Operation Demoralize, the attempt to convince you that conservatism is dead, that you live in a media cocoon, that you are incapable of learning, and that your pundits lied to you, is dominating the media.
But are the quick and easy answers — just say Yes to illegal immigration, higher taxes, creeping socialism — based on the reality of why the election was lost?
Someone clearly outside the supposed “conservative media complex” suggests that the reasons being peddled for the loss are not accurate, or at least not the full story.
Andrew Kohut, head of the Pew Research Center, writes in The Wall Street Journal, Misreading Election 2012 (h/t Hot Air):
Postelection talk of “lessons learned” is often exaggerated and misleading, and so it is in 2012.A week after President Obama won re-election, two themes are dominant. First, that Mr. Obama kept his job because key elements of his base—notably young people, African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans—turned out for him. Second, that the growing size of these voting blocs represents a decisive challenge for the Republican Party.Both points are true, but most observers are overstating the gravity of the GOP’s problem. In particular, they are paying too little attention to how weak a candidate Mitt Romney was, and how much that hurt Republican prospects.
The notion of a sea change towards liberalism simply is not justified by the numbers, according to Kohut:
Despite their weak candidate, Republicans increased their share of the presidential vote among many major demographic groups. Compared with 2008, they made significant gains among men (four percentage points), whites (four points), younger voters (six points), white Catholics (seven points) and Jews (nine points). Mr. Romney also carried the independent vote 50% to 45%. Four years ago, independents voted for Mr. Obama 52% to 44%.Republicans can take some solace from these gains. In addition, only 43% of voters this year said they wanted an activist government (compared with 52% in 2008), and 49% continued to disapprove of Mr. Obama’s health-care law (compared with 44% approving).In short, the current American electorate is hardly stacked against the Republican Party. But Republicans should recognize that, on balance, Americans remain moderate—holding a mix of liberal and conservative views. They generally believe that small government is better and that ObamaCare is bad. But the exit poll shows that 59% believe abortion should be legal, 65% support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and a surprising plurality support legalizing same-sex marriage in their states.Threading the ideological needle with this electorate is vital for the Republicans in the future—and for the Democrats, too.
None of this surprises me. People with ulterior motives want you demoralized and to capitulate. Don’t do it.
Here’s a good reason why — look at this sequence of electoral maps provided by The Blaze. Compare the massive landslides of the past — FDR and Reagan — with the relatively paltry win in 2008 and 2012 by Obama. Things change over time, but enduring principles should not.
Do not capitulate.
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