tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post7483810411980895448..comments2024-03-18T14:34:31.684-05:00Comments on Horizons: Republicans just aren't as smart as we thought they wereNancy LeTourneauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-79309304112588555952012-09-22T01:47:23.829-05:002012-09-22T01:47:23.829-05:00I suspect that the use of propaganda is the center...I suspect that the use of propaganda is the center of their issues. Propaganda is perhaps more dangerous to the user than to the target. Eventually you believe your own lies, and find yourself waiting for imaginary armies to come rescue you from your bunker...thommy berlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05389402979220083434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-22867922231124845642012-09-21T21:54:21.880-05:002012-09-21T21:54:21.880-05:00He did say his chances would be better if he were ...He did say his chances would be better if he were browner.<br /><br />Vic78Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-90672439022890210072012-09-21T21:09:57.278-05:002012-09-21T21:09:57.278-05:00Mitt Romney seems to be getting browner, too, righ...Mitt Romney seems to be getting browner, too, right along with our population.Billhttp://freeandeasywandering.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-12824094503754043402012-09-21T13:39:54.425-05:002012-09-21T13:39:54.425-05:00It was over for the GOP during the inauguration wh...It was over for the GOP during the inauguration when they decided to make him a one term president. Saying no to everything makes you look like an idiot. They decided they weren't going to govern and win all 3 branches that way. That is an idiot's scheme. What made them believe it would work was 30 years of success and the sorry media. It's safe to say the GOP miscalculated. Their ideas are only popular to their hateful base and that's who they have to cater to. We saw that during the primaries. There was no pivot from that. The idea of pivoting was a media fantasy. <br /><br />The GOP's success had more to do with voter turnout and state democratic disorganization than GOP brilliance. Those guys think Reagan was Jesus, Mohammad, and Bhudda wrapped in one. Reagan was an imbecile. "My heart says one thing, but the facts say otherwise." WTF?? Our population is getting browner, more educated, and less selfish than it was in the 80s. <br /><br />Vic78Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-89059105669670301592012-09-21T12:26:11.219-05:002012-09-21T12:26:11.219-05:00The GOP has become the party of George Steinbrenne...The GOP has become the party of George Steinbrenner. If you're rich enough, they thought, they should be able to just buy the Presidency.<br /><br />Could the GOP be proving that P.T. Barnum was wrong?Chris Andersenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-60880299109795651922012-09-21T11:32:30.401-05:002012-09-21T11:32:30.401-05:00Right--it ends up making him a loser anyway. The ...Right--it ends up making him a loser anyway. The thing is that their market is shrinking and their brand is tainted. That's a bad environment for careerists.Billhttp://freeandeasywandering.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-14246586913795451492012-09-21T11:30:00.415-05:002012-09-21T11:30:00.415-05:00Bill, I think you're right about Rove.
But t...Bill, I think you're right about Rove. <br /><br />But that's what someone does who is being reactive not pro-active. Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-1966982774061005042012-09-21T11:24:33.050-05:002012-09-21T11:24:33.050-05:00I think that perhaps the income stratification we&...I think that perhaps the income stratification we're seeing and attempts by the Republicans to solidify that may be robbing the upper class of a meritocracy that elevated those with actual brains and talent. Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-9239271477760110042012-09-21T11:17:46.897-05:002012-09-21T11:17:46.897-05:00Rove wants to remain relevant and at the same time...Rove wants to remain relevant and at the same time not tie himself too closely to a loser.Billhttp://freeandeasywandering.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-28094432548732481632012-09-21T11:05:22.174-05:002012-09-21T11:05:22.174-05:00It took me a long time among other things to reall...It took me a long time among other things to really feel the misogyny in the "GOP is the Daddy party, Democrats are the Mommy party" line. It's a really sick way to read politics.<br /><br />It's interesting how something so non-political, like a technical understanding of how politics works, has such huge political ramifications. It's amazingly gratifying to see Democrats actually doing things well, and this technical competence will be one of Obama's great contributions to politics for at least a generation.<br /><br />I don't know precisely why the GOP has so thoroughly lost its talent. Maybe because its party line--rich people gorging at others' expense--is so contrary to its rhetorical line that anyone who values intellectual coherence is at minimum a little shamed if not repelled. I don't think Romney's the problem, but rather the symptom. The GOP developed a system where it would choose a candidate nobody liked--I actually am of the opinion that Ann Romney doesn't like Mitt either--out of a sense of obligation. The Bushes weren't great candidates either, even though both won when they faced weak opposition. Who knows? Maybe the demographic changes are such that, given that the Southern Strategy has been the GOP's only strategy, the more perceptive rats are deserting the sinking ship first.<br /><br />It really seems (not my original observation) that all along the Romney campaign's strategy was to use Citizen's United to buy the election. It's sort of shocking. CU needs to go, but anyone with any sense of things knows that money is not the sole determinant of an election. Yet one problem the very rich have is that many of them, possibly most, really think that money is they only thing that makes the world go round. It's a huge miscalculation. Money can skew our elections and does, but it's not where they can be bought wholesale yet and a lot of things need to change before that eventuality comes to pass.<br /><br />I have been focused a lot on retaking the House, but when I think about it the Presidency is key, to reshape the Supreme Court. It's awful at the moment. Obama is likely to win, but this is a must win. My ex and I talked about leaving the country after Bush did his thing (and did, but only temporarily to my chagrin) but I promise you, if Romney wins I will be a permanent expat by 2014. This is because as someone with limited means I cannot see a future I want with voucherized Medicare and privatized Social Security, or even the threat of them. I don't need that worry.Billhttp://freeandeasywandering.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-62271346593543692292012-09-21T10:56:01.167-05:002012-09-21T10:56:01.167-05:00I totally agree that there are smart Republicans. ...I totally agree that there are smart Republicans. My point is that - as a party - they're not acting smart and really don't have a plan/strategy at this point...and that includes Mr. Rove.Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-19088760645387089322012-09-21T10:43:10.660-05:002012-09-21T10:43:10.660-05:00There are smart Republicans. It's just that mo...There are smart Republicans. It's just that most of them figured out over a year ago that (1) beating Obama was going to be a lot harder than the Romneyites were assuming and (2) they could make a lot more money sucking at the SuperPAC teat.<br /><br />Karl Rove has avoided being associated with any candidate this cycle because he figured out that most of them were idiots (especially when they voted down his effort to push through immigration reform) and that he could make a lot more money sucking up to people like Addelson without having to suffer the stress of a political campaign.Chris Andersenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18139817527808942227noreply@blogger.com