by Matt Mayer
Over the next week or so, I will be analyzing what happened in Ohio over at National Review Online. If we stand any chance of getting a different outcome in four years, it is vital to identify the problems and then work aggressively to solve those problems. My last piece in this series will offer ideas on what we need to do in Ohio to right the ship.
What Happened in Ohio, Part 1: Ohio’s Primary Foreshadowed Problems
November 7, 2012
Over the next few days, I will cover a variety of issues I believe explain what happened in Ohio in 2012. The first issue starts at the very beginning of the process in Ohio. Now, it is always tricky to extrapolate primary data to general-election data, but I believe two data points, discussed below, from Ohio’s primary foreshadowed problems for Republicans and in the base with Governor Mitt Romney.
First, in the 2008 fully contested Democratic primary between Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama, 2,386,945 Ohioans cast ballots. Remember, Ohio has open primaries where voters select either a Democratic or a Republican ballot and vote in the primary race they select. Fast-forward four years to the fully contested 2012 Republican primary between Senator Rick Santorum and Governor Mitt Romney (and a few others whose names remained on the ballot). In that contest, 1,213,879 Ohioans vote. As a point of comparison, in 2000, 1,397,528 Ohioans vote in the Republican primary won by Texas governor George W. Bush. That is, nearly 200,000 more votes were cast twelve years earlier.
Comparing the 2008 Democratic-primary vote count with the 2012 Republican-primary vote count shows that roughly 1,173,066 more Ohioans voted in the Democratic primary four years ago than in the Republican primary this year. Think about that for a moment: Nearly 1.1 million more Ohioans voted for Democrats in 2008 than for Republicans in 2012. Presumably many of those Ohioans who voted for Obama in the 2008 primary voted for him in the general election, helping him win Ohio by a comfortable margin, and helped him win again in 2012, when he won about 300,000 fewer votes across the state, where turnout was down by more than 400,000 votes from what it was in 2008.
The second data point involves looking at the results from the Republican primaries in Ohio in 2008 and 2012. In 2012, Senator Santorum lost the primary but won 69 of Ohio’s 88 counties. The 69 counties he won are the most conservative in Ohio — the voters there are the Republican base. That Santorum won so many of them indicated that Romney had an issue with the base issue.
Dig a little deeper and the problem becomes far bigger. In 40 out of the 69 base counties that Santorum won, Romney received fewer votes than Mike Huckabee received in 2008 in a largely uncontested primary. (McCain had sown up the nomination by then.) That corroborates for me that the Republican base was not enthusiastic about Romney. Many people believed that Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate ameliorated some of that problem, but the results from last night don’t support that narrative.
Specifically, despite what we were told was the most sophisticated and successful ground game by a Republican in the history of the world, the turnout in Ohio declined 2.05 percent and in all but nine counties (although, to judge from the vote totals, the decline reflected on the Democratic GOTV effort even more than on the GOP side). In a year far better for the Republican presidential candidate than 2008, Romney received 93,200 fewer votes in Ohio than McCain did four years earlier. As it stands today, Obama won Ohio in 2012 by 107,241 votes, only 14,000 votes more than the margin by which Romney lost to McCain.
No matter how you look at it, it seems clear that the base in Ohio did not show up as it needed to do for Romney to win Ohio.
Matt Mayer lives in Dublin, Ohio, is executive director of Opportunity Ohio, and is author of Taxpayers Don’t Stand a Chance
This article was reposted via National Review Online.
What happened in Ohio? You answered your own question by repeating the alienating behavior of the GOP when you wrote “(and a few others whose names remained on the ballot)”.
That’s not what he was doing; once you’ve qualified for the primary ballot, getting off it if you “suspend your campaign” is next-to-impossible to do. By the time we got to Ohio, it was down to 2 candidates; the others remained on the ballot because they had no choice. The same was true in 2008 when John Edwards quit the campaign; he was still on the ballot in all the states he’s qualified for.
And the reason is straight forward; candidates don’t put themselves on the ballot; those who sign that candidate’s petition put the candidate on the ballot. So the candidate has no ability to withdraw after a certain point.
Voter fraud played a large role. Saw it with my own eyes. Extended early voting may tout convenience but it invites fraud to be perpetuated. Day of voting has had enough issues. When the magnitude of the fraud is uncovered it will be stunning.
I think that a major issue was the leftover from senate bill 5 that was the baby of Rep. Jones, not John Kasich. I think this might have been the difference maker also. I was a Santorum guy all the way, but once romney was the choice, I supported him fully. I think Ted’s recap of the election from clermont tea party is also spot on. We have lost many who have voted by moving to red states. I am considering the same. I don’t know if a red state is the answer, but it might buy me time. Hamilton county here has the same issue. The people have moved east to clermont and hamilton county has turned blue. I know, I worked the polls in city. It was non stop all day…. Out of 680 votes… 22 were for Romney… go figure. I think we have bigger problems. We are losing our base to other states.
Andrew, I worked yesterday as a Deputy Judge in Millvale. I agree with you 100%. Hamilton County now has a Democrat Sheriff. That is a scary prospect for me. Mt. Washington is going to look like Westwood or Price Hill (the bad part) pretty soon. Newtown/Anderson has had a rash of burglaries. We like our house so we will probably stay, but we are concerned. I would feel a whole lot better if we lived in a red place like Warren County. Think about the composition of the jury pool. I served on a jury in a criminal case a few years ago. All you need is one person to vote innocent and the guilty goes unpunished. When you combine that with the overcrowded jails the bad guys are thinking that crime pays. Personnally, I think Hamilton County is going to turn bluer and bluer. Conservatives are going to move out. This is going to happen everywhere. My daughter, for example, can’t wait to move from the Bay Area to Reno. Nevada may be blue but it is not nearly as crazy as San Francisco and California.
The Republican party needs to talk more about freedom – freedom of religion, freedom of health care, and economic freedom. Instead, it gets mired in “social conservatism” that people portray as “hating” on different people groups like immigrants. Immigrants built this country and should be welcomed. Gay marriage should be left a state or local issue. If the republicans would be about freedom in every area, like they are in economics, they would have a chance.
It’s all about standing your ground and living the principles you believe in. If you’re going to be a Conservative, that’s what you have to be and right now the republican Party isn’t willing to give up their spot at the table and they, the rino’s, are content that the Democrats throw them a bone oncve in a while.
I agree that the focus of the Republicans needs to be on what freedoms we will lose if a Marxist candidate gets in office. Watching TV analysis of the results, I saw numerous Fox reporters still unaware of what the sitting president’s values actually are. They kept suggesting he would move to the center. If Republicans had made clear who the opponent was, where he came from, and what he has ALWAYS believed – Marxism, voters might have known what was at stake.If the Republicans had made it know the president has agreed to implement UN Agenda 21, to curtail property rights in the US – that might have hit home. All the fight over mortgages, which could be all people have left, mortgages with no property.
I always felt McCain was scared he might win, after Palin connected with voters. Ryan did not connect in the same way, or was held back. I came to like Romney, after initial doub, but he did not scare the voters into seeing what was right in front of them as their future. Valerie Jarrett warned of revenge, before the election, saying it was thier way (Marxism) or you were the enemy, and they would come for you. When an Iranian sits in the Oval Office and advises the opponent, that should be part of the campaign.
I agree with the assessment, honestly it came down to the lesser of two evils simply because the mainstream media wanted Romney. Don’t get me wrong I think that Romney was the best choice and would have been a very good President but part of the problem was that he let up and took the high road. The other part of this is that at the end of the day Ohio in many respects is becoming Michigan and I think more people will leave because of the influence of the unions and the Democrats in general. Lets face it Ohio has been changing and just look at the influence of the previous Strickland regime. More give aways, higher taxes and today Kasich isn’t doing much to reverse the trend.
I think it is time for the Republicrat strangle hold on politics to be broken. Ohio needs open primaries. There is no doubt that America needs candidates that will actually govern per the Constitution; not bowing to the party leadership to step up the ladder or the big money machines that run them. The People have the power to take back this country. WE need to use it!
You’re right, but, I think the sad part is that there are just so many people who are just uninformed. I don’t want to sound condesending but there are thousands who just don’t have a clue. I can tell you the number of people I know who voted for Obama simply because he gave them a phone or because he was black and the wasn’t given a fair chance. I mean jut look at he Ohio re-election of Sherrod Brown how does that happen, the guys a marxist. So, at the end of the day how do you combat lying, cheating and stupidity all at the same time. It’s almost impossible until there is a signifiganrt event that changes someones mind.
Romney was seen by many people as the lesser of two evils at best by those on the Right and Independents; there was no real enthusiasm for Romney. Obama’s machine was more sophisticated internally to a great degree, and his base was more enthusiastic for him. A lot of people see the government as the source and savior, and a lot of this thinking is indoctrinated in government education starting at an early age. Now, with the Senate set to ratify UN treaties right and left and 2, 3, or even 4 new SCOTUS justices to be appointed, the damage to the US that Obama will have as a legacy will be much greater than if he had only one term. If the GOP really can’t find a Conservative slate of candidates then there is a real problem somewhere. The Conservative voters are out there, but the GOP appears unwilling or unable to put up Conservative candidates, instead opting for moderates.
And you’re exactly correct. I think the hope of the party lies in the new republicans like Ryan, Rubio, and the host of others who are true conservatives. It’s sad to say our guy Boehner is the biggest Rino we have and as Speaker, alreadty he’s indicated the willingness to raise taxes and work with the otherside. That’s inside lingo for ok we’ll bend over for you guys but make sure you don’t do anything to hurt us too much. We still need to be friends. He must not remember the last years debt ceiling debacles.
Does everybody out there realize that the Republicans have lost the popular vote in 5 out of the last 6 presidential elections. The fact that our unemployment is so high and our deficit is so high still could not change that. This all screams for CHANGE ! If the Republicans want to ever win a national election again they must CHANGE. Now, they don’t have to change, but I believe for years to come we will just have to listen to all this whining and excuses for losing.
Republicans have alienated women, gays and Latinos. If you don’t agree with this then you don’t need to read any farther. I think these groups feel disrespected by the Republican philosophies. So disrespected that it overwhelms their desire for fiscal responsibility and job growth.
Now swallow hard and listen to my ideas that I believe can turn the Republican party around.
Women are blessed or burdened with the ability to produce children with their bodies. This is a sacred event that can create a miriad of emotions. LET THE WOMAN CHOOSE WHAT TO DO WITH HER BODY, IT IS AN EXTREMELY TOUGH AND DIFFICULT DECISION FOR THEM. It is their body. You want to force them to create children then you complain when you and your tax dollars end up supporting them. Don’t you think they understand this? Do you think women are stupid? Do you think it’s easy for a woman to abort a child? You can say simply that women are smart intelligent people (a compliment) . If you do not believe in abortion under any circumstance then you should bear your children under any circumstance. If you believe there are circumstances that permit you to decide to abort a child then make that decision. You are a human being and we RESPECT your right to choose in these extemely difficult circumstances.
Let gay people marry each other. If you were gay that is what you would want. Marriage is a very stabilizing institution for our society. I would think all conservative Republicans are for stability. It will never be perfect just like marriage between heterosexuals is not a perfect situation.
Latinos hate the “get out of here attitude”. The Latinos who vote have friends, relatives or friends of friends or friends of relatives who are illegal. A solution seems to be very difficult but if you simply say get out then the whole community feels disrespected.
There you have it CHANGE and the Republicans will win. If you can’t change then stand tall and keep trying.
Maybe you’re right, but I think the Republicans simply need to, finally, decide on the core principles of the party, quit trying to always be the underdog by compromising with the other side and picking candidates who stand for what the party believes. The RINO’s have to go, there time is over, it’s time to put on the gloves and start duking it out, it’s time to stand firm on what you believe and then if you loose oh well, do it over and over again. Romney was a moderate at best and although he is a really good guy; honest, sincere, and a family man, the party didn’t help him in the way of messaging and true support.
Jim has very good ideas. We need to stress our principles, limited government, economic freedom, fiscal responsibility, and live by the constitution. DONOT try to push so hard on social issues. Many of the GOP complain that democrats are interested in things for “ME”, but then on social issues the GOP wants everyone to do what “WE” believe. I am pro life in most instances, not really a fan of same sex marriage, but let people LIVE their own life. Many gays and pro choice people are very fiscal conservative and believe in small government, but get turned off by what they consider the “live life like we say or go to hell”.
And the go to hell part is what they have a hard time with. I think that the problem for a lot of these RIno;’s is simply the fact they want to be a part of the club and rather than say hey, go to hell and develop their own brand and power they try to reach across the aisle and then become the party of ok, we’ll go along, so, can I come to your next Christmas Party or they pander to the media so the press will think they are ok and not a part of the problem. Our guy Boehner is a classic example, heck by the time the Democrats come up with an extension on the sequation, he’ll already offer 4 0r 5 plans of his own, just for the shake of the country. The next four years will be harder to take than the last four.
Abortion: I’m fine with a woman controlling her body as long as she does not end a human life. “We hold these truths to be self-evident – we have been endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights: LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I would rather lose an election than acquisce to the killing of an innocent child. We have some really effective methods of birth control. They should use them.
Gay marriage: I realize that I am stating the obvious, but without the creation of a baby by a man and a women, mankind would cease to exist in about 100 years. So gay sex can never fulfill that basic need of society. After conception and birth, children have a basic need to be raised by a man and a woman, not by two men or by two women. They would grow up very confused and very incomplete. Isn’t that obvious? Aren’t there basic differences between men and women in a lot of ways? That is why all through recorded history marriage-type unions have been between a man and a woman (or women). It would be a big an tragic mistake for the state to sanction such relationships (single sex marriages). They pervert the way that we have been wired and will hurt the children. If gays want to get married their are a number of churches that will perform a wedding for them. Nobody is stopping them from getting married.
Immigration reform: We need to address this for the PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE. But at the same time we need to stop future illegal immigration. They are breaking the law. If people in the future come here ILLEGALLY we absolutely need to kick them out. What is so hard to understand about that?
I think you have identified the key issue, but I disagree that Conservatives have “disrepected” (when did that noun get morphed into a verb?) the sub-sets of Americans you mention.
I spent some time at the Franklin County Early Voting Center on Morse Rd. in Columbus, Ohio. It was eye popping! Beyond the charges of Democrat operatives bringing in bus loads of voters armed with Democrat sample ballots (I did not observe this happening) the racial imbalance was shocking. The percentage of blacks voting early far outdistanced their numbers in the community.
On election day it was reported that voting was so heavy at the Ohio State Student Union that additional machines had to be brought in. I was not there, but would guess the number of women students voting was greater than men.
Sexual orientation is much more difficult to identify than race or sex, but Short North gatherings of the G/L, etc. folks certainly seemed to indicate a preference for Obama.
Hispanics would seem to hold social values that are more in keeping with the conservaitve philosophy than with the progressives, but still overwhelmingly supported Obama.
Now, to the election. I’d submit that the Republican “problem” is not that they actively worked to alienate these groups, but that the Democrats were effective in cobbling together an “alliance” of them, while using misleading ads and a willing media to unfairly paint their opponents.
Mitt Romney is white and Obama is black. Neither can help that, but I am convinced that was the main (maybe only) reason for the 90%+ of black voters who voted for the President. Regardless of principles or policies nothing Romney could do would change this.
Romney/Ryan never said they would do away with contraceptives or abortion. They did question taxpayer funding — particularly the Federal stipend to Planned Parenthood (an organization that does NO mammagrams by the way). Still, to the Sandra Fluke crowd who feels they should be comfortable having sex without the bother of producing a child, free pills are a “right.” And, if they forget to take the pill, the governemnt wll be there to eliminate the baby. This is clearly an issue that is very personal, but should conservatives embrace Fluke just to win an election? If so, what a hollow victory that would be.
Conservatives do not hate immigrants as the progressives would like us to beleive. They also do not hate illegal immigrants. They merely want folks coming into our country to conform with the same laws that our forefathers obeyed. It is understandable that some Hispanics chafe over that position, but, again, should the Republican Platform endorse universal amnesty instead of the rule of law?
Likewise the public employee unions — most notably SEIU and the teachers’ unions for purely selfish reasons, favor Democrats. Unless the conservatives indicate a strong preference for bigger, more costly goverment this is not likely to change.
My point is that we may have reached a tipping point where the fractured nature of our population and the growing “47%” will spell the end of the traditional American values and, thus, the end of the Party. I pray this is not the case, but if the answer is to become progressives, why bother?
Jim,
The democrats are very good at framing and promoting false narratives of the republicans and their positions. They have the advantageous resources through their tax dollar derived public unions, socialists such as George Soros and others and the major media and Hollywood propaganda machines. They are very good at promoting ressentiment, a propaganda technique used by all the Marxist and dictatorial regimes in history… and Barack and his comrades. Either you yourself are a democrat or you have bought into their simplistic but powerful demonizing message.
Should I help fund through forced State confiscation of my income someone else’s abortion or a woman’s birth control? Do you think that that is the proper function of government over its citizens? Do you think it is the proper function of the State to confiscate my income so someone can have a subsidized cell phone? Where is the limit to someone else’s needs that require satisfaction through the confiscation of my income? And who or what entity should define those needs and limits? What happened to Individual responsibility or accountability? Or have those values been superceded by the State? If that is the case, where is the Individual incentive to create prosperity? If that incentive is being extinguished, then what mechanism will supply the revenue to pay for and satisfy (for free) everybody else’s “needs”?
So you also think Jim that marriage as established by the historical wisdom of 1000 of years of civilization as a pact between the opposite sexes is a radical idea? Apparently you do. So tell me. What is the purpose of marriage? Please explain it for me. Are there any limitations to the types of configurations of relationships that marriage should be and if there are any limitations please define them for me and give me a reason why such limitations should exist. What is the overriding benefit to our society and culture to eliminate the historical purpose of marriage? In fact why have marriage at all? Why not eliminate it?
Which brings up the topic of taboos… What about taboos? Are there any taboos that a society should honor and consider sacred for its social health and well- being… taboos that may at times supersede Individual circumstance? Or are taboos a hindrance to our personal freedoms? What is the purpose for taboos and should all taboos be relegated as irrelevant to our 21st century techno-wireless lifestyles?
Jim, what is it about the Rule of Law in general and as it applies to ILLEGAL immigration that makes you take the non sequitar leap that Republicans and/or conservatives have a “get out of here attitude” toward Latins. Why would you draw such conclusions unless of course you choose to drink the ressentiment Kool Aid of the democrat propaganda machine and accept their group demonizing stereotyping image of conservatives & republicans as some sort of callous inhuman “other”.
At some point ordering principles that promote a civil society must take precedence over a pandering stereotypical attitude toward amorphous group voting block thinking. Without foundational and historical principles “the permanent things” … no purpose and without purpose; the decadent disorder for instant gratification, the erosion of public behavior and manners and the great divisions that we are all now witnessing will take root. Instead of a united people we have become fragmented special interest groups as defined and promoted by our political elite class. How’s that working for us Jim?
I agree with you Jim about appealing to a wider base. I think that the problem with Romney (Paul Ryan & Rick Santorium too) is while they appealed to conservatives, married people, they didn’t resonate with most middle class people, especially to younger women. While Rick and Mitt are to be applauded for their “first and only marriages”, many Americans can’t relate! I for one had a hard time swallowing Ann Romney’s endorsement (during the primary) because she seemed so out-of-touch with the modern woman. She has been a stay-at-home wife her entire married life and has no idea how difficult it is for a woman (single or married) to work full time and come home to a second job of running a house.
Finding a republican woman who is divorced, or single (but raising a kids) would bode well for the party. As would “darkening” the candidates.
The other insight (that no one has dared to mention lately) is Romney’s Mormonism. Until 1978, Mormons believed that black people had the “mark of Cain upon them.” That all people started out white, but after Cain’s offense of slaying his brother Abel, God made him dark and gave him a wider nose. Mormons STILL exhault “whiteness” today for they have a saying “Delightfully white”. The fairer the skin and the hair, the more closer they believe that a person is to God. A former Mormon’s bishop’s daughter ~Tricia Erickson wrote a book called “Can Mitt Romney Serve Two Masters? ” . She was interviewed on a black radio station (You tube her name) in January to promote the book and to endorse Rick Santoruim……
The problem is more serious and long-term than Matt’s analysis of the last several elections. We lost for three reasons: (1) dramatically liberalized election laws and rules; (2) changing demographics; and (3) changing attitudes about government.
Election laws: Republicans have had control of state government for most of the last twenty years and under Voinovich and Taft have dramatically liberalized the elections laws. We have some of the most liberal in the country. Recently, Husted refused to push for a photo ID, even though his party controls all three branches of government. I am so TIRED of these timid cowards. DISGUSTED is a better word.
Demographics: The Republican Party is fighting a losing battle because of changing demographics. They get almost no black votes. They get only about 25% of hispanic votes and if you look at non-Cuban hispanic votes, even lower. They also only get about 25% of Asian votes (that one puzzles me). Tough to overcome that.
Attitudes about government: Almost half the electorate gets government benefits of one sort of another, yet they pay no income tax. So who wouldn’t want something for nothing?
If the base did not turn out, then the base deserves what it is going to get in the next four years. If the base did not turn out, then we 9-12′ers did not do our job.
The base, some, but not all stood on the sidelines and watched. Honestly in many cases Romney became the lesser of two evils and for some of the real conservatives they just said sorry not his time. I don’t know who did or din’t turn out, but one thing is really clear, there are many unresolved problems that were ignored by the democrats and Obama and now they own the show, so, in two years if they don’t produce another earthquake will be felt. I jhust think there are a lot of differnt scenerios that will play out and because the democrats really have no plan, I suspect, things will get worse.
Or, it means that the Dems hacked the voter machines so that every 100th or 100th Republican vote was switched to Democrat. That would account for larger than expected Democrat turnout and far lesser than expected Republican turnout. Hmmmm….
Highly, highly doubtful. I wish our problems were that simple.
First of all, everyone knew when Romney was the candidate that he was going to lose. Why? You don’t have to be a genius to understand that if Romney could not beat a weak candidate like John McCain, how on earth could Romney beat Barack Obama? You Republicans are fools. Let me spell it out again. Romney could not muster up the votes in 2008 and lost to a weak candidate by the name of John McCain. The Republican Party is disorganized and made up of a bunch of ignorant coneheads. The Republican Party hires young, arrogant, college students that are lazy and do not act like they have a vested interest in winning the election. Take a look at the people that work as poll workers and poll judges, and they are senior citizens that saw many wars and actually are veterans of foreign wars. Why doesn’t the Republican Party hire Tea Party people that would volunteer to go door-to-door, make phone calls, place rack cards on cars in church parking lots, or work for the Romney Campaign to be Poll Observers? The reason is that the Republican Party did not want to join hand-in-hand with the Tea Party. Can anyone tell me how many Tea Party meetings, Mitt Romney spoke at to shore up his base? Let’s face it, The Tea Party was able to pass the Healthcare Freedom Amendment in Ohio and get several CONSERVATIVES elected throughout the nation. Yet, the Republican Party refused to support and actually stopped any CONSERVATIVE candidate such as Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann, or Herman Cain from winning the nomination. Why? Because the Republican Party cannot stand CONSERVATIVES. The Republican Party refuses to believe that Ronald Reagan, a CONSERVATIVE, won two terms. Come to grips with reality, Republicans, and quit being fools. The Republican Party refused to touch the issue of Abortion or Same-Sex Marriage and told everyone to keep their mouths shut about these issues. So, what did Obama do? He was on the offense and made this election about Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage, and Contraception. Why? Because he had nothing else to run on and he knew that the Republicans did not want to debate these three issues. The other problem is that Barack Obama purchased cell phones, “Obama phones”, for all of those 47% on some kind of assistance or entitlement program. He also bought Obama phones for college students so he could Tweet and/or contact them with messages such as, “Steal yard signs”, “Get in the face of your opponents”, “Get out and take part in Early Voting”, “Cheat by voting several times and by using false names or dead people through absentee ballots, early voting, and voting at the polls”. Obama and Biden went to all of the community colleges and universities especially in Ohio and inferred that Obama would forgive their Student Stafford Loans. Why didn’t Romney go to two year colleges and universities? College students and those 47% that are on some type of entitlement program just loved the message that Obama was going to forgive their loans and give them “FREE” things such as Obama phones and a free education. Obama’s campaign and the Democrats showed the students how to take out the Student Stafford Loan and use the extra money not taken by the university to purchase whatever they wanted and then told them they did not have to pay back the loan. Where were the Republicans when the President was purchasing cell phones for people and paying for their cell phone service with taxpayers’ money? Do citizens really need cell phones to exist on this earth? Why didn’t the Republican Party throw a stink when the Obama campaign was literally purchasing votes from citizens when it is against the law? When are the Republicans going to start showing that they have a backbone? In addition, when Romney won the first debate, why didn’t he come out and take on Obama in the 2nd and 3rd debates and challenge him about Benghazi and all of the lying to the American people that Obama engaged in for the last 4 years and everyday of his life? Actions speak louder than words and just like Rush Limbaugh mentioned, Obama’s followers are not going to fire a man that acts like Santa Claus. Obama is Santa Claus with the taxpayers’ money and just think, he played the game of being President in 2008 with his followers believing that he was the “Savior”. It hasn’t been a bad gig for Obama going from being the “Savior” to “Santa Claus” in 4 years.
Liberty vs. perceived economic security. The argument for economic security paid for by others wins every time. It is an existential issue for every human being. Economic security in the USA with all of its entitlement goodies is far more enticing than an abstract notion of liberty. This is the problem… how to articulate the benefits of liberty(economic & social governance) over the immediate and/or future fears and insecurity of ones livlihood and expected standard of living.
It will be interested to see how things go in the near future. President Obama promised to get the job done if he could get another four years. We all know that’s not going to happen. America’s economy will continue to slide deeper in debt. All those “poor” folks that voted for Obama will only get poorer. The college graduates will still be more unemployed than employed,…and …you get the picture.
The Blaze has an article about all the companies that are laying off employees or closing stores/factories. More unemployment and more food stamps.
Fortunately my faith in God has not wavered, and I trust that He is still in control. Without Christ in my life, this stuff would be pretty depressing.
It’s not all bad, in Medina County all our Republicans were reelected, and Jim Renacci beat Betty Sutton in the 16th US Congressional District.