TARGET THE MEDIA..TARGET THE MEDIA
Posted on 12/01/2012 12:07:46 PM PST by smoothsailing
December 1, 2012
Frank Fleming
So what lessons should Republicans learn from the 2012 election? I don’t think anyone other than me has thought to ask this question, as Republicans tend not to be very analytical. But I think the answer is pretty obvious when you look at the failure of their presidential candidate this year and the one in 2008: Republicans need to stop nominating right-wing extremists like John McCain and Mitt Romney.
Obviously, the two most recent Republican presidential candidates were far too extreme to the right to be elected by the American public. They were constantly seen in the company of numerous Republicans and conservatives (one was even seen hanging around Sarah Palin) and often praised them instead of denouncing them. Also, they reveled in the racism of the Republican Party (especially in their racist stance on taxes) and sometimes said positive things about Republicans’ stances on social issues. And worst of all, they were actually opposed to the election and reelection of the first black president and occasionally even criticized him.
So it’s no wonder that so much of the country was absolutely repulsed by these people. By reading any news source like the New York Times, you could see how terrified the average person was of having those extremists elected. If the Republican Party doesn’t want to continue being hated, it needs to finally give up on its right-wing radicalism exemplified by McCain and Romney and plan to have in 2016 a perfect candidate who will not be so offensive to Democrats.
I speak, of course, of the legendary Super Squish. The one the Republican elite speak of in hushed whispers as the prophesied one to lead the party away from extremism. This is the ultimate candidate the Republicans need for 2016.
So what is he like? First off, the Super Squish will not spend a lot of time criticizing Democrats, as he should be far too busy disparaging his own party. I mean, lately, the party has been filled with white people critical of a black man, and this ultimate candidate needs to take on that racism in his own party to show he’s not a part of it. His first campaign speech should be something like, “Shame! Shame on all of you! I am disgusted to be a Republican because radicals have taken over the party and constantly attack the president! Can’t we get over race?” Some tears would be nice, too. And in the rest of his speech he should studiously avoid all the codewords Republicans use for “I hate black people”, such as “cut taxes”, “reduce spending”, and “USA! USA!”
And the Super Squish is someone who doesn’t just automatically reject every idea because it comes from a Democrat. In fact, to show he’s open-minded, he might even embrace some of his opponents’ proposals. Better yet, he might even be a vocal advocate for some of their ideas… or even like them more than Democrats do. If he could get Democrats to say things like, “I do like raising taxes on the rich, but that Republican candidate wants to go too far with it,” that would be perfect.
Furthermore, the Super Squish is someone who won’t lose votes on social issues. He’ll never bring them up, and if Democrats bring them up, he’ll immediately capitulate to what they want to keep those issues from being problems. And maybe he can support them on some things to show he doesn’t agree with those scary religious Republicans. Ideally, he himself will be an abortionist. This would certainly keep women voters from being frightened of the Republican candidate; they love abortions.
Also, the Super Squish will not be another one of those Republicans who mindlessly invoke Ronald Reagan and instead will really chastise the Republican Party’s love for him. He’ll tell Republicans, “Reagan would be ashamed of the Party as it is today. Also, I’m ashamed of Reagan, because he’s not as great as everyone pretends and was actually quite divisive. Yes, everyone likes him now, but they shouldn’t. So let’s never mention him again except to say how ashamed he would be of today’s GOP.”
Similarly, the Super Squish will take on the religious wing of the party that pushes it to extremism. “The only things I believe without question are things that people in white lab coats say,” he’ll lecture the religious nuts. “If Jesus didn’t warn us about climate change, then maybe He wasn’t that great a messiah. So let’s never mention Him again except to say how ashamed He would be of today’s GOP.”
And I guess the Super Squish can support some conservative idea to shore up the base a little… like what’s a really harmless right-wing idea? Balance the budget? No… that implies some severe spending cuts. Anyway, this perfect candidate will have some sort of conservative idea he’ll favor… but he’ll only mention it if a reporter really presses him on why exactly he is a Republican at all. And he’ll be profusely apologetic about it, knowing that mentioning it might hurt the feelings of people who disagree with him.
Finally, this Super Squish will not be a minority or a woman, as it’s highly offensive to them to imply that one of them would actually be a Republican.
So who is this Super Squish? We don’t know yet, but we’d better start looking now. Start with any Republican allowed to speak on MSNBC. And we must have him ready for 2016 before the wingnuts start to rally around another far-right disaster like McCain or Romney. If the Republicans have finally learned their lesson, they’ll embrace the Super Squish, and the Super Squish will in turn keep them at arm’s length so as not to appear too Republicany. And while the Super Squish won’t win the presidency (beating a Democrat is racially insensitive to their numerous coalitions), he’ll run a campaign so inoffensive to the left that they’ll pat us on the back and say, “You ran an honorable campaign, predominantly white people.”
Ah, it will be nice to hold our heads up high again.
Next time, In a nod to bipartisanship, Republicans should reach across the aisle and nominate a Democrat. We couldn’t be worse off.
After being on this site for some years, I have become prolife. Maybe not quite the conversion of Saul into Paul on the road to Damascus, but close.
I support pro-life candidates in Maine all the time!
All I am saying is that we need candidates that can stay on message-when we get off message the Rats and the MSM make the candidate the issue.
Do you think it was helpful to bring the issue of witchcraft into the Senate race in 2010? I don’t.
Republicans need to stop nominating right-wing extremists like John McCain and Mitt Romney. Obviously, the two most recent Republican presidential candidates were far too extreme to the right to be elected by the American public.This is pretty funny, and looks ridiculous, but no moreso as when people (including FReepers) say the opposite.
TARGET THE MEDIA..TARGET THE MEDIA
It was 2010, in 2012, Santorum ran for president although he had lost his Senate seat by a bigger margin than O'Donnell's embarrassing loss.
Santorum lost by 17.4% to O'Donnell's 16.7%, yet he was the incumbent Senator.
As I recall, O’Donnell’s told a light-hearted funny story when she was a young woman, on a TV show (Bill Maher I think) about 20 years before she was involved in politics. It was anecdote about some silly thing she had done as a teenager, having a picnic in graveyard or something like that. Bill Mahar then dredged up that 20-year-old old video when she was running for the senate.
Look, I'm not saying any of these candidates were wrong on the issues. They are correct on the pro-life, limited government, reduced spending and deficit positions. They just made stupid blunders, they said stupid things that the media killed them with. The 'Rats say stupid things all the time (example: Biden) and have the wrong positions on the issues, but it doesn't hurt them because the media gives them cover, and they promise largess to the sheeple, and that trumps any stupid gaffes the 'Rats make.
Bingo.
Unless the GOP gets off this “export every job” nonsense, the GOP will cease to exist.
STOP EXPORTING AMERICAN JOBS.
She also was right in a local debate with Combs about the constitution but the media (wrongly, of course) ridiculed her and the sheeple were not familiar enough with the constitution to see that she was correct and their golden boy was wrong.
Exactly my point, even seemingly harmless remarks can be taken out of context and blown out of proportion when a conservative runs for office. Mahar dredged up the video, G.W. Bush’s DWI made public the weekend before the election
and so forth and so on.
Were you aware that the Republican state organization for Delaware actually refused to support Christine?
She did not bring up the witchcraft quote - that was brought up by the MSM. She was asked the question and she responded honestly. She lost because DE stabbed her in the back. :)
I was and thanks for reminding all of us of the lack of support she received. I will never forget the attacks on Christine O’Donnell by Rove et. al. That is a big difference between Democrats and Republicans. The Rats want to win and even if a candidate was flawed would say noting. Pubs on the other hand, well you are spot on with your observatons.
Santorum was a sitting Senator who got humiliated in a voter rejection debacle that made the history books.
Christine was a never elected candidate, who didn’t win after her party had campaigned against her, for instance Rove, who went on TV the night of her primary win and dumped all over her, Rove got in front of the cameras for that entire week, to dampen any effect or momentum she should have had coming from her primary victory.
Santorum made election history as a Senator, Christine has never held office.
“O’Donnell just said something stupid (like Allen and Akin and Mourdock) that gave fodder to the ‘Rats and the media, and was taken way off message by having to deal with it.”
Sure, 20 years prior to running and the media savaged her for it.
It’s not enough to merely earn more votes than previous. You have to hit a moving target. Population growth has increased in the last four years.
Santorum brings exactly what Romney brought to the table. 11 states. He had blowouts in Oklahoma and in Missouri.
We spend all our time talking about his electoral failures and none about his electoral successes.
No one is the gaffe machine that Mitt Romney is, and it helped cost him the presidency, Akin won in a close to equal, three way split in the primary, and evidently can’t handle discussing his own favorite issues, I guess the same can be said for Mourdock, Mourdock by the way, was the only senate candidate that Romney endorsed and campaigned for, Akin had the GOP campaigning against him, like some GOP candidates did in 2010.
Santorum though, is in his own category, he didn’t lose his senate seat by 2 or 6 points, it was by a history making 17.4%, it was a colossal wipe out, epic, he must have said something wrong to get driven from office and become the laughing stock of the nation.
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