# GOP Activists to Romney: Why Aren't You Winning? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 16, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835 "2012-09-16T00:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/1 "2012-09-16T00:47:08Z")
[The Associated Press has an interesting piece on GOP activists wondering why their horse seems a bit lame and halt](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ROMNEY_REPUBLICANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT): > [@](#): > > Republican activists are incredulous: Why can’t Republican Mitt Romney seem to break open a tight race with President Barack Obama given the nation’s sluggish economy and conservative enthusiasm to beat the Democrat? > > [snip] > > Added Mike Garner, a 27-year-old hawking “Reagan was right” buttons at the meeting: “If Romney loses this election, the party really needs to do some soul-searching.” The real Reagan would be too liberal for anyone currently hawking “Reagan was right” buttons. > [@](#): > > Tammy Baker, a military spouse originally from Texas, said she thinks Romney should sit down for “fireside chats” with the American people so they can get to know him better. Oh dear mother of Obama victories _yes_. Make this happen. Put the expensive oak plank in front of the cameras every single night between now and election day and have him shove his foot progressively farther down his own gullet. The rest of the country, nay, the rest of the world needs to know how out-of-touch and insensitive this man is. > [@](#): > > Baker’s other piece of advice: “Let Paul Ryan out of the box.” Oh, yes. Let all the elderly voters see the man who wanted to privatize Social Security. Let all the people with credit cards see the man who voted against the [Credit CARD Act of 2009](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_CARD_Act_of_2009). Let all the women who remember wire coat-hangers, and all the ones who don’t, see the man who wants to criminalize every form of abortion, even in the case of rape and incest. He _needs_ to be out of the box. > [@](#): > > Bryan Fischer, an official with the American Family Association, went even further, accusing Romney’s campaign of putting “a bag over Paul Ryan’s head.” > > [snip] > > **“If the Republican Party loses this election, conservatives will have had it,”** Fischer said. **“They will be done, finished.”** (Bolding mine) Goddamnit, _I keep agreeing with these people!_ Anyway, here’s Mitt’s best response that he’d never use: “Because the party is in a position where choosing _me_ seemed like the best possible option. Were you even _alive_ during primary season?” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/2 "2012-09-16T01:02:39Z")
I truly hope they’re as puzzled as Democrats who couldn’t understand why Bush won in '04. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/3 "2012-09-16T01:10:17Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I truly hope they’re as puzzled as Democrats who couldn’t understand why Bush won in '04. That’s one of the things I keep going back to. Well, him and Dukakis. What’s the deal with politicians from Massachusetts? Is it the cod that sucks all the life out of them? ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/4 "2012-09-16T01:19:53Z")
Let’s not forget 2 presidents came from Mass… John Adams and JFK… so I wouldn’t blame Beantown. Besides, Romney is a first rate Shyster. All Politicians can be shady just not this much. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rodifJlis2c/maxresdefault.jpg "How Did Mitt Romney Get So Obscenely Rich? Robert Reich Explains") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rodifJlis2c) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/5 "2012-09-16T01:22:09Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > The real Reagan would be too liberal for anyone currently hawking “Reagan was right” buttons. QFT [http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/05/10/even-reagan-wasn-t-a-reagan-republican.html](http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/05/10/even-reagan-wasn-t-a-reagan-republican.html) > [@](#): > > Example Reagan positions: > > ``` > Taxes. "...although the Gipper slashed taxes dramatically during his first year in office... After 1981, Reagan raised taxes nearly every year: 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1986. The 1983 payroll tax hike even helped fund Medicare and Social Security—or, in terms today’s Tea Partiers might recognize, 'government-run health care' and 'socialism.'" > Federal employees. "...during the Reagan years, federal employment grew by more than 60,000 (in contrast, government payrolls shrunk by 373,000 during Bill Clinton’s presidency)..." > Deficits/Debt. "The gap between the amount of money the federal government took in and the amount it spent nearly tripled. The national debt soared from $700 billion to $3 trillion, and the U.S. transformed from the world’s largest international creditor to its largest debtor." > Government sponsored healthcare. "As governor of California, Reagan nurtured and eventually expanded Medi-Cal, the nation’s largest Medicaid program." > Immigration. "Reagan passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which eventually granted amnesty to 2.7 million illegal immigrants, and he continued to speak out for immigration rights after leaving office." > Gun control. "Reagan was a staunch backer of the Brady Bill, urging Congress in 1991 to 'enact it without further delay.'" > Foreign policy. Negotiated with Terrorists (Traded Arms for Hostages with Iran). Negotiated with the "Evil Empire" (USSR) without Pre-conditions. Made a Decision to "Cut and Run" From Lebanon After Our Troops Were Attacked > Gay rights. "In 1978, he opposed California’s Proposition 6 ballot initiative, which would’ve barred gay men and women from working in public schools, and risked what his advisers predicted would be political suicide in taking to the airwaves to denounce it. Later, Reagan would become the first president to host an openly gay couple overnight at the White House." > > ``` > **[Would Ronald Reagan not be conservative enough for today's Republican party?](https://www.quora.com/Politics/Would-Ronald-Reagan-not-be-conservative-enough-for-todays-Republican-party)** > > Answer (1 of 7): There are some parallels between Romney and Reagan. > > 1. Reagan also was pro-choice as governor and ran for president under a pro-life banner.\[1\] So actually, that's a historical parallel as opposed to contravening evidence. > 2.... ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/6 "2012-09-16T01:26:12Z")
Rush still thinks a beloved cartoon character [can beat Obama](http://www.examiner.com/article/limbaugh-we-are-voting-against-obama-romney-could-be-elmer-fudd): > [@](#): > > Limbaugh said “Romney is not the perfect candidate. That does not matter,” he said. “Romney, the best thing he can do is remember this election isn’t about him. He may as well be Elmer Fudd as far as we’re concerned. We’re voting against Obama. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/7 "2012-09-16T02:13:58Z")
In that case, we can call him “Womney”. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/8 "2012-09-16T02:27:04Z")
[QUOTE=Rush Limbaugh] Romney is not the perfect candidate. That does not matter. Romney, the best thing he can do is remember this election isn’t about him. He may as well be Elmer Fudd as far as we’re concerned. We’re voting against Obama [/QUOTE] “I am Mitt Romney, millionaire. I own a mansion and a yacht.” ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/9 "2012-09-16T02:45:31Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I truly hope they’re as puzzled as Democrats who couldn’t understand why Bush won in '04. Bush barely won in 2004, and the economy was doing better at the time. The 2004 election was more about foreign policy. The 2012 election should be a wide margin in the electoral college, rather than one that comes down to a single swing state. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/10 "2012-09-16T03:30:18Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I truly hope they’re as puzzled as Democrats who couldn’t understand why Bush won in '04. I don’t recall that many Democrats being puzzled in '04. I knew early on Kerry was a stiff. Plus, knocking an incumbent off is generally an uphill fight. I think there were quite a few of us frustrated in '04, but not really puzzled. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/11 "2012-09-16T03:30:49Z")
Romney has made no attempt whatsoever to explain what he’d do if elected. I think he truly believes that repeating “My name is not Barack Obama” would magically give him the keys to the Oval Office. Now the team of Vulture and Voucher is like a sailboat in a dead calm. This has been the worst run campaign that I can recall, and I can recall them going back to 1964. Trying to milk the Libyan dead before the bodies were even identified was the final coffin nail. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/12 "2012-09-16T03:48:33Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > Let’s not forget 2 presidents came from Mass… John Adams and JFK… so I wouldn’t blame Beantown. > > Besides, Romney is a first rate Shyster. All Politicians can be shady just not this much. > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rodifJlis2c&feature=youtu.be](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rodifJlis2c&feature=youtu.be) Three presidents came from Massachusetts: John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, both of who served only one terms apiece, and John Kennedy. Come to think of it, Kennedy didn’t even make it through one term. Obviously there’s a conspiracy to prevent \*any \*Massachusetts president from serving more than one term. Connect the dots, people! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/13 "2012-09-16T03:58:18Z")
I think Mr. Fischer is incorrect. Perhaps if they lose this one, the Republican Party will make a concerted effort to return to its conservative roots and forsake the radical element that has taken over. I have no problem with fiscal conservatism when it’s tempered with some common sense, but people like Ryan take things too far. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/14 "2012-09-16T04:05:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I think Mr. Fischer is incorrect. Perhaps if they lose this one, the Republican Party will make a concerted effort to return to its conservative roots and forsake the radical element that has taken over. They’re already saying he’s a weak candidate before the election. I wouldn’t expect any other notion after the election. Certainly little introspection when they can just blame him. Also, when the dust settles, they can trot out the old standby of impeaching the incumbent. That never gets old. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/15 "2012-09-16T04:13:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I think Mr. Fischer is incorrect. Perhaps if they lose this one, the Republican Party will make a concerted effort to return to its conservative roots and forsake the radical element that has taken over. I have no problem with fiscal conservatism when it’s tempered with some common sense, but people like Ryan take things too far. I don’t think it’s soon enough. They’d have to suffer several major losses before they reject the radicals. Partly because they won’t want to admit they’ve hitched their star to a declining demographic, but largely because doing so is going to hurt them a lot in the short term and require them to seriously overhaul their image and rhetoric in order to attract the people they’ve driven away; they’ve become _dependent_ on the radicals. There’s also the question of how far the radicals have managed to take control of the party decisionmaking apparatus; it may simply not be possible for the party as a whole to throw out the radicals anymore. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/16 "2012-09-16T04:33:01Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Three presidents came from Massachusetts: John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, both of who served only one terms apiece, and John Kennedy. Four - Bush the Elder was born in Milton, MA. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/17 "2012-09-16T04:37:47Z")
> [@fumster](#): > > Four - Bush the Elder was born in Milton, MA. ANOTHER one term president! It’s a conspiracy, I tells ya. (Damn, how could I have missed him?:smack:) ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/18 "2012-09-16T04:38:42Z")
The sad part of it (for Romney) is that this is actually no easy election to win. The conservatives clearly have no sense of what a majority of Americans thinks of Obama. It seems to me that what he and Bill Clinton said at the convention has worked to great effect, and the people answering all the polls have finally decided that, at the very least, they don’t trust Romney enough to stay mad at Obama. They are ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. So Romney is running a race that is pretty much already decided, and yet he will be blamed for losing. I actually feel kind of sorry for the guy, as long as he is kind enough to continue losing. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/19 "2012-09-16T04:49:49Z")
> [@Kyomara](#): > > The conservatives clearly have no sense of what a majority of Americans thinks of Obama. What do a majority of Americans think of Obama? > [@](#): > > It seems to me that what he and Bill Clinton said at the convention has worked to great effect… Based on what evidence? If you go over and look at [Gallup’s numbers on the convention](http://www.gallup.com/poll/157322/democratic-convention-rated-slightly-better-gop.aspx), you’ll find that while a greater percentage of Americans said that the DNC made them more likely to vote for Obama than did the RNC, that shift was caused entirely by Democrats being more motivated to vote for Obama. The DNC had no net effect on the number of Independents who said they would vote for Obama (exactly 39% said it made them more likely to vote for Obama while 39% said it made them less likely to vote for Obama) and, obviously, a net negative for Republicans. On the other hand, the RNC had a net positive for Republicans (obviously), and net positive of 3 for Independents (39% more likely and 36% less likely) and a net negative among Democrats (again, obviously). So if you mean “to great effect” at firing up the base, sure, but not at reaching voters outside of the base. > [@](#): > > …and the people answering all the polls have finally decided that, at the very least, they don’t trust Romney enough to stay mad at Obama. They are ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. That seems a bit presumptive to me. Not to mention it makes little sense. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835/20 "2012-09-16T05:12:58Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > ANOTHER one term president!.. > > (Damn, how could I have missed him?:smack:) You didn’t adjust for wind. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning/634835.md?page=2)