So, Do Republicans Really Want To Win In November?
by James Glaser
February 21, 2012

If you watch what is going on with the Republican campaign, you have to ask that question. It isn't just the attack ads that seem to work so well with that side of the electorate. It isn't even the lack of strong national candidates. At least for me, it is the focus of the campaign that makes me wonder if they really want to win.

Republicans keep coming out with their traditional "Red Meat" issues of abortion and national defense. These two issues have been used for decades by the right to fill their coffers with the money needed to run a campaign, but this year the American people are looking in a different direction, and the Republicans don't seem to be able to understand this.

President Obama is out on the campaign trail talking about jobs, the economy, and housing—the three issues that most Americans are worried about. The Republicans are talking about birth control and Obama's religious beliefs, while they beat the war drums for an attack on Iran.

It seems to me that Obama has been listening to his focus groups, while the Republicans have been listening to the religious right. Yes, the religious right might just be able to put one of the candidates in position to be the Republican endorsed candidate at their Tampa convention this year, but if that candidate tries to use the conservative issues that propelled him into the general election, most Americans will turn to Obama as the candidate who understands what is going on in America.

It is unfortunate that most Americans care nothing for the White Papers candidates put out about their thoughts on the economy or how they will run things in Washington if elected. The American voter votes on sound bites, and right now most Americans are not listening to what Republicans are saying. All four candidates are trying to prove that they are the most right wing member of the group, while the American voter is looking for answers on how they can stretch their payroll dollar and get their house back to increasing in value, or if not that, at least not losing value.

American voters are worried about their and their children's future, and Republicans carping about the decade's old issues of abortion and national defense, while important to some, is not what the majority of voters are worried about today.

It is almost like the Republicans have blinders on, and the only thing they can see is the issues that dominated the past when the moral majority propelled the Republicans into power in Congress. Times have changed, along with our economy and the unemployment numbers, and if the Republican election message does not, Obama will get his second term.

Post Script: Give this some thought. Only about 1% of Americans watch Fox News, and less than that watch MSNBC. Most Americans pay little if any attention to what politicians and candidates say. In every major newspaper, sports get a whole section, while politics might get a front page story and a few columns on the editorial page.

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