40% of the white vote isn't that bad. I saw some figures last night showing percentages of the white vote for every Democratic contender all the way back to Jimmy Carter and the highest was Clinton with 43%. Most were somewhere in the high 30s.
danivon wrote:Well, for a start, trying to rein in some of the baser instincts of the base. Women didn't like it when congressional candidates said silly things about rape.
Blacks thought they could see dog-whistles in some statements.
Latinos clearly don't like the push for 'show your papers' laws.
Before the Republicans start clutching pearls about pandering, they need to take a look at how their stances and statements are perceived.
To be candid, the press and some Democrats made it seem like Akin was a prototype Republican. He was an idiot. The Democrats gave him about $2M during the primary because they thought (rightly) he was the only Republican McCaskill could beat.
What Mourdock said was misconstrued.
No matter. The issue really is this: why are Republicans being asked about rape and abortion? Why aren't Democrats?
For example, has anyone ever asked President Obama what restrictions on abortion he would approve of?
Those are just dumb questions. Roe v. Wade is the law of the land. If it was NOT, then abortion would not be "illegal." It would be where gay marriage is--a State issue, which is where it should be.
A Senator has no control over abortion law. Period. Those questions are just traps that a couple of dimwits were too honest to see. The correct answer is, "I'm not running on abortion or rape. I am running to get government off the back of small business so the economy can recover. I am running to restore sanity to the budgeting process because we cannot continue to borrow $1T annually and expect to remain a viable country."
Sassenach wrote:I think the answer to this is that Republicans are reaping what they sowed with the 'culture wars' of the last couple of decades. For sure Democrats are now more likely to bring it up as a line of attack against Republican candidates, but they do it because it's a very effective line of attack in a number of cases.
The younger generation is much more liberal about these things and if my experiences with pretty much every younger person I know is anything to go by, they overwhelmingly see the Republicans as the party of the overbearing religious zealots.
It's not Republicans who are making these issues central.
Ray Jay wrote:Dr. Fate:It's not Republicans who are making these issues central.
I think that you are substantially right that the media has a lot to do with the unfair portrayal of the Republican Party. My sense is that the media is biased for a few different reasons and in a few different ways. But that's a given so if Republicans want to succeed, they have to accept it and devise a strategy that wins regardless. It's no different than a situation where the umps unfairly ref a game. Since you can't walk off the field, you just have to deal with it.