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The Phrase That Lost Romney the Election
RCP ^ | 11/23/2012 | Heather Higgins and Alex Cortes

Posted on 11/23/2012 2:11:34 PM PST by SeekAndFind

What if we told you that the election was decided by a phrase?

You might not believe it, but assume we’re right for a minute. What word would you guess decided the election? Hurricane Sandy?

The answer lies in perhaps the single most illustrative exit poll question conducted, where CNN asked “What is the most important candidate quality to your vote?”

The response options were “Strong Leader,” “Shares Your Values,” “Has a Vision for the Future,” and “Cares about People.” Among folks that chose one of the first three responses, Mitt Romney won between 54-61% of their vote. But, among folks who chose “Cares About People,” Romney lost dramatically – 81-18%.

“Cares about you” is the single phrase that lost Romney the election. Those for whom empathy was the most important candidate quality clearly did not get a sense that he cared about people and worse, many eventhought he was antagonistic towards many Americans. Why was this so?

Romney’s business career, which was the central argument for his candidacy in an election dominated by the economy, was turned into a weakness by the left and the Obama campaign early on, with them portraying his experience leading Bain Capital as one of the opposite of care: harm. Laying people off, taking away their pensions, and destroying communities, Mitt Romney allegedly brought all of these across America.

The Bain attacks were less about vilifying Wall Street (though that too) and more about conveying the message “he’s not like us, he doesn’t care about us.”

Many voters bought into this early portrayal of Romney as one who does not care for people. Others, who did not quite buy into it, still held it as a potential lens through which to consider his future actions and statements.

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


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 47percent; care; coldfish; election; empathy; ifeelyourpain; romney
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To: SES1066

Special interests, elites:

http://www.wnd.com/2008/02/56745/

I would take nothing for fact, verify everything, I’m not trusting wnd implicitly. It’s just a highlight overview - but it shows the basic idea.

Big money interests from the political left and money-only camps feed Congress everything it passes.


101 posted on 11/23/2012 5:08:31 PM PST by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves.)
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To: FreeReign

Without doubt, the social security collecting age group, is the most republican voting age group.

While no one can define what the heck Mitt meant with his 47% gaffe, one of the popular definitions, is that it means, those collecting a government check.


102 posted on 11/23/2012 5:09:52 PM PST by ansel12 (The only Senate seat GOP pick up was the Palin endorsed Deb FischerÂ’s successful run in Nebraska)
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Ideally, we need every member and regular user to contribute to keep Free Republic up and running strong.

103 posted on 11/23/2012 5:13:47 PM PST by RedMDer (May we always be happy and may our enemies always know it. - Sarah Palin, 10-18-2010)
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To: A'elian' nation; muawiyah
You guys get it...

...absolutely, we need a new tax system, preferably, a NST type of tax...

....but, as long as we are stuck with the progressive income tax that we have, the very least that should be done before someone's vote counts is to show a lifetime of positive tax payments. Just saying that payroll taxes count...absolutely does not count.... since they are supposedly paying for a couple of bankrupt "entitlement" programs.

..I want what Pres Zer0 wants...for everybody to pay his fair share....and that means that everybody must pay something...

104 posted on 11/23/2012 5:19:19 PM PST by B.O. Plenty (Give WAR a chance.......)
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To: ansel12

They are today. Or I mean they have in the past few years. Giving you what you think you want is not always a good idea. Unfortunately, America is getting what it wants now.


105 posted on 11/23/2012 5:44:46 PM PST by taterjay
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To: JediJones
Again, Romney was an obviously bad candidate from the get-go. No intelligent, informed, conservative Republican had any excuse for nominating him.

I contend that no "conservative republican" did nominate him, it was more that we failed to nominate one of our own. We've yet to figure out a way to keep a half dozen fairly conservative candidates from vying for the top spot against one well heeled liberal and make no mistake, Romney was, is and always will be a liberal.

It didn't help that Hannity, Coulter, Rove, et al were pushing liberal Romney from the git go.

Unless the system is changed radically, we'll have a repeat in 2016, it is inevitable.

106 posted on 11/23/2012 6:01:23 PM PST by Graybeard58 (What G.O.P.e. candidate is in store for us in 2016?)
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To: taterjay

My post 72, “”Did teacher give us Romney/Obamacare and take our guns away, and try to give us gay Scout leaders and convince us of the importance of being pro-abortion, and tell us why homosexuals need to share foxholes with us?””

Was a description of Mitt Romney’s politics and positions.


107 posted on 11/23/2012 6:05:14 PM PST by ansel12 (The only Senate seat GOP pick up was the Palin endorsed Deb FischerÂ’s successful run in Nebraska)
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To: A'elian' nation
I hate the MSM too...why don't we just "buy" one of them?

I'm serious....

108 posted on 11/23/2012 6:07:08 PM PST by B.O. Plenty (Give WAR a chance.......)
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To: Monty22002

“Anyone that believes any government agent or any politician ‘cares about you’ is too stupid to live, much less vote.”

Apparently not dumb enough to parasitically subsist thou.

The left did an Evil thing when they demonized Mitt for bain capital’s activities, even Bill Clinton recognized their propaganda as such. But Obama no more recognizes ethical restraint than he does a private sector job.

To Obama the world revolves around government, that is unbenounced to his victoms force, fire, the gun, and the sword. To drive people into this trap he must demonize freedom itself, convece people to place their trust into him & the politicians that follow him rather than their own individual choices.

This of course is not an argument they can win when framed as such, so they must see to it that it is never framed as such.

We on the other hand should frame it as such by forcing people to think about what Government really is, and what private enterprise really is as an ateritive. To do that we must dispel their complicated private concerns and shine a light upon their individual choices instead.


109 posted on 11/23/2012 6:07:35 PM PST by Monorprise
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To: EternalVigilance

You are the one who helped elect Obama, not me.


110 posted on 11/23/2012 6:08:50 PM PST by Conservativegreatgrandma
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To: madameguinot

A nice trip down memory lane from 2008 election...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1971234/posts

It’s fascinating looking back, IMHO.


111 posted on 11/23/2012 6:10:02 PM PST by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Romney is a stiff. Who the hell wants to vote for a stiff.


112 posted on 11/23/2012 6:12:26 PM PST by gotribe
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To: Conservativegreatgrandma

In this conversation, there’s only one of us who supported a liberal, and it’s not me. I don’t support liberals.


113 posted on 11/23/2012 6:15:30 PM PST by EternalVigilance (America's creed: Our rights come from God, not men. Governments exist to secure those rights.)
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To: ansel12

That is true. Many of us voted for that too. So, many are participating in giving America what it wants. The question is can this be changed? Probably not, until we say I do not want any more of this. We are pretty weak right now.


114 posted on 11/23/2012 6:16:13 PM PST by taterjay
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To: B.O. Plenty
Social Security is not bankrupt ~ and the US government owes it $6 trillion bucks. Should you want to put an end to it least you could do is refund the money currently in there to the folks who paid it.

I"m sure you could find somebody else to loan you $6 trillion ~ (LMAO)

115 posted on 11/23/2012 6:22:31 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: EternalVigilance
Tom, I know your heart is in the right place but you just got done reelecting the Marxist/Muslim Obama and you're trying to tell me that I am the only one supporting a liberal.

Get a life. You have no conscience--only an ego.

116 posted on 11/23/2012 6:23:26 PM PST by Conservativegreatgrandma
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To: Venturer
Your statement captures the thought I had as to why people would turn to Obama as someone who “cares”. I mean, I know how the sheeple could have been duped by the media's caricature of Romney as “uncaring”, but why would anyone think Obama “cares”? Here is a guy who voted against legislation that would have allowed medical intervention for survivors of the abortionist's knife. How “caring” is that? Obama basically left four of our fellow citizens to be brutally murdered and dragged through the streets of Benghazi and lifted nary a finger to help them. How “caring” is that?
117 posted on 11/23/2012 6:25:48 PM PST by chimera
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To: FreeReign
SSI is a government administered pension program. In theory it should not be considered "government assistance" because people pay into it

SSI recipients need never to have worked a day in their lives. You may be confusing it with regular retirement Social Security.

SSDI is Social Security Disability and requires a work history to collect.

118 posted on 11/23/2012 6:29:53 PM PST by Graybeard58 (What G.O.P.e. candidate is in store for us in 2016?)
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To: A'elian' nation
federal taxes ~ that means Subtitle A—Income Taxes (§§ 1–1564), Subtitle B—Estate and Gift Taxes (§§ 2001–2801), Subtitle C—Employment Taxes (§§ 3101–3510), Subtitle D—Miscellaneous Excise Taxes (§§ 4001–5000C), Subtitle E—Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes (§§ 5001–5891)

Each of these categories of federal taxation goes on at the citation to list a myriad of federal taxes that fall within the category selected.

NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE escapes federal taxes in this country!

The original claim was about federal income taxes levied on individuals ~ not just federal taxes in general, or taxes in general ~ least you can do is use the 47% claim as originally meant and not this made up thing that people out there are not paying taxes ~ that's just stupid. This is America, not the Khalihari desert where they run around dressed in penis shields and killing small game with small arrows! Those guys don't pay taxes ~ we pay taxes!

119 posted on 11/23/2012 6:33:48 PM PST by muawiyah
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To: SeekAndFind

It was the root of an unrealized argument about fairness. Unforgettably it was framed as something different

This line out of the article struck me as most enlightening:

“Haidt’s research further elucidates the particular importance of care as a moral foundation. His study of anthropology and evolutionary theory led him to the conclusion that humanity possesses six moral foundations: care, fairness, liberty, authority, sanctity, and loyalty. In over 130,000 individual interviews on how relevant each of these moral foundations are to determining right and wrong, Haidt found that conservatives respond to each of them whereas the center and the left appreciate essentially only two: care and fairness. “

If any civilization only cared about perceptions of “fairness” and preceved concern by political leaders (about them) rather than concepts of liberty, authority, sanctity, and loyalty. Then its only a matter of time & men before such a civilization falls under a despotic tyrant time and time again. (very much like Mexico’s history) It is very easy to for a carasmaic man to convince people he cares about them & their problems while also advocating policy’s under trumped up notions of fairness(you just demonize whatever side you want to take from as having stolen from you, like the Jews or the “rich” or “wallstreat” or “whites”).

What is scary about this is it means when whites do become a minorty(politically) they will not be treated as present minortys but rather scaped gloated by the new majority and persecuted.


120 posted on 11/23/2012 6:36:52 PM PST by Monorprise
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