Why Angle Lost

Pajamas Media ^ | November 6, 2010 | John Ransom

[only1percent]

A Republican campaign has several disadvantages in ensuring an adequate GOTV effort when opposing a union-Democrat GOTV effort.

First, it's just not something we do that often. Most Republican districts have a low percentage of union workers and poor, densely-populated neighborhoods that are union-Democrat GOTV fertile fields. Morever, the unions and Democrats are fighting elections in their core territories all the time, not just when they have high-profile Republican opposition -- state elections, local elections, and Democrat primary elections where unions and left-leaning interest and afinity groups fight each other over who can seats that are safe in November.

Second, unions are a ready source of volunteer labor which can be plugged into a logistical and communication network easily, in part because unions are full-time, year-round operations with a real system of incentive and advancement for those who do well. There's simply no analogy on the Republican side. Rove's famous 2004 effort had some of its greatest impact becuase it co-opted conservative Evangelical churches, who offered a comparable set of characteristics: lots of people, already acquainted with one another and organized, and the logistical and communication networks that come from being full-time and year-round. The Tea Party certainly was not an Evangelical church movement and I don't know that we can easily go back to the 2004 movement with the Democrats sure to be challenging the non-profit status of churches they see to be out of line, and the marked political moderation which has become trendy among Evangelical pastors.

Finally, and this has to be said, there is a very large corps of union-Democrat campaign professionals who make their living from organizing and running great GOTV operations. By contrast, Republican campaign professionals make their livings almost exclusively from commissions on ad buys and mailings. There's a huge incentive to flow the marginal dollar in a direction which generates commissions rather than otherwise.

[Mariner]

"Instead, the loss was a product of simple logistical failures by the Angle campaign, failures they often were unwilling or unable to understand."

BS

The reason Angle lost is solely attributed to the fact that Angle said some pretty stupid stuff during the campaign. I'm not talking about wrong/incorrect etc.

I'm talking stupid.

Actually more stupid than the stupid stuff Dingy Harry was saying...

Nevada had to choose between two really bad options. I suspect some conservatives just couldn't pull the trigger for Angle, not because she was wrong on the issues...she had that part right...but because she would be an embarrassment as an elected official at that level.

[Duchess47]

Angle did a good job of convincing the voters and eventually Republicans in elected positions that she was a loose cannon. People came out to vote against her.

[laconic]

I got the impression that Angle won the GOP Primary then did something close to nothing for the next three weeks which allowed Reid to paint her with the “extremist’ brush and other filth while these trashy charges remained unanswered. Angle did very well on fundraising and in the debate, but I believe it was a mistake to for her to talk about excluding some reporters from a victory party (this gains no votes that aren’t already there and it makes the candidate look small; you’ve got to be magnanimous and like Reagan, laugh with them which will irritate the media even more). I really don’t believe in the vote fraud/machine tampering claims — if there was such a discrepancy it would have emerged with the voter exit polls which were on target. I do believe there was extreme voter intimidation by the Reid campaign, outfits like the casinos (I will never patronize Harrah’s or MGM again) and their allies in the “labor” union movement. But there is an advantage in having stumbling old man Reid (he looks even older and more physically decrepit than his age would indicate) and the dingbat Pelosi as the “new faces” of the Dem congressional party. They are obviously the presenters of an out of date, discredited ideology that is producing ridiculous levels of unemployment in states such as Reid’s Nevada (14+ percent) and Boxer’s California (12+ percent). One thing we have to insist on is NO bailouts for California or any other state with profligate spending and unfettered public employee unions.

[r9etb]

A very good analysis, but the real key is this sentence:

They shunned experienced activists (and advice), creating an “us against them” attitude in the GOP community.

This encapsulates the primary weakness of the entire Tea Party movement: a refusal to be organized, and an active shunning of the "RINOs" and "elites."

Well, "RINO" apparently means nothing other than that a person doesn't share your enthusiasm about a particular set of issues. And where political organization is concerned, "elites" can be translated as "people who are successful."

A good organization that could maintain their candidate's discipline, would have made a huge difference in Colorado or Nevada. The Angle (and Buck) campaigns apparently shunned the professionals for ideological reasons, which was just stupid .... but then, had they actually won their races, that ideological attitude would probably have led to Angle (and Buck) being ineffective in DC, anyway.

[r9etb]

I got the impression that Angle won the GOP Primary then did something close to nothing for the next three weeks which allowed Reid to paint her with the “extremist’ brush and other filth while these trashy charges remained unanswered.

I think it's worse than that.... during about the same time, she made a series of remarkably stupid gaffes that played right into Reid's strategy.

[NoRedTape]

No mention of the Unions in Reid’s win? Wasn’t that the only reason Sharron lost?

[TMA62]

“.....The extremists are in charge in the RAT party...the ones who are leaving are the more conservative members.”
___________________________________________________________

That will mean that there will be more hard-left extremists in charge of the democratic party. The democratic party will not be able to mirror the electorate and simply not be able to maintain its size and collapse. The DNC is a socialist party but now, the mask has been removed. It is going to be very hard to hide it especially when you have leaders like Obama-Reid-Pelosi and their ilk in charge.

I believe you are correct in the Tea Party gaining strength. But I also believe that what the democrat party is doing now is simply not sustainable.

[USSR Didnt Fall]

This blow out was all about conservatism the others just came along for the ride.

[rscully]

"here is the real story from my relatives in reno: harry reid came from behind on the last day because of two actions angle had no way to oppose: (1) his furious ground game (gaming industry support, union arm twisting, free food, free taxis to get out the vote, and on and on). and (2) because most of the nevada republican establishment were actively knee-capping her, resulting a significant enough portion of rank and file republicans not turning out and/or voting against her for reid. in other words, reid won because he had a ground game and sharron angle was denied one by her own party. reid won because the much of the republican establishment was actively working for reid (check the endorsement for reid by the repub mayor of reid, for example)."

I'm 100% with you on this. I was on the ground helping Angle in Reno and this was the crap we were encountering constantly. On the positive side, this campaign exposed all the RINO's in the party, including party leadership. The next step is to roll up our sleeves and take them (the trash) out in time for 2012.

p.s. I can't figure out how to take italics off...crud.

[gleeaikin]

Re “tampered voting machines”.

If I recall correctly after the Florida hanging chads mess there was a big push to give Diebold (a company very conservative politically) big contracts for voting machines. However, it was quickly shown how easy it was to subvert these machines electronically.

Regarding executing good plans, a famous military person whose name I don’t remember said something like “the plan goes out the window the minute the first shot is fired.” Thus experience and flexibility become key factors in winning which apparently Angle’s group lacked.

[keepitreal]

But in a well-run campaign, you find things for volunteers to do because you have structured things where there are lots of productive tasks to be done, and you don't want your volunteers striking out on their own - everything I did was at the approval of the campaign managers, I NEVER just did stuff on my own as to possibly do something that contradicted with the direction and message of the campaign...

So true. I was the volunteer coordinator for a US Senate campaign once. People WANT to work for you and your job is to find good work for them to do. There is nothing worse than saying "We'll call you when we need you" and never getting back to them. They then are put off and really have no concern for your candidate. Call them often - even with small jobs to do that further the effort. People volunteer because they want to work - they are enthusiastic. Don't dampen that by ignoring them because you have tons of money for ads. The last two cycles I have contacted many campaigns trying to volunteer - telling them I will do mailings, walk precincts, make phone calls. To a campaign, no one gets back to me. Campaigns love donors, but they have forgotten that boots on the ground make the difference. I'm in Colorado, and I think that's why we're losing the big elections - we're being out-hustled by the dems.

[Reverend Wright]

r9etb wrote:

“This encapsulates the primary weakness of the entire Tea Party movement: a refusal to be organized, and an active shunning of the “RINOs” and “elites.” “

I agree with this. This reminds me of the Perot campaign as well.

A movement like the Tea Party is in trouble if it equates competence and a history of success as “elitism”.

[LTC.Ret]

For the past however many years, cash registers all over the country have printed out a receipt for the patron while keeping a log report within the machine. This is OLD technology, which could easily work in a voting machine as well, I would think. That way, a voter would have a “receipt” of their votes and could challenge the machine if, for instance, they voted for Angle and the machine changed it to Reid. The votes could be checked by the log for a recount, and the number of votes could be easily counted, especially if each item was numbered like most cash registers number transactions now. If WalMart can do it, then our voting machines can do it. The only reason anyone would object, it seems to me, is that they don’t want their cheating stopped by technology!!!

Oh, too, I think the ballots and associated paperwork is supposed to be turned in by one hour after the polls close in most if not all states. If it wasn’t turned in properly and on time, I don’t think it should count at all. NOT ONE SINGLE VOTE. If the voters are disenfranchised, their beef is with the dingbat that didn’t turn in their votes. Ballots found in a closet, or in someone’s trunk several hours or the next day would be good for kindling but nothing else. That would help to make our much more secure and honest.

[Tzimisce]

This looks like a job for Captain Hindsight!

[muawiyah]

All you need is what is called “an audit trail” ~ a “paper trail” means little more than finding a ballot box filled with the votes we need to win.

[LTC.Ret]

I would personally be the first one to sign up for “a top-notch conservative organization that will essentially be a free school and consulting firm for first-time candidates. It needs to help in everything from hands-on grassroots organizing, to messaging, to hands-on staffing” -— if and when one is identified, please let me know ASAP!!! Thanks!!!

[gogeo]

I don't think the RATs mirror the electorate now. The success of the RAT party is the triumph of packaging over content, the ability to sell a lie.

The GOP will reflect the TP or the TP will become a new political party. It won't take long, one or two election cycles.

If Palin runs in 2012 and the Empire strikes back, the GOP will not survive 2012 intact.

As for the RATs...a cr@p sandwich on rye still tastes like cr@p. The problem isn't the packaging, it's the product...and the product will not change.

IMO, the TP can be the majority party for 30 years if they run as fiscal conservatives, and DO NOT TOUCH social conservatism.

I believe that will get us where we want to go, because the entitlement class will not survive the death of welfare programs and shrinking government...and social liberalism will not survive the death of the entitlement class.

[gogeo]

The reason Angle lost is solely attributed to the fact that Angle said some pretty stupid stuff during the campaign. I'm not talking about wrong/incorrect etc...

Again...in regards to something with as many moving parts as a political campaign, success or failure is never about just one thing.

[hampdenkid]

I’m working on it. I’ll keep all Freepers posted!