney won the non-Hispanic white vote (59%) across every age group and both genders. McCain only attracted 55% of the non-Hispanic white vote.

By 2019, half of the children 18 and under will be minorities as classified by the USG. Each voter cohort that turns 18 every year will be more and more Democrat. Minorities already outnumber non-Hispanic whites in the first grade. By 2042 half of the country will be minorities.

87 percent of the 1.2 million legal immigrants entering annually are minorities as defined by the U.S. Government and almost all of the illegal aliens are minorities. Generally, immigrants and minorities vote predominantly for the Democrat Party. Hence, Democrats view immigration as a never-ending source of voters that will make them the permanent majority party.

We have entered a era of tribal politics. Obama received 95% of the black vote, 73% of the Asian vote, and 71% of the Hispanic vote. Obama's reelection demonstrated that we have reached a tipping point in terms of national electoral politics. More than likely, it will be generations before we ever see another Rep in the WH. Demography is destiny.

33 posted on 05/27/2013 7:45:33 AM PDT by kabar
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To: grania

The corruptocons stole the election through outright theft and fraud in Ohio... it is well documented. I remember them firing three dim polling workers in the Cincy area for allowing illegals to vote by the thousands... and there was no way to separate the illegal votes from the legal ones... and some areas had zero votes for romney that had 17 to 20% of their votes having gone to mccain. Now we know that they suppressed our votes using the entire corrupt and powerful Federal machine... and romney was a bottom of the barrel liar to boot. It was a sure fire win that was lost through a weak and corrupt party that was playing by Marques of Queensbury rules while the other corrupt party was using alinsky’s rules for radicals. I believe that about covers it.

LLS


34 posted on 05/27/2013 7:47:02 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
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To: grania

Globalism/Free Trade is kiling the GOP.

You cannot win elections against democrats by countering their socialist programs by shipping jobs to Communist China....or promising Illegal aliens the jobs not shipped out

The GOP will never win trying to imitate the EU


35 posted on 05/27/2013 7:56:42 AM PDT by SeminoleCounty (GOP - Greenlighting Obama's Programs)
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To: kabar

romney won the independent vote by a substantial margin and lost base votes. Rush is correct in some of his critique and so are you... but romney lost base votes. He almost lost mine but Jim Robinson convinced me to vote to defeat obama and I did. There are those here on FR that will confirm that they didn’t vote for romney and either went third party or just didn’t vote. If the gop/e do not change... it will be 20% or more of the base that will not show in 2016. It may even be much more of the base turning their backs on the elite. They may even come in a distant third place. I am not promoting this... I am just making an observation. Look to England and see what is going on there.

LLS


36 posted on 05/27/2013 7:59:46 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
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To: Timber Rattler
The GOP didn't lose 2012 because they did not have enough black and illegal alien voters.

They lost because Ubama unleashed an IRS voter-suppression campaign.

If the base would have showed up in 2012 in the same force they had in 2010, Ubama would have been smoked.

37 posted on 05/27/2013 8:01:49 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (It is the deviants who are the bullies.)
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To: Timber Rattler
How can it broaden its appeal

For starters, change the primary process so states have more influence. Late spring primaries are useless, because the nominee is already selected by then.

Second, a better slate of candidates. No more Bushs, Romneys, McCains, Doles, Fords. And definitely no more it's his turn guys.

Third, closed primaries so Dems and Libs are not voting in open-primary elections.

Fourth, stop the amnesty nonsense and quit trying to legalize millions of border jumpers (who would/do vote Democrat when they can).

==

Until the GOPe acknowledges and starts supporting the conservative base, they are not going to be winning presidential elections.
38 posted on 05/27/2013 8:12:03 AM PDT by TomGuy (.)
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To: MissMagnolia
An even more basic problem is GETTING NEW REPUBLICAN VOTERS LINED UP.

If that's not done they can't win no matter who they run!

39 posted on 05/27/2013 8:12:30 AM PDT by muawiyah
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To: kabar

Ignore the exit polls. they were statistically incorrect, nor is it possible to definitize the East Asian vote as predominantly Democratic when the ony place you tested for it was in Hawaii!


40 posted on 05/27/2013 8:18:04 AM PDT by muawiyah
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