GOP activists to Romney: Why aren't you winning?

[underpants]

Source: AP News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican activists are incredulous: Why can't Republican Mitt Romney seem to break open a tight race with President Barack Obama given the nation's sluggish economy and conservative enthusiasm to beat the Democrat?

"He ought to be killing Obama, and he's clearly not doing that," said 32-year-old R.J. Robinson, one of the thousands of activists attending the annual Values Voters Summit this weekend. "He should be doing better."

Their sentiments were echoed in interviews with more than a dozen GOP activists and social conservative leaders who attended the annual gathering focused on social and cultural issues and sponsored by the Family Research Council.

"He needs to be more visible," said Dawn Hawkins, who works for the anti-pornography group Morality In Media. Even though Romney and his allies outspent Obama and his backers for months on TV in battleground states, Hawkins said: "He's not up on TV very often. He has very few ads running on TV and radio. Obama has ads everywhere."

"If the Republican Party loses this election, conservatives will have had it," Fischer said. "They will be done, finished."

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-15/gop-activists-to-romney-why-arent-you-winning

---

ANSWER: These people live in a bubble inside the news bubble the rest of country lives in (re: Fox News)

[charlyvi]

1. He needs to be more visible?

Bwahahaha! Yes, please Mitt. Be more visible.

[The Wielding Truth]

21. The problem is that we can see right through him. He is transparent in his deception.

He has no substance in his character and he stands for nothing. We now have a real person as President why would anyone vote for a pinwheel? Only a cause that would wish to destroy our democracy would vote to have Romney at the helm.

[Beartracks]

25. +1000 n/t

[Nativechef]

60. So True!

I've been saying this from the beginning. Romney's paper trail just does not jive with his narrative and this speaks volumes to the mans moral and ethical character, or lack there of. His entire history has been about how he see's himself, not how others see him (that's immaterial to him).

[The Wielding Truth]

66. He is a master Con Man. It's so blatant, yet the press keeps resuraecting him. Give us a break and

let these frauds fade away or send them to jail. They need to know the harm they are doing.

Welcome to DU, Nativechef! So glad you are with us.

[Tikki]

72. Hey Nativechef...WELCOME to DU...

Tikki

[BlueStreak]

76. He won't commit to anything. Absolute arrogance.

People really don't like liars. And when Romney is not telling outright lies, he is obfuscating and refusing to answer the most basic questions about his intentions. And on the rare occasions when he has given a specific answer, he has taken the opposite position less than 24 hours later.

The fact that the GOP even has to ask why Romney is losing shows just how clueless these guys are.

In short, Romney has disrespected the public. You cannot fix that by choosing a different subject to attack on.

[Amonester]

46. His true tax returns from 1999 up and his plans to cut tax exemptions for the middle-class

need to be

[airplaneman]

69. I pray and dream this statment is correct

"If the Republican Party loses this election, conservatives will have had it," Fischer said. "They will be done, finished."

[freshwest]

84. They will rebrand themselves as Libertarians. Most of them already are.

[heaven05]

2. tight race?

I'm incredulous at and disgusted with that assessment. That's bull....!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These people and the MSM live in a fantasy/money driven alternate reality. Obama is light years ahead of their bozo the clown and tinkerbell.

[wryter2000]

92. I caught that, too

I keep wondering...if Obama has women (more than 50% of the population), African Americans (94% to 0), and Latinos, how could it be a tie? There aren't enough white men to make it a tie. No wonder they're so perplexed. They've bought their own BS.

[nolabear]

98. In their minds the 3/5ths rule still applies.

But it doesn't. All us "minorities" add up to one beeyootiful majority.

[Akoto]

3. More ads? This guy must not live in Florida.

Every commercial break, I have to mute the TV because it starts spewing Romney's ads (or those of some PAC supporting him). Doubly true during the local evening news. Gah.

[underpants]

12. They are conditioned to play victim

Rush Hannity Fox News etc. - they have it drilled into their heads everyday and they have to ignore their own righteous self-congratulatory WE ARE WINNERS meme.

[aletier_v]

20. Appealing to emotion

I was just thinking this afternoon about how Republicans and Democrats have switched roles.

Now it's Republicans playing victim and appealing to emotion,
and ignoring facts. I say that as a (probably) ex-Republican.

[HockeyMom]

24. In Naples the Land of the Winter Home of the 1%

I am not only seeing more Obama ads, but AARP and Anti-Romeny/Republican Medicare ads.

Actually, in a way, might make sense since our population is majority Seniors.

[shawn703]

4. For the supposed party of the "successful businessmen"

They sure don't seem to understand what happens when you peddle shit nobody wants to buy.

[underpants]

11. That is spot on

Great post

[Turborama]

85. love Love LOVE this assessment! n/t

[Cha]

5. Those gops who say..

he ought to be killing Obama..clearly don't know President Obama.

I say the more Romney gets on tv the more he kills himself.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021332785#post9

[Berlin Expat]

6. They're getting worried

and if things go badly for Romney in the upcoming debates, and he falls even further behind (and look to the Rasmussen Polls - if he's behind there, he's in deep doo-doo), the hysteria on the right is going to reach fever pitch. Peak wingnut, in other words.

[rwsanders]

9. Which is hilarious because...

I don't know when it happened, but all of a sudden they are the party that can't admit that have done anything wrong. If they could, they might have found another candidate before the convention.
Like others have said, the more you know Mittens the less there is to like.

[Beartracks]

27. They haven't had a moment's introspection since at least 1994.

I blame the whole crass, self-important, self-righteous GOP pomposity on Newt Gingrich.

(It may have started earlier, so perhaps that's just when I started paying more attention.)

===========================

[oldhippydude]

37. think your probably right about that

when they all ran on that contract on America thats pretty much where they set todays policies in stone... over the years they have become more doctrinaire.,, now they have no flexabity..

Enter Willard who is basically anything but conservative, having to play one on TV..makes for great entertainment while we are awaiting President Obama's re-election

[Beartracks]

40. They took a contract out on America, that's for sure. n/t

[calimary]

53. Welcome to DU!

This has been their way since they got nasty back in the '80s. Heady times for them with this whole seismic political shift when ronald reagan came onto the scene and brought a bunch of pre-Cambrian teabaggers with them - like newt gingrich and all his little friends in that 1980 freshman class in Congress. AWFUL. He swaggered around declaring himself a "back bench bomb-thrower" with an ego the size of the state of Alaska. And all his little friends were emboldened. And further more, because of reagan embracing and USING the passions of the religious extremists (those wackjobs FINALLY found their hero to bring them in out of the cold! Sigh!), they all assumed that victory meant THEY had God on THEIR side. When you stir a cocktail like that together, you get a pretty damn shitty drink, and an AWFUL hangover - that unfortunately lasts for decades.

[nxylas]

56. Nah, Rasmussen still has him ahead

Which, as far as Republicans are concerned, means they're the only pollsters that can be trusted, all the rest have a liberal bias. I am not joking, that's seriously how they think (if you can call it that).

[Berlin Expat]

67. Yeah, right now

Rasmussen is the only thing they have.

If Romney starts losing on Rasmussen, then they'll panic. Big time.

[nxylas]

100. As I write (R)asmussen has Obama 2 points ahead

Obama's been ahead in their polls before, but usually only for a day or two. If this becomes a long-term trend, bricks will be shat.

[Vincardog]

7. Romney: Why aren't you winning? Because he has not shown his real value to the country. Come

on Willard tell us how running the country like one of the companies you looted will help us all!
Please tell us exactly what your plans for us are.

[Meandering1]

8. That guy 32-year-old R.J. Robinson

is possibly a trust funder. OK probably he is. Trying to be generous here. They tend to live outside the normal reality in other ways. If he is a rich kid? He's never waited for a bus in the rain. The "bubble" you mention.

I'm never envious of that kind of person. When you get to know them they seem pitifully weak. Because they've never had to work for anything they're made of nothing character-wise.

The real danger of the GOP becoming extinct from Romney's colossal failure of a 2012 campaign is that corporate money will then go to the Democrats first. From their standpoint it only makes sense to bet on the winning team. They in turn will try and give us great speeches but meanwhile sell us down the river when it comes time to vote in Congress.

I've seen enough of this happening lately as it is.

[jaysunb]

15. Good post

I agree...and welcome to DU

[BrainMann1]

10. I agree, you will be finished. Sorry. Not.

[markpkessinger]

13. Subtext: "I mean, you're WHITE! How can you not be winning?" n/t

[rurallib]

18. my take also

Romney: The Great White Hope.

[LongTomH]

32. Actually, it's 'Romney: The Great White Dope'

[Iliyah]

14. Obviously the GOP party have not currently evaluation

themselves because if they honestly had they would come to the conclusion of how fucked up their party is. And the presidential race isn't close but corporate media want it to be especially in swing states so their GAWD loving so call "Christians" can try their damnest to steal it.

[broadcaster75201]

16. Because America hates Conservatism and ...

... the old white male is dying off.

[The Wielding Truth]

23. Because America hates misogynists, homophobes, liars, warmongers,religious fanatics, greed filled

brain washed and heartless people who would step over the poor and sick to steal a buck with a smile on their faces and a lie on their lips. That's why.

[Amonester]

47. +infinity

Nailed it. Out.Of.The.Park nailed it.

[pwb]

17. It is like when the Mormons ring the door bell.

We act like nobody is home, and call the neighbors to warn them the LDS are in our neighborhood. Nobody wants to here your bullshit message.

[Mapletonian]

88. Every couple of years, the jesus freaks

will pull into my driveway.

I don't even let them get out of their car.

[SoapBox]

19. Why's he not winning?

Because he's an idiot!

And he has become McCain/Palin of 2012!

[on point]

22. Because he is a republican!!! You crazy people only represent 30% of the country!

[Beartracks]

26. America to GOP: Because his ideas suck.

And inasmuch as his ideas represent the ultimate distillation of conserva-corporate thought, your whole party's ideas suck, too.

=====================

[a geek named Bob]

28. Mitt makes me glad that...

...I can qualify my whiteness by mentioning I'm southern Italian, and Irish
...that my wife and I are Pagan Geeks
...not "some of our best friends are"... no MOST of our friends are GBLT
...that we belong to three gift economy groups
...that we do work shares


Mitt makes me feel like an activist hippie!

Someone flip the record, and stop bogarting...

[Submariner]

29. For one thing, because republicans already lost 2 wars

and we don't need them to start and lose one with Iran, that's why.

[kestrel91316]

30. Because he sucks, and can't even fake normalcy.

[Indpndnt]

31. Because most people see right through him. Not only does the Emperor have no clothes...

he's transparent. It's easy to see straight through him to the avarice and arrogance.

[elzenmahn]

33. Not to overstate the obvious, but MittWitt can't generate any real enthusiam...

...because the MittWitt is a weak candidate.

Obama has successfully hung the Ryan budget around his neck like an albatross, and he's gaffing his way through the campaign, managing to upset even those who should be on his side.

[alcibiades_mystery]

34. These people are going to lose their shit when Obama cleans Romney's clock on election night

[dipsydoodle]

35. Misread that

thought it said"why are you whining" in reference to Romney.

[Hamlette]

36. I felt like this in 2004. I couldn't believe we would lose that election.

I was positive we would win. Bush was so bad, how could anyone vote for him I thought it would be a landslide. And I was completely disillusioned at the end. I too believed it would be the end of the Dem party because it meant we had lost the country entirely.


I'm not blaming Kerry. Kerry is a personal hero of mine, I remember him from the Vietnam protest days and admire him greatly. But he was not as good a candidate as Bill Clinton (and perhaps Hillary) or Obama were. And the GOP did that whole gay marriage get out the vote thing. And I'm not sure why else (yes, I understand the argument that Ohio may have been stolen but I'm saying it should never have been that close so they could steal it.)

[Cosmocat]

55. 9-11 ...

won the election.

Yes, Kerry is not as dynamic at Clinton/Obama or Clinton.

And, yes, they did run the gay marriage ballots.

But, they used 9-11 to win the election, flat and simple.

[Bonhomme Richard]

38. Yeah, they will have had it until the next election cycle. Same old BS. n/t

[L0oniX]

39. Values Voters Summit = Rove owns.

[Tnliberallee]

41. Let me tell you why the Republican Party will soon be finished

..in 2010 they decided to let the Tea Party into their tent, a group of fanatics so far to the right that they stand on another planet. The GOP have yet to realize it but this thing( election 2012) will be decided by about 8% of the voters...and those voters stand right in the middle on most issues....and with Tea Party pulling the GOP so far to the right...the 'middle" seems to be closer to the Democrats...it is that simple.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

43. "this thing( election 2012) will be decided by about 8% of the voters.."

Naw, its gonna be decided by the women.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

42. "Why aren't you winning?"

"After all, you're white!"

[The Old Creak]

44. It couldn't possibly be.....

because it is a failed philosophy.........

[Major Nikon]

70. That and he's a putz of biblical proportions

But those two things didn't seem to harm Shrub much, so they may have a point.

[pasto76]

45. reminds me of a look into poor recruiting for the Army a few years ago

NCOs said that better pay and benefits needed to be offered


Officers said that recruiters should be appealing to everyone's sense of duty and service to their country.


analogous to democrats and republicans right now.

[davidpdx]

48. All I can say to them is "life's a bitch and you have to live in the bed you make"

They have no one to blame but themselves.

[Blue Owl]

49. Try some critical thinking for once

Or prove Santorum's statement was correct.

[lumpy]

50. Woooosh. They have to ask why Romney isn't winning ????

I know why they ask the question. Because they are.... just plain stupid.

[jberryhill]

51. Morality In Media has the WORST wall calendars

None of the pictures are any good.

[sameday]

52. Romney's Plans Contain Nothing Good For Average Americans

It makes no sense for people living from pay check to pay check to vote for Romney. We want the government to be available when needed. Romney doesn't need help from the government because he has $250 million in foreign banks. He is an uncaring person who has distanced himself from all the teachings of the scriptures.

[chknltl]

54. This DUer to those GOP Activists

Your question proves that your side does not spend enough time in dimension reality. So.....

[freshwest]

83. +1

[Demeter]

57. If you want to defeat Obama, you have to pass on his Left, not his Right

He's hugging the right side of the road like his life depended on it.

[sofa king]

58. Gee, maybe it is the total dishonesty?

Can any one of us name a position of Romney's that he has not changed or lied about? Can anyone provide a statement made by Romney six months ago that is still operative today?

At this point, it's clear the guy is even trying to get elected illegally. He's still refusing to disclose the full second year of his tax returns, as required by law, which is certainly part of the reason why he's not receiving security briefings.

Mitt Romney is a barbarian at the gate, trying to lie his way inside before he starts hacking at everyone around him. But if that doesn't work, he'll just start hacking.

Part of the reason people can see that now is because they haven't forgotten that this has happened before and we are all far the worse off for it. Many more people now know that lies and deception on the campaign trail precede economic ruin and loss of opportunity. That's what Romney is really selling, and too many people know it for him to gain ground.

[CanonRay]

59. Flash to Mr. R. J. Robinson: Your party has either bad ideaas, or none.

and that's not much of an option for voters.

[johnlucas]

61. COME ON!! I need to see it happen! The end of the Republican Party!!

COME ON!!!!

In the words of Mortal Kombat...

FINISH 'EM!!!!

John Lucas

[Crowman1979]

62. This is akin to a gambling addict yelling at a slot machine.

[D23MIURG23]

63. Romney to GOP activists: because of you. n/t

[mikki35]

64. News flash!

That's what they're missing!!!! They watch ONLY FOX News BS - OF COURSE, they think this way. OF COURSE they believe they're winning. They don't know any better because they only hear extreme RW propaganda 24/7/365. Or they go to VV summits like this for MORE extreme RW propaganda BS. They're doing nothing more than CHOOSING to be brainwashed. I have zero sympathy for them. Their chosen propaganda is like freely choosing to disenfranchise or directly harm millions of people not only here in our country but across the world - all in the name of their imaginary version of a killer god. No sympathy whatsoever.

[AllyCat]

65. He should be "killing Obama"? is that a threat?

[paparush]

95. My question, exactly!

Words have meaning. He could have expressed his sentiment 1000 different ways, but he chose to say what he said.

[peace begins with me]

68. He's probably throwing the election.

Obama is supposed to be the man. Reminds me of Kerry. He refused to have the votes counted, despite suspicious results. Who would invest all that time in running for office only to throw in the towel like that?

[JohnnyRingo]

71. Yeah... Why isn't everybody like the people at the Value Voters Summit?

Hahahahaha

I think they're wondering why the whole country doesn't hate the black man in the White House. Especially since he leveled the whole country and left behind a charred remains.

Hahahaha

On edit:
I see they think Romney isn't putting himself out there enough. They want him to better aquaint himself to the public. It seems to me the more people get to know Mitt Romney, the less they like him. The party would be wise to have him lay low for the last six weeks.

[Trajan]

73. ANSWER: These people live in a bubble inside the news bubble the rest of country lives in (re: Fox N

I stayed at my brother's house in Brighton CO for a week to visit my ailing mother ...

Seven TVs in the household - ALL were tuned to FOX NEWS .....

He could walk from room to room, and never miss a single word of that mind numbing propaganda ....

I started telling him "Yeah ... You're right" after each lame pronouncement ..... He caught on after a while and stopped talking about that shit for most of my stay .....

[jpak]

74. Why isn't Rmoney winning?

CUZ HE SUUUUXXXXXXX!!!111

yup

[salin]

75. Two Words: Culture Wars

Legislate choice in pregnancy even when rape, incest or the mother's life is at risk. Then up the ante by pushing mandatory vaginal probes when terminating the pregnancy for one of the above reasons is in play. Then up the ante by villifying the idea of birth control procedures (pills, IUD, etc.) by first trying to prevent insurers or companies hiring the insurers from paying for it - and then dumbing down the issue by villifying anyone speaking out on legitimate grounds by "slut shaming". There is one big slice of the electorate off the table.

Now push pursuits of marginalizing anyone who looks like they might be from central or south America into escalating levels of Donte's Hell under the guise of a series of programs to promote "self-deportation." Push the GOPl front runner to have to promote these programs to appeal to the base - and even use the term repeatedly. Push the base to frothy exultation around the idea that any Hispanic person is a likely illegal immigrant and thus a parasite and not worthy of human dignity. Have multiple states legislate accordingly with disasterous results. Remain ignorant that there are millions of people who have been in this country, legally, for multiple generations, but who are now being treated by local authorities in some border regions, as criminals - simply because they are hispanic. Lose another slice of the electorate.

Push for legislation to reenact poll taxes reminiscent of Jim Crow, in absence of attempted voter fraud, that takes away the democratic process of voting for hundreds of thousand of voters. Lose another part of the electorate.

After several years of feeding the most extreme members of your party because they were helpful in 2010, the number of public office holders making overtly racist comments and jokes per the President and his race Lose another part of the electorate.

I could go on and on per how many parts of society are being publicly (rhetoric) and legislatively marginalized. Ugly fights against the equality for members of the GLBT community; defunding Pell grants meant to ease the costs to low income students; pushing for greater military spending and engagement (Let's start another war - against IRAN) while underfunding the VA that provides medical and psychological services to vets; and so on and so on (the list of the aggrieved by the policies pushed by social conservatives and their tea party supporters, is so long, that I can not even begin to attempt an exhaustive list.)

The point is Romney is not a great campaigner, nor is Ryan. But they are greatly handicapped by the track record of state and federal level legislative records of the reactionaries in your own party. If you, GOP activists want to really understand the problem with Romney (and with McCain Palin before him), then you have to start looking in a mirror.

For example, sending Ann to talk to Hispanic women, who then tells her audience that *they* need to get over their biases, in order to see how wonderful Mitt (and the other side - bursting with attempts to harm the lives of Hispanics through the policies of Self-Deportation: re make life such a living hell that you will move out of this country), will not bring voters back.

Heck - if you decide that the problem is just Mitt - and that all you need to do is yell your message that alienates huge swathes of this country is the solution, than you will continue to see such negative results for your national candidates.

All that said was probably pointless, you (GOP activists) are not a reflective sort.

[efhmc]

77. PEOPLE DON'T LIKE HIM because he doesn't like people.

[no_hypocrisy]

78. I'd say it's more like Mitt's donors asking "Why aren't you winning?"

[NBachers]

79. Rmoney activists: 1. Go home; 2. Turn on oven gas; 3. Stick head in; 4. Keep Inhaling deeply

[Stewland]

80. gOP is out of touch and is a corporate entity

Romney stands for everything that goes against the grain where truly humanistic values are concerned. He seemingly can't relate to the condition of the 99 percent and foolishly thinks we will all fall for his B.S..

[cheezmaka]

81. Romney has had "many" chances to prove himself a Presidential candidate

He has failed many times. The debates are his last chance. If he bombs even his 1st one...he's DONE

[defacto7]

82. Because

GOD is not on their side anymore.

He wanted Mitt's last 10 years tax returns too.

[oldbanjo]

86. No one trusts him

you can't be for something and against it on the same day and expect to get Volts.

[LeftOfSelf-Centered]

87. Did the reporter ask them

something along the lines of: "Could it be that the majority of the country disagrees with these 'values voters'?" I would love to see them try to answer that.

[Ash_F]

89. The problem is the party and it's platform, not Romney.

OK Romney doesn't help much, but it is 90% the party's positions that are at fault. Fox and hate radio are doing a pretty good job of turning Americans off to the GOP as well.

[Overseas]

90. Democratic voters to Rmoney -- Where are your tax returns?

[SemperEadem]

91. the reason he is not doing better is because people are not as dumb

as those who attend the "vote against our own bests interests" summit.

and word to your momma, Fischer: conservatives are already done. Word is that there really aren't that many undecided voters left to convince. Your side has done an amazing job of making sure mittiot and the boy wonder are not elected. Give yourselves a hand. Good job, Brownie!

[armed_and_liberal]

93. "You may feel you are being screwed by Obama but you will definitely be fucked by Romney"

As said by my neighbor to our neighborhood rightwing nut at a party Saturday night.

[paparush]

94. Interesting choice of words Robinson used, there.

Words mean something..

"He ought to be killing Obama, and he's clearly not doing that."

He could have phrased that a thousand different ways, but he didn't.

[Corgigal]

96. What I'm posting might not be kosher

but Republicans have been courting the RW religious whack jobs for years. This is a bait and switch to them. I live in SC and I know how Southern Baptist view Mormon's. Yes they are republicans but they can't vote for a Mormon. They just can't. I was told by being raised Catholic I wasn't consider Christian. Republican party should have known this, because they romance these voters.

It's only Democrat's that don't worried about religious "values", Republicans fight over religion all the time. You can be Southern Baptist but go to the other church on the second corner and you're considered the enemy. Live by the sword , die by the sword.

[daybranch]

97. simple, why is he not winning?

We hate what he stands for- unbridled greed, and the quest for absolute power to do harm to every living thing for the entertainment and ego trips of the rich.

[Harry Monroe]

99. Um...because he sucks and is one of the worst candidates ever?