The whole reason we gained upward momentum was b/c we hammered on taxes and the 47% and "Let Detroit go bankrupt".

I think these narratives are incredibly valuable. You are seeing the fruit of this now in early voting in Ohio.

I think what OP is saying is that we need to stop looking for some magic miracle to drop out of the sky and 'save' us, as some have posted recently.

But a variety of issues will certainly help.

they know Romney is unprincipled. Everyone knows. They know he's a flip flopper. Everyone knows. They know that no one really knows what side of hte issues that Romney is on, personally.

But as I looked at the signs, I realized that all that is just noise to these people. They don't CARE about any of that. All that matters is that he's a suit who will sign what he's told to sign by those who control the party, which is mainly cutting taxes for the rich and starting wars. The GOP masters have blessed Romney as being "the one." One who will reliably sign what they put in front of him. And that's all the people whose yards have Romney signs care about.

They don't care about Sensata or Bain employees suffering or China workhouses. None of that matters one bit.

I heard on the news recently that Norquist said all they need is someone to sign on the dotted line. They have that in Romney. He has shown them that he will.

I'm speaking of the hard core 45% to 47% Republican base. The "undecideds" or Independents are a different matter.

the have nots.

And, for many - Romney is not black.

To me, those are the elephants in the room nobody really wants to pay attention to but the stench is overpowering.

They've got the money, but we have the numbers, and so far Mitt's money has not proven nearly as formidable an asset to him as all the pundits have surmised going in.

matter, I think, because of the car industry and the unique situation there...the position that Romney the person took on that (bankruptcy).

That has caused the OH numbers to be what they are, and I doubt that they'll change much from here on. Looks like Obama will win OH.

But not realizing that a large segment of the population just doesn't care WHO their candidate is...well, that's something that is different about the Republicans from the Democrats. They really don't. They might prefer someone else, but ultimately, it doesn't matter, as long as he signs the tax cut and war bills that the GOP supports.

Rimjob swore he wouldn't support RMoney and guess what, they are now supporting RMoney over there. It's because Mittens has an (R) after his name and only that. Many folks this time around are not voting "for" RMoney but against President Obama. I've been banging this drum a lot, I think we're going to see more write-ins and 3rd party candidate votes this time around because there are Repubs that can't bring themselves to vote for RMoney or against President Obama.

. . . and his base can be discouraged, as well. Don't get too cynical about the effect of these drips and drabs of scandal and hypocrisy.

It always is. They hated the maverick McCain, but they voted for him, for the most part. A few stayed home, but they did not vote for Obama.

It is ONLY the Democrats who will abandon their candidate and vote for the other guy (Reagan) on occasion. Democrats are just more open to a variety of positions and people and candidates, and look more, I think, at the PERSON. But that's just a casual observation that may or may not be true.

But we don't need their base. We need our base fired up and a few undecideds.

No Democrat I have ever known would vote for a Republican for any office and I have been a Democrat my entire life, from birth as it were.
If the point is to say that no matter what, Willard will get votes from Republicans, then this is the most redundant OP I have ever seen. Sky is blue, Republicans vote for Republicans. The world is round. Water is wet. Republicans vote for Republicans. Film at 11.

That means that MANY Democrats voted for him. Your name indicates you're from the northwest. Reagan won every northwestern state. He won Washington by almost 50% to Carter's 37.3%; Oregon by 48% to Carter's 39%; Idaho Reagan 66% to Carter's 25%; and CA 52% to Carter's 36% (Reagan had been CA governor).

The economy was AWFUL at the time. And not changing. Interest rates climbed up to 18%, then 20%, then 22%. No one could afford to buy a house or car. And Carter had no plan to combat it. Teddy Kennedy had challenged him in the primary, and the Dem Party asked Carter not to run again. Everyone knew he was likely to lose. But he ran, anyway. And gave the Democrats one of the biggest losses, if not the biggest loss, ever. (The Iran hostage crisis was going on in the background, which affected some people's decisions, no doubt.)

It wasn't so much a vote FOR Reagan. People thought a change was needed. It could have been Teddy Kennedy. But they were left with only the alternate of Reagan.

So many, if not most, Democrats voted for what they thought was best for the country, despite party affiliation.

Just think about how the Republican candidates in the primary treated him. They said horrible things about him, called him a liar, etc. Now they are all supporting him.

That's my take.

There are so many issues, and he is on so many sides of them.

His record speaks for itself to reasonable people, once they are familiar with it.

His ever-changing position will erode his support with the right, down to the level of "anybody but Obama." But true (non wing-nut) conservatives will favor Obama because his record makes him far less risky than somebody who is clearly out only for himself. The fact is that "leveraged buyout artists" destroyed their businesses too.

There's just too much. He's the ultimate Gish Gallop candidate.

It's like there is so much wrong with him that one can lose focus and be fooled.

I'm not.

For most people (almost everyone, actually) there comes a tipping point - when everyone around them no longer shares their opinion, they change their own to fit in.

Nothing else really matters to them. Even tax cuts are not as important to them as getting that guldammed muslim socialist Kenyan out of the White House...

He'll take any stance to get there that it takes. He'd pimp queen ann out if that would help, hell I'm not sure his sons are safe from that even. Mitten wants to be president so bad.

Apologies if this is in bad taste
Peace

...because you can't tell me that the GOP stance on women's rights, immigration, and tax cuts for the very wealthy aren't going to make an impact on Republicans most affected by these issues.

until it's not. Much like the 50 State Strategy, we can't simply abandon nearly half of the populace to lies and disinformation. Just as we must keep trying to win red states, we have to continue hammering the truth - not just about Romney, but Jeb Bush, Christie, Issa, Walsh, Brown, or any of them. We can see Texas beginning to move towards "swing" status already. It's a gradual process, educating and pulling the republicans closest to the middle, but we cant walk away from it, safe in the knowledge we have enough to win. Make that 47% into 40%, 30%, until the far right collapses.

will vote for what they think is best for the country. But Republicans are different. MOST will vote their party; they vote Republican, without giving it a second thought. They're like soldiers. They are very reliable.

But enthusiasm can be eaten into. And SOME can be persuaded to change.

But if people are wondering...how is it possible that Romney garners 47% in the polls, even before his debate performance...that is how and why. The Republicans are lining up behind the Republican candidate.