2012 election was decided by race, not family values issues

[renard_ruse]

Both within the Republican establishment and especially among the media and liberals on the internet and elsewhere there has been almost constant "advice" being offered to help Republicans rebuild their "brand" after their allegedly disastrous lost in 2012 (48% of the vote doesn't seem particularly disastrous but we'll leave that for another discussion).

Just about every single viewpoint of the conservative wing of the Republican party is blamed for the "loss" in the election except for support for "free" trade and war overseas. In particular, family values issues are, as usual, cited as to why the Republicans are so "hated by the overwhelming majority" of the public. Yet, there is no evidence of this, at least nationally, having anything to do with this alleged lack of support. I've detailed this for years and it continues to be true. Whether or not Americans are becoming more hostile to the family values agenda or social conservatism, and the evidence is far from clear that's even the case, its NOT costing Republicans elections nor helping Democrats win them.

In fact, the 2012 election was decided by one thing and one thing ONLY: racial/ethnic voting patterns. This is NOT a politically divided country, its a racially/ethnically divided one and politics is simply a proxy for that division. To cut to the chase, consider this: if only whites had voted, Romney would have won the election in a Reaganesque landslide 438 to 68. If only non-whites had voted, Obama would have won every single electoral college vote, Romney wouldn't have won a single EC vote.

You can't tell me that all the 60% of whites voting for Romney did so because they support family values, and you certainly can't tell me that the 80% of non-whites who voted for Obama all did so because they oppose family values. Whatever people believe on moral social issues, the large majority of voters don't base their votes on those issues. Yet, among those who do, particularly conservative values voters, turnout was suppressed in 2012 by several million votes, largely due to Republicans de-emphasizing or even rejecting family values positions. If anything, running away from family values issues COST the Republicans the 2012 election not their alleged support for them as the media, Republican inside the beltway consulting class, and internet liberals tell us in their "advice."

 

[Squibbs]

Whiny loser.

 

[Adre]

I'm white, Independent, and voted for the half white guy. What's your point?

 

[Wings]

When are we having the coming out party for Ruse?

 

[KingOrfeo]

This is NOT a politically divided country, its a racially/ethnically divided one and politics is simply a proxy for that division.

Actually it's a geographically divided country; the cities are blue, the suburbs purple and the countryside red.

 

[BotanyBoy]

All I read...

"Wahhhhhhhhhh there's a nigger in office!!! WAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" ~ RR

 

[KingOrfeo]

Just about every single viewpoint of the conservative wing of the Republican party is blamed for the "loss" in the election except for support for "free" trade and war overseas.

Can't blame those; bipartisan support.

 

[RobDownSouth]

Poor Retard Ruse....his rationalizations are getting positively Vettemanesque.....

 

[MatthewVett]

Did you know that in elections from 1788-2004, almost 100% of white voters voted for white candidates? You just can't trust white people. They only think about race...

Considering, though, that, "in 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected to his first term as president, he received 83 percent of the black vote compared to 39 percent of the white vote. In 1996, when elected to his second term, Bill Clinton received 84 percent of the black vote compared to 43 percent from whites."

This just seems to be a party thing. Democratic Party reaches out to minorities. Republican Party plays on the fears of former hegemons who are losing their prestige and position (Christians and whites, especially).

 

[SalviaDivinorum]

You draw the oddest of conclusions, ruse.

 

[RobDownSouth]

You draw the oddest of conclusions, ruse.

You cannot begin to comprehend the lengths he'll go to in order to avoid unpleasant truths. He's a "9" on a scale of 1 to Amicus.

 

[bronzeage]

You cannot begin to comprehend the lengths he'll go to in order to avoid unpleasant truths. He's a "9" on a scale of 1 to Amicus.

You may notice, few of those around here who spout family values, ever talk about their family, and of those who do, one wonders why they would want to inflict that kind of life on anyone else.

 

[KingOrfeo]

You can't tell me that all the 60% of whites voting for Romney did so because they support family values . . .

Partly; that is, because they supported a whole cultural/economic value-package with elements hard to disentangle. Race is part of it -- many of them (not all) would have balked at voting for Alan Keyes or Herman Cain -- but so are "family values," and so is the RW business-agenda.

 

[dan_c00000]

You know the great thing about people like renard and other right wingers is that they never actually pay attention to polls, newspapers, or reality in general.

All the GOP positions are huge losers with the public:

* 72 percent of Americans, including 74 percent of independents and 81 percent of moderates, disapprove of the Congressional GOP.

* Americans disapprove of the sequester cuts by 53-39; 64 percent say they’ll hurt the economy; 60 percent say they’ll hurt the government’s ability to provide basic services; and 69 percent say they’ll hurt the military.

* Americans hold Congressional Republicans responsible for the sequester cuts by 47-33.

* 68 percent want Obama and the GOP to work together to avert the cuts, while only 28 percent want them to continue (the conservative position).

* 71 percent oppose cutting spending on Medicaid to replace the cuts; and 60 percent oppose raising the Medicare eligibility age to replace them. By contrast, 58 percent support replacing the cuts with more targeted cuts to military spending.

* 56 percent support replacing the cuts with an agreement that includes limiting deductions enjoyed by higher income individuals.

They can only hold onto their majority through gerrymandering and other anti-democratic measures:

While Republicans still hold the House majority, they lost seats in the 2012 election and acknowledge that they held onto the majority only because of gerrymandering. Majorities of Republican voters reject key proponents of the GOP agenda, including cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

On literally every single major issues the right wing stance is a loser.

And "people" like renard should get used to their own team ditching them on issues too.

 

[BotanyBoy]

You know the great thing about people like renard and other right wingers is that they never actually pay attention to polls, newspapers, or reality in general.

All the GOP positions are huge losers with the public:

* 72 percent of Americans, including 74 percent of independents and 81 percent of moderates, disapprove of the Congressional GOP.

* Americans disapprove of the sequester cuts by 53-39; 64 percent say they’ll hurt the economy; 60 percent say they’ll hurt the government’s ability to provide basic services; and 69 percent say they’ll hurt the military.

* Americans hold Congressional Republicans responsible for the sequester cuts by 47-33.

* 68 percent want Obama and the GOP to work together to avert the cuts, while only 28 percent want them to continue (the conservative position).

* 71 percent oppose cutting spending on Medicaid to replace the cuts; and 60 percent oppose raising the Medicare eligibility age to replace them. By contrast, 58 percent support replacing the cuts with more targeted cuts to military spending.

* 56 percent support replacing the cuts with an agreement that includes limiting deductions enjoyed by higher income individuals.

They can only hold onto their majority through gerrymandering and other anti-democratic measures:

While Republicans still hold the House majority, they lost seats in the 2012 election and acknowledge that they held onto the majority only because of gerrymandering. Majorities of Republican voters reject key proponents of the GOP agenda, including cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

On literally every single major issues the right wing stance is a loser.

And "people" like renard should get used to their own team ditching them on issues too.

How I imagine you surfing the GB...

 

[RobDownSouth]

You know the great thing about people like renard and other right wingers is that they never actually pay attention to polls, newspapers, or reality in general.

All the GOP positions are huge losers with the public:

* 72 percent of Americans, including 74 percent of independents and 81 percent of moderates, disapprove of the Congressional GOP.

* Americans disapprove of the sequester cuts by 53-39; 64 percent say they’ll hurt the economy; 60 percent say they’ll hurt the government’s ability to provide basic services; and 69 percent say they’ll hurt the military.

* Americans hold Congressional Republicans responsible for the sequester cuts by 47-33.

* 68 percent want Obama and the GOP to work together to avert the cuts, while only 28 percent want them to continue (the conservative position).

* 71 percent oppose cutting spending on Medicaid to replace the cuts; and 60 percent oppose raising the Medicare eligibility age to replace them. By contrast, 58 percent support replacing the cuts with more targeted cuts to military spending.

* 56 percent support replacing the cuts with an agreement that includes limiting deductions enjoyed by higher income individuals.

They can only hold onto their majority through gerrymandering and other anti-democratic measures:

While Republicans still hold the House majority, they lost seats in the 2012 election and acknowledge that they held onto the majority only because of gerrymandering. Majorities of Republican voters reject key proponents of the GOP agenda, including cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

On literally every single major issues the right wing stance is a loser.

And "people" like renard should get used to their own team ditching them on issues too.

Very dark days for wingnuts.

Rush Limbaugh fretted yesterday that the obvious Republican capitulation on gay marriage would signal the demise of the Republican party as we know it, because it meant that the Christian Evangelical shock troops that the Republicans require to win elections would desert the party.

 

[Sean]

Very dark days for wingnuts.

Rush Limbaugh fretted yesterday that the obvious Republican capitulation on gay marriage would signal the demise of the Republican party as we know it, because it meant that the Christian Evangelical shock troops that the Republicans require to win elections would desert the party.

Where are they going to go, though? They're not going to vote Dem.

 

[BotanyBoy]

Where are they going to go, though? They're not going to vote Dem.

They will just keep breaking off into smaller and smaller chunks of crazy, until every church has it's own representative.

 

[RobDownSouth]

Where are they going to go, though? They're not going to vote Dem.

Good question.

The Christian Taliban needs the Ayn Rand-worshippers and vice-versa.

Together they form a voting bloc of about 40% of the electorate....but they absolutely cannot go it alone.

I suspect they'll play "chicken" until one side or the other caves....they got lucky twice. They rallied behind the Gipper's sales job and each faction thought the amiable dunce Dubya was one of them. I don't see them rallying behind a single candidate again with any enthusiasm for the next few election cycles.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Where are they going to go, though? They're not going to vote Dem.

They keep talking about going third-party. ohpleaseohpleaseohplease!

 

[RjThoughts]

The election WAS decided by family values: The candidate that won cared about ALL families while the one that lost cared only about those families which were rich.

 

[unregistered]

 

[dan_c00000]

Add this one to the collection:

Just pointing out reality to your various doomed causes. Maybe you two need the paper bags? Also in another thread I pointed out vette's inability to make an argument and BB well you're just trash.

 

[BotanyBoy]

and BB well you're just trash.

 

[BoyNextDoor]

B

Just about every single viewpoint of the conservative wing of the Republican party is blamed for the "loss" in the election except for support for "free" trade and war overseas.

In fact, the 2012 election was decided by one thing and one thing ONLY: racial/ethnic voting patterns. This is NOT a politically divided country, its a racially/ethnically divided one and politics is simply a proxy for that division.

This is a country divided by class. Race is used to obscure an prevent meaningful discussions of how each of us relate to the fundamental class process, and therefore inform us of how to best interpret policy.

Way to perpetuate the hegemony renard.