We were out-smarted by Team Obama, no doubt about that.
But wherein lies the blame?
Michael Patrick Leahy at Breitbart.com exposes one possibility, the role of highly-paid, highly-connected consultants, Romney Campaign Paid $33 Million to Two Consulting Firms With Ties to Key Staffers:
The Romney campaign spent an estimated $356 million between January 1, 2011 and October 17, 2012 in its unsuccessful effort to defeat incumbent President Barack Obama.According to Federal Election Commission documents, as reported by OpenSecrets.org, $33 million of this amount was paid to two consulting firms with ties to key staffers at both the Romney campaign and the RNC.Targeted Victory LLC, a Minnesota company with executive offices in Virginia, was paid $17 million for digital communications by the Romney campaign. FLS Connect LLC, an Arizona corporation with headquarters in Minnesota, was paid $16 million for voter contact and telemarketing services. Again, this is through October 17th, the final amount is likely much higher.Based on press reports and publicly available business incorporation documents, it appears that three individuals had control of these funds: Tony Feather and Michael Beach at Targeted Victory LLC; Tony Feather and David James at FLS Connect LLC.Significantly, key staffers at both the Romney campaign and the RNC have close recent ties with both firms.
There’s much more at the link.
Erick Erickson called it The Incestuous Bleeding of the Republican Party:
The fifth floor of 66 Canal Center Plaza reveals a tangled web of incestuous relationships among Republican consultants who have made millions all while the GOP went down the tubes. Here the top party consultants waged war with conservative activists and here they waged war with the Democrats. On both fronts, they raked in millions along the way with a more fractured, minority party in their wake. And they show no signs of recognizing just how much a part of the problem they are.
We were successful in 2010 because of the combination of a strong grassroots Tea Party movement and financial backing to make that effort successful.
That model — not the top-down consultant model — is the answer in 2014 and beyond.
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