Why do Republicans repeatedly make the mistake of pandering to their base in the GE?

[renie408]

The base is called the THE BASE for a reason. They ain't going anywhere. They can be foaming at the mouth excited and it does nothing for you.Especially if you are a Republican and large chunks of your base are some of the most disliked people in America who tend to foam at the mouth just in daily life.

In a general election, the people you have to excite are IN THE MIDDLE. Mid term elections are effected by the base because the base is comprised of the hard core voters and less people vote in the mid terms. Getting your base fired up then makes sense. But pandering to your base in a general election to the point that you alienate everybody else is stupid.

If I can figure that out, why can't THEY figure that out? Do those candidates live in such a bubble that they believe that what they see at rallies is representative of the broader world?

[pepperbear]

1. in this instance, the move is desperate....

Mitt would have to talk sense and counter his platform to appeal to moderates and undecideds, but then his base would be scratching their heads. His only move is to keep his base at this point. the undecideds have dismissed him hopefully.

[edhopper]

2. They are so far right

they actually think what they are saying is appealing to the middle.

Appealing to the base sounds more like Bachmann, Akins or Santorum.