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Why Democrats may keep the Senate
New York Post ^ | 10/08/2104 | John Podhoretz

Posted on 10/08/2014 8:09:00 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

[SNIP}

So why aren’t Republicans sitting pretty? The answer, I think, is far more technical than ideological. Democrats are vastly superior when it comes to the mechanics of American politics, and have been for nearly a decade, while the GOP’s technical skills have withered since 2004.

President George W. Bush was re-elected in ’04 with a vote total 22 percent larger than in 2000, in part because the GOP harnessed the power of volunteers to get out the vote block by block in key states.

Democrats, who’d begun to master the use of the Internet as an organizing tool in 2003 and 2004, saw what the Bush campaign did and realized they could duplicate those efforts and then blow them out of the water using then-nascent social-media and mapping techniques.

These began to bear fruit in 2006, were crucial to the Obama 2008 primary victory and subsequent landslide — and made all the difference in 2012.

The great triumph of Obama’s re-election was his campaign’s success at turning out so-called “unenthusiastic voters” — people who would, if pressed, pull the lever for the guy but who were unmotivated to do so.

If Democrats do better in 2014 than the fundamentals suggest, it’ll be because they’ve been able to bring these techniques to bear on the midterm electorate, which has always been significantly smaller and far more engaged than the presidential electorate.

But why couldn’t the Democrats press their technical advantage in 2010, when Republicans won 63 seats in the House and nearly 700 down-ticket races across the country?

The answer: Technique doesn’t mean everything. When the electorate wants to send a message to Washington in no uncertain terms, as it did after Obama’s legislative overreach in 2009 and 2010, the message will be sent.

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


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2014issues; 2014midterms; democrats; elections; goppickups; senate
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1 posted on 10/08/2014 8:09:00 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Given the massive, high dung pile the DemoRats and Obama have created, and what they have do TO America and its people, the Repubs have a winner.....now, will they just give it away?

They have a habit of giving away elections....


2 posted on 10/08/2014 8:13:45 AM PDT by EagleUSA
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s because moderate big business interests bought out the party from the conservative voter.


3 posted on 10/08/2014 8:14:07 AM PDT by struggle
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To: SeekAndFind

When you refuse to fight back or in any way defend yourself, people believe your opponents’ lies.

When you agree with your opposition that your base is a gaggle of ignorant racist boobs, your base sits out the election.

When your message is, Me too—just a little slower, it’s hard to get people motivated.


4 posted on 10/08/2014 8:16:01 AM PDT by Jeff Chandler (Conservatism is the political disposition of grown-ups.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The Rats also use the courts to block voter ID, clean up voting rolls, and other logical steps to avoid fraud. Add to that motor-voter, same-day registration, etc. and the GOP has a 5-7% disadvantage going into election day.


5 posted on 10/08/2014 8:18:04 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
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To: struggle

The GOP offers no message, no vision, no plan on what they would
do with power, if given power. Democrats bad, Harry Reid evil will not
be enough. Americans also need a reason to vote for, not just against.


6 posted on 10/08/2014 8:18:07 AM PDT by tennmountainman (True conservatives don't like being rained on by their own party!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Hard not to be pessimistic after how the R party “threw away” the last two presidential elections.


7 posted on 10/08/2014 8:18:41 AM PDT by faithhopecharity ((Brilliant, Profound Tag Line Goes Here, just as soon as I can think of one..))
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To: SeekAndFind

Because of Mississippi and because the ‘Pubbbies are offering such crappy candidates and platforms?


8 posted on 10/08/2014 8:19:03 AM PDT by Little Ray (How did I end up in this hand-basket, and why is it getting so hot?)
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To: SeekAndFind; 2ndDivisionVet

See CATALIST: Obama’s Database for Fundamentally Transforming America http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3205517/posts


9 posted on 10/08/2014 8:19:23 AM PDT by omega4412
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To: SeekAndFind
Democrats are vastly superior when it comes to the mechanics of American politics, and have been for nearly a decade, while the GOP’s technical skills have withered since 2004.

Democrats do anything to win. Lie, cheat, steal, voter fraud, recounts, invasions of privacy, obfuscation, misuse of the criminal and civil legal system to destroy opponents, trumped up false witnesses for character assassination - absolutely anything, whether legal or moral.

And Democrats stick together. They will ALWAYS support the illegal and immoral activity of another Democrat to propagate their vile agenda. No deviance is too repulsive and no crime too heinous if it causes a fellow America hater to win.

Conservative Republicans cannot habitually lie, cheat, or steal without becoming Democrats.

10 posted on 10/08/2014 8:19:25 AM PDT by LucianOfSamasota (Tanstaafl - its not just for breakfast anymore...)
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To: SeekAndFind

Great candidates like Thad Cochran should overcome Democrats’ technical advantages.


11 posted on 10/08/2014 8:21:41 AM PDT by Uncle Miltie (Proud to be Attacked by the GOPe daily!)
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To: EagleUSA

The ONLY way the GOPe “wins” is because they have the most favorable election map in a generation. The fact that this is even up in the air makes this a disaster of epic proportions regardless of the outcome in Nov.


12 posted on 10/08/2014 8:21:41 AM PDT by RIghtwardHo
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To: SeekAndFind
the GOP harnessed the power of volunteers to get out the vote block by block in key states.

The GOP has completely alienated their conservative base. If the national party is going to call conservatives "racist" and bus in illegally-voting minorities to make sure a corrupt milquetoast wins his GOP primary, then it really is a bit much to ask those same conservatives to knock on doors and get out the party vote.

Until there are changes at the national level, the GOP is dead to me as an entity. I vote for conservatives, not Republicans.

13 posted on 10/08/2014 8:21:54 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: SeekAndFind
It's because a vocal, immoral, minority learned how to take advantage of a silent, morally principled, majority.

Without a hardcore, out-of-character response, Saul Alinsky tactics will continue to rule the day.

Control the message(media/academia)and you control the people.

14 posted on 10/08/2014 8:27:25 AM PDT by RckyRaCoCo (Shall Not Be Infringed)
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To: SeekAndFind

Democrat voters are all told if they know what’s good for them and they want to keep those government checks coming, they had better get to the polls.


15 posted on 10/08/2014 8:29:07 AM PDT by centurion316
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To: EagleUSA

They have a habit of giving away elections....

*************
Yes, and its not so much of a technical issue as it is the lack of messaging. What do the Republicans stand for? Does anyone have any idea?

Its hard to win anything when you have no foundation to win on.


16 posted on 10/08/2014 8:35:30 AM PDT by Starboard
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To: SeekAndFind

Because the democrat machine affords every voter with 1.35 votes.


17 posted on 10/08/2014 8:37:37 AM PDT by blackdog (There is no such thing as healing, only a balance between destructive and constructive forces.)
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To: SeekAndFind
Bottom line, the Dims won't "win" the mid-terms, the GOP and Rove will LOSE them and lose big.

We have the most incompetent boob in the WH in our lifetimes. IMHO he's easily wrested that distinction from Jimmy Carter, so the elections should be a walk. The fact that the GOP is floundering spells disaster. For Christ's sake! the man is practically importing ebola into the country, and the GOP has no message to combat him?

We are doomed as a nation, and we deserve the slavery we're getting.

18 posted on 10/08/2014 8:38:22 AM PDT by YankeeReb
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To: RckyRaCoCo

It’s because a vocal, immoral, minority learned how to take advantage of a silent, morally principled, majority.

**********
That majority is also lazy, complacent and apathetic. Those with the greatest desire usually win. The strong win, the weak lose.


19 posted on 10/08/2014 8:39:04 AM PDT by Starboard
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To: LucianOfSamasota

The Democrats have always had a vastly superior ground game, at least has far back as I can remember.

It helps tremendously when you have an army of PAID union workers to help get out the vote on election day, whereas the GOP has to rely primarily on volunteers to help with its GOTV efforts.

It helps when you have the public school teachers, college professors, most of the media, and the entertainment community on your side and most of the billionaire political fundraisers on your side. The Dems win overwhelming in all of the richest zip codes in this country.

Further, the Dem vote in this country is highly concentrated in dense urban areas. Many of the precincts in these areas have few, if any Republicans, and there is little or no bipartisan oversight supervising the voting in these precincts. And of course lax or no voter ID laws in most of the blue states.

In addition most of the big cities are run by Democrat political machines which work hand in glove with unions getting the vote out and with so little GOP representation in most of our inner cities, there are endless opportunities for cheating and fraud in these one-party strongholds.


20 posted on 10/08/2014 8:39:29 AM PDT by Trapped Behind Enemy Lines
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