GOP: It's not just your messengers or your messaging. It's your message.
You can't spent 30 years feeding your largely white base this constant self-victimization: they're taking your stuff, they're out to get you, they're on welfare, they're deadbeats, you can't feed them that kind of anger, and that sort of dystopian view of this country that's turning on you and taking away your America, and then turn on a dime because you gotta get some brown people. You can't just change course and ask the base to follow you. - Joy Reid on "Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Nov. 9th, 2012
Reading the musings of conservative pundits and their followers post-November 6th, it's astonishing how many of them believe that their problem is just one of "messaging." It's not occurring to them that they might have a crappy message, and more to the point, they have some crappy policies.
I've talked to a couple of American citizens of Hispanic descent who were afraid to drive through Arizona because of Arizona SB 1070. Someone needs to let George Will know that nominating Marco Rubio for VP wouldn't have fixed that. Picking Kelly Ayotte as VP instead of Paul Ryan wouldn't have erased the image of Virginians debating about government-mandated ultrasounds. Hint to the GOP: never, ever again propose any laws that cause the word "transvaginal" to come out of the lips of news anchors.
And while the Republicans scratch their heads on why they lost so much among women and hispanics, they also might want to spend a moment pondering why they lost my 68-year-old white male middle class father, who voted Republican his entire life up until 2008:
It is amazing how 'Romney of New' now agrees with President Obama when it comes to most things concerning foreign policy. President Obama sat there wondering which Romney came to the debate. I loved it when Romney answered one question with a diatribe on jobs, 5 points, etc. Apparently he can't hear either. Honestly anyone who can vote for that flip-flopping egomaniac simply hasn't seen/read what he has said. They are thinking conservative Republican thoughts (I used to be one before the Tea Party) and think that is what he is. Not true - Romney will be anything you like to be elected - I bet he would turn Democrat now if he thought it would help. (reprinted with permission)