I thought the Republican Party, particularly the two men who comprised their ticket, would at least make an effort to look inward and try to figure out why the party lost the presidency and threw away their best chance so far to take over the Senate. I was wrong.
Here’s the “explanation” Mitt Romney gave his large contributors the day after the election for the drubbing he got Nov. 6: “The President’s campaign focused on giving targeted groups a big gift – so he made a big effort on small things. Those small things, by the way, add up to trillions of dollars.”
Who were the groups that sold their votes for a bowl of porridge, according to Romney? He said they were Blacks, Hispanics, and young voters. Way to go, Mitt. Insult yet again the very groups who made up 44% of the electorate. Women voters also got a Romney dismissive insult. In his view, women voted overwhelmingly for President Obama because the Affordable Care Act provides for access of women to contraceptives, not because the male-dominated GOP treats women as unfit to make decisions about their own bodies. Now we know the truth. Romney really believes that 47% of Americans are “victims, takers ” intent on taking from “makers” like him.
Paul Ryan was, if possible, even worse in his comments. “The surprise was some of the turnout… especially in urban areas, which gave President Obama the big margin to win this race,” Mr. Ryan said in an television interview. Of course, we all are able to figure out Ryan’s definition of “urban.” You can read that “Black.” The fact that Vermont, Iowa, indeed Ryan’s own home town of Jamesville, Wisconsin, went for President Obama was conveniently thrown into the trash can where Ryan puts the truth.
At the rate the Republicans are going, they really do seem determined to never win another national election. I suppose all those years of pandering to racists, homophobes, misogynists, xenophobes, and people who live in a cocoon of wealth have rendered them incapable of understanding how out of touch they are with the rest of us.
They will be able to hang on to seats in the House of Representatives through gerrymandering, but that may be all. That is, if Democrats understand they they need to make sure the voter turnout for every election breaks our way. That’s the real key to defeating people with a privileged attitude who look down on the rest of us. If turnout doesn’t go our way, we lose. Never forget that.
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