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It’s Not the Message, It’s Not the Messenger, It’s the Voter
http://frontpagemag.com ^ | January 21, 2013 | Bruce Thornton

Posted on 01/21/2013 3:47:03 AM PST by lowbridge

Nearly 3 months after the presidential election the Republicans are still trying to fix what they think went wrong. A popular culprit is the Republicans’ alleged failure to communicate forcefully or persuasively a message that would move voters presumably receptive to conservative policies and principles. Just in the last week Jonah Goldberg, Daniel Henninger, Ari Fleischer, Ross Douthat, and Karl Rove have worked variations on this theme. Yet we should remember that any act of communication comprises not just a sender and a message, but also a receiver. We need to focus on the nature of America’s political “receivers,” the 65 million who voted for Obama in the November election, and the 93 million registered voters who didn’t vote. If those voters are not receptive to the Republican message, it doesn’t matter much how brilliant the messenger or the packaging of the message.

And that “message” has been out there for years now and constantly repeated. Only the stupid or willfully inattentive haven’t heard that we face a financial abyss waiting at the end of our entitlement road, that entitlements need to be reformed, that we have an exploding debt and deficit crisis, that a “tax the rich” policy only produces chump-change for solving that problem, that Obama’s economic policies have bloated the federal government at the expense of jobs and growth, and that Obama himself is the most left-wing, duplicitous, partisan, and incompetent president in modern history. And conservatives have identified repeatedly the bad ideology and flawed assumptions that have generated the policies that created those problems. The fact is, many voters know full well this dismal catalogue of failure, and they either don’t care, or they believe the fatuous rationalizations, lies, excuses, and economic magical thinking offered by the Democrats.

(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: voters
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1 posted on 01/21/2013 3:47:04 AM PST by lowbridge
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To: lowbridge

It’s who counts the votes that matters.


2 posted on 01/21/2013 3:54:17 AM PST by Edgar3 (Don't THREAD on me!)
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To: Edgar3

The 93 million registered voters who didn’t vote didn’t vote because there was no difference between the Republicans and Democrats................that’s why.


3 posted on 01/21/2013 4:09:07 AM PST by DH (Once the tainted finger of government touches anything the rot begins)
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To: lowbridge

Might help if they tried putting forward a conservative platform along with candidates that truly believe in it.


4 posted on 01/21/2013 4:10:39 AM PST by Kadric
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To: lowbridge

It is the message and the messenger. A slow transition to socialism led by the father of RomneyCare and the grandfather of ObamaCare is a hard sell. Maybe, if we nominate a genuine conservative who articulates conservatism, the voters will understand and approve of the message. Note: A Massachusetts liberal who describes himself as “severely conservative” does not count.


5 posted on 01/21/2013 4:15:40 AM PST by Pollster1
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To: lowbridge

6 posted on 01/21/2013 4:18:22 AM PST by ASA Vet (314th MI Bn (CEWI) / 207th MI Bde / VII Corp)
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To: Kadric

The vast majority of voters dont care, can’t be bothered to listen or pay attention because it interferes with their American Idol, Kardashian narcosis....


7 posted on 01/21/2013 4:22:19 AM PST by Kozak (The Republic is dead. I do not owe what we have any loyalty, wealth or sympathy.)
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To: DH

yep...

I find it amazing that these pubs can and will point their fingers in every and any direction, but refuse to look in the mirror...


8 posted on 01/21/2013 4:23:02 AM PST by joe fonebone (The clueless... they walk among us, and they vote...)
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To: lowbridge

Three issues as I saw it:
1.The low information voter: the ones who are normally smart but just don’t pay attention outside their own lives. Yeah, they should pay attention and be passionate but they are not...at least about politics anyway.
2. Conservative purists: argue as you will but Romney did not get as many votes as McCain. Had he done so he would have won because zero did not get as many as HE did the first time either. The wave of discontent fell short.
3. Romney tried to coast the last few weeks....his polls were wrong and he did not hit hard enough at critical issues. Ben Ghazi, the coming fiscal cliff, all manner of issues he could have but did not push hard enough.

Now we are stuck with this evil clown and his posse for at least 2 years[midterms to try and flip the senate...won’t happen in my estimation] and certainly 4 before we can be rid of him.

God help us all.


9 posted on 01/21/2013 4:24:30 AM PST by Adder (No, Mr. Franklin, we could NOT keep it.)
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To: Kozak
Kardashian narcosis....

And its related disease with almost identical symptoms, NFL-itis.

10 posted on 01/21/2013 4:25:01 AM PST by abb
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To: Kozak

“The vast majority of voters dont care, can’t be bothered to listen or pay attention because it interferes with their American Idol, Kardashian narcosis....”

The vast majority of so-called conservatives dont care, can’t be bothered to show up at a local village council meeting, attend a school board meeting or run a constitutional sheriff in their county because it interferes with their kitchen remodeling, worshipping mammon and barbecuing burgers.


11 posted on 01/21/2013 4:34:08 AM PST by sergeantdave (The FBI has declared war on the Marine Corps)
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To: Adder
Conservative purists: argue as you will but Romney did not get as many votes as McCain. Had he done so he would have won because zero did not get as many as HE did the first time either.

This is incorrect. From fec.gov - Romney received 60,932,152 votes in 2012; McCain gathered 59,948,323 votes in 2008.

12 posted on 01/21/2013 4:37:57 AM PST by willieroe
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To: Adder

When you nominate someone afraid and unwilling to use the only media outlet you control to get your message out, you have a recipe for disaster.


13 posted on 01/21/2013 5:07:01 AM PST by planesman
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To: willieroe

Then I stand corrected. Thank you for the info....mine was old apparently.


14 posted on 01/21/2013 5:15:32 AM PST by Adder (No, Mr. Franklin, we could NOT keep it.)
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To: abb
And its related disease with almost identical symptoms, NFL-itis.

Followed by 9 months of MLB itis

15 posted on 01/21/2013 5:26:24 AM PST by southern rock
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To: lowbridge
Big surpise, voters are attracted to free stuff and services that are largely paid for by no-one, created money.

Republicans would never try to play this game if they had the WH for eight years would they, like expanding an already broke entitlement without paying for it, while passing huge tax cuts?

If the economy was booming and the deficit shrinking in 2008 we would be having a completely different conversation. Then most voters would believe it works.

16 posted on 01/21/2013 5:31:23 AM PST by sickoflibs (Losing to O is NO principle!)
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To: lowbridge
'The Medium Is The Message' by Marshall McLuhan.

"they believe the fatuous rationalizations, lies, excuses, and economic magical thinking offered by the..." media.

The Dems pander to the stupid, young and female and the media helps them- because those are the demographics advertisers pay for. Those demographics rule America, their desires control the political discourse as they do the entertainment choices because the advertisers want them watching their commercials.

Hail McLuhan!

17 posted on 01/21/2013 5:33:16 AM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat Party!)
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To: lowbridge

This is about the decline of the American public. A corrupt political system is the result. And it’s going to get progressively worse, simpy look at the shifing demographics.


18 posted on 01/21/2013 5:40:19 AM PST by ryan71 (Water, food and ammo.)
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To: mrsmith

‘Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, ‘ is the correct title of McLuhan’s book.

The wiki entry isn’t a bad start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message

“McLuhan describes the “content” of a medium as a juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.[8] This means that people tend to focus on the obvious, which is the content, to provide us valuable information, but in the process, we largely miss the structural changes in our affairs that are introduced subtly, or over long periods of time.[7] As society’s values, norms and ways of doing things change because of the technology, it is then we realize the social implications of the medium. “

Advertisers determine TV’s audience and hence everything it does.


19 posted on 01/21/2013 5:44:58 AM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat Party!)
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To: sergeantdave
The vast majority of so-called conservatives dont care, can’t be bothered to show up at a local village council meeting, attend a school board meeting or run a constitutional sheriff in their county because it interferes with their kitchen remodeling, worshipping mammon and barbecuing burgers.

The vast majority of conservatives don't encourage their children to get liberal arts degrees. They don't encourage professions such as education. They don't encourage their kids go to film school or persue careers in production or directing. Don't major in creative writing. Don't bother with courses in comedy writing. Forget acting. Stay away from Hollywood. Just get that job that will yeild immediate income and upward mobility. Better yet, go to Wall Street.

Then we wonder how the rest of the population became indoctranated.Because we just let them.

20 posted on 01/21/2013 5:46:14 AM PST by southern rock
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