ah, I see.
And yet for all the brilliance that Newt supposedly has, he never figured out how to campaign for the “idiot” voters, who it appears clearly now make up a majority of the Republican Party.
It’s time to admit the obvious. Conservatism is in the minority. Even if we make up 40% and liberals make up 21%, the squishy 39% of Moderates that don’t want to be called “liberal” are still liberals.
It’s ridiculous. The GOP under the current nominating rules will never be able to elect a conservative...again. The moderate/RINO will always out perform in the cities and suburbia, then get crushed in the same areas in the General Election.
There are two ways to win idiots’ votes.
One is to produce a well-funded and relentlessly negative campaign, spreading lies about your opponents and fanning all sorts of imaginary fears about them.
The other is to pretend to represent some sort of morally superior ideal, and to play identity politics until neither your record nor your policy positions actually matter.
Romney has generally taken the first route, and Santorum the second, though you can bet that behind the scenes Santorum is actively encouraging the “Newt is a baaaaaaaad man” narrative.
The primary reason Newt lost is because people are idiots. Some are conservative idiots, and some are liberal idiots, but 75% of voters in this country will listen to whichever side has the most ads, whatever the facts. They will tolerate lies, posturing, misrepresentation, and cliches— but they are deathly allergic to ideas. Newt refused to let his values and policy positions be reduced to sound bites, even sound bites like “I have cute kids; vote for me.” That may have been a tactical error given the current political climate, but it demonstrates that he was the strongest candidate in the race.
You and your fellow Santorum fans may feel a smug sense of moral satisfaction for “voting your conscience” this season. But all you’ve done is guarantee Obama a second term.
The GOP under the current nominating rules will never be able to elect a conservative...again.
A conservative can still win if there is only one in the race from the beginning. Most moronic voters think this is a horse race and it’s your job to vote for the one who will win even if you don’t like him.