Where the GOP got it wrong

I was talking to a girlfriend last night that has always been a pretty hardcore republican, and she was telling me how she thought she might really be a Libertarian, she just hated so much about the R campaign this year.  I told her "oh, you're just a 1980s Republican, not a 2012 Republican."

gotta agree... sadly many think he wasn't conservative enough...

also if Romney would have gotten the hispanic vote that mccain did he would have actually won.   When Perry jumped into the primary. Romney decided to go further right than Perry and made immigration a big part of his stand.  which turned many away.

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Not to mention the Tea Party being at fault for losing a couple of Senate seats. For example, Indiana, where the Tea Party decided to replace Senator Luger (r), a respected senator and a Foreign Policy leader, with "one of their own" (Mourdock, he of the "pregnancy from rape something God intended" fame). Results: the republicans lost a seat that wasn't considered up for grabs.

Republicans need to push their fiscal conservative agenda without a social platform that basically excludes any minority, be it race, religious, or sexual orientation minority. I know a lot of "economic" republicans", myself included, that will not vote Republican unless they significantly change their social platform.

Where the GOP went wrong is to say we need to fix this and fixing this means it is going to hurt for everyone not just the people we can vilify in the media.  As I told a friend of mine, how do the grownups make the children eat their peas when the other side if offering them candy?  The politics of envy and the cult of personality have won the day, it appears the gimmes have won.  I wonder what it will cost this time.

I don't think they said it would hurt for everyone. I think campaigning on the tax cuts was seen as more of a help the rich effort. Removing the estate tax, capital gains tax, corporate income tax, etc. isn't an "everyone suffers", but more of a "the rich get help so they can all help us". I don't think that many centrist types support the trickle down policy's anymore. 

I was more referring to the SS and Medicare aspect of the platform.

As for the tax cuts it is pretty hard to cut federal income taxes on people who don't pay any federal income taxes.  Everyone seems to agree the tax code needs to be revamped but what that means to whom is a huge question.

I don't recall seeing any SS aspect to Romney's campaigning. What was it?

That is because you don't live in God's Waiting room. 

Basically nothing changes for people over 55 then premium support for those after.

Question:

If whites voted for Romney in the same percentages as African Americans and Hispanics voted for Obama, would Romney have won?

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/06/4966431/2012-election-exit-poll-shows.html

Here you go

Why not ask if Mormons voted for Romney in the same percentages that Protestants voted for Obama?

i agree.  i think it's sad that all we hear from hispanic voters is that they didn't vote for Romney becuase of his immigration stance.    such a large socially conservative culture not going more red is a shame.  i blame Romney for his weak sales pitch (self-deportation), and i blame hispanics for letting only one issue overshadow all  the other conservative issues issues they side with.  this, coming from a hispanic-italian voter who's family all did't come here so legally.  i understand how passionate people are about certain issues, but i can't understand how people can vote with blinders on. 

I feel the same about the female vote and the supposed "GOP war on women".

and to some extent, the gay/lesbian vote.  obviously, we're talking in general here...just to clarify.

if Mormons voted for Romney in the same percentages that Protestants voted for Obama would Romney have won? No

Re: Gays and Hispanics. It comes down to what is more important for them at this time.

I have talked to a few gay and lesbians that decided that to strive for equal rights, for their personhood to be as valuable as others as perceived by them, was more important that other factors. Unless you have been discriminated against, you cannot blame them for doing this.

Same with Hispanics (I am one, entered this country legally, and now a proud citizen, but I am lucky enough to have the financial means that made the process somewhat painless). If you have family members at risk of deportation and uncertain future, or worse, you will side with the platform that is providing a solution that you find acceptable (not saying the solution is better or worse, just better for them in particular).

Everybody does the same. Some people voted republican despite not agreeing with their social platform, because they liked the idea of small government, while some people voted democrat 'cause social issues trumped a possible fiscal conservative government.