Posted on 11/20/2013 8:36:34 AM PST by JerseyanExile
Rather than doubling down on the “just get to 270″ strategy that’s been utilized by the GOP since 2000, the Republican Party must expand the map if it ever wishes to win another presidential election. Instead of just hoping that Virginia will magically turn red again, the GOP needs to focus on other traditionally Democratic states that have nonetheless moved rightward since 2000.
Using the year 2000 as a baseline, since it was the most recent closely contested race with near-even get-out-the-vote operations between the parties, I wanted to see how the close and swing states (anything decided by a margin of fewer than 10 points) have drifted since then. I started with just the raw margins of these states in 2000, scaled on their +R margin of victory.
The next map takes the contested states shown above (i.e., those that are not solid red or solid blue) and then scales them based on their relationship to the overall popular vote. A redder/pinker state gave Bush a larger margin than he received nationally, while a bluer state gave Gore a larger margin than he received nationally (purple states roughly mirrored the national popular vote). As the map shows, the middle third of the nation was an electoral hot zone, the West Coast wasn’t yet monolithically blue (nor was the Northeast), and a handful of southern states were surprisingly competitive.
(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...
GOP next priority should be shutting down RAT “voter FRAUD.”
That was one thing Howard Dean got right (but for the wrong side). Put up a fight in all 50 states.
It is in Michigan and its making a difference. Its the result of electing a solid secretary of state who takes it seriously.
The last four presidential elections have been pretty bad for Republicans. I mean 2000 we barely won. Heck even 2004 we barely won. Of course we know that 2008 was a disaster for us and then 2012 was a dang shame but we still got stomped. We definitely need a new plan. We need to get some purpleish states to go straight red instead of blue. If Virginia is lost then we need to make Colorado or Ohio definitely red again.
I agree.
I mean we have a guy that is strangely called the architect that gave us a hanging chad election, another squeaker, and subsequent loses which I have no doubt he had a hand in.
Quit fighting for the middle, and start fighting for the country.
Michigan is a top target, and in within the next decade, as Chicago starts to empty like Detroit due to bankruptcy, Illinois. Makes up somewhat for Virginia. Also need to work on Florida. Not sure what went wrong there last time.
The Dems have such an advantage, with Cal, NY and Ill locked, that’s a 104 point lead before the game begins.
Delegates at the GOP convention in Michigan voted to support getting rid of our winner take all electoral system and giving candidates votes only from congressional districts won.
If it wasn’t so serious it would be funny. The GOPe is getting all twisted like a pretzel to try to find a way to win without conservatives on board. They’ll never out-Dem the Dems but they try anyway.
They foolishly think everyone wants a handout and no one values life, liberty, freedom, and a fair shot at rising as high as their abilities and guts will take them.
They know what to do and say to win, they just refuse to face facts.
I would think the first step would be to quit nominating candidates that negate your strongest campaign positions.
In 2008 McCain took amnesty out of play.
In 2012 Romney took Obamacare out of play.
Maybe this time around the GOP could actually try to nominate a candidate that can go after key Dem weaknesses?
between vote fraud, the moron vote and the MSMwhores pimping the demhole candidate, there will never be another Republican president.
The democrat union ATM should be a major target. States going with RTW laws create festering wounds that just get worse over time.
“If Virginia is lost ...”
VA is not lost. McAuliffe only won 48/45. The legislature is republican.
The electoral map is daunting for the right. As stated by another poster, the last four have not been good for us. Even though we won 2 of the 4. 2000 was a squeaker, and 2004 was a solid win but too close considering the candidates and a popular president post-9/11. We didn’t advance in hardly any states from 2000 to 2004. There are a slew of states we should compete in, from Iowa to Ohio to Colorado and Virginia where we cannot seem to win.
We do need new strategies. The pessimist and realist can say the field is simply tilted against us. That’s with the status quo. The optimist with a degree of realism sees we won nearly 50 states in 1984 and 1988. There is something other than demographics that have changed the playing field to that degree in a relatively short time. Some of it is enviromental, some is self-inflicted (moderation, spending issues, wars). Some are factors that can be turned.
“. There is something other than demographics that have changed the playing field to that degree in a relatively short time. “
Free Obama phones ...
Minnesota isn’t red, blue or purple. It really is independent. It was only a few years ago we had a republican house, senator, and governor. We regularly elect republican US senators.
True we always go democrat for president but part of the reason for that is republicans don’t campaign here. They run a few ads and call it good. They just cede it to the democrats.
I agree in part with you. I saw a county by county election map of governor's race in VA and it was a sea of red. This bodes well for the GOP in the legislative races which are contested on a district basis. It does not bode well for statewide races such as governorship or the presidency where a few urban districts can out vote the rest of state due to sheer numbers. Demographic trends are not the friend of the GOPe.
It was our RINO state a**hat GOPe chairman Rob Gleason who lobbied against it before it ever got out of committee. Had it passed, BO would have had to have spent a lot more time in Pennsylvania, hampering his ability to campaign in Ohio, Florida and Virginia.
It is inexplicable to me how Gleason still has a job after putting his own selfish power ahead of the national GOP.
How close is Michigan into making it a reality?
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