The 2012 election is finally over. Finally! This election was a fiasco for the Republicans, a political train wreck. The reasons were many and varied but stupidity ranks high on the list. Obama ran his campaign pretty much mistake-free and it got him re-elected. Romney and Company were the exact opposite.
Conservatives tried to strong-arm the ladies by promising new laws against abortion. When will those conservatives ever learn? Very few women of child-bearing age are interested in overturning Roe vs. Wade. Most women want to keep that important choice in their own hands. There are plenty of opinion polls on that subject over the past 35 years. Those polls say, "do not tamper with a women's choice on reproductive rights."
It was incredibly foolish of the GOP to threaten those rights. Obama carried the nationwide female vote by nine points. In the swing states, where it really had an impact, he carried the female vote by 14 points. Roe vs. Wade helped re-elect Obama. Some conservatives just never learn.
And the list goes on. The GOP turned Romney loose at a fundraiser and he insulted 47 percent of the population. It's difficult to win after you kiss off half the electorate. Ryan's congressional plan for Medicare was made public and the public dismissed it. Romney learned that most voters are not interested in turning Medicare into a voucher program. No sensible person wants Medicare dismantled.
Yep! This election was a disaster for the GOP. They chose a rich Wall Street corporate raider to lead their party. It was a strange choice. He professed conservatism but made noises like a moderate and a progressive at different times. Nobody knew what Romney believed because his position flip-flopped repeatedly on every issue. Toward the end of the campaign his lack of integrity became more and more apparent to all open-minded observers. Romney lost and the GOP failed to gain control of the Senate.
The GOP lost much more than the election. They lost a golden opportunity and may never get it back. With as many as three Supreme Court appointments possible in the next four years, a win for Romney would have turned the U.S. Supreme Court into a hot-bed of conservative action for the next quarter century. In the simplest terms, the GOP and tea party and Romney blew it. It's good that they lost. Collective stupidity should not be rewarded with victory.
Ralph Chambers
Parkersburg
