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Santorum on why Romney didn't win: "not a single factory worker" at the Republican Convention!
Last edited Sun Jun 16, 2013, 04:16 AM - Edit history (1)
UC Berkeley economics professor Brad DeLong highlights this Politico article:
Rick Santorum ripped Mitt Romney’s campaign Thursday for mishandling President Barack Obama’s “you didn’t build that” gaffe last summer.
The former Pennsylvania senator recalled all the business owners who spoke at the Republican National Convention.
“One after another, they talked about the business they had built. But not a single—not a single —factory worker went out there,” Santorum told a few hundred conservative activists at an “after-hours session” of the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington. “Not a single janitor, waitress or person who worked in that company! We didn’t care about them. You know what? They built that company too! And we should have had them on that stage.”
...
When all you do is talk to people who are owners, talk to folks who are Type A’s who want to succeed economically, we’re talking to a very small group of people. No wonder they don’t think we care about them. No wonder they don’t think we understand them. Folks, if we’re going to win, you just need to think about who you talk to in your life….
Republicans must talk to the folks who are worried about the next paycheck. Our leaders don’t accurately reflect who we are. They reflect the interest groups around here who are lobbying for an advantage. Everyone who is up here is wanting an edge for their company or their industry. We’ve got to get away from that….
I won’t go back and revisit why that was the case (that we didn't highlight the ACA) or who the better candidate was to do that, but suffice it to say the opportunity (to criticize the ACA) is going to present itself in the next year. Why are they not sounding the alarm? Why are we not getting ahead of this train?
The former Pennsylvania senator recalled all the business owners who spoke at the Republican National Convention.
“One after another, they talked about the business they had built. But not a single—not a single —factory worker went out there,” Santorum told a few hundred conservative activists at an “after-hours session” of the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington. “Not a single janitor, waitress or person who worked in that company! We didn’t care about them. You know what? They built that company too! And we should have had them on that stage.”
...
When all you do is talk to people who are owners, talk to folks who are Type A’s who want to succeed economically, we’re talking to a very small group of people. No wonder they don’t think we care about them. No wonder they don’t think we understand them. Folks, if we’re going to win, you just need to think about who you talk to in your life….
Republicans must talk to the folks who are worried about the next paycheck. Our leaders don’t accurately reflect who we are. They reflect the interest groups around here who are lobbying for an advantage. Everyone who is up here is wanting an edge for their company or their industry. We’ve got to get away from that….
I won’t go back and revisit why that was the case (that we didn't highlight the ACA) or who the better candidate was to do that, but suffice it to say the opportunity (to criticize the ACA) is going to present itself in the next year. Why are they not sounding the alarm? Why are we not getting ahead of this train?
WTF? This guy NOW wants Romney to care about the working folks? What?
DeLong comments:
I think he's wrong about ACA implementation--he's trapped inside the Republican bubble. My bet is that ACA implementation will go fine along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, along the Great Lakes, and a couple of other places--New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona. My bet is that ACA implementation will go badly elsewhere--and the Democrats will say: "What would you expect? Your Republican state government worked very hard to keep you from getting the benefits of the program that the people along the coasts got!" And my bet is that the voters will buy the Democrats' case.
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