Slog Comments
Cathy McMorris Rodgers Doubles Down
1
Obama's campaign had an entire team of quantitative advisors tracking every metric possible with respect to voter outreach, registration, and messaging. And it was a nationwide coordinated team.
Rmoney's campaign was disjointed, not well coordinated, and not effective at digesting the numbers and developing actions to increase the numbers.
The republicans lost on their message, and they lost on their methods.
Expect them to cynically retain their message but cannily adopt the scientific tactics that Obama's team used. The republicans will not change, they will learn what worked for the progressives and adapt those methods to sell their narrow-minded baloney.
They won't change. They'll just fake the appearance of changing, and with the deep pockets behind them bankrolling the effort, they will make it appear very, very convincing.
Rmoney's campaign was disjointed, not well coordinated, and not effective at digesting the numbers and developing actions to increase the numbers.
The republicans lost on their message, and they lost on their methods.
Expect them to cynically retain their message but cannily adopt the scientific tactics that Obama's team used. The republicans will not change, they will learn what worked for the progressives and adapt those methods to sell their narrow-minded baloney.
They won't change. They'll just fake the appearance of changing, and with the deep pockets behind them bankrolling the effort, they will make it appear very, very convincing.
2
See, I still wouldn't necessarily mind a Jon Huntsman presidency. Especially if there were a Democratically controlled Senate.
I think he'll make another bid for it in 2016. The question is whether he'll be able to beat out Bush and Christie for the "I'm the best former Republican Governor so you should nominate me to be the President!" schtick.
I think he'll make another bid for it in 2016. The question is whether he'll be able to beat out Bush and Christie for the "I'm the best former Republican Governor so you should nominate me to be the President!" schtick.
3
I think she recognizes that if you want your party platform built around the destruction of programs aimed at old people, then you can't have an electoral coalition comprised mostly of old people. The GOP needs to either ditch the oldsters or ditch the small government.
So, go after young (i.e. modern) folks by promising them smaller FICA deductions. Its a perfectly plausible strategy.
So, go after young (i.e. modern) folks by promising them smaller FICA deductions. Its a perfectly plausible strategy.
4
What she seems to be saying is that there is nothing wrong with the conservative message, but rather their own internal machinations regarding winning elections.
Essentially, the Southern Strategy no longer works, so they need a new way to trick voters into voting for the GOP, against their own interests.
It is essentially what Fox has been saying since the election, that conservatives have the winning message, but American voters are too faulty, lazy, brown, female, young, or stupid to realize it.
Massive denial.
Essentially, the Southern Strategy no longer works, so they need a new way to trick voters into voting for the GOP, against their own interests.
It is essentially what Fox has been saying since the election, that conservatives have the winning message, but American voters are too faulty, lazy, brown, female, young, or stupid to realize it.
Massive denial.
6
The Republican party doesn't talk to people about political perspective or policy. They talk about culture. They are not a party of fiscal conservatives, or political conservatives. They are a party of social conservatives.
They capture the votes of the shrinking portion of the population who are members of the American monoculture while losing the votes of everyone who embraces multi-culturalism, which, of course, includes everyone who is excluded from participation in the American monoculture: Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Jews. It also constrains women.
The Republican party can become a meaningful political party again when it asserts itself as a political party instead of cultural party. The social conservatism is actually antithetical to their political conservatism, but has been a marriage of convenience for them. They have adopted the social conservatism to build a larger coalition and win those votes.
The nation's urge to march back to 1955 weakens with each passing year. The nation's fear of multi-culturalism fades with each passing year as well.
Representative McMorris Rodgers is right if by "modern" she means multi-cultural. If she's just talking about using Twitter and Facebook, she's stuck in the bubble of delusion and denial.
They capture the votes of the shrinking portion of the population who are members of the American monoculture while losing the votes of everyone who embraces multi-culturalism, which, of course, includes everyone who is excluded from participation in the American monoculture: Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Jews. It also constrains women.
The Republican party can become a meaningful political party again when it asserts itself as a political party instead of cultural party. The social conservatism is actually antithetical to their political conservatism, but has been a marriage of convenience for them. They have adopted the social conservatism to build a larger coalition and win those votes.
The nation's urge to march back to 1955 weakens with each passing year. The nation's fear of multi-culturalism fades with each passing year as well.
Representative McMorris Rodgers is right if by "modern" she means multi-cultural. If she's just talking about using Twitter and Facebook, she's stuck in the bubble of delusion and denial.
7
I expect they will remain ideologically frozen in time for the next decade. You will never convince them to change the party platform one iota.
8
@ as they still can't seem to understand why women are repulsed by their Sarah Palins they will probably try to cheap copy the dem infrastructure and nominate some Cuban or Black'ish completly unqualified hack for the VP slot.
9
I don't expect that may Stranger readers ever make it past Snoqualmie Pass, however the eastside population has changed. It's Latino component is growing. Quickly. They are locally under represented, however they can and will have a real impact in national elections. Doc Hastings and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers time in office is likely limited to this voting block's willingness to go to the polls. My guess is that the 2016 vote will be telling of the developing power of this voting block.
10
Of course they can't change. They're conservatives. Inability and unwillingness to adapt is built right into their DNA. Their entire purpose is to stand athwart history yelling, "Stop!"
12
I think she's talking about letting blacks and Latinos in on the homophobic, woman-hating, economic-Kool-Aid-drinking party. She's got a point. If the Repubs hadn't made such a point of locking the browns out of their frat house I think things could have gone a lot differently.
13
I think the GOP recognizes that it has to change. There are enough people out there getting airtime saying as much (Boener, for instance). But the GOP has too much invested in the word "conservative" to just give it up. So I believe they are going to be changing, but the whole time they will be saying things like, " this is still a conservative platform!" so as not to lose the 12 old people still voting with that catch phrase. The GOP knows that their main demographic is getting ever smaller. They know they will have to change. This is probably one of many "test words" we will see over the coming months till they get a nice word or phrase they can save face as they "modernize" "become more moderate" "purge the radicals", or else they will simply "self-deport" from the political landscape.
14
LOL at anyone who thinks that the maniacs that run the Washington State GOP will somehow develop the ability to moderate anything in the near future. I fully expect them to put Zombie Ronald Reagan into nomination in 2016.
15
From the CNN transcript:
RODGERS: Yeah, they need to know we care. They need to know that we are pro-immigration. But again...
GUTIERREZ: But are we really?
RODGERS: Yes, I believe we are. I'm pro-immigration.
GUTIERREZ: Well, you are.
16
Must be her lady-time talking. She needs to shut her yap-hole and go make me a sammich.
“I don't think it's about the Republican Party needing to become more moderate. I really believe it's the Republican Party becoming more modern...”
Must be her lady-time talking. She needs to shut her yap-hole and go make me a sammich.
17
So she wants to continue the trends of attacking "certain" people as moochers, gut the social safety net, slash health care, promote hard line social conservatism and basically just modernize instead of opening her eyes to a new message?
It's a new dawn for her. A golden dawn.
It's a new dawn for her. A golden dawn.
18
I'm reminded of the parade scene in "Animal House" with Kevin Bacon declaring that everything is OK while everything is collapsing around him. And I suspect that in the end, the GOP will succumb to Niedermeyer's fate.
21
She made further remarks about getting a better messenger instead of changing the message. My takeaway it that she believes that what they need are better actors and liars who will not screw up and reveal their real policy aims.
Oh, and she probably want's Boehner's job, too. The Night of the Long Knives is approaching.
Oh, and she probably want's Boehner's job, too. The Night of the Long Knives is approaching.
22
@6 "The Republican party doesn't talk to people about political perspective or policy. They talk about culture. They are not a party of fiscal conservatives, or political conservatives. They are a party of social conservatives."
I'd argue that the Republican's are primarily a plutocratic party, that makes up for the truly wealthy's minority status and big businesses not being allowed to vote directly, by giving seats at the table to a coalition centered primarily around aggrieved old white men.
While this was intended to be a cover for increasingly brazen and short-sighted theft and graft, the figureheads and factions the plutocrats have been employing have awakened to the fact that sitting on throne allows them to actually take some bites at the carrot that the powers behind it had expected to forever dangle.
It may be that the radical regressives have become too entrenched for the plutocrats to quickly change the coalition, and we may see some shake ups on the Democratic side as the wealthy get their service elsewhere, but eventually, some electable party will coalesce around the economic messages the Republicans have been pushing for some time now.
I'd argue that the Republican's are primarily a plutocratic party, that makes up for the truly wealthy's minority status and big businesses not being allowed to vote directly, by giving seats at the table to a coalition centered primarily around aggrieved old white men.
While this was intended to be a cover for increasingly brazen and short-sighted theft and graft, the figureheads and factions the plutocrats have been employing have awakened to the fact that sitting on throne allows them to actually take some bites at the carrot that the powers behind it had expected to forever dangle.
It may be that the radical regressives have become too entrenched for the plutocrats to quickly change the coalition, and we may see some shake ups on the Democratic side as the wealthy get their service elsewhere, but eventually, some electable party will coalesce around the economic messages the Republicans have been pushing for some time now.
25
Maybe, just maybe, "modern" could become a code word for the-word-that-must-not-said ("moderation").
Republicans are good with code words.
Republicans are good with code words.
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