Many Republican voters are coming up with excuses for the 2012 loss. Some blame people wanting free stuff and fraud. Sure there was that aspect to the election, but those people always vote for Democrats. Some claim 4 million less Republicans votes in 2012. That does not jive with the fact Mitt Romney got more votes than John McCain. It was Obama who lost votes compared to 2008, however not enough 2008 disaffected Obama voters made the leap in 2012 to voting Republican. These excuses are just ways f0r Republicans not to admit defeat and to blame it on falsehoods – the term cognitive dissonance comes immediately to mind.
The truth is Obama (with a massive assist from the media) ran a nearly flawless campaign and with the help of OFA, ran a 21st century campaign. They targeted different subset of voters and fed them anti-Republican propaganda the theme being that Republicans hate you and we will protect you from them. Obama and OFA assembles an anti-Republican not a pro Democratic campaign. The GOP lost because the American people are turned off or that the GOP hates them.
Instead of making excuses, Republicans should focus on rehabilitating their image with voters and it would help if they started planning on how to recover and start fighting back.
In the face of this reality, it is time for Republicans to get over their loss in 2012. We are all that stands between this president’s policies and a damaged and diminished America. It is time to get back in the fight.
And I do mean fight. Republicans are being counseled to move the party to the left, but in my experience, those who advocate more liberal policies for the GOP are wrongheaded or Democrats, or both. You can be sure that President Obama would welcome an America in which the Republican Party is preoccupied with remaking itself into a watered-down version of the Democrats.
It is time to defend our values with vigor and courage. We are conservatives. We believe in limited government, low taxes, a strong national defense, individual freedoms, self-reliance, the importance of the family, and the miracle and authority of America’s founding documents. We know that government is best that governs least and governs closest to the people. We know that the private sector is the engine of economic growth. We know that America is the exceptional nation, the best that has ever existed. We know that the men and women who wear the uniform of the U.S. military are the greatest fighting force and the greatest force for good that the world has ever known.
We know that preventing this president from enacting devastating policies is not obstructionism. It is patriotism.
Although I do not think it is easy the way Liz Cheney describes it, the Republicans can at least stop being punching bags sadly George W. Bush showed us how to be helpless “turn the other cheek” types. Another obstacle is the 800 lb. Gorilla many Republicans continue to ignore, Organizing For America. It is the most formidable political machine ever devised and Republicans have nothing at the moment that can match it.
I think the Republicans will not be nationally competitive again until 2020 at the earliest. They need to create a counter to OFA, broaden their appeal and explain how their policies would benefit people’s lives. Until this happens, at least the GOP can start fighting back – and that would be a good start on the road to a comeback.
Tags: Liz Cheney, Organizing For Action
