Why isn't the GOP message sticking ?

standing on the outside, it is obvious that the gop has lost its way. it doesn't cater to conservative interests, it doesn't cater to liberal interests, it is stuck in the middle. the nation as a whole is becoming increasingly self-centered. instead of wanting what is best for the continuation of the country, we have started making decisions based solely on what will benefit the loudest voices at the moment. instead of legislating to protect the basic rights of all citizens, we are seeing more and more legislation designed to benefit one group at the expense of another. the will of the majority is being allowed to steamroll over the rights of the few and we have forgotten that this is contrary to the very spirit of the nation's intent. the gop, traditionally the party based on a more strict adherence to the constitution, has tried to ride this wave of selfishness, swinging more toward the petty populism of the democrats. the result is that they don't satisfy their traditional base and that they will never satisfy the distinctly anti-american elements that make up american liberalism. compounding the problem is a media structure intent only on selling material products to the american public. a public that realizes they must work for the next high priced luxury is less apt to want to run out and purchase it, so our media sends out the message that we are owed these things as american citizens and that someone else is holding us back from our material desires. this is a message right in line with the petty populists, race-baiters and authoritarian socialists of the american left and is a message eagerly downed by an every more self-centered population.

there probably is no help for the gop. there probably is no help for this country. there's a good chance we are headed the way the french went when they traded in a monarch for an emperor or, worse yet, we might be destined for that false dictatorship of the proletariat so touted by the unthinking denizens of the far left.

 

The GOP's "message" problem is due to the fact that the Party is in flux.

The old "Democrat Lite" and neo-con alliance is being supplanted by the TEA party. If the libertarians could bring themselves tio see an opportunity, they could make their mark strongly on the GOP agenda. Until the Party reunifies around an agenda that emphasizes less government intrusion and spending the message will be too diffuse to penetrate.

Also it is tough to sell a message of "less free stuff" to an electorate that has an appreciable number of hard-core moochers.

 

First of all I'm not sure what you are talking about in regard tp swaying independents? Republicans comfortably won independents in the last election. And in that "all important" swing state of Ohio, they crushed the democrats in that "independent" group.

Second, your overall point of this branding, message, whatever problem the GOP is having just doesn't exist. Democrats are trying to convince themselves that it does but it just doesn't. Listening to MSNBC all day will have you believing that there is a tiny minority of republicans left in this country but reality is the they have a majority in the house, are well within reach in the senate and have a huge majority of governers in the country.

Democrats won two freaking elections, that's it. Nothing more. And that was with an extremely popular, celebrity like, idol to some, candidate that energized certain segments of the population to almost hysteria levels. I'd like to see Democrats pull another Obama out of their asss. I think you're gonna need it.

 

"Democrats won two freaking elections, that's it. Nothing more."

Taxcutter elaborates:
Democrats won two freaking elections by narrow margins, that's it. Nothing more. GW Bush won by a bigger margin in 2004.

 

I know it's not some 'cure-all'. The ACA is a STEP FORWARD toward the better solutions to come.

I'll never forget how they (the Right) blew-off Mrs. Clinton in the 1990's. I know we would have been better-off had we done something 'then'.

 

And what evidence do you have that you are being ripped off? What's net profit vs expenses?

 

What is the GOP message?

Cut spending, but not on anything significant?

No ACA, but no viable, or even remotely plausible, other solution to health care issues?

A smaller government with more liberty, but regulated medical procedures and interpersonal relationships of adults?

To be honest, I am not aware of any cohesive argument being put forth by the GOP. It seems that their stated philosophies are in direct contrast with their actions. In my opinion, they are so busy being contrary, the never give pause to think of their own positions.

 

Republicans won independents by a margin of 50% to 45% in the 2012 election. Judging from this post, you clearly are not aware of this. Dont take my word for it, take CNN's

http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/results/race/president

 

Yeah I get that the youth vote doesn't get hyped up for mid-term elections (the media doesn't hype it as much either), and that this a major reason they don't turn out, I just thought the excuses you gave for them of having to work was far from the truth.

 

I'm not sure they have a message other than hate.

 

Several things. One is that it's no longer the "Grand Ol' Party" except in name only. It's the Republican Party; an increasingly smaller group of increasingly more conservative members who refuse to accept any way except their way. Most of those Independents you mention are ex-GOP members like myself.

The RNC is fighting itself with one group that wants to become even more extreme right wing (they call it "more conservative") even if it means losing every election from now until the end of time and the other group which understands they have to start cutting deals or the Democrats will win all of the elections.

Military members know that sometimes it's worth dying for a principle, but most of the time it's just better to drop back, regroup and kick ass another day. If the RNC doesn't get its head on straight, they'll die for their principles and some other, more sensible party, will take their place. In the meantime, we could see another 40 years of Democrats dominating Congress just as they did in the last half of the 20th Century.

 

It furthers the problem, it does not address it, and is unapologetically cronyist. It has made itself part of the problem.

 

The ACA is better than the 'nothing' many politicians offered before it.

 

No, it made the problem worse, it is definitively worse than nothing, because smoke & mirrors is not a substantive proposal.

See this? This is failure. It's a failure against the poor who will suffer because of it, and it's a failure by Congress who laughably pretended they could outsmart Supply & Demand. The market will make fools of anyone who seeks to control it, our politicians are merely the latest and most chronic example.

 

Well it's not as if the gop message isn't sticking and the dnc one is - not when elections in the last couple years have ranged from a 7%gop edge to a 0.5%dnc edge two years later (<-- these are house elections - 2012 presidential vote was just under a 4% difference).

The gop has had issues though, and lost a lot of battles they should have easily won. A part of it is radical influence at the local levels, nominating horrible candidates (Castle of DE should never have been passed up).

There have also been a lot of slips by gop candidates relatively recently, but that is compounded by another problem - fundraising gaps. The gop has been behind on fundraising, and this will likely become a cyclical problem for the gop. Typical gop voter groups don't have as much to give in campaign donations because they are far more likely than Democrats to: tithe, give to charity, and (the big ticket) have kids. Democrats in general have more expendable income, and give less to non-political charity groups, and so they'll have more money to give to their favorite political causes. The gop is only saved by the fact that the rich make the majority of donations on both sides.

 

Call it what you want, you have not proven any of what you say.

 

It is a move that should have been made long before now. I didn't expect it to be perfect and yes it will have some problems. But the notion of holding people's health for ransom (which is in-effect the greed-driven system that has been in place for decades), needed to be mitigated.

I see the ACA as a beginning, a springboard for further improving healthcare in this society; not some perfect or singular answer to every problem.

And no one has proven to me that change/reform was not absolutely necessary.

 

It's not that odd really. It isn't a case of the Republican message not sticking, but rather a shift in political spectrum caused by 8 yrs of Republican power in the Presidency under Bush Jr. (and congress as well). Politics shifted right causing: conservative moderates to be liberal moderates, conservatives to become moderate conservatives, etc. etc. It happens all the time. The exact opposite force is happening right now. I give Obama credit for moving the spectrum slower than Bush (mainly by delaying Obamacare so long), but MARK MY WORDS it will undoubtedly shift back, and the same question will be asked of the Democratic Party soon enough (if I want to try to be especially prophetic and specific I'd say in 7 1/2 yrs exactly), and it won't be because they do anything "wrong" per say as this would be quite arbitrary, it will simply be the inevitable byproduct of condensing power in a democracy.

 

I just proved it made Medicare worse.

F*ck, when the Chief Actuary of Medicare does something unprecedented by disavowing Medicare's Board of Trustees, and writes up his own report to demonstrate what the ACA is really doing to it, you should know something is up.


And further yes. It doesn't address the core issue, it addresses symptoms while making the core issue worse. That's like bragging you got rid of the itching, but killed the patient.

EDIT:

It's not about being perfect, it is fundamentally flawed and has become part of the problem.

It has encouraged the bad trends in Medical Insurance to continue, it did not fix them nor does it try, it merely handed more of the market to the Insurance cartels.

You are rosy-eyed about it because it addresses symptoms, NOT THE PROBLEM. It's that, and that this does nothing to discourage "greed" as you call it among Insurance companies, which you fail to realize.

I'm not trying to, I'm saying, you're gullible if you think that's what this is. You handed the market TO the cartels, you did not hurt them in anyway. You are a cronyist, and you are saying you are proud of it.

 

The main question I have then is, why didn't the Republicans win the last two election? (aside from the democrats having more votes)

 

The problem is that they don't rely on flash like the Demoncrats do.

 

Sorry, not buying it.

The system as it was, was an unmitigated disaster.

ACA is just the start of making the system better. So be it.

 

The extreme right doesn't hate Obama.

They hate TYRANNY.

Obama happens to be the current face of tyranny.

Get over it.

 

That is so extremely paranoid and stupid.

Get over it.

 

Is there an example of the GOP not being able to persuade their side? They seem pretty united on many issues.