Did Over Pandering To Pro-Life Cost Romney The Election?

[Red Green]

Pro-Life is a major issue for the Gop especially with evangelicals and throughout the campaign in what seemed to be a perpetual open mouth insert foot for Gop some rather offensive comments were made on the subject of rape pregnancies on November 6th women by and large went to Obama with nearly 2/3 rds of the female vote.

Pundits will tell us the supposed "war on women" is propaganda yet is it unrealistic that a number of these women may have been disappointed with Obama but voted against the hard Pro-Life stance?

[Mister D]

What is a "hard" pro-life stance?

[KC]

Romney should have answered every question about abortion by writing it off as a state issue. That way conservatives who believe in states rights and pro choice libertarians could still feel comfortable with him and he would be giving the Democrats less ammo for their "war on women" claims.

[Mister D]

Romney should have answered every question about abortion by writing it off as a state issue. That way conservatives who believe in states rights and pro choice libertarians could still feel comfortable with him and he would be giving the Democrats less ammo for their "war on women" claims.

But Romney's stance on abortion was not even close to "hard line" or radical. That said, voters aren't particualrly rational.

[KC]

But Romney's stance on abortion was not even close to "hard line" or radical. That said, voters aren't particualrly rational.

I don't think it was hard line either, but emphasizing states rights 1) makes him appear more conservative and 2) allows him to dodge the issue completely. It's just better politics.

[Mister D]

I don't think it was hard line either, but emphasizing states rights 1) makes him appear more conservative and 2) allows him to dodge the issue completely. It's just better politics.

Don't get me wrong. I think your advice is good. That's what he should have done. It would have made no difference to the smear merchants and partisan loons buit it may have helped him excite the base a bit more.

[Cigar]

Mitt's Big Mouth cost him the Election

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/29736018.jpg

[Mister D]

No, that far too many Americans feel entitled to free shit is what lost him the election.

[KC]

Don't get me wrong. I think your advice is good. That's what he should have done. It would have made no difference to the smear merchants and partisan loons buit it may have helped him excite the base a bit more.

Right, more partisan Democrats would see him as a hard liner regardless just because of the R next to his name. But keep in mind that Romney wasn't going after those votes anyhow. Romney needed independents to win, and I think independents are more willing to take a closer look, since they aren't partisan.

[Mister D]

Right, more partisan Democrats would see him as a hard liner regardless just because of the R next to his name. But keep in mind that Romney wasn't going after those votes anyhow. Romney needed independents to win, and I think independents are more willing to take a closer look, since they aren't partisan.

How did he do with independents overall? I don't recall.

[KC]

How did he do with independents overall? I don't recall.

Not well enough.

[Mister D]

This is all I can find after a brief search:

---


Winning the independent vote also no longer appears to be as important as it once seemed. Romney led Obama among self-described independents, 50 percent to 45 percent. That’s a turnaround from four years ago, when Obama won them, 52 percent to 44 percent.


http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2012/1107/Election-results-2012-Who-won-it-for-Obama-video

But then it goes on to talk about moderates and I'm not sure what the difference is or if there is one.

[Cigar]

No, that far too many Americans feel entitled to free shit is what lost him the election.

I guess it's not Smart Business to give Free Shit to only 2%, when the 51% can kick your ass in an Election.

Look like the 47% that Voted for Mitt were the ones who got the shaft!

http://aalbc.com/reviews/images/shaft.1.jpg

[Mister D]

I guess it's not Smart Business to give Free Shit to only 2%, when the 51% can kick your ass in an Election.

Look like the 47% that Voted for Mitt were the ones who got the shaft!

http://aalbc.com/reviews/images/shaft.1.jpg

It's "smart business" to encourage an entitlement mentality only if one is looking for temporary gain. Most of our pols are. The long term damage this will do and has done is but an after thought.

[KC]

This is all I can find after a brief search:

---



http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2012/1107/Election-results-2012-Who-won-it-for-Obama-video

But then it goes on to talk about moderates and I'm not sure what the difference is or if there is one.

Me neither. It seems to me that an independent is usually someone who might fit well into a particular ideology but doesn't vote the party line. Maybe non partisan conservatives are more likely to describe themselves as independents, while non partisan liberals are more likely to describe themselves as moderates?

[Cigar]

It's "smart business" to encourage an entitlement mentality only if one is looking for temporary gain. Most of our pols are. The long term damage this will do and has done is but an after thought.

Where up 10 years ago ... with your face stuck in a Bush?

[Mister D]

Where up 10 years ago ... with your face stuck in a Bush?

Cigar, your replies aren't even coherent now. What?

[Cigar]

Cigar, your replies aren't even coherent now. What?

I'm busy making money ...you should try it someday :)

[Mister D]

I'm busy making money ...you should try it someday :)

Doing what? Posting on Internet forums? :laugh:

[Peter1469]

No, that far too many Americans feel entitled to free shit is what lost him the election.

We have crossed the Rubicon. More Americans want free stuff from the government than work for their own stuff. The republic is dying.

[GrassrootsConservative]

We have crossed the Rubicon. More Americans want free stuff from the government than work for their own stuff. The republic is dying.

It's working out fine for the Cigars of the nation.

[Chris]

The Republic's been dead for a long time.

A page from Alfred Jay Nock's Memoirs of a Superfluous Man:

http://i.snag.gy/Nk80c.jpg

[bladimz]

I don't think it was hard line either, but emphasizing states rights 1) makes him appear more conservative and 2) allows him to dodge the issue completely. It's just better politics.
As far as the pro-life stand, the biggest (and strangest) problem that i saw was that GOP candidates Romney and Ryan couldn't agree on what kind of pro-life stand to take. That cost them some, i think. People expect their Pres. and VP candidates to be on the same page, and rightly so.

But what really burned them was that deadly "47%" fiasco.

[KC]

As far as the pro-life stand, the biggest (and strangest) problem that i saw was that GOP candidates Romney and Ryan couldn't agree on what kind of pro-life stand to take. That cost them some, i think. People expect their Pres. and VP candidates to be on the same page, and rightly so.

But what really burned them was that deadly "47%" fiasco.

Yeah, I'm not suggesting that Obama's victory should be linked to any one cause. There are several contributing factors, and among them were probably the two you mentioned.

I see the former problem as a much larger problem with the GOP. While there are some of course who take the historical (and Constitutional) stance that delegates the issue to the individual states, many want to see an Amendment overturning Roe V Wade and giving the Federal government more powers. If the GOP wants to be a big tent, they should really aim for consistency in advocating states rights and limited government. The state and local Republican parties should continue to advocate pro life policies while national candidates advocate localism and states' rights.

[Red Green]

Yeah, I'm not suggesting that Obama's victory should be linked to any one cause. There are several contributing factors, and among them were probably the two you mentioned.

I see the former problem as a much larger problem with the GOP. While there are some of course who take the historical (and Constitutional) stance that delegates the issue to the individual states, many want to see an Amendment overturning Roe V Wade and giving the Federal government more powers. If the GOP wants to be a big tent, they should really aim for consistency in advocating states rights and limited government. The state and local Republican parties should continue to advocate pro life policies while national candidates advocate localism and states' rights.

The truth is Roe versus Wade will never be overturned you see both sides depend on this wedge issue the Republicans need it to stir up the evangelical base and then the Democrats use it to push the war on women so I think abortion is here to stay.

[Red Green]

Yeah, I'm not suggesting that Obama's victory should be linked to any one cause. There are several contributing factors, and among them were probably the two you mentioned.

I see the former problem as a much larger problem with the GOP. While there are some of course who take the historical (and Constitutional) stance that delegates the issue to the individual states, many want to see an Amendment overturning Roe V Wade and giving the Federal government more powers. If the GOP wants to be a big tent, they should really aim for consistency in advocating states rights and limited government. The state and local Republican parties should continue to advocate pro life policies while national candidates advocate localism and states' rights.

The truth is Roe versus Wade will never be overturned you see both sides depend on this wedge issue the Republicans need it to stir up the evangelical base and then the Democrats use it to push the war on women so I think abortion is here to stay.

[KC]

The truth is Roe versus Wade will never be overturned you see both sides depend on this wedge issue the Republicans need it to stir up the evangelical base and then the Democrats use it to push the war on women so I think abortion is here to stay.

Agreed. But is the outcome of the rhetoric always a net gain for politicians on either side? The premise of this thread is that Romney's pro life position possibly resulted in a net loss of votes. I don't think the net loss single handedly lead to his failure to be elected, but it certainly didn't help.

[Deadwood]

There is never one cause in the failure of a politco to win office. I have failed to see anything that suggests hard line conservatives stayed home because of Romney's moderate stance and he did offer cost cutting; near and dear to every conservative's heart.

No, the answer to that question lies in the failure of the Romney camp to attract a significant number of new supporters...

[Chris]

Voting against Obama just wasn't enough to rally conservatives.

[Awryly]

Yeah. His own.