tailfins
11-10-2012, 10:48 AM
The strongest *Republicans—Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, John Thune, Haley Barbour—all took a pass this time. And so Americans looking to replace the president were treated to a clown-car primary in which a new leader emerged every week—each crazier than the last. Romney was the strongest candidate in a weak field, but that’s a dubious honor—kind of like *being *voted the sexiest member of the Supreme Court.
Fibbing Fails. In his first ad, Mitt Romney quoted Barack Obama saying, “If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” But that was Obama quoting a GOP aide four years ago. The full quote is: “Senator McCain’s campaign actually said, and I quote, ‘If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.’” From that deceitful ad to his last, disgraceful falsehood that Jeep was transferring production to *China, Romney ran a stunningly dishonest campaign. But the leader of the Party of Lincoln should have known you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Romney’s Jeep ad backfired, and Obama’s support among union members in Ohio—the kind of folks who build those Jeeps in Toledo—far surpassed his 2008 support. Romney may as well have run ads that said, “I think you’re stupid,” because that’s the message voters got.
I give Begala credit for mentioning some authentic conservatives as "the strongest Republicans". I don't like to blame the opposition for failure. Christians have less influence because they have not done the work. It's not the fault of the secularists that filled the vacuum. The GOP lost because the best candidates were unwilling to make the sacrifice to run.
If some issues create risk of a huge backlash, don't spend much time on them and demonstrate understanding of political realities. On abortion for example, switching the focus to parental consent for minors is much smarter than arguing outlawing abortion in the case of rape. A smart politician needs to call it a canard when a liberal moderator forces the question that way. Responses such as "I don't think that will ever be a serious legislative discussion" will do the job. The moderator could even be scolded for framing questions in a non-serious manner.
http://www.debatepolicy.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=4
Fibbing Fails. In his first ad, Mitt Romney quoted Barack Obama saying, “If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” But that was Obama quoting a GOP aide four years ago. The full quote is: “Senator McCain’s campaign actually said, and I quote, ‘If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.’” From that deceitful ad to his last, disgraceful falsehood that Jeep was transferring production to *China, Romney ran a stunningly dishonest campaign. But the leader of the Party of Lincoln should have known you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Romney’s Jeep ad backfired, and Obama’s support among union members in Ohio—the kind of folks who build those Jeeps in Toledo—far surpassed his 2008 support. Romney may as well have run ads that said, “I think you’re stupid,” because that’s the message voters got.
I give Begala credit for mentioning some authentic conservatives as "the strongest Republicans". I don't like to blame the opposition for failure. Christians have less influence because they have not done the work. It's not the fault of the secularists that filled the vacuum. The GOP lost because the best candidates were unwilling to make the sacrifice to run.
If some issues create risk of a huge backlash, don't spend much time on them and demonstrate understanding of political realities. On abortion for example, switching the focus to parental consent for minors is much smarter than arguing outlawing abortion in the case of rape. A smart politician needs to call it a canard when a liberal moderator forces the question that way. Responses such as "I don't think that will ever be a serious legislative discussion" will do the job. The moderator could even be scolded for framing questions in a non-serious manner.
http://www.debatepolicy.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=4