We Got Beat
When you lose something -- a wallet, an election, money, a lover -- you ask yourself this question: did I lose it, or was it stolen?
Last night, we lost. No one stole it from us. We lost it.
Some thoughts:
1. It goes without saying -- I hope -- that Barack Obama, as painful as it is to admit, is the President of the United States for the next four years. I wish him well. He's my president, too.
2. Let's face facts: Nate Silver, the polls, the "establishment media" -- they were all right. It wasn't about weighting or poll skewing. They were right. We engaged in wishful thinking. We were in a bubble. Last night, that bubble was popped. The major polls called it close, and it was close. Barack Obama won about one half of one percent more of the popular vote than Mitt Romney. But that was enough. Mitt Romney may have won the popular vote, but the Electoral College map tells a different story: it was about population-center votes, not about enthusiasm or which side was more energized. They outsmarted us. We outsmarted ourselves
3. Last night was a complete and systemic failure of the Republican party -- both at the national and the state level. The DC-based Republican establishment couldn't deliver a victory -- couldn't deliver Florida. The state-level Republican operation failed, too. For example: in Missouri, a state that should be solidly Republican, the state operation nominated an ill-prepared, out-of-touch clumsy gaffe-machine for the Senate -- Todd Akin. Romney carried the state. But Claire McCaskill won a major victory. We forced our side to split the ticket. We muddied our message. The Republican party failed.
4. More facts to face: the media is liberal. The news organizations are liberal. They protected their candidate. And it worked. But that's part of the hand that we conservatives have been dealt. That ain't gonna change. We need to figure out a way to win despite the fact that we're swimming upstream in the culture. Whining about it isn't going to get us to a solution.
5. Latinos and women voted big for the other side. Either we figure out a way to connect with those groups, or persuade them to our side, or we're going to be a very small part of the national political scene and getting smaller all the time.
6. Our side drinks too much Kool Aid. We watch Fox News and think we're winning the rest of the country. But Fox News is at most a 3 million viewer proposition. Last night, each side garnered about 48 million votes. Each side.
7. We can't rely on the establishment Republicans. We can't rely on Fox News. We can't rely on talk radio. We can only rely on ourselves. We need -- all of us, especially here on Ricochet -- to connect with each other, keep each other informed and energized, and persuade our neighbors and friends. We need to evangelize the rest of the country that doesn't agree with us. We need to win the country back.
8. We need to win the country back. Not take it back. Win it back through argument and engagement and debate. Win it back by articulating our key principles, persuading more Latinos and women to our side, and evangelizing the rest of the country.
9. Forgive me for this plug, but I really mean it: the conversations and engagement on Ricochet, and the passionate and articulate members here, are the future -- maybe the only future -- for our side.
10. If you're not a member of Ricochet, today is a very good day to join. The slow march back begins now. And it begins here.
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Comments:
Apr '11
Re: We Got Beat
It definately was a slap in the face. But, my daughter is 20 and she understands what is going on. That is what gives me hope. When her government teacher in high school said "a little socialism is a good thing" I knew what she was being taught wasn't what I had been taught years ago.
We have to question, we have to articulate our beliefs. We have to do and live as we want the world to be as well. And we must require that others don't get away with half thought out ideas. They need to have to defend their positions. In order for us to press this, we must also know how to defend our own.
The worst of the night is recognizing that Juan Williams was more correct then I was....what can I do to prevent this terrible reality in the future?
Oct '11
Re: We Got Beat
Completely agree with you. This loss should be a clarifying moment for the center right. We lost the election because we lost the culture years ago.
Making the argument for the conservative worldview to the unconverted has become like talking to someone from another dimension. They have a different view of history, sociology, theology, human nature- every one of the fundamentals that make up a worldview derive from pop culture soundbites and lessons learned during a group project from an activist teacher.
We really have to stop playing our cards so close to our chests and be willing to become radicals and subversives. We have ceded the fundamental pillars of society to the left for decades and are now reaping the consequences. We have to take back Education, higher and lower, in the class and in the administration. We have to take back large swaths of the church that have been turned into a progressive social club. We have to infiltrate pop culture on every level and use it to push our worldview- by way of true effective storytelling.
We've ceded so much integral ground comforting ourselves with the promise of a silent majority and now it's gone.
Edited on November 7, 2012 at 7:33amNov '12
Re: We Got Beat
I was trying to avoid joining Ricochet and figured that if Romney won, I could afford to be complacent since the right folks would be in charge. Well, he didn't.
So conservatives have to stay attentive, remain in the fight, and try not to cede ground on battles to come. "Never give up, never surrender."
Apr '11
Re: We Got Beat
One thing is for sure: Obamacare is a permanent part of American government. One third of the US national economy is about to be nationalized. And it's permanent.
Let that sink in.
Aug '12
Re: We Got Beat
Keith Keystone: Rob,
Before we do more persuading, Republicans need to first realize that Americans vote on emotion rather than policy preferences. They are not influenced by 5 point economic plans. They vote for the candidates who they feel culturally connected with.
The youth vote and minority vote went overwhelmingly for Obama, but yet they are the ones who have the highest unemployment rate. And they still voted for him.
Republicans need to put down the pie-charts and the wonky policy talk, and find candidates who have the ability to connect with people on an emotional level.
Reagan connected with people on an emotional level, and THEN he persuaded them. It is a lesson we have forgotten.
We need more Marco Rubios and Chris Christies, and fewer Romneys and Gingriches. · 10 minutes ago
Spokesmen matter far more now than ever. For us to rebound, we must unite around charismatic figures whom we would NEVER feel ashamed to hold our heads high with. Rubio and Ryan are tremendous starts. Our ideas need to be palatable, but our messengers (faces that come to mind) need to be folks that are easy to empathize with even if you've never voted Republican
Feb '11
Re: We Got Beat
Frozen Chosen
God speed, my friend. Israel is in for some very hard times. I'm ashamed to say that the US probably won't have your back, given who our president is. · 3 minutes ago
It's worse than that. It will be hostility. You will shoot down our bombers.
Mar '12
Re: We Got Beat
Rob Long: 4. More facts to face: the media is liberal. The news organizations are liberal. They protected their candidate. And it worked. But that's part of the hand that we conservatives have been dealt. That ain't gonna change. We need to figure out a way to windespite the fact that we're swimming upstream in the culture....
5. Latinos and women voted big for the other side. Either we figure out a way to connect with those groups, or persuade them to our side, or we're going to be a very small part of the national political scene and getting smaller all the time.
To me, Point 5 is answered by Point 4.
I've never met any anti-woman, anti-hispanic/black/minority Republicans, nor do I see them on these boards.
I am sure there are such people, just as I am sure there are Democrats who hold such views living life and posting on the Daily Kos.
The media tells everyone, however, that Republicans are racist, anti-woman, etc. And that the Democrat party is not. Until we counter that, we lose.
Aug '10
Re: We Got Beat
I think we all knew that the end of our great Republic would come sooner or later - we just hoped it would be later.
The problems we face are too systemic to reverse. I will outline in more detail tomorrow on the member feed.
EJ, wrassle us up a good graphic to illustrate a tipping point.
May '12
Re: We Got Beat
Rob, what bothers me most is simply this: We are not a free country anymore. Not with John Roberts' betrayal and America's apathetic affirmation last night. We may live in a good spot in the world, but we aren't free. Not in principle And less and less so in practice. If the majority is happy to throw that away, I must say I am at a loss.
May '12
Re: We Got Beat
Persuasion is a worthy goal.
But remember that Jesus did not persuade everyone he met or spoke to about his Message. Plenty of people rejected Him. He stated what He had to offer, the benefits of it, and the costs of rejecting it.
Some people need to be persuaded by Life. Let Life reward or punish them for their wise choices or their foolish ones.
We need to take care of ourselves first. And take care of the people nearest and dearest to us.
That is not a Bubble. That is a family. That is a community.
When people call me with seriously skewed expectations of what they can rent or buy, I say I will call them when something comes up. And since I already know nothing will come up, I have no need to call them.
So, I hope that the next Republican candidate for President will state more openly and persuasively from the outset that things have to change, and why they have to change - and use what happens over the next 4 years to illustrate his or her arguments.
And I anticipate a close election in 2016 too. Because too many people won't listen.
Aug '12
Re: We Got Beat
Jeff: One thing is for sure: Obamacare is a permanent part of American government. One third of the US national economy is about to be nationalized. And it's permanent.
Let that sink in. · 1 minute ago
I wonder which massive entitlement will go bankrupt first.
Mar '11
Re: We Got Beat
Tabula: In a way, this is my fear. We don't need more talk shows or more ranting tv hosts. We have to put that behind us. Glenn Beck isn't James Madison--and we'd do ourselves far better to read and reread the latter (and his teacher, Montesquieu), and ignore the former, and organize on Ricochet.
If the time of tribulations is coming for us, then there is no time to waste on the petty and we must turn toward the higher.
Rob: I think you're basically right. There's going to be a lot of discussion about why we lost the American people--and that discussion should be had--but they are lost. If the country can be won back (and that is a very big if), we must make the case. If it cannot be won back, then, happily, our preparation for making the case will at the very least keep that case alive in us.
But, as I said on the chat, the American public's "default setting" is no longer for less government. 'Fundamentals' failed because they aren't fundamental anymore.
Jan '12
Re: We Got Beat
Sorry, my American friends. Today you became just another country.
Mar '11
Re: We Got Beat
Jeff: One thing is for sure: Obamacare is a permanent part of American government. One third of the US national economy is about to be nationalized. And it's permanent.
Let that sink in. · 6 minutes ago
That's exactly why I said, earlier tonight, we are no longer a republic.
We are now a social democracy.
Aug '12
Re: We Got Beat
Voting truly is an emotional exercise. We need people who can get elected and then get the job done.
On the issue of the long slog back, less stinging rhetoric on the immigration issue plus removing our opposition to homosexual drives for equal treatment in civil unions would truly reintroduce us as an alternative to undecided folks. I know far too many people who write us off since we cannot relate on these two issues. Even being anti-abortion does not cause the same looks of indignation as saying that there should be a federal ban on gay marriage. Remove the foulest smelling odors and you get far more people to smell the roses on your side (and then hopefully like what other things they see!)
Apr '11
Re: We Got Beat
Romney's concession speech was heartbreaking to me. He lost, but he's a far better human being than the man who won.
Feb '11
Re: We Got Beat
Frozen Chosen: I think we all knew that the end of our great Republic would come sooner or later - we just hoped it would be later.
The problems we face are too systemic to reverse. I will outline in more detail tomorrow on the member feed.
EJ, wrassle us up a good graphic to illustrate a tipping point. · 2 minutes ago
The way it works is like this.
1. Obamacare, taxes and regulations mean people do not invest and do not hire.
2. Government says "You should be creating jobs."
3. Investors say "Not under these conditions."
4. Government says "You are un-American. You have resources the people need. We will take them from you and use them to benefit the people."
No one will put a stop to it. Everyone says "We must obey the law." (I am listening to Bill Whittle at this moment and he is talking about how we must never break the law, no matter what. Certainly no revolution.)
Oct '12
Re: We Got Beat
Mr Long,
I am the soon-to-be-gone obnoxious liberal shill on richochet so my endorsement means nothing here. But your post shows what a wise and prudent man you are. I hope your brethren take you thoughts to heart and move forward to make this great country of ours even greater. The conservative cause is not dead, by the time 2016 rolls around many in the country will be looking for a change. The question is whether the Republican Party will listen to reasonable voices like yours or regress further into isolated extremism. If they choose the latter, they will continue to suffer defeats like tonight.
Aug '10
Re: We Got Beat
All this foolish talk of getting back up and fighting etc is silly. We are now a social democracy. No longer a republic. Stop with the Pollyanna thinking! Get used to Obama. More like him coming!
Aug '10
Re: We Got Beat
Rob Long:
3. Last night was a complete and systemic failure of the Republican party -- both at the national and the state level. The DC-based Republican establishment couldn't deliver a victory -- couldn't deliverFlorida. The state-level Republican operation failed, too... We forced our side to split the ticket. We muddied our message. The Republican party failed.
I don't know if you realized it, but if this is true (and I had the same idea as I watched the numbers roll in), you have explicitly sounded the end of the Big Tent.
The party machinery has long been the justification for various wings to vote GOP, and ignore the disagreements not covered by their overlapping ideologies. For example, small-l libertarians like Ron Paul can accomplish more within the GOP's structure than by pitching in with the big-L Libertarians. Same with social conservatives who also like the economic handouts of "social justice", tax hawks who favor liberal social policy, etc.
But if that machinery is ineffective, or can't amplify one's message properly, there is no reason to stick around.