The American Spectator : A New Republican Agenda for the Future

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Another Perspective

A New Republican Agenda for the Future

By Doug Bandow on 11.27.12 @ 6:09AM

The GOP will deserve to lose even more in 2016 if it fails to understand why it deserved to lose this time.

The Republican echo chamber reached a crescendo on Election Day. Turnout was at record levels as enthusiastic Romney supporters around the country were preparing to take their country back.

Oops.

Even the most committed GOP operative recognizes that something went wrong. Candidates for blame include the biased media, Democratic vote fraud, and the Obama campaign’s superior electoral targeting. Obviously to many Republicans the loss was someone else’s fault.

The real problem is the GOP message. The traditional Republican issue triad of fiscal responsibility, national defense, and social regulation is broken. The electoral coalition which delivered the White House to Ronald Reagan three decades ago is headed toward civil war.

Washington’s wild spending, huge deficits, and massive unfunded liabilities are the most important challenge today. However, the Republican Party gave away that issue under George W. Bush and the Republican Congress. The GOP increased spending across-the-board and added the biggest expansion in the welfare state in four decades, the Medicare drug benefit. The GOP tossed money at the Pentagon, creating new unfunded liabilities out of two unnecessary wars, which ultimately will cost trillions after caring for injured veterans for the rest of their lives. Bush created the bailout programs used by Barack Obama.

The various Republican campaigns did little better this year. The GOP ran against the idea of a budget sequester because it insisted on protecting bloated military outlays. Mitt Romney promised to safeguard Social Security, even though the system has started running a deficit, years earlier than predicted, and the much-ballyhooed “trust fund” is an accounting fiction. Ads for Republican George Allen in the Virginia Senate race criticized his opponent, Tim Kaine, for being a spendthrift and supporting the Obama stimulus — as well as for backing cuts in military outlays and reducing education expenditures. Duh?

The GOP’s foreign policy can be summed up in two words: permanent war. Throughout the Cold War Republicans held a political advantage in foreign policy. However, George W. Bush’s bungling also wrecked the GOP’s reputation in this area. Voters rated President Obama ahead of his Republican challengers as military commander-in-chief.

Nevertheless, Republicans remain locked in the past, determined to paint their Democratic opponents as weak irrespective of the facts — such as Obama intensifying the Afghanistan war. Thus, excepting the redoubtable Rep. Ron Paul, during the primary debates the Republican contenders, most of whom had never been anywhere near a military installation let alone worn a uniform, did the foreign policy equivalent of the Maori Haka, clamoring for a bigger military to be used more often against additional countries.

Mitt Romney spent five years, from his announcement until the final debate, simply shouting “we’re number one.” Although the Republican nominee did his best to avoid stating a clear position, at times he seemed to believe that the U.S. should have stayed in Iraq forever, over the objection of the Iraqi government, and be prepared to stay in Afghanistan as long as necessary for undefined “victory,” which likely would be forever — both positions anathema to the vast majority of Americans. Then a couple of weeks before the election he declared himself to be a peacenik. All that was missing was him wearing beads and making a peace sign.

As for social issues, Romney presented a conservative agenda in which he never seemed to believe. He was for abortion before he was against it, before he ended up being not so against it. He was against a contraception mandate that was part of Massachusetts law. He was for limited government, except when it interfered with people’s personal lives. The Republican Party’s mantra was perceived to have gone from “leave us alone” to “make everyone conform.”

The result was an electoral wreck. Although the margin separating Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was small, the GOP could take little comfort. If Republicans can only come close when the Democratic incumbent is presiding over a painful recession and engaged in an orgy of unpopular spending and borrowing, when can Republicans hope to win?

The GOP should rethink what it stands for. Fiscal responsibility certainly, but in practice as well as in theory. That means resisting pork and earmarks, a temptation to which many Republicans yield, and targeting corporate welfare, since business does not need a hand-out.

That also means tying military outlays to security challenges, not an arbitrary share of GDP. Why should Americans spend as much as the rest of the world combined on “defense” when that means subsidizing rich allies, engaging in foolish nation-building, and launching military actions that create more enemies than they kill? There can be no sacred cows if the budget crisis is going to be resolved.

As for the “entitlements” that threaten to swamp the budget, Republicans must point out that recipients have not paid for Social Security and Medicare, which is why the nation’s fiscal future is so bleak. On average the latter alone pays out nearly four times as much in benefits as it collects in taxes from recipients. The starting point of reform should be to means-test, that is, kick the rich off the dole. And why should Washington force young workers into Social Security, which will pay them less than they “contribute”?

Republicans should explain that their argument against tax hikes is not hatred of government, but recognition that Washington wastes money prodigiously. There’s no justification for letting the Feds seize more resources from working people. As for the “rich” who the Left expects to provide everything, they already pay the most in taxes and there aren’t enough of them to fund a generous welfare/warfare/bail-out state.

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About the Author

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author and editor of several books, including The Politics of Plunder: Misgovernment in Washington (Transaction).

Letter to the Editor View all comments (191) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 11.27.12 @ 6:37AM

You bring up some good points but Obama's past has been center right on taxes. It's the future that is to the far left and it won't be good.

As Obamacare unfolds many Americans will be left stunned and puzzled by the fines they will have to pay and file with their federal tax forms and ever increasing premiums for those who think they have health care.

The Republicans should plan now to explain it at the connect the dots level because most Americans still believe it will be free.

It will be far from free and what health care you actually receive will be a matter of luck.

The Republicans simply need to reorganize and point out that Obamacare is on the way to destroying the best health care system in the world. It's already happening.

Jack in Wi| 11.27.12 @ 7:51AM

I agree with Doug Bandow on about 90% of his essay. He is wrong about gay marriage. It will never be gay, marriage, normal and healthy. It is all about forcing the abominable on normal people. It is all about a war on religion. The vast majority of homosexuals don't marry when given the opportunity. Nobody cares if some fruitcake calls another man his wife. The problem is he wants to make us call him a wife as well. If we laugh at the obvious obsurdity we will called into court for hate crimes. No sane Christian, Jew, Muslim, or even pagan can be for gay marriage. It is against the laws of God and Nature. We must resist the gay mafia and their enablers. They want their perversions taught in the schools to recruit the young.

The Big E| 11.27.12 @ 8:52AM

Jac, I swear I think that's the first thing I'v ever read of yours which made sense.

Maybe there's hope for you yet.

Jack London| 11.27.12 @ 9:39AM

"They want their perversions taught in the schools to recruit the young."

Of course they do. And of course you will never win again with your poisonous lies.

sinz54| 11.27.12 @ 9:51AM

Which "laws of nature" are inconsistent with gay marriage???

And what "the laws of God" say are irrelevant in a pluralistic society. No elected official can oppose gay marriage on that basis without appearing to violate the Establishment Clause.

C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 10:32AM

Huh? Was the Declaration of Independence thrust down the memory hole?

Controse| 11.27.12 @ 12:20PM

Well here is a law of nature for you. Sex is for reproduction. That is a law of nature. No sex, no species. Apply this law of nature to homosexual sex. No sex, no species--Check. Sex, no species--Check.

Sodomize your way to bliss all you want. Just do not try to force heterosexuals to call it marriage. It is not marriage. It is shall we say unsustainable generational-wise.

TLP| 11.27.12 @ 3:16PM

Which Laws of Nature are Contrary to Gay Marriage?

How about The Law of Nature that commands that The Hole between One's Buttcheeks is for Pushing things OUT, and not the other way around?

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 11:45AM

Look on the bright side, Jack, if the Supreme Court uphold the right of gays to marry, you will be able to indulged your well developed sense of moral outrage until the day you die. Who knows? Those credentials may get you past St. Peter.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 12:59PM

Jack - what's normal?

You don't recruit gay people. Could you be recruited? To what purpose? OMG, that is the dumbest argument I've ever heard. You don't "become" gay, like you just decided you prefer dick to pussy. How stupid can you people be?
And 2 gay men are called husbands both, if they are married. And both are wives for gay women. As far as religion goes, men in fancy dresses and funny hats shouldn't be preaching about anything gay, hmmmm?
In any case, IF there is anything theologically wrong with being gay, GOD will take care of that - it isn't your place to judge.
I submit that the only people who believe you can "become" gay are those that think they would like it, or have tried and do like it, but turn away for other reasons.
Learn something before you open your trap and prove your ignorance .
Of course, it fits well on this site. Keep pushing it, it's a real winning strategy, huh? Intolerance always succeeds, doesn't it?

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:46PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

Hurricane Sandy and Chris Christie was the Lord's way of pressing his thumb on the scale to tilt in the direction of President Obama. It was His punishment of Republicans for their lying and trying to cheat (Voter Suppression) their way to political victory, while espousing faith, freedom and constitutional credentials."

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

Lew| 11.27.12 @ 9:09AM

After Ronald Reagan won the presidency in 1980, the Democrats didn't know what hit them. So they served up more of their same old menu with Walter Mondale for 1984 ... and they lost by a landslide. They were in disarray. But one Bill Clinton kept his head, honestly listened to and engaged the criticisms of the Democrat party, adjusted his approach, and turned the tide for the Democrats.

Unless the Republicans do likewise -- engage in sober self-criticism and adjust accordingly -- then they are doomed to go the way of the dodo ... and they'll deserve it.

I don't agree 100% with what Doug Bandow says in this article, but I do think he gives a helpful word that Republicans should heed as part of their needed sober self-criticism.

Alas, I have lost hope that the Republicans have ears to hear ... especially my fellow Christians in the so-called "religious right". "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise" (Prov. 12:15). "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him" (Prov. 18:13).

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 1:00PM

Ohio legislators have passed a ban on Planned Parenthood - immediately after the election.
So, no, they have not learned. Good.

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:46PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

markenoff| 11.27.12 @ 6:02PM

So Planned Parenthood is banned in Ohio?

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 3:16PM

I don't think Clinton was that ingenious. He had the support of the media and was an attractive guy. There's a claim that the average American president is at least 5'11 or something like that. GHB was also amazingly unpopular who had been a nice "moderate" and raised taxes after promising "no new taxes". Then Ross Perot split the vote.

Do any of you remember that? So Clinton wasn't terribly exceptional. After election, he was plagued by scandals even the leftist media couldn't cover up (thanks Drudge! Thanks AMSPEC!) His childhood friend was found dead, spread eagle, in a park and a suicide note found days later. His secretary of commerce was scheduled to be indicted for fraud and air force 2 slams into a mountain supposedly off course despite a radio beacon with the radio beacon operator of the airport found dead of a "suicide" with a bullet wound to the chest.

In mid-term year, he finally signed off on welfare reform. Unable to pass Hillary Care, he was a mostly lame duck president doing little more than get money over for his cronies and having interns service him in the oval office which, for him, was the most productive use of his time. He generated a "surplus" via the baby boomer money in social security going into general funds.

That's the "Clinton magic" folks! Oh, and the boom of the 90's in Internet that is now dead as third world H1B's took over in Y2K.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 3:22PM

the dot com boom started after the balanced budget was achieved.
Revisionist history is so fun - except we gotcha!

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:47PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 4:08PM

Purp, don't try to teach your grandma how to suck eggs. My old email address was psuvax1\!pk. Recognize it? Of course not. Back then, the internet or "arpanet" worked via pathing. I had to manually force my email to find the right host. Sometimes I could have fun: eastcoast.ibm.com\!oxford.edu.co.uk\!psuvax1\!pk and send my email on a trip around the world! Tons of fun!

Do you get this joke? OJ Simpson is looking for the real killers. His email address is: ojfindrealkiller/nicole\rongoldman. Get it?

Anyways, good luck with living in the boarding home with your "employees". Hahahaha!

markenoff| 11.27.12 @ 6:05PM

You mean after the House of Representatives, where all bills dealing with revenue are supposed to originate, had a Republican majority for the first time in 40 years and passed a balanced budget which Clinton signed as part of his "triangulation"?

Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 11:14AM

Exactly! In the words of Robert Heinlen

TANSTAFL

There aint no such thing as a free lunch.

TLP| 11.27.12 @ 3:21PM

Why is everybody Killing Romney?

He won the Primaries. Who's fault was that?

Lardass in New Jersey didn't run. Jim DeMint didn't run. Not one A List Conservative threw his hat into the Ring.

Did you SEE that Republican Lineup?

Romney was the Perfect Fit for what this Country needs at this time in History. A skilled Businessman and Manager. As Good and Decent a man, as we have ever had running for President. They had Nothing to get him on, save a scuffle back in High School. So they Lied. And they Lied, and they Lied, and they Lied some more. And they did so with a Fawning Media, that would've Sliced their Mother's Throat if they thought that would get Obama reelected. Joseph Goebbels would've been Proud.

We coulda run JESUS CHRIST, and all of the Blacks would have still Voted for their New Messiah. Have you heard what Jamie Fox just called him? "Our Lord and Saviour - Barack Obama".

THE MUSLIM got 70% of the Jewish Vote.

Hello?

He got 39% of the White Vote.

Hello?

Everything in this Country is going to SH*T, yet the guy who's been Killing Everything He Touches, got Reelected.

"But Romney didn't do this. And Romney didn't say that."

USE YOUR HEADS!

Nothing he could have done, would've changed anything.

If the Retards for Ron Paul, and the rest of the 3 MILLION WHITES who sat on their Asses, that night, had gone out and Voted?

We might be saying: President Elect Mitt Romney.

You people sound like Idiots.

And you people who STAYED HOME.

I hope you Burn in Hell.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 11:36AM

How do you solve the problem of the free loader who refuses to buy insurance and then uses, at taxpayer and insurance premium payer's expense, the emergency room when suffering from an accident or illness"

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 11.27.12 @ 12:23PM

When you file your 1040 you are caught in the snare. If you do not file a 1040 you are exempt but are still held accountable if you receive any refunds in the future.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/2...../index.htm
Ironically, there is a penalty for those insured who do not agree with wellness campaigns of their employers. Get ready to observe a lot of fat people fired.

In 2014, the penalty will be no more than $285 per family or 1% of income, whichever is greater. In 2015, the cap rises to $975 or 2% of income. And by 2016, the penalty will go to $2,085 per family or 2.5% of income, whichever is greater.
The dollar amounts for a single adult would be $95, $325 and then $625 during that same time period. The dollar amounts per child would be half that of adults.

The law also prohibits the government from putting liens or levies on your property to collect the penalty.
But based on Shulman's comments, it seems the government will be able to withhold your future refunds.
"We can actually do collection, if need be," he said. "People can get offsets of their tax returns in future years, so there's a variety of ways for us to focus on things like fraud, things like abuse."
What's not clear is whether failure to pay the penalty for not having insurance would subject you to late payment penalties to the IRS, much the same way a failure to pay your taxes on time would.

Controse| 11.27.12 @ 12:24PM

Easy. No tickie, no laundry.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 12:48PM

Shit, NASCAR; I can't think of an easier problem to fix. Stop providing care at taxpayer expense. When folks realize that they won't receive care if they don't pay, they'll start paying. Or they'll die. Either way, problem solved. Next?

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 1:05PM

Trinacria and Controse,

Make my day by telling me that you are Christians who give a great deal of money to charity. I love hypocrisy.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 1:14PM

In point of fact, I give nearly two thirds of every dollar I earn to two well known charities: the United States federal government and the state of California.

With respect to Christianity, I'm rather less of a fan since the Catholic Church went all in on the social justice bullshit (it's worked out swimmingly well for them, hasn't it?), though I am particularly fond of a little ditty from the bible that goes a little something like this: "He who will not work shall not eat."

Ah, yes; hypocrisy indeed...I do so love it, too.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 5:37PM

California? Any chance you're stuck in traffic every day listening to that lard assed Rush Limbaugh?

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 7:03PM

Negative; too busy disproportionately extracting wealth from the economy and keeping the man down. It's a full time job, you know (I barely have spare time in my leisure to control women's reproductive decisions!).

Appleby| 11.27.12 @ 2:32PM

Actually, the way to solve the problem is the way we solved the problem BEFORE the Government stepped in to extort money from you to Feed His Sheep. That is, these people would be cared for: (1) in private charity hospitals run by religious organizations; (2) by Associations (e.g. the Masonic Lodge, the Knights of Columbus, Mountain Hose Volunteer Fireman's Company No. 1, etc. or (3) by saving up their money and buying and maintaining private insurance.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 12:51PM

" Obamacare is on the way to destroying the best health care system in the world. It's already happening." - Are you kidding? Not even in the top 25 Best Healthcare systems. #1 in Cost, yes, but that is far from the best.
As Obamacare unfolds Americans will realize what it benefits them, which is already happening. Polling now shows 49.5% of the American people support Obamacare and it hasn't even been fully implemented.
As the propaganda from the right is exposed as lies, deceit and misinformation, Americans are waking up to the reality of the value of Obamacare.
You can add this issue to the long list of "Republicans are out of touch with America" issues.
Obamacare is here to stay, as is the union of all 50 States.
Now let's discuss the future. You couldn't get rid of Social Security or Medicare, and you won't Obamacare. Period.

Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 1:02PM

Oh please tell me your using the World Health Organization for your facts. They have Italy ranked as number 2. The same country I spent 3 years in where the hospital beds were on wooden blocks to raise the to the correct height (nice infection control), where family had to bring your meals or you didn't eat, where hospitals were understaffed. The same country that just loved to take the militaries 20 years old hand me downs because it was better than their equipment and the ambulances were still glorified station wagons.

List your source please.

loulou| 11.27.12 @ 1:10PM

Come on, just ignore the loser. He is uneducable.

Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 1:53PM

LouLou, your probably right but I'm not sure if he is uneducatable or just willfully ignorant.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 2:53PM

Nevertheless, you lost with you know-it-all attitude. Guess you didn't know it ALL, did you?

Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 3:21PM

Never claimed to know it all. That is a perogative of the left.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 2:52PM

Ever been to Walter Reed Hospital ?
We aren't the spit shiny clean, super duper healthcare you think we are...
When you're oblivious, you really are, aren't you?

Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 3:24PM

Why yes I have and even though it was in sad shape it was still head and shoulders above what I saw in Italy. See I spent 20 years in the military health care system and saw many of our military hospitals. And just to give you some perspective, I went there upon returning from Italy and before Walter Reed was hammered.

You really are oblivous aren't you? But at least you cleared something up for me. Your willfully ignorant.

squalis| 11.27.12 @ 5:21PM

Don't you get the irony. Purp does not seem to recognize the hospital he uses as an example of bad US healthcare is a GOVERNMENT RUN hospital! Just perfect.

markenoff| 11.27.12 @ 6:08PM

The unioinized workers who were responsible for maintenance and janitorial services got away with not doing their jobs.

You think once the government runs the whole health care system it will be more like the private sector at its best or the VA at its worst?

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:47PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

Appleby| 11.27.12 @ 7:06AM

The Republicans need to do two things: Stand back and let it crash -- force them to eat the meal they have cooked, which now they will Own ... even the Obamaphones will not be able to credibly blame Bush for the past four years; and once it HAS crashed -- GIVE US A CANDIDATE THAT WE CAN SUPPORT. Stop already with the "electable" people who are NOT electable. Choose a candidate that matches the views of the Republican Party outside the beltway. Pick a canadidate who has lived the way we live, from a part of the country that actually thinks like we do. Someone who can speak our language and who can rouse the troops.

But first, STAND BACK AND LET IT CRASH.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 10:21AM

AMEN!!!! Sure it will be unpleasant, but those of us who had the skill and intellect to succeed will survive; the delicious irony is that those who are so intellectually vacant that they would embrace the vacuous platitudes of the syphilitic puke in the oval office will be the one's who will be utterly crushed by his policies. The quicker the better. Let it burn!

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 11:47AM

Ah, the bitter wish of a bitter man.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 12:28PM

Yes; as it turns out, only being permitted to keep one third of what one earns tends to make one rather bitter. Terribly petty of me, isn't it?

Alas, it is not within my power to control. Nonetheless, I should be thankful...I could have been one of the four employees I had to lay off the week before Thanksgiving. Oh well, let them eat Obamacake.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 1:06PM

Actually, yes. If you do make enough to pay that much in taxes (I doubt you do), then, yes, you should pay more.
This country is the only country that gave you the opportunity to succeed, and you owe it back. Put your country first (and all it's people) and stop being so greedy.
I presume you can buy food, pay rent, and all other necessities. What's your issue?
And, then, you laid off 4 employees? Why was that? Obamacare isn't even operational yet.
That wasn't the excuse, so what was? Your poor management of the business? Not responsive to your customers, so you had lack of sales? Or was it China and the global boogieman?

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 1:36PM

Ah, yes; I do so love it when the help thinks they're smarter than the rest of us.
Well, sport, let's examine your arguments:
1) In point of fact, I succeeded DESPITE the obstacles that this country put in front of me, NOT because of some illusive fairytale notion of "unique opportunity". I was equally successful in the land of my birth (and before you ask the dumbass question, "if its so great there, why are you here?", I'm here by virtue of marriage - my lovely wife has a weakness for this country, so I make the sacrifice and take it in the shorts in order to be with her).
2) Put "my" country (and all its people) first? Negative, kemosabe; I'll put my family first. F**k all the rest of you.
3) You presume correctly (congratulations); I can indeed buy food, pay my mortgage, and take care of my family. So what's my issue? My issue is this: It's not my goddamn responsibility to buy YOUR food, pay YOUR rent, and take care of YOUR family.
3) Why lay off 4 employees? My California income taxes just increased 33% (RETROACTIVELY), my federal income tax is increasing by 14%,and my SS tax is doubling (Obamacare). While Obamacare won't be fully implemented until 2014, my group health insurance premiums are increasing by nearly 30% for 2013. I'm in business to make money, not to piss it away. But thanks for demonstrating how stunningly little you know about running a business...

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 1:57PM

" I'm here by virtue of marriage - my lovely wife has a weakness for this country, so I make the sacrifice and take it in the shorts in order to be with her)." - Well, then, since you have compromised your principles and beliefs to be with your wife, swallow hard and put up with what you get. And stop whining about it.

And, yes, poor management has put your business in the shape it's in. Typical Republican - it's everyone else's fault but your own. Try looking in the mirror, pal. YOU are the problem.

You, and you alone, are not unique in taxes rising, so stop whining about that too.

I do run a business, and I do apparently know more than you, because I haven't laid anyone off. 85% of all problems in business are management related - so, it's YOU bud, not everyone else that is making you fail.

YOU don't pay a thing for me, but if you were more successful, you wouldn't be so bitter and selfish.

I'd prefer you take your wife and get the hell outta this country and go back where you came from, if you aren't going to care about the country that accepted you. Of course, your family is first, but you need to give a damn about all of your country, and if you don't, well, that's why you lost.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 2:44PM

Hahahaha! Purp takes his disinguousness to new heights!

First, I doubt Purp owns his own business or has employees unless he's running a check cashing store for fellow welfare recipients. :-)

Next, I find it amusing he's adopting the "love or leave it" construction hippie-head-buster mantra of the 60's and "shut up and quit whining" and "be responsible." Obama's main election platform is that things are going to suck here, but it's all GW's fault. Forever. I wish Romney had responded to the Obama's mantra during the debates "The old failed policies of GW we can't go back to" with "Well, why don't you stop blaming GW and move along then?"

It's certain that Purp doesn't own his own business and lives among the fraction of whites in this country that share his beliefs. As soon as enough non-whites move in, they pack up their U-hauls and flight over to the nearest suburb. It's not limosine liberalism but rather U-haul liberalism.

But yeah, I can move back to Poland if I need to. In many ways, it's quite nice and undiscovered. Shhhh!

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 2:47PM

As usual, you know nothing, you snark away with useless bullshit. And, yeah, if Poland is so much better, go. Who needs you and your attitude.
Or did they kick you out too?

TLP| 11.27.12 @ 3:26PM

We know things.

We know that the Hole between our Asscheeks is for Pushing things Out, and not the other way around.

Something that you, no doubt, believes doesn't apply to you.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 3:48PM

Hahaha! Purp, I must have really gotten to you. Meow! Want some milk? But yes, I'm needed because I have a decent job and I got it without needing any of the democrat party's quota hiring schemes. That says a lot. And yes, I have the option to go to Poland or not. It's nice to have.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 4:55PM

Yeah, goddamnit. Us tolerant, peace-lovin', humanitarian liberals don't need no stinkin' ferners round here. Now go on an git...

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 4:53PM

Now, Purp; you really must read more carefully. Did I say I laid off 4 employees because my business isn't doing well? On the contrary, my business is thriving - and you know why? It's thriving because I'm not willing to incur needless expenses or accept lower profits in order to engage in "economic patriotism". I do commend you, however, on your wildly creative argument that if I were more successful I wouldn't be so bitter and selfish, as if one's accomodation of theft should be proportional to one's wealth. Makes perfect sense...except that it doesn't. I'll give you a C for effort, though.

Point 2: I don't recall asserting that I was uniquely victimized by rising taxes and I invite you to provide the specific quote from which you infer such.

Finally, thank you for the delicious irony of suggesting that I should "get the hell outta this country and go back to where you came from". One does rather enjoy it when liberals demonstrate the true depth of the tolerance for which they are incessantly patting themselves on the back. Well done!

P.S. We don't need no goddamn ferners round these here parts (pretty good, wasn't it?).

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:47PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 3:50PM

Chris Matthews blurted out something similar in that he viewed the storm helping Obama win to be a good thing.

Keep in mind these are the guys who tossed white working class males under the bus and made the USA into a third world nation JUST so the Democrat party could win. They'd blow the whole thing up and have a single bunker left rather than lose. They viewed Stalin killing millions as necessary for making an "omelette" for socialist goodness.

In other words, they're cheerleaders for power hungry oligarchs.

C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 10:33AM

It will crash. However, the media will contrive to blame Republicans for it. Republicans will no doubt say, yes, it was our fault; please don't hate us.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 12:30PM

So be it. I care not what he with nothing thinks of me. To invoke a phrase popular among them, "I gots mines..."

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 1:06PM

Sounds just like your attitude.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 1:37PM

Oh the bitter sting! The communist corksoaker doesn't approve of my attitude; how shall I ever make it through the day?

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 1:50PM

I don't know - why don't you go vote for Romney again ... see if it makes a difference. Aren't they still counting in AZ?

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:48PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 4:57PM

Golly damn, yee sure is clever, sport. C'mon, fess up...you heard that one at the MENSA pic nic, didn't you?

Moe Blotz| 11.27.12 @ 11:11AM

When you refer to "we" Ms. Appleby, do you mean ex-patriate Yanks living in Toronto towers and shooting barbs back from the great white north? Pour me a Blue.

Appleby| 11.27.12 @ 2:38PM

No, I mean "we" who are temporarily living in another country and will be back in the USA in March 2013. Some of us want a wider view of the world than Talledega Super Speedway and Disney World. And the only way to truly understand how heinous socialism is, is to live and work under it. Believe it or not, you cannot learn everything from the internet.

TLP| 11.27.12 @ 3:36PM

You are so good.

TLP| 11.27.12 @ 3:37PM

Taladega and Disney World.

I like that.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 2:54PM

Apple - of course, Bush will be blamed for decades to come, just as Hoover is blamed for the Great Depression.
You do know about Hoover, right? :->

TLP| 11.27.12 @ 3:39PM

Don't diss her, you Freak.

She's got more on the Ball, than you'll ever have, even when you're sitting on your Boyfriend's Crotch.

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:48PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

markenoff| 11.27.12 @ 6:21PM

Obama wants millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. Fine. The Republicans should propose the Eisenhower era rates for millionaires and billionaires; 90%+ on all income earned from whatever sources. Watch investment capital fly overseas. Professional athletes and entertainers will not be able to avoid these rates those; but they play and perform in arenas that they didn't build so they are lucky the government doesn't take it all.

GobBluthe| 11.27.12 @ 7:20AM

Conservatives need to admit that the country finds itself in its current position due to one thing and one thing only. The Iraq War. No war, no Obama, no obamacare and 3-5 more senate seats. Thanks to the Iraq war and the Great Recesion, the GOP will not win again for a long time.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 10:22AM

Brilliant anaylisis. Except for the part with words...

Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 11:16AM

The spaces between them were pretty spot on though.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 12:31PM

Indeed; I might be an SOB, but I am duty bound to give credit where credit is due.

TLP| 11.27.12 @ 3:40PM

What about all of the .....s?

Don't forget the .......s.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 4:58PM

I stand corrected. The ....s, too; actually, that part was sublime.

Appleby| 11.27.12 @ 2:39PM

And what did you blame before that?

TLP| 11.27.12 @ 4:06PM

He blamed his Small Penis.

Martin kzovich| 11.27.12 @ 7:39AM

my take on why republicans lost and in no particular order:
The Republican party does not have a united message of any kind.
There is a failure to combat in any serious way the cancer that is our media and its lethal effects on our society.
There is a tendency to be on defense--it should be the other way around on any number of issues and this is related to the point above.
There is a tendency
to nominate candidates that have at best have tepid support at best. There is a need for younger,dynamic ,articulate candidates.
A better organized get out the vote and anti-fraud
campaign would not hurt either.

Jeb Bush need not apply--If he is nominated by the Republican Party it means that Party wants lose.

JP| 11.27.12 @ 8:07AM

The way I read this essay is, "The GOP needs to be nicer." Doug's points are clouded in strawmen (The Republicans are clownish, haters intent upon offending as many people as possible), and carictures (The Republicans are war mongering Neocons).

Doug concedes the obvious - the GOP circa 2003-2008 ran up huge entitlements and expanded Medicaire. Yet, he gives a pass to Obama and his party. Concerning the Iraqi war, the US spent as much on Iraqi from 2003-2008 as it did on Education and Transportion). Even if you subtracted the Iraq and Afghan wars, Bush would have still ran over $3 trillion in deficits.

Doug also seems unaware that in the states that offered gays civil unions, the gays said no. They demand gay marriage. And they will not stop until every church toes the line (for obvious reasons they will demand the same for Mosques).

C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 10:35AM

No, they won't demand the same for mosques. Muslims get a get-out-of-jail-free pass from the politically correct.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 1:34PM

Gays want legal marriage, recognized by the State, not church-sanctioned marriage. That would be nice, but religious beliefs can continue to be ignorant, just not the State.

Get it straight (pun intended).

Learn something before you open your trap.

Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 1:58PM

No they don't. Many states offered "Civil Unions" with all the perks. Didn't satisfy the gays until they can rub gay marriage into the church's face. Nice spin though.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 2:49PM

Civil Unions are NOT Federal Law, marriage sanctioned by the Federal would be.

No gay is asking to be married in a Church, altho they believe it to be nice - religious types just want to control everyone to conform to their beliefs.
My God are you that ignorant, you don't know that?

Drunken Sailor| 11.27.12 @ 3:29PM

sigh, I'll explain in small words for you. The states were willing to give them all the state benifits. Yet, they still were not happy and demanded it be a sanctioned marriage. I believe they even tried to get it passed in many states. yet even California, the most liberal of them would not pass it.

So tell me, if the Federal goverment passed a "Civil Union" act with all the perks of marriage would the gay/lesbian community be happy then?

Or would you all still whine that it isn't a marriage?

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:49PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

markenoff| 11.27.12 @ 6:24PM

There is no federal marriage laws, only state ones. So what your saying is that gays want something that straight married couples don't get.

BTW, no government has the power to change the definition of a societal institution that predates the existence of government.

C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 5:23PM

Purp, what about men who want to marry their horses? Next on the list?

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 7:35PM

Purp's wife IS a horse; don't be so insensitive CVC...

Joellen| 11.27.12 @ 8:09AM

Mr. Bandow, Although I dont disagree with your statements that the shift is changing on social issues, I do think you down play just who is being treated with intolerance. Why dont you do a story on those in NY (in which Cuomo promised no one would be forced to go against their religious or moral beliefs and then, without a vote, dictated gay marriage legal) who have been sued by the "tolerant" ones because, well their moral conscious dicates to them that they would and could not not openly go against their religious beliefs. As I recall just one example, a couple who owned an inn, but lost it due to all the legal cost to defend their religious rights, well, check on them to see who they think might have been tolerant to their beliefs.

As for your comment, those who philosophize about the theological implication of rape, should join a seminary, hmmm where's that TOLERANCE for one's belief that you just beat your chest for? One who fights for life must be a warrior and not flinch, because when one flinches someone dies. Just check the status on how many abortions have occured since 1973.

Your last line would be true in a just world "people should be left alone to make their own decisions". However, when the left rule - well we all know who makes ALL the decisions then, dont we!

Pecos Pete| 11.27.12 @ 8:36AM

Mr. Bandow writes a nonsense column. The economic condition of the USA after four more years of ObamaNomics will be a total disaster. No one knows or can speculate how the voters will react in four years when faced with the results of ObamaCare and four years of fed government command and control of our lives.

The TSA will be everywhere, and unionized to boot. The EPA, etc., will have four more years of dictatorial power. Energy costs will be excessive. Coal will be dead. Windmills and solar panels will be everywhere and will be an ecological disaster. Bankruptcies will exceed new business formation and unemployment will sky rocket. The national debt will be in excess of $24 trillion and government spending will increase at an ever expanding rate. Inflation will rule the shopping experience.

The next presidential election can not be forecast when economic disaster is prevalent. Nor can one expect the Republican Party, or the democrat party, to nominate anyone with a scintilla of economic sense.

We are up the creek without a paddle.

Von Mises Jr| 11.27.12 @ 9:08AM

You are correct Pete in that now the results of the people's choice will become a sad reality. They voted for Christmas every day, but Santa's elves are in revolt.
The leftist mobs want free health care. But 16 States have already said "Hell No" to setting up the Exchanges. Six others have said they will not do so without the Feds paying up for the tab. Eleven other States still have not agreed with nine being governed by Republicans. So half the States will not comply with the Infrastructure demands.
Then the care is only expanded if the States agree to pay for the expansion of Medicaid. Rick Scott wrote here months ago saying "No Way, No How" he is picking up a $2B tab every year. In New Jersey, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons estimate that the Medicaid expansion to 138% of the Poverty Line will cost $5B per year that would mean as much as a 20% increase in Property Taxes.
You may demand lots of toys under the tree, but if you have been a greedy little bitch, Santa and the Elves may disappoint you.

John786| 11.27.12 @ 8:38AM

Mr Doug seems like a nice republican. One that you can do business with- if there are more like him, then the GOP, may yet have hope. The GOP addiction to War especially in the ME has to end.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 10:26AM

Remind me...where was it that nice guys finish?

C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 10:37AM

He's a libertarian of the Paulista variety. The Republicans need Paulistas like they need impacted teeth.

c. j. acworth| 11.27.12 @ 8:58AM

I disagree that the Republican view is all war all the time. There were certianly legitimate reasons to go into Afganistan. The problem is that we seem to have this strange idea that having flattened the regime that nurtured and aided the likes of binLaden, we are now obligated to stay there forever to build these tribes into something resembling a modern nation. It is simply not true that "Inside every camel-jockey is an American trying to get out."

JP Jones| 11.27.12 @ 9:07AM

It is real easy for the Republicans..

But it will take courage and money to beat back
the money Romney had in the primary season which came from the elite Rhino Club.

If you look at the exit polls the following is the way to capture 65% of the vote

You nominate a social conservative but not a wack job just someone who believes in certain things and connot be swayed. And Takes their Faith Serious.

You nominate someone who has demonstarted for many years that he/she is very comfortable around all people.. Rich/Poor Blue/Green

You nominate a person that is passionate about America the US Constitution and the many traditions we enjoy

You nominate a person who believes in a strong defense, believes in helping the poor believes in the power of the Individual and believes that being loyal to an Employer and working hard for that Employer is more important than getting the job done by folks in the third world.

Finally nominate a person with the guts to stand up to Wall Street and to those that Occupy It with the same passion and Vigor.

Support the Free Enterprise System without throwing the true struggling hard working folks under the bus.

We need A Saint you say?
Impossible task you say?

Want don't we at least try.

Thats the fresh air this party needs
and its so simple its scary

RFisher66| 11.27.12 @ 9:12AM

There are two great misconceptions about Social Security that seem to elude everyone who writes about it or mentions it. First, we did pay into Social Security. To the tune of 15% of our wages. In my case between myself and my employer I have paid in over $200,000 during 50 years in the work force. That $200,000 was money that was taken from me without my consent. Yes, my employer(s) paid 1/2 of it but consider that they had to give that money to the government instead of me so, in effect, I paid it all. Second, Social Security is not the problem. The fact that Congress stole the money from Social Security to pay for any and all pet projects they could come up with and other so called entitlement programs that people did not pay into is the problem. Social Security would be just fine if the money that was paid into it was still there. I'm tired of blaming people on Social Security for the fiscal woes of the nation. Would it have finally run out of money? Maybe at some far distant date. Social Security is not the reason for our current fiscal crisis and it's time we stopped the lies. Congress stole the money and spent it to get votes. Plain and simple.

Von Mises Jr| 11.27.12 @ 9:56AM

Peter Schiff likens the $2.5 trillion in IOU's like writing you and your wife a check for a million from your own checkbook and bragging you are a millionaire.
In 2011, Social Security collected $637B and paid out $733B. The truth is that with the Baby Boomers retiring, it will never be in the black again. So not only are seniors not millionaires if they write them a check, they are also on Food Stamps.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 2:56PM

Maybe Bush should pay back the treasury for squandering the surplus Clinton left him?

BTW - what happens when the Baby Boomers are dead? Doesn't it go back to less payouts? So this problem is temporary, not Armageddon. Get a clue.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 3:00PM

Hahahaha! Wait until the senior citizens discover who claimed their "social security lockbox" funds. That was Bill Clinton's "surplus" (to be handed out by Obama to welfare mothers who don't want to work.)

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 3:24PM

Hmmmm, there are less than 4 million people on welfare and 50 millions Seniors ...
here's another Republican that flunked math.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 3:46PM

Difference is that the seniors paid into the "lockbox" while Clinton's welfare mothers didn't.

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:49PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

Rhoetus| 11.27.12 @ 8:22PM

Only 4 million on welfare? I highly doubt that it's that low.

Rhoetus| 11.27.12 @ 8:21PM

The Social Security "lock box" is as empty and dusty as Bob Beckel's head and my long deceased grandmother's womb.

Jade12| 11.27.12 @ 9:57AM

Thank you for this coment RFisher66. People PAID into SS. How about cutting welfare instead. I am sick of the constant takers.

TLP| 11.27.12 @ 4:12PM

The Social Security Fund is BANKRUPT for one reason, and one reason, only.

Congress Stole It.

Period.

Don't ever forget that.

Peppermint Tea | 11.27.12 @ 10:19AM

Sorry 66, the money is gone, gone, gone. Crying won't bring it back. Read "The Great Depression Checklist" for the various reasons why.

Yes we Boomers have paid in 15 percent over the last 35 years, but on average, we have had one less child. It is becoming a demographic problem, thus the label Ponzi scheme.

We have choices in the next decade, but Congress doesn't have the cajones to make them. The eventual solution will be the fall of the dollar (inflation) that will allow everybody to get back every dime they paid in. Every worthless dime.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 2:58PM

Those that label Soc Sec a Ponzi scheme don't know what a Ponzi scheme is.

markenoff| 11.27.12 @ 6:27PM

Actualluy some truth (shock) to this. Ponzi schemes don't run up against acturial reality the way SS has.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 9:25AM

In debates with leftists, I have to admire their ability to balance two worldviews in their mind at once (the actual one as they can best see it and the one they're trying to use at that moment to win an argument for their party's cause). Simply amazing. They are political animals much like my cat that are always on the lookout for any slight movement that might indicate a mouse to be eaten.

Compare and contrast to Doug who thinks it's political genius to do what McCain and Romney were attempting to do: Reach out to Democrat special interest groups with a few carrots and "tolerance" to try to wean away those voters and keep on blasting that ol' Gop lower taxes message. If you try presenting it in just the right way, maybe it will work.

In the meantime, the elephant in the room is that 80% of the electorate pulled a lever for race/gender reasons and the Democrats have the edge: They promise benefits for their constituencies via white males being milked as second class citizens and they have busloads show up. Republicans get whites and/or men by default, but don't do much to encourage them to show up and tolerate the Democrats importing more race entitlement voters. So the solution? Reach out to the Democrats and have them import more race entitlement voters!

Genius guys. Really.

You deserve to lose.

JP| 11.27.12 @ 9:38AM

I'm done with the Republican Party. I'm a Conservative who supported 5 Moderate, Middle of the Road Republicans since 1988. Dole, Bush41, McCain, and Mitt all lost. But their losses didn't prevent them and fellow travelers to blame Conservative for their defeats. Well, this is one Conservative who will not vote for another Moderate. No more Bushes, Mitts, McCains, or whatever vanilla flavored, homogenized, pre-packaged Moderate the RNC or the MSM decides to shove down our collective gullets.

Jade12| 11.27.12 @ 9:58AM

Agreed JP.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 10:29AM

Ditto

C. Vernon Crisler | 11.27.12 @ 10:38AM

Right on....

Bob K| 11.27.12 @ 10:01AM

Once again you are right about this.

None of these people from the Conservative Think Tanks will talk about the racial, gender and cultural coalitions which make up the brunt of the Democratic Party.

No mention is made about how these coalitions stay in power by controlling the mechanisms of entitlement like diversity, affirmative action and tenure which end up isolating and turning constituencies like white middle class males into second class citizens.

The Republican Party lost because the whites who turned out to vote in 2010 stayed home in 2012 because they read the "tea leaves" and saw more of the "same old, same old" unworkable "solutions" that think tanks like The Cato Institute have been preaching for years.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 10:27AM

BobK, I have friends who have said that since the right has not only not done anything to protect white males but even embraced much of it that they are staying home and being "spoilers" until the Republican party gets the message. Here's some of the things the Republican party of Zardoz has done over the years to destroy their own electorate:

Voted to pass anti-male IMBRA.
Passed anti-male VAWA.
Passed "welfare reform" that goes after fathers and rewards women who divorce or bear children out of wedlock. This goes back to REAGAN in the 70's!!!
Nixon passed the marriage penalty AND unwed mother head-of-household tax deduction.
Appointed racists such as Colin Powell.
Seized guns from law abiding whites in New Orleans who were defending their homes and businesses and actually helping to maintain order.

Now what they DIDN'T do:
Pass executive orders and/or use influence in justice department to minimize racial and gender preferences.
Propose legislation to end racial preferences. It's great they're going after flag burning and gay marriage though. REAL useful to their constituents!!!

Bob K| 11.27.12 @ 2:43PM

Polish Knight,

That is a good summation of where the Republican Party went wrong and why it has stayed wrong and is now at the fringes of real power.

The Republican Party played coalition politics for a brief time when Reagan was President and running the party. He brought in the people we are talking about and they got the name Reagan Democrats after him. It was a poor choice of a name because as Reagan, a former Democrat, noted, the Democratic Party had left him, he did not leave it. The Democrats had left these people also and they have made it clear that they do not want them back!

In any case they began to be ignored by the old Rockefeller wing of the Party who took over leadership after Reagan left office and the party began to lose power.

They are still on the fringes of power and will remain there until they return to a form of coalition politics that ensures them a base. This is going to mean compromises from a variety of "conservatives" who stay in the public eye by sniping at each other. They are the ones who have weakened Conservatism.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 2:58PM

Something to keep in mind during the Reagan era: Something like 80% of families still were two parent, the Soviet Union was still around and people had memories of Korea and WWII (the time difference back then, 35 years or so, is similar to us looking back at 1977 or essentially the Reagan era.) It was a different time and different demographics.

Even then, Reagan should have seen the writing on the wall that the marriage penalty combined with feminism would kill families and hand over unwed mothers seeking government substitute husbands to the left. He achieved his goal of helping to push the USSR over the brink via compromising on domestic issues. He appointed a feminist to the supreme court!!!

In other words, while Reagan was great he was only just a START and not something to regard as optimal. The era is over. The Constitution is DEAD (Thanks Roberts!) and abortion and gay marriage are IRRELEVANT. That's REALITY.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 10:52AM

BobK, I don't know if you saw this comment from me, but I observed a few weeks ago that I almost liked Obama when he put into the TARP bailout a requirement that CEO bankers pay back all the money or they don't get monster bonuses.

They paid it all back rather quickly.

The GOP does it best to protect those higher income tax rates even now. Let the border between Mexico and USA open up and MS13 come in and rape and pillage the cities but, for God's sake, don't make fatcat CEO's pay more! They might have to give up one of their private jets and, gasp, fly commercial!!!! Check out this FF blog: http://upgrd.com/ that spots the privileges the wealthy have at airports to go in back access to avoid schlubs like you and me. The same ones they want to vote to protect their wealth.

Let Obama tax 'em at 90 percent. Maybe then they'll CARE!

The Big E| 11.27.12 @ 9:33AM

Mitt Romney did not lose the election because of his muddled and sometimes inconsistent message. He lost because he bought into the Myth of the Independent Voter.

Romney based his entire campaign on the theory that independent voters decide elections. Well, he got 50% of the independent vote according to exit polls, but he still lost an election in which the Republicans should have been able to run Farmer Brown's old cow and win. Why? Because the idea that independent voters decide elections is a myth.

Elections are decided by the respective Parties' bases. Barack Obama and the Dems understand that - they play to their base, and while they may give lip service to independent voters, lip service is all they give.

Romney presented a watered down message of moderation and refused to go negative for fear it would alienate independents, and in the process alienated and thus suppressed his own base. Obama emphasized the themes embraced by his liberal/progressive base and ran a viciously negative campaign without concern for whether it would alienate independents because he knew it would energize his base.

And it did.

Obama won because his base, energized by the emphasis on their core beliefs and the negative attacks on Romney, turned out to vote, while Romney's base, having been alienated by his refusal to embrace conservative principles or go on the offensive, stayed home.

JP| 11.27.12 @ 9:43AM

"Mitt Romney did not lose the election because of his muddled and sometimes inconsistent message. He lost because he bought into the Myth of the Independent Voter."

And now the GOP is in Hispanicked (Hispanic + panic) mode. As we speak, I'm sure there is some Republican campaign consultant writing some strategy paper (for a fat fee, of course) that advises the Republican Party dispense with God, low taxes, and marriage and replace it with Hispanic "outreach" (amnesty) as well as gay "outreach" (sodomy can be fun!).

Peppermint Tea | 11.27.12 @ 10:22AM

Hispanicked! I love it.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 10:32AM

On fire today, JP. Once again, nail on the head.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 11:18AM

The fact is that neither strategies work. "God, low taxes and marriage" are not sufficient to get out the white and/or male base to compete with the busloads of Democrat race/gender entitlement seekers. "Reaching out" to Hispanics loses at least 1 white/male vote for every "religious/capitalist" Hispanic who might come over. So either are lose-lose propositions.

I'm amused about protection of marriage mantra. News flash gentlemen: Marriage is dead. There's a marriage penalty of 20 percent and a reward of 30 percent for unwed motherhood for a difference of 50 percent tax break to not marry! Family courts reward divorce with lavish "child support" orders and women now sleep around in the hopes of getting knocked up rather than worrying about a lack of abortion providers.

I hate to agree with the left but this isn't the 1950's anymore. Times truly have changed. Seeing that the speed bumps aren't slowing the panzers down doesn't mean to start waving their flags and welcoming them in. There are other options. Try to be smart about it.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 3:07PM

You really have no clue what you are talking about.

2 singles pay far more in taxes (the marriage penalty) than 2 identical wage earners that are married.

Not to mention how hateful you are toward women. No wonder you lost.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 3:45PM

Purp, check out the cool aid you drank. If they're "single" they can't be paying a "marriage penalty".

Regarding hateful towards women: I'm married and my wife's very hot friends say I'm a catch. It keeps her on her toes. The welfare state has made a very poor substitute husband just as limosine liberalism has made liberal cities into office parks. Yeah, you're great at blaming GW and Republicans for the failures of socialism in the USA but in the end, Europe is great because it's full of white people who are still reaping the rewards of a Christian/two parent family heritage (which is slipping away.)

I can move to Poland and am considering just that. Your future is a slum in Obamaland. Enjoy.

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:50PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

loulou| 11.27.12 @ 1:13PM

Obama won partly because a Spanish company owned by Geo Soros COUNTED THE VOTES.

Americans lost control of their own election.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 3:07PM

Hahahaha... another conspiracy theory...

sinz54| 11.27.12 @ 9:57AM

One thing that really hurt the GOP brand, was when it seemed to abandon the Reagan strategy of "Peace through Strength" and switch to a policy of nation-building in developing countries following pre-emptive military invasions. That has alienated old-style conservatives and new young voters.

I still remember the 2000 Presidential debates between candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore. Bush sincerely criticized the Clinton-Gore efforts at nation-building in the Balkans and elsewhere. Bush said that as President, he would eschew nation-building.

Almost immediately, the neo-conservative pundit William Kristol dashed off a column in The Weekly Standard which said of Bush in so many words: "Don't worry, we'll break him of that!"

And they did. They sold the idea that the way to fight terrorism was to prop up failed states and somehow transmogrify them into prosperous Western-style democracies.

That was NEVER a conservative idea before. It's much more reminiscent of Woodrow Wilson than Taft.

The GOP needs to abandon the Bush policy of armed nation-building. You find terrorists, you go in there, destroy the terrorists--and then LEAVE. You don't get bogged down in a nation-building exercise. If terrorists come back, then we send our military back. That's much less costly than the trillions of dollars we're spending in Afghanistan and Iraq.

squalis| 11.27.12 @ 10:01AM

You know the saying, opinions are like a......s, everyone has one, so here's mine:

I am convinced Romney lost, not because he is a moderate, but because lies of the leftists are verified and amplified by a morally corrupt MSM to a disturbingly uneducated and intellectually lazy electorate majority.

Reagan won because he was able to articulate the conservative message clearly and without fear. That's how you fight back.

I see politics like poker; you have to put your chips at risk to win.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 3:12PM

Actually, Reagan won because he was a good actor and played the role well. He was lying most of the time.
Romney simply couldn't lie properly to win with a losing message.
Reagan studied Hitler, Romney obviously did not.

Or you can blame the media as usual. LOL

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 3:50PM

Purp the Village Idiot posted the following after the elections:

"Purp| 11.8.12 @ 10:35AM

"The Lord rules, not Obama." - CORRECT!

The Lord works in mysterious ways... and this is something for the faithful to contemplate in the way the see the world:

So purpie believes God killed over 100 persons and destroyed millions of dollars of property to help Obama win.

In Sept Purpie wrote that Amassador Stevens was at fault and caused his death.

Purpie also wrote that the unborn are biological entities not deserving of protection until God allows them to be born. (What does this mean?)

Purpie represents the Loon Left that should be mocked and ridiculed, and not engaged in conversation

GobBluthe| 11.27.12 @ 10:13AM

The GOP needs to end its free trade mantra.

The GOP will not be able to win any meaningful hispanic support (more than 35%). TX and AZ will be lost to the GOP and so will the Presidency unless the GOP finds replacement states.

There are states where demographic changes are slow or not occurring at all. I want to focus on PA, WI, OH and MI. All have over 80% white populations.PA, MI, WI have enough EVs to replace TX and AZ and keep the GOP competitive.

From 1968-88 the GOP won PA 4/6, WI 4/6, MI 5/6 and OH 5/6. Since 1988 the GOP is 0/6 in PA, WI and MI and only 2/6 in OH. All four have elected GOP to statewide offices with ease . All 4 have GOP legislatures. Where the GOP stumbles is in federal elections for Senate and President. Why?

In GHW Bush's term the GOP became more corporatist and more free trade absolutists. So it should be no surprise that states won by Nixon, Ford and Reagan cannot be won by today's GOP.
The GOP could be competitive again in these states by ditching their free market absolutism on trade issues. Free trade has no constituency outside university economics departments and think tanks. While the economic argument for free trade maybe alluring, there is no political argument for pushing trade deals that hurt the GOP in MI, WI and PA.

For those who say the GOP will be giving up its principals, I say youre right. The GOP can pander to hispanics and hope for GWH Bush's 40% or they can pander to bluecollars who were reliable GOP voters for 20 years.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 12:34PM

Or they can pander to nobody, allow the Kenyan prince to fly the plane into the ground and allow the survivors to come begging for help...

Peppermint Tea | 11.27.12 @ 10:29AM

Can R's run to their base? The Tea Party?
Only if they have a candidate. I didn't see one in this election.
Please, stop Rubio, Santorum, Jeb Bush.

Run a fighter in the mode of Reagan. One who would have picked up the Chick-fil-A base of the party. Who would have disagreed with Obama in the Third debate. Who would have mentioned INFLATION and DOLLAR DEBASEMENT in the second debate (when Romney was asked the question about rising prices.) Who would have talked about freedom.

Could Rand Paul fit the bill? Just wondering.

Mike Daly | 11.27.12 @ 10:47AM

The problem with this argument is it's wrong. Spending increased last decade when Democrats took control of the Senate for two years and then Congress in 2007 - the rest of the decade spending didn't increase. Revenue increased greatly due to expansion of the economy.

The argument about how the Republicans campaigned consistently ignores that Romney won the debates as even the Mainstream Media admitted and had taken momentum away from the Democrats - it was the unexpected surge of the slacker vote that won it for the Democrats, and it was not as decisive as the pessimists are thinking.

And nowhere did any voters rank Obama as better than George W. Bush as commander in chief. The issue driving voters was the economy and it was decided by an unexpected (even by Democrats) slacker vote.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 11:34AM

"And nowhere did any voters rank Obama as better than George W. Bush as commander in chief."

Evidence for this statement, please.

Mike Daly | 11.28.12 @ 12:59PM

Nowhere was there any confidence - even the Mainstream Media in its coverup of Benghazi never tried to claim otherwise - in Obama as a commander in chief.

Anthony| 11.27.12 @ 10:53AM

Bandow is another clueless insider. I am so damn sick of hearing R elites say Romney lost the election because of his message. It wasn't the message Bandow, it was America's new majority dependancy class.
Add to this the fact that Victor Davis Hanson, a most brilliant conservative that I have never disagreed with, until today, at NR, now advocates for amnesty for 11 million illegals, with no border closing, and an end to America's melting pot for the acceptance of the new paradigm the "salad bowl".
When Victor Davis Hanson throws in the towel, all is indeed lost.
I'll say it one more time; it wasn't Romney or us that lost this election, it was the new American idiocracy that has given up on our founding principles. And our elites seem to accept this as inevitable.
Something has got to give, it's either their way or ours, no inbetween.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 11:32AM

What I suspect you may not recognize, Anthony, is that the "new majority dependency class" includes farmers who receive subsidies, oil companies and other corporations who enjoy subsidies and tax breaks, the military-industrial complex that continues to build unwanted and unneeded weapons systems in order to maintain jobs and the medical-industrial complex that is heavily reliant on the federal government.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 12:40PM

Tell you what, NASCAR - I'll throw in the farmers, oil companies and corporations if you'll throw in the baby mammas, the illegals (oops, I meant "undocumenteds"), the uneducated, the unskilled, the lazy, and the incompetent and end subsidies for all of them. Deal?

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 12:53PM

What about the military industrial and the medical industrial complexes?

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 1:40PM

Done. If you think I'm wedded to giving anyone anything for nothing, you need to revisit that assumption.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 5:41PM

Even the Pentagon? Careful, Trina, you are dancing very close too heresy.

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 7:45PM

Got it covered. I will gladly contribute directly to the pentagon (provided, of course, that Leon "Alf" Panetta is no longer running the joint). That's not a subsidy; that's a market based transaction - I pay them directly for a service that I desire. I benefit directly from the service that I have purchased; they benefit from the money that I voluntarily contributed. Economics 101.

The same principle applies to your favorite causes; if you value the joy that you get from toofless baby mamas, $300,000/year education administrators, or able-bodied twenty-something males who prefer sitting on a porch drinkin' a 40 to sitting at a desk, you're more than welcome to make a voluntary contribution to said entities in an amount that is commensurate with the value of the joy you derive from them.

Capitalism - see how easy it is?

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 10:37PM

Great, Trina, would your contribution train and outfit a single Marine? Probably not.

I will say that your well rehearsed victimhood, bearing the weight of all the dead wood on your little ole, overworked, under appreciated shoulders, is almost as amusing as your evident lack of understanding about either economics or capitalism.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 11:23AM

Given the 8+ unemployment rate until just before the election and given the percentage of Americans who thought America is on the wrong track, it is almost inconceivable that the Republicans lost.

Several things account for this: Romney, himself; the brutal GOP primary season; how effectively the Democrats defined Romney before he was nominated; the Obama campaign's superior ground game and parity in the air wars.

However, I believe there is one additional factor that made a huge difference: the GOP was unmasked in the course of the campaign. Akins, Mourdock, Santorum, Ryan and the Personhood Amendment crowd gave the American people a chance to see the real agenda of the social conservatives concerning human sexuality and reproduction. Romney, the Koch brothers and other plutocrats revealed the attitudes and the agenda of the fiscal conservatives. Pennsylvania Representative Michael Turzai unmasked the real reason for the GOP voter fraud initiative -to ensure that Romney would win Pennsylvania.

With the curtain of GOP propaganda pulled back, the American people saw the real Republican Party and that reality trumped the unemployment number and doubts about America being on the right track.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 11:40AM

What delightful leftist reality warping! The Republicans are stealing elections which is why the American people voted for Obama and won! That's it!

My Polish friend has a communist era saying to reflect how the left speak. They'll say that Germans are in the town square giving away bicycles. The reality is that it's not the town square, but rather the train station. And they're not Germans but rather Russians. And they're not bicycles, but rather watches. And they're not giving them away, but rather confiscating them.

The left is like that. It's almost delightful how morally and intellectual bankrupt their whole agenda is: Claiming they are "inclusive" while bashing white males, calling for green energy by burning gasoline to make equivalent ethanol, trying to save the environment while importing millions of third worlders who embrace materialistic lifestyles, ditto for making the USA into Sweden (how is that going to work?)

It's staggering why a white leftist believes as they do. What's the point other than to simply beat republicans? Oh, wait, that's it. And after that... what? I guess we get their children to be Winston's living in a 100 square foot apartment in Oceana. That's their dream.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 11:52AM

Thanks for the rebuttal from the bubble. Did you happen to notice the significant number of white males who voted for the party that was supposedly bashing white males?

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 12:42PM

Or the significant number of black males who voted for the party that's been enslaving them for the last 50 years?

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 2:01PM

Black males in prison and homeless have skyrocketed since the supposed "civil rights" era while middle class white women, the most oppressed class on earth, have taken over jobs that could have gone to those workers.

I call it the Hillary Clinton versus Obama paradigm.

Purp| 11.27.12 @ 3:02PM

What a jerk.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 3:39PM

Purp, your flattery has made me blush. Thanks so much! Really. You're the kind of guy who prides himself on making disingenuous arguments to "win" (or appear to win) at any cost for your beloved party of third world race baiters and welfare hooligans seeking a Swedish Utopia about as likely as airplane shoe bombers creating an Islamic peaceful paradise.

So for me to offend you I must have gotten under your skin. The cool aid doesn't taste so good today, does it? Hahahaha! Thanks for making my day friend!

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 5:03PM

That's what I love about you liberals, Purp; always willing to engage in a rational debate, striving always to maintain a principled resolve to support your arguments with facts. Impressive.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 6:13PM

The women are taking Bubba's job too.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 5:49PM

The Party that passed the Civil Rights Act? The Voting Rights Act? The party that stopped the GOP from disenfranchising them in this last election?

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 7:56PM

Well there, little fella; let's take a look at that there Civil Rights Act. Herewith the voting by party (for-against):

The original House version:
Democratic Party: 152–96 (61–39%)
Republican Party: 138–34 (80–20%)

Cloture in the Senate:
Democratic Party: 44–23 (66–34%)
Republican Party: 27–6 (82–18%)

The Senate version:
Democratic Party: 46–21 (69–31%)
Republican Party: 27–6 (82–18%)

The Senate version, voted on by the House:
Democratic Party: 153–91 (63–37%)
Republican Party: 136–35 (80–20%)

Notice anything interesting? No? Here's a little more to wet your beak:

The bill came before the full Senate for debate on March 30, 1964 and the "Southern Bloc" of 18 southern Democratic Senators and one Republican Senator led by Richard Russell (D-GA) launched a filibuster to prevent its passage Said Russell: "We will resist to the bitter end any measure or any movement which would have a tendency to bring about social equality and intermingling and amalgamation of the races in our (Southern) states."

Dumbass...

DRed| 11.27.12 @ 8:46PM

Try this as an intellectual exercise, Trini. Here's that same data, but by party and region:

The original House version:
Southern Democrats: 7–87 (7–93%)
Southern Republicans: 0–10 (0–100%)
Northern Democrats: 145–9 (94–6%)
Northern Republicans: 138–24 (85–15%)

The Senate version:

Southern Democrats: 1–20 (5–95%)
Southern Republicans: 0–1 (0–100%)
Northern Democrats: 45–1 (98–2%)
Northern Republicans: 27–5 (84–16%)

Tell me, paisano, which factor is a stronger predictor of how a random legislator voted: party affiliation or whether or not he was a southerner?

CJW| 11.27.12 @ 10:20PM

Mike
I am sure you cannot or will not give a serious answer, but how did the Rep party attempt to "disenfranchise " black voters?

If you are referring to photo ID, how does a photo ID disenfranchise any live voter who intends to vote once?

In Pa, as most states, they offered the photo ID free. And if I remember correctly, all voters, not just blacks, had to have a photo ID.

I have to use a photo ID every day to enter the courthouse, the federal building, most downtown office buildings, and any bank to cash a check.

Today I went to a deposition with my black clients,and we ALL had to show photo ID. Nobody complained. In fact, the building security also took our photo for our visitor pass. Takes about ten seconds. Should we have complained that they were trying to keep us out of the building?

At real estate closings, the title companies require photo ID to verify the buyers and sellers. Does this prevent blacks from buying and selling real estate?

Cynical Observer| 11.27.12 @ 11:34PM

I did a little research on how many ways ID is needed, just out of curiosity.

Most public libraries, to get a card or use free internet. Most schools, to enroll your children. MediCal. Most government benefits. The use of discount cards on public transit in most places. Not just "expensive" airlines or Amtrak, but also Greyhound bus. Job applications. Apartment applications (even furnished rooms often want to see ID, proof of income etc.).

Even people who subsist entirely on government benefits need ID to get the benefits ... they don't hand out cash at a window, it's direct deposit (you need a bank, therefore ID) or a check (check cashing places/banks want ID).

If ID requirements are discriminatory, why not challenge ALL such requirements? Do black people not need libraries, schools, housing, jobs etc.? Don't they ever travel? How do they do all this without ID?

Are the rules different anywhere for blacks to get or use ID? Does the DMV anywhere have racial requirements?

I see college kids complaining that they have to write to their state of birth to get a certificate. If they can't even handle that, how are they going to search for and hold down jobs? Handle banking or mortgages? You can't go online to where you were born and find the address of the office of vital records, and write ONE letter and maybe send ONE check for 20 bucks or so?

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 2:00PM

Hello Mike. The significant thing about white male Democrat voters is that they're shrinking. I don't blame the remaining white male Democrat voters who perceive, correctly, that the Republican party is doing nothing to win their votes. So yes, while the Republican party isn't doing much to win their vote it's kind of an IQ test to see what white males remain voting Democrat. It's referred to as the Archie Bunker paradigm.

The stereotypical Archie Bunker is a guy who back in the 1940's would have been a loyal FDR voter: A union guy working on the loading docks and wanted a guaranteed pension for his family since his daughter isn't going to live up to the breadwinner role (that has changed little today with feminism being about mad money for career women to raise children in squalor) and "meathead" to sit around all day preaching the wonders of socialism.

"Archie Bunker" figured out, with a HS education of the time, that the Democrat party had abandoned him. It's taken the remaining 70% or so of white males to come to that conclusion.

Don't worry Mike, we'll keep the light on for the remaining white males to come home. They'll wise up like everyone else. Just because they're not as smart as us doesn't mean we should snub them when they see the light and wisdom AS IS INEVITABLE.

In the meantime, based upon the demographics of the Dem party, any chance they'll make the USA into Sweden? Hahahaha!

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 6:11PM

Why is your party so unsuccessful with educated professional Black men and women? They do exist you know and in larger numbers than I think you realize.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 6:47PM

Absolutely Mike. Not only educated professional Black men and women but also highly religious as well.

The answer is racial entitlements especially those flowing through the educational system where there's a sign posted in nearly every building that proclaims opportunities for "women and minorities" and blacks consider themselves to be the most entitled minority around. It's ironic that this entitlement is diluted with other "minorities" that share similar status simply for getting off a boat such as from India or Pakistan. What hardships did they historically endure here? (Ok, from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli... :-)

Trinacria| 11.27.12 @ 7:59PM

Perhaps the question should be why are these "educated professionals" still voting for handouts?

You can take the boy out of the ghetto...

Petronius| 11.27.12 @ 11:43AM

The GOP can rest in pieces. Write the obituary. There aren't enough Grownups to elect a real Conservative to anything and the Demotoddlers know it. Neither party would advocate or carry out Conservative governance because their hierarchies detest the thought of it. They have money and want to play in the mud. The only way to stop Liberalism is scorched earth economics. Shut down open commerce and pay NO Taxes. Deal under the table and barter for resources and services. I'd love to see the Midwestern farmers work just enough ground to supply their own families and local communities. Let the oil companies halt the flow in the pipelines and close the gas taps in Oklahoma and Texas. Conservatives in the cities and burbs should lay in provisions, propane, and bottled water for a year. Then we can watch the carnage among the clueless. Your mission should you decide to accept it is to survive this onslaught of parasites who lack the common sense the Almighty gave the dung beetle.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 11:59AM

Thank you for the Petronius version of Ayn Rand.

There are plenty of "grownups" who would vote for a real conservative. But, the Republican Party is not giving us real conservatives. The radicals who control the primary process are giving us people like O'Donnell, Akins, Mourdoch, West, Walsh. Anybody who is reasonably moderate, like McCain or Romney, must masquerade as a radical to be nominated and, then, chose a loser, like Palin and Ryan, in order to keep the base during the general election.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 2:28PM

Doesn't matter. The "grownups" who would vote for a "real conservative" are swamped by the race and gender entitlement crowd in the Dem party (40% of the overall population) and the remaining welfare state/government union crowd. Until you do something about that 40% (and inspire the remaining 60% of voters to bother showing up)... (put this in allcaps)

CONSERVATISM IS DEAD!!!!

Get that? Until you deal with race/gender/gay entitlements, apart from the left putting up worthless candidates, the right has no hopes of winning a presidential election.

John Kerry and Jim Edwards were godsends for GWB. Lessee: A war "hero" who called his fellow vets baby killers and a sleazy trial lawyer. But even then, they still got a pretty high segment of the vote. And Al Gore who put trees to sleep losing by the bark of his teeth.

Perhaps the left has a point: the right is "reactionary" but amazingly, not reactionary enough! Wake up people!

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 6:08PM

What is dead or should be, Polish, is Tea Party Treason and the right wing Christian Taliban. As a liberal I want to see true conservatism thrive.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 6:55PM

When I hear old timers bash the "Right right" and the "taliban", I chuckle. Let's see: 85% of Muslims voted for Obama. Want to make a fart joke at work? Watch up because the prissy feminists will get you fired! Remember when liberal women were PRETTY? Now they're butch dykes like Rosie O'Donnell.

But sure, the religious right are now officially a distraction from the primary demographic issue of leftist racism and sexism of white male scapegoating and the strengths of Republican energy policy and focused (I like that word better) than limited government.

ncatty| 11.27.12 @ 3:29PM

Third-party time. One plank: Stop spending.

Mike in N.C.| 11.27.12 @ 5:43PM

By all means, please do.

Thom| 11.27.12 @ 3:39PM

There is a tendency to over analyze things like election results. I prefer Occam's Razor approach. The R candidate that lost the 2008 primary to the person that won it but lost the election, lost this election with 3 million less votes than that loser got. Both candidates won the primaries with pluralities not majorities. Simple message there.
The essence of ABO was to run a biography and avoid any specifics or negative language in regard to our current King. That prohibition didn't seem to exist during the primaries against other R candidates. To this day, Romney still doesn't get it about his RomneyCare government mandate and how that hurt his credibility. Claiming to repeal Congressional legislation via Executive Order probably didn't impress millions either. I would suggest that cynicism was very high among the millions that did not vote for Romney but would have for a more creditable candidate that could run .on his record. The Republican Party has created a lot of cynics in the last decade and they are probably not done with that. John Roberts created millions of new R cynics with his idiotic ruling.

Thom| 11.27.12 @ 3:40PM

The King having a worse record than Jimmy Carter lost over 8 million votes from 2008 but none of that transferred to Romney. What does that mean? Well, Occam's Razor again. It almost certainly means that those are the ones that were disgusted with the King for not raping and pillaging those that pay the bulk of the tax burden and giving them more "free stuff'. Rs have consistent problems looking evil in the eye and calling it what it is. Perhaps that's because they have violated principle so many times as to have no credibility when they do? That large majorities of non white/non Christian vote for wealth redistribution schemes is the other elephant in the room blind Rs can't find. John Adams would understand the root problem here.
When you boil it all down, the obvious is the most likely answer and no amount of messaging is going to change this given human nature. We live in a democracy and not a republic. Citizens are not treated equally under the law, some people are certainly above the law and a majority of citizens for whom tax burden is an alien concept vote what is in someone else's wallet every election without consequence. That is also where the birth rate is. A majority of people vote to live off the fruit of other people's labor. This would not be possible in a constitutional republic but that ended in 1913 when 3% were singled out for special punishment under the law.

Thom| 11.27.12 @ 3:41PM

This is the natural outcome of nearly 100 years of invalidating the meaning of enumerated words in the Constitution with the rubber stamp of the Supreme Court when it wasn't taking a shredder to it. The King borrowed and spent 5 trillion in four years buying the votes of his supporters. All we heard in the election was Romney's net worth in hundreds of millions which is pocket change compared to Warren Buffet's tens of billions and meaningless compared to the King's imputed wealth and spending power.
As long as we are a democracy, our fate is sealed. Democracies have an inexhaustible appetite for other people's money and always fail when enough people get hooked on the Ponzi schemes.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 5:15PM

Thom, 40% of Obama's voters were motivated by race/gender/homosexual entitlements which are "free" in the sense that they don't really require taxation as we define it. It's like a club card.

What's funny is that as they engage in this racist vote buying scheme, they claim to be the party of "inclusion" and ending racism. Hilarious.

Thom| 11.27.12 @ 5:32PM

PK, I think the figure is much higher than that since King Obama got 39% of the white vote and a majority of women, especially 18-29 year old Sandra Fluke types voted to have someone else support them without benefit of marriage. You can pick which way a person voted with high confidence simply based on their nonwhite “race”, Latino ethnicity (another kind of “race”), female gender under the age of 30, not married or religious practices (not self-appointed labels).

This is all the gimmie generation, free riders whose whole life has revolved around waiting for someone else to provide them with a life style.

Life is a bitch, especially when you have to pay for what you want.

PolishKnight| 11.27.12 @ 6:58PM

I should have said 40% of voters, not 40% of Obama voters. Probably about 80% of Obama voters are race entitlements, man-hating feminists, gays, etc. I even annoyed a leftist when I called the Democrats a "gay" party and he was annoyed that I was being homophobic while I laughed that his offense could only work if HE was homophobic. With white male bashing and entitlements for non-white males now legal and Republicans doing little to oppose it, it's no wonder they love it. It's like blacks smashing into the Diamond district in NYC during David Dinkins' mayoral terms. Oh, wait... that didn't go over so well!

Cynical Observer| 11.27.12 @ 11:18PM

Messaging is also not going to help when it must be delivered via channels that actively seek to distort it, ignore it, trivialize it etc.

And this nonsense about 'rounding up 12 million' is impossible, how many times is this going to be repeated? Everyone knows we cannot suddenly round up 12 million people and deport them (if ONLY!). Making it tougher to live and function here does tend to discourage some from coming and persuade some to leave.

Frankly, I don't care if people live here 50 years without legal status; if they're not citizens, they have no right to be here and maybe someday, a government with guts will force them out.

markenoff| 11.27.12 @ 5:54PM

"The GOP's foreign policy can be summed up in two words: permanent war."

Until we stop being attacjed by followers of Mo, the pedophile bandit (MHRIH) we will be at war. Unless, of course, we surrender and all become dhimmi.

Marc Jeric| 11.27.12 @ 9:14PM

Another RINO bites the dust. Mitt Romney never mentioned President Obama's friends and mentors - the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Frank Marshall Davis, his Marxist father, his Muslim faith, his bringing to power the jihadist governments in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt (with more to come in Yemen, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, “Palestine”…); his "social justice" program of confiscation of private wealth and properties, his plan for gigantic nationalizations of private enterprises in oil $ gas, coal, electricity, transportation, health care, insurance, the mortgage industries; and the Benghazi murder cover-up; the Fast & Furious murder cover-up.
Another decent Republican bites the dust, defeated by the criminal Chicago machine. Decency in the fight against deadly communism, especially when married to jihadism, is no virtue.

Mike Daly | 11.28.12 @ 12:57PM

Actually Romney and the Republicans did go after Obama on his economic and security policy failures. Romney won the debates against Obama as even the Mainstream Media admitted. Obama won the election on a surprising even to Democrats slacker vote.

Mike Daly | 11.28.12 @ 12:57PM

Cats1cowboy| 11.28.12 @ 12:42AM

Re: "...The real problem is the GOP message..." The REAL problem is Patriots did not heed the Obama-message of four years of anti-Constitutional activities. That message, alone, should have energized every American Citizen to get up and vote to preserve Our Republic. Personal preferences, however, are what kept too many people from the voting booth. There are no perfect candidates. Honor and duty must be the driving force.

Ralph Novy| 11.28.12 @ 1:48AM

"The GOP ran against the idea of a budget sequester because it insisted on protecting bloated military outlays."

What a moronic lie THAT is.

Do you actually expect ANYONE with a half brain to believe that?

Result: Zero credibility for you, sir. You're worthless.

Bodysurfer| 11.29.12 @ 3:50PM

Oy does the GOP have a problem. How to snooker so many people into believing that the GOP has their best interests at heart:
for Latinos: the GOP is your party--ignore the fact that we think of you as lesser than whites and want to ship a lot of your relatives back to another country.
for blacks: the GOP has your best interest at heart, even though we think of you as lesser than whites and want to make it as difficult as we legally can for you to register and vote.
for young people: believe us, even though we swear we will ban abortions, and we want life to begin when the sperm goes a-knockin' at the egg's door (goodbye, contraception) and want the government inside your bed, with you.
for seniors: you don't need Medicare--we'll give you a finite voucher and, when that's all gone, gee, I guess it's too bad.
The GOP has so many problems with its philosophy, it will never become a majority party again--unless it can convince the stupid majority that the GOP is better. Good luck on that one.

Sarah Palin was absolutely correct--putting lipstick on a pig won't make it human. It won't do the GOP any good to talk nicely with minorities and women—it is so easy to see through insincerity, social Darwinism and greed. The GOP belief system is being bought by fewer and fewer voting Americans. So, where is this deep and sincere introspection the GOP has to confront if it wants to survive as a viable party?

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FLASHBACK TO: 1995

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