Fraud and vote manipulation is why obama won twice. Unless we tackle that now, the GOP will never win ever again.

If the "GOP Brain Trust" (isn´t that a triple oxymoron?) was that smart Mitt Romney would have won in a landslide! It always amazes me how they can always tell us why they lost but somehow can´t come up with the information before the election!

@#1: I honestly believe the GOP doesn`t want to win the WH. They like being in 2nd place. Personally, I have given up on them. 2012 was their last chance to win me over. They didn`t....

FTA: "We need to attract the attention of the culture so they are ready to hear the conservative narrative." - I think we´d have better luck teaching French to a goldfish. The narrative is already out there: Conservatives are evil, white, rich, slave-owners who seek the destruction of all we hold dear. Thats the narrative that the left/media/democrat axis has been preaching for the last 30 years. The question should be: ´How do we regain the narrative that we´ve lost the last 30 years?´ Now if the GOP wants to invest in that, they might get a return on that investment.

This election was NOT won by Obama; it was stolen by voter fraud. In ALL instances the voting errors favored the liberal over the "conservative". Romney/Ryan were GUTLESS in that they didn´t demand a vote recount which would have exposed the massive, preplanned computer fraud and the appearance is that the GOP is in on subverting the Constitution since they haven´t, with the single exception of Allen West, contested the votes and immediately began kissing Obama´s butt.

What #2 said.

You ask me, "We have to ..." is just what Romney did not. It´s a test of the candidate. He ran a cynical and silent "campaign" that confirmed the worst of what any normal person would suspect of a rich Republican, that he just felt entitled to it. That has NEVER gone over well in the U S of A.

There was a lot of sneering at the "low information voter" but how much information did the Romney campaign offer them? And guess what, low information or not, they get to vote. The Republican candidate has to have positive messages for 100% of the voters, you can´t win just shooting for the 3% "undecided", who really aren´t anyway.

I agree with a lot of the doom and gloom, but I *hope* it was really just a local failure by the Romneyoids.

Several generations have been taught to stereotype conservatives. They have been taught that conservatives want to restrict their freedom and that conservatives are stupid and funny. The constant mocking and scapegoating builds a strong bond among them and they gain status among themselves by doing it. With the country going down the tubes and shedding jobs, breaking through that with vague statements about freedom and opportunity won´t work. Conservatives have to fight back, but I don´t know how to do it. It doesn´t help that it appears to me that a large number of Republican politicians appear to me to be wanna-be Democrats who couldn´t compete in the Democratic party.

I don´t agree with the author. If in fact Romney did lose, it was because a conservative message wasn´t clearly articulated. Faces of the alleged GOP are on Fox News all the time. One of them, Ed Rollins, articulated the GOP message as follows: we´re like the democrats but we like fewer regulations. Then you had Jeb Bush quoted in a Florida newspaper saying the GOP today is dangerous and all wrong. So that was the GOP message.

Govt,onto poly of public education turns out more than 80% of the graduating classes with no skills. Wait till that blows up and the tax payers are left holding the debts that these college kids don´t pay off!

The bullies are now running the show.

Absolutely spot on , #1. However, it takes courage to take the fight to the progs when it comes to voter fraud. The fact that it was not high on the list of to-dos for the Republican Party is the reason we lost this election. After the 2008 election, the RNC should have put forth a series of media ads educating the voting public about voter fraud. Hasn´t the RNC ever thought about hiring a great PR firm that knows how to connect with younger voters? These kids are indoctrinated with the ideology of "fairness". Why not use that to our advantage? We definitely need some new ideas from the "leaders" in our party or new leaders.

After years of saying we had to stick with the Republican Party because it would be suicide to fragment into other parties, I´ve finally had it. I have NO hope that the Republicans will get it together. They have become and will continue to be the Me-Too-Only-Not-So-Much Party.

Just listen to their leaders. Tax increases are on the table. Immigration "reform" is coming. Pandering is in, principles are out.

Meh. I´m done. I don´t want to waste more years and more lost elections on these mealy-mouthed weasels. We need a real conservative party that will fight for traditional values and smaller, WAY smaller government.

I want a one-page platform. In fact, I want a one sentence platform: we pledge to defend, support, and restore the Constitution of the United States of America, exactly as it was written and intended. The party that comes closest to that platform gets my vote from now on.

Not only does the GOP emphatically support Democrat/Socialist projects like Social Security and Medicare, it emphatically supports the means by which Democrat/Socialist ideas like Social Security and Medicare become implanted in the electorate: the Democrat/Socialist idea of public schools. Last I checked, the State-as-educator of its citizens was nowhere to be found in the Constitution. Perhaps that section is located in the same, secret place where the Founders guaranteed free abortions.

The GOP does not realize to what extend it has already sanctioned the Democrat/Socialist project. Schooling is not - emphatically not - a function of government. Ask Jefferson, Madison, or Adams. What do Republicans expect with elections, when they´ve already in effect conceded that the Statists are so right about so much, and the Constitution isn´t?

I´m sorry to disagree with several posters above, but I think Obama won largely because a great swath of the electorate is ignorant/misinformed/uninformed (take your pick). That is not the same thing as saying they´re stupid: I know a number of very smart people who voted for Obama.

So many fingers pointing at Romney, his staff, his surrogates, his message, on and on. I hold mainly responsible for the debacle that portion of the voters who would have voted differently if they had done their duty as citizens and educated themselves about their options.

Time to stop putting down Romney and the GOP. We now nee some nice tough ones to face the unvetted melanin ruling our USA.

I agree -- fraud won this election. Allll the major pollsters had Mitt Romney winning...

So -- let´s go to purple finger voting and only one day voting.

That should cut down the fraud....except Illinois -- which is so crooked that the undoing of the mess will take forever.

To long -- I´m leaving as soon as I sell my home....

LZK

Too many excuses; too little logic.

I am afraid this article is correct. And, if it is, America is over. I hate to write that and I pray...I PRAY...I am wrong.

Romney patterned himself after GHWB, another good man who lost to a hipper, cooler candidate.

So how does the GOP reach out to these low information
voters? Seems the only things these LIVs care about is what they can get from the govt - so is the GOP going to try and out bribe the Dems?

Let´s face it- the country has changed; the makeup of its people has changed. 40 years ago Watergate was a major Constitutional crisis and now, Benghazi, the Petraeus and Allen scandals, etc and, well, off to do some more Black Friday shopping.

I don´t fault Mitt Romney. I fault the idiots who voted for Obama - let them reap what they have sowed.

Agreed, #18, and the author is dead spot on. A superficial or incomplete reading of this piece does America and the writer a disservice.

For example:
We have to promote conservative values to a new American culture that needs to feel good about voting conservative. We cannot make them vote conservative because it´s the right thing to do. We need to attract the attention of the culture so they are ready to hear the conservative narrative. [emphasis mine]

The culture has changed too dramatically for old solutions to work. Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying that conservatism, when properly articulated, wins every time. While that used to be true in a culture where people were educated, informed and Godly, it no longer works because there are fewer of us than there are of them.

Then there´s this:


[Romney] lost because America´s cultural base has shifted from a self-reliant, God, Family, and Country culture to a nation of dependency looking to the government to socially provide and legislate fairness. America´s populace is willing to trade liberty for social security. Hence any candidate preaching conservative values does not resonate with this New American Culture.

The entire paragraph, above, is absolutely right and unless we deal the hand we´ve got, we´ll lose every subsequent election.

Finally,

Obama wooed voters with emotional focus-group tested messages, allowing them to accept the abysmal failure his presidency. Voters re-elected him because it felt good to vote for him, again.

Yes, it IS irrational and it IS emotional, but reason no longer works in this culture beyond certain small pockets of thinkers, an endangered species. But we have to deal with it in ways that differ from the ways that have failed us. If we don´t get a handle on this, kiss conservatism goodbye.

Unfortunately, the republicans have forgotten how to listen to their constituents. Instead, they marvel at the drivel from the inside-the-beltway experts.

Romney lost when he kept referring to Obama as a "good man in over his head". Obama is a monster destroying America.

Mobocracy rules! Voting on the emotions of the moment is the way to go, America.

But what, in God´s name does anyone expect? As I keep pointing out, the mean IQ in this country is only 100 (Stanford Binet) and the median IQ is only 110. That means one half of the voting population has an IQ BELOW 110. At a guess, that means 40% to 50% of Obama voters have TWO FIGURE IQ´s. (Now that I think of it, weren´t there reports of the mentally deficient being bussed to voting booths by energetic Obama ward heelers?) And another large group were ignorant kids bopping and bipping to music piped through the ear buds perpetually stuck in their heads. In other words, youth rendered brainless through elecrtonics.

With this in mind, one can only marvel at those who marvel at how this election turned out. Actually, it is astonishing that Romney did as well as he did.

Obama had the battleground states sewed up since the day after the 2008 election. His vast organization never stopped campaigning. He had a three year head start. Let´s not forget the increased entitlements to every one who supported him. Even with this in place, his reelection was not easy. The major crack in the Romney campaign Armor was their strategy didn´t challenge Obama enough and tried to play it safe. Additionally, The Romney campaign message needed stronger selling points to excite the masses, especially the Hispanics.
Besides needing a new image maker along with an new innovative and bright campaign strategists (not recycled ones, the Republican party candidates in the future should be required to take a course is basic sales techniques. They should learn how to take control of the dialogue, sell their message and themselves effectively, overcome objections and obstacles, but most of all learn how to take no prisoners and win.. Unless the GOP gets tough and shows muscle with smile of course, they will continue to lose presidential elections.

From the last paragraph of the article: ´´The RNC should spend a few million on anthropologists to study the new culture, determine why they vote, and promote a message to attract them.´´ Oh my. How sickening! I guess you could have that kind of attitude if you made your political party - or even conservatism your god.

An email just came in my inbox with this quote from a former president: ´´...there is no national security but in the nation´s humble, acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence.´´

Now tell me, why would that be? Would that be a ´´winning strategy´´ because of the kind of culture our great country had? Or would that be because God exists and we must love, acknowledge, and follow Him for success in our lives? Is He in truth God, or is He just a figure we use to our own advantage?

After 9/11/01, both Tom Daschle and later John Edwards quoted Isaiah 9:10 in which people who had been punished by God said in essence, ´´Never mind. We´ll pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and go on our own merry way again.´´ Yeah, we can spend a few million on anthropologists to study the new culture. That´s a winning strategy. NOT!

Aszkler has been sucked into the NewDumb mantra of "why Obama won"

I expect a WHOLE LOT BETTER from American Thinker

Spot on #12 and 22. I changed my voter registration back to "no party affilation" last week. I also want a party that is called "The Constitution Party", and has a one sentence platform. Simple and straight forward in its´ core beliefs.

FTA: "Romney´s candidacy was the perfect representation of what a Reagan Conservative should be. He lost because America´s cultural base has shifted from a self-reliant, God, Family, and Country culture to a nation of dependency looking to the government to socially provide and legislate fairness."

Uh .... well, no. If we accept Mr. Aszkler´s premise (which I don´t) the cultural base had already shifted long before Reagan won the presidency in 1980. Has Mr. Aszkler forgotten the 60´s? Flower Power? Turn on/tune in? Anti-war protests? The ´68 convention? The "original" Black Panthers? Welfare Cadillacs? The Days of Rage? Woodstock? Holy cow, Woodstock!

And after all that, we elected Reagan in a landslide. Mr. Romney was certainly not "the perfect representation of what a Reagan Conservative should be." Even if he believed and stood for everything Reagan did, he lacked the one essential that made Reagan stand out: the ability to effectively communicate that conservatism in a way that resonated amiably with regular Americans. Reagan truly was the "great communicator." Mr. Romney is not. But in fairness to Mr. Romney, no one else on the Republican primary stage was either.

And lest we forget, Mr. Reagan left us stuck with the Bush family. No one´s perfect.

The majority of voters heard Romney´s conservative message and rejected it.
Screaming the same message , just louder -using the cowbell analogy-isn´t going to change anything.
Many voters think the Republicans , including the Tea Party and conservatives are angry old scolds
who hate immigrants , women
and only care about rich people.
Romney is a decent and honorable man who would have been a million times better than Obama.
Hundreds of thousands of today´s 14, 15 , 16 and 17 year olds will be voting in the next presidential election.
Thousands of elderly Republicans will no longer be voting.
Pining for the era of Ronald Reagan will be the same as pining for George Washington .
The demographics and culture of the US has changed.
To pretend it hasn´t is foolish.
The Republicans must find a way to communicate their message to the new demographics.
Frank Luntz talks a lot about language and how important certain words are in conveying a message.
Republicans should listen to him.
The Democrats have united all their minorities into one tent.
The Republican Party is also made up of minorities-the Tea Party, the moderates, the social liberals , fiscal conservatives
and libertarians have to be brought together
with a common goal of winning back the WH, the Senate and keeping the House.
Until all the Republican minorities can stop screaming at each other and work out a compromise-and it will mean common sense compromise from all sides,
the Republican Party will go the way of the Dodo bird.
And the radical Democrats will have free rein forever.

I glean from this idiotic except for a few posters that no candidate that the gop fields will be perfect enough for them. I heard Mitt giving great speeches, the blacks and simps that voted for obamaears deserve what they will get. He cares nothing about anyone except himself and it would not surprise me if he ran or claimed out right that he would be prez for another 4 years. Quit your gritching, shut up and vote and drag all independents (or the stupid) wing to the polls and rub their backs and give them freebies. There, fixed it for you. We do not need quitters.

We all know the Republicans cheat like there is no tomorrow. We need voter ID, 30-60 day voter registration and blue finger after voting and limited early voting or the Republicans will continue to steal election (ok /s) but really if we say that, the dems will go along with it. low info voters = stupid. this "should" be easy

The MSM and the popular culture is monolithically liberal. I don´t know how the GOP wins a rigged game.

I, too, believe as some posters above that this election was stolen. Obama getting 99% of the vote in some precincts is beyond comprehension, and some precincts getting more votes than registered voters should have been the "no duh" to any thinking person.

One reason Romney may not have fought this is having a media snuggled firmly in Obama´s back pocket. Who will ever know? Until we get journalists who love the truth and will stop at nothing to get it we´ll probably never have another conservative in the WH.

#30 "the Tea Party, the moderates, the social liberals , fiscal conservatives
and libertarians have to be brought together
with a common goal of winning back the WH, the Senate and keeping the House."

What do you think has been happening for the past 2 years? Ever since the Tea Party victory of 2010, the party "nobility" has been hissing between clenched teeth at them to stop being so selfish, but lie back think of your vaunted "common goal". The only method on offer of "bringing together" these groups is subjugating the social conservatives to perpetual helot status. And we just saw how brilliantly that plan worked: the "moderates" got everything their own way, and they still lost. The idea of reversing the trend and trying a full-blooded traditional conservative approach is too, too risky for the effete aristos in charge of the GOP, and they won´t consider it. It´s ridiculous to keep insisting upon a plan that can´t work. There´s no "uniting" these different wings of the GOP, they might as well be different parties, and I hope they soon are.

Two years ago, voters threw Democrats out of state and national offices all across the country. Republicans took the US House in 2010, and kept it in Republican hands this year. I wouldn´t expect that to happen if our electorate were as changed as some pundits suggest.

What I think was different about this election is this: Our MSM finally abandoned any pretense of impartiality. I think the obvious media preference for Barack Obama altered what was reported and how it was (or was not) reported. I think this biased reporting altered what people believed, which would logically alter how some voted. We need to consider the possibility that America´s MSM today looks and behaves more like a "state owned" media. A free and fair press will relentlessly pursue facts no matter where they lead. The fact that we still don´t know what happened in Libya confirms that today´s MSM is no longer willing to follow a story, report it, and let the chips fall where they may.

Watergate was a big scandal bringing down a president because the Rats pushed it. Benghazigate is a much bigger scandal with far more substance but no consequences for the president with only the GOP cowards pushing it.

"You´ve got to be taught to hate and fear. It´s got to be drummed in your dear little ear. You´ve got to be carefully taught."

In South Pacific those lyrics alleged that children were taught to be racist. In actual fact, for decades, American children have been taught to hate and fear capitalism, personal responsibility, freedom and political diversity.