Has Karl Rove lost his touch?

It seems that many of Rove's backers are super encabronados (spanish for f***ing pissed) at Mr. Rove for their perceived misuse of bilions upon billions of dollars they see as wasted. I think they thought throwing massive amounts of money towards getting their candidate elected would do the trick. It didn't. Hell, the Koch brothers even threw much dinero against prop 32 here in California. Another case of wasted money.

I have seen Cory's comments on another thread about the disenfranchisment of voter blocs such as women, latinos, etc. by the RNC. I agree with him on the valid points he makes. As I stated over a year ago, the RNC was making huge mistakes toward securing the votes of women. You have some in the RNC passing laws endorsing the forcible probing of womens vaginas by a donkey dick sized metal contraption. Others in the RNC sought to close down abortion clinics (most of whom provide basic medical care and cancer screeinings) to women, and even efforts and restricting contraception care. Further, Romney made it worst be saying he was going to close down Planned Parenthood, causing a HUGE backlash. Romneys flip flopping on overturning Roe vs Wade didn't go over well, as he tried to come off like a moderate towards the end. Women/people didn't buy it. To add further fuel to the fire, women do not like men deciding levels of rape, acceptable rape, real rape, or the perception that a woman cannot become pregnant in a real rape because their bodies have a way of shutting these things down. I can go on and on, but won't.

As far as the latino vote. I don't know. I think it is very simple. Latinos are one of the fastest growing segments of our population, and with that comes increased power. This scares some little old white men in bow ties, however, this is the way of the world. Change is coming, and some most realize the 1950's are gone. I think Latinos are generationally taught that the Dem party is proworker, prolabor, pro the average working man, and thus they vote accordingly. They do not trust the RNC, as they perceive them as being the party of corporations. That is it in the simplest terms I can think of. No magic. Of course, I do not speak for all hispanics.

I make these comment not to rub salt in the wounds of those whose candidates lost.

Have a good day,

Abner

 

I have to imagine that the hierarchy of the Republican party is in chaos right now. After the craziness of the Republican primary process they settled on Romney and he lost big time. All the indications (as far as I know) point toward Republican alienation of specific voting blocks, especially women. (I couldn't believe some of the absurd things some GOP candidates said about rape.)
Pushing the platform further to the right will only make this worse in that regard. The Republicans, if they want to remain a viable party, will need to separate fiscal conservatism from social conservatism. The culture of the USA is evolving in a specific direction and that is not going to change. The interesting part will be watching to see if the tired old white men who run the Republican party (and the ones who donate all those millions) are willing to open their eyes to the fact that the past is gone and what once worked will not work any longer. I watched Rove on the news after the loss and he seemed to be a man not in direct touch with reality. This is Kizmet and I approve this message.

 

Sometimes the salesman simply cannot sell the crummy product, no matter how hard he tries.

All that spending just to make it close. Too bad.

 

The RNC was hijacked by the religious right. They want government out of their lives unless they can outlaw abortion. I believe life begins at conception. But I'm pro-choice. I'm pro gay marriage, and pro weed (I live in Washington state). Those, I think, are what killed the RNC chances. If the Repubs want to remain viable they need to evolve and dump the right wing whackos. The immigration thing needs to be spelled out. Legal immigration = Awesome welcome to a decent country please learn the rules and enjoy yourselves. Illegal immigration = GTFO. You're a criminal. There has to be a difference between the two.

I think the Repbus are doomed. Too much Hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter et al. They need a more moderate voice.

 

The Republicans can't dump the Far Right. Without them they have no party. That's because they gave up the moderate middle a long time ago, which is being occupied by the Democratic Party.

It took the dinosaurs a long time to become extinct.

 

From what I've read Rove 527 organizations (I recall he has more than one) spent under $200 million and all Republican spending combined was less than one billion dollars.

 

That's funny because I was thinking just the opposite. The Democratic Party has given up the moderate middle in principles and swung far left! Maybe we should start the Moderate Party and find middle ground?

 

Just read that it was $300 million.

 

Please give some examples of the Democratic Party moving to the left. (Not "being" on the left, but moving there from previously less-left positions.)

No way. Clinton ended that to ensure his (and our) political survival.

The Democrat-as-lefty meme is really stale. And unsupportable.

 

I'm not going to fall into that trap!

 

“You can't let the truth bring out the worst and let it get the best of you.”
― Criss Jami

 

Yes. Those darn facts will trap magical thinking every time. Avoid them at all costs and just keep spewing unsupported nonsense. Good luck with that.

 

"Please give some examples" Stop being so condescending! The fact is, there are some topics and "facts" that are too sensitive, both left and right, to express opinions about publicly.

 

Oh, okay. I'll put you down for "none." As expected.

Only Republicans think being asked for facts is "condescending." It interferes with magical thinking and pokes holes in the bubble. Well, guess what, the rest of the country is moving on.

 

Yeah, and only Liberals think they have the exclusive right to express their views and opinions. Look I am sorry you are such an aggravated person. Magical Thinking? I noticed you have 8600 posts, you must live on the internet, as if that's reality. Perhaps you should take a cooking class or something?

 

To tell you the truth, I want administration to remove me from degreeinfo membership. I don't belong in this sandbox.
Farewell!

 

The only issue that I can think of where the Democrats moved to the left was with marriage equality (AKA gay marriage). Every other issue that I can think of has had the Democrats either stay the same (abortion), move to the right (national security, cutting taxes, shrinking government, etc), or just completely stop talking about (gun control).

It is really fascinating. I was a registered Republican when I first started voting in the mid '90s. Looking back, I have pretty much stayed the same with my views, whereas the Democrat and Republican parties have both shifted to the right. Whereas back in the '90s, my views put me firmly in the fiscal conservative/foreign policy hawk camp of the Republican party, now those same views put me right in the heart of the Democratic Party establishment.

 

mcjon:

"The only issue that I can think of where the Democrats moved to the left was with marriage equality (AKA gay marriage). Every other issue that I can think of has had the Democrats either stay the same (abortion), move to the right (national security, cutting taxes, shrinking government, etc), or just completely stop talking about (gun control)."


Abner:

Precisely. Let's take the issue of gun control. Nothing energizes folks more than gun control. The RNC and NRA quickly mobilize a "They are going to take your guns away" movement. And it works on the ignorant. Clinton didn't take away anyones guns, and Obama certainly didn't. In fact, he exapanded some gun rights - ex. The right to carry a weapon in State parks. The Dems realize that guns will always be here, and there will always be bad guys who obtain illegal machines guns, uzis no matter what. In short, the gun control issue is a losing battle, and is probably even an exercise in futility.

In contrast, as Cory said in another thread, the RNC should drop certain social issues/policies. The RNC currently seems hell bent on fighting battles that were won over forty years ago. The abortion issue for example. If the RNC does not rid itself of the ultra extremist tea partiers, they are on road to inevitable doom. Here is how I see it. Arguing over Roe vs Wade does not put food on peoples tables, nor does it create jobs. I think the average person is worried about taking care of their family, and keeping a roof over their heads. Abortion is the last thing on their minds. I guess you could say that the dems put kitchen table populist items on the menu, while the RNC wasted time demonizing abortion. However, the RNC did the Dems a huge favor. Why? They showed women that they want to decide what a women should do with their bodies, and women did not like this. Also, their is a point where government should not intrude on such affairs, and this line was crossed. The party of small government was actually advocating larger government in order to monitor abortion and contraception issues, rape, etc. Huge mistake.

Just a few thoughts.


Have a good one,

Abner