We’re Already Learning the Wrong Lesson

Posted by in Blog, Featured on November 7, 2012 10:45 am / 29 comments

It’s the day after and the knives are already out. “We lost because Romney was never a true conservative.” or “We lost because the tea party didn’t show up.” or “We lost because… blah blah blah.”

Here’s the reality: Everyone pointing the finger at who “lost” is asking the wrong question. The right question is “What won?”

Small, petty politics won. More specifically, our inability to combat small petty, politics won. We are an ideological movement. We have principles we hold on to. The left simply does not. They hold no truths to be self-evident. They have no moral compass. They will lie, cheat, and steal for their movement. We will not.

What won last night was marketing. What won last night were communications strategies. Our ideology didn’t lose. Our ideology was never heard. It was drowned out by a media more focused on gotchas and Big Bird and binders and feeding a narrative created by the masters of marketing: Obama For America. The media won’t allow an ideological battle because every time they do, they lose.

That’s it. There was no ideological shift in this country. More than half the country couldn’t tell you what the hell “ideological” even means. THAT’s the problem. We fought an ideological battle when they were fighting an American Idol contest.

So stop the finger pointing. Stop the “I told you sos.” We didn’t lose the election. Marketing won the election. And we’d better figure out how to outdo the marketing machine fast or it is really really over.

 

 
 

29 Comments

  1. Garrett says:
    November 7, 2012 at 10:49 am

    100% agree. I guess that means we ought to elect some A-Hole who doesn’t care about dignity, integrity and honor…Chris Christie? ;)

  2. Josh S says:
    November 7, 2012 at 10:50 am

    No, free stuff won. And we’re losing the next generation. Romney won over-30s by about 2m votes. He lost under-30s by over 5m votes. And non-whites are completely repelled by the GOP.

    The party has no future. The next generation is liberal, because it was raised by liberals due to conservatives ceding the entire education system to the radical left. Asians are liberal on social issues. The other minorities are bought-and-paid-for clients of the welfare state.

    The GOP is done. It was a nice ride.

  3. LC Aggie Sith says:
    November 7, 2012 at 11:03 am

    Indeed and well said.

  4. Heath Mullikin says:
    November 7, 2012 at 11:05 am

    That’s very true. The game changed 4 years ago and we still haven’t caught up. We’ve done a good job yelling at our tv’s because the game changed, but that didn’t do us a whole lot of good. We need to read their Saul Alinsky play book and start figuring out a way around, over, under, and through it.

  5. Dee says:
    November 7, 2012 at 11:20 am

    Marketing free birth control so everyone can be a Kardashian won

  6. JD says:
    November 7, 2012 at 11:34 am

    We lost because people are sick and tired of morons like Ryan and Palin getting an undeserved opportunity. Romney was eloquent and dignified. Ryan was a know it all firebrand. We need to stop talking about abortion and God (personal choices that you will never be able to govern)and start promoting our economic ideals and why they are so much better than the Dems. There are gay people in the world. There are people who want abortions. There are , shock, people who don’t believe in God. Right or Wrong we are viewed as elitists and smarty pants and moral jedgementalists. It needs to stop or we will never be in the White House again.

  7. David says:
    November 7, 2012 at 11:34 am

    Exactly what I was thinking last night. How can 60 million people vote for a President that has been so incompetent? The exit polls are clear: economy, unemployment rate, wrong track/right track. All point to his failures and yet…they voted for him. It defies logic until you consider the marketing and message over substance. The Democrats put a pile of dog food out and told 60 million people it was NY Strip so may times that they ate it up and asked for more.

  8. We’re Already Learning The Wrong Lesson | Misfit Politics says:
    November 7, 2012 at 11:51 am

    [...] at TheRightSphere.com Tweet Categories : Articles, Politics Tags: machine, marketing, media, what happened [...]

  9. toph says:
    November 7, 2012 at 11:59 am

    You lost because you ran a clown car full of fools in the primary. If it weren’t for the Cain, Bachmmann, Perry, Gingrich and even Trump, you’d have Romney in the White House. The Republican party has been hijacked by the loons. It’s also the reason you lost MO and IN, and DE in 2010.

    It’s actually really really funny.

  10. Matt says:
    November 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    We lost because a few idiots (Akin and Mourdock) said really stupid things that the media was able to use to paint the whole party with. That kept a lot of voters that voted for Obama last time but were unhappy with him away. We let these idiots in the party and it destroys it for everyone else.

  11. Don says:
    November 7, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    Keep thinking along these lines, I like winning. No really, I think you’re on to something big here for 2016. Draw up a plan.

  12. DaveK says:
    November 7, 2012 at 12:57 pm

    I have to agree with Josh, above; Free Stuff won out over Freedom. The GOP is dead. It has no future. The only way it can survive is to become just like the Democrat party. Whether marketing won, or their message was better or whatever, the United States of America died last night, and 60 million of its citizens actually participated in its murder.

  13. ramjet says:
    November 7, 2012 at 1:17 pm

    MUD ON MY FACE

    I usually don’t write about myself.
    I dislike politicians and pundits speaking of what “the American people” deserve or need or want or demand, as if they are privy to the people’s collective hearts and minds.

    This morning, I have mud on my face. This morning I need to write about myself. This morning I need to put words to paper about what I thought “the American people” deserved, needed, wanted or demanded. I was wrong; so very, very wrong.

    This morning I have mud on my face.

    I thought the American people wanted inspiration, not intimidation. I was wrong.
    I thought the American people were motivated by love, not fear. I was wrong.
    I thought the American people demanded honesty, not mendacity. I was wrong.
    I thought the American people needed someone who believed in America, not someone who was betting on America. I was wrong.

    I thought the American people deserved a leader who understands the potential of individual liberty, not a leader who belives certain groups, factions, and classes cannot succeed without the intrusion of government. I was wrong.

    I thought the American people were crying out for unity, not divisiveness. I was wrong.
    I thought the American people believed in justice, not revenge. I was wrong.
    I thought the America people possessed a powerful “can do” attitude, not a pitiful “can’t do without government” attitude. I was wrong.

    I thought the American people deserved leaders worthy of the generational sacrifices, the founding principles, the self evident truths, the values of integrity, personal responsibility and service, the traditions of faith, hope and charity that built an exceptional nation, not the selfish, self-centered attitudes, the personalities over principles culture, the divide and conquer tactic, the ends justifies the means relativism, the nurturing of envy and the promotion of blame that are the hallmarks of a nation in decline. I was so very, very wrong.

    For as long as I can remember, I have believed the American people would always end up with the government they deserved. Sadly, I think I got that one right. Sorry.

    Roger Whidden
    Wesley Chapel, FL

  14. Barack Obama wins historic election, leaves everyone wondering what happens next « Young and Right says:
    November 7, 2012 at 1:32 pm

    [...] be a beauty contest and Obama’s ideas were shinier and sparklier. As one conservative blogger put it the GOP, “fought an ideological battle when they were fighting an American Idol [...]

  15. Manda says:
    November 7, 2012 at 1:40 pm

    Thanks very much for your opinions, which I do not completely agree with, but respect very much. Could you please clarify something? You wrote, “Our ideology didn’t lose. Our ideology was never heard.” Who is being represented in the word “our”? Also, when you are using the words “ideology” and “ideological”, are you coming from a purely political point of view? Or are you alluding to social, epistemological, or ethical ideologies?

  16. Sackcloth and Ashes | The Right Sphere says:
    November 7, 2012 at 2:01 pm

    [...] We’re Already Learning the Wrong Lesson [...]

  17. Sackcloth and Ashes | The Right Sphere says:
    November 7, 2012 at 2:09 pm

    [...] over Romney’s campaign will be commentated on to death in the following weeks.  I agree with RB’s post that much of it had to do with marketing, but I would also assert that the country is changing, and [...]

  18. Bonnie Shores says:
    November 7, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    Totally agree that the Liberal Marketing campaign and the Lap Dog Media owned this election. We were there with money, the only side with an ideology {although, as you accurately mentioned, many don’t even know the definition of the word}, but Conservatives have no path for communicating their message. No path. We no longer have a Free Press, we have the Liberal Press.

    At some level the GOP Marketing/Campaigning Machine isn’t broken because we currently hold 30 Governorships. So that leads me to believe that locally we have some sort of magical touch. Yet, why can’t we turn that into a National Ground Game?

    Last night I was ready for John Galt’s Gorge and today I feel like Dagny Taggart – in complete opposition to the Moochers! Still I can’t help but think this Republic wouldn’t have been founded if the Colonists weren’t brave enough to take a stand against the English. So I pray for this great Republic, for resolve, for wisdom, and for the ideals we were founded upon.

    If you have plan, think of one, or open a forum to brainstorm about a plan – add me to the email blast. I follow you on Twitter @bonshores. You were great during this entire campaign. Hope you read these comments, because I appreciate your passion & leadership. Hold the line. Hold the line.

  19. Sackcloth and Ashes says:
    November 7, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    [...] over Romney’s campaign will be commentated on to death in the following weeks.  I agree with RB’s post that much of it had to do with marketing, but I would also assert that the country is changing, and [...]

  20. Sackcloth and Ashes « says:
    November 7, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    [...] over Romney’s campaign will be commentated on to death in the following weeks.  I agree with RB’s post that much of it had to do with marketing, but I would also assert that the country is changing, and [...]

  21. We’re Already Learning the Wrong Lesson | The Right Sphere – the Conservative Top 10 says:
    November 7, 2012 at 4:34 pm

    [...] Posted by RB in Blog, Featured on November 7, 2012 10:45 am / 16 comments [...]

  22. Matt says:
    November 7, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    Crossroads….the GOP either rebrands itself and becomes tolerant of social issues like gay marriage, women’s rights and immigration, giving up on a lot of the social conservative points in order to try and preserve the fiscal conservative approach, ultimately shifting to the center as a way to pander, OR you shift farther right and get behind strict conservative constitutionalism, abandoning moderate repubs and also giving up on amending state constitutions to further define social issues, like gay marriage. Either way it will be tough breaking through to those voters that are perfectly fine giving up their freedoms in exchange for “care” from the government.

  23. It’s Not the Economy, Stupid! | Reflection On Plumb says:
    November 7, 2012 at 10:31 pm

    [...] won last night was marketing.”~RB (h/t: [...]

  24. Roger says:
    November 7, 2012 at 10:31 pm

    My family and I have been moderate republicans since we immigrated to this country during the first Reagan administration. When I became a US citizen one of my proudest moments was the first time I was able to vote and I have been exercising that right ever since.

    Although I agree with what the author has said about marketing and communication won the election. What I have seen happen is that some factions in our own party has alienated various groups like Hispanics, African-Americans, as well as not focusing on attracting the youth to our party as well as women. As our country’s demographics change if we as republicans don’t reach out to the above mentioned groups and welcome them to our party, principles, and ideology then I am concerned that we will implode….was very hurt when Mitt loss yesterday and am very concern what is going to happen in the next 3 months as we approach the fiscal cliff….anyway that’s my two cents…

  25. Melvin Udall says:
    November 8, 2012 at 1:21 am

    “So stop the finger pointing. Stop the ‘I told you sos.’ We didn’t lose the election.”

    No I won’t and yes we did. “We” lost because the GOP refuses to confront the mainstream media as the enemy they are. Until they do “we” might as well give up. There is a 5th column. It is the 4th estate. Without facing and confronting that fact “marketing” is impossible.

    I’ve said that all along while Democrat-complicit Weepy McSpraytan Boehner failed to fight. I said it when the GOP electorate chose Milquetoast Mitt (whose numbers went up the SINGLE time he FOUGHT). I’ll say it now and again. Until the eunuch GOP chooses to CONFRONT the media with conviction, they will lose.

    Democrat reelected a woman killer (Kennedy) for decades, and now put a minority fraud in office. The media goes right along. Pretending the enemy isn’t an enemy is death.

  26. bkeyser says:
    November 8, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    I think we lost because we can’t convince the youth that Conservatism is in their best interest. 60 million people voted for Obama because they have decided that they have reached the limits of your personal potential. We need to show people, especially the youth, that there is more out there available to them AND that what the other side is promising won’t materialize.

    The problem though, is that we fight so hard to protect them from experiencing what the other side is actually offering, that they never feel the pain. It’s like telling a child, “Don’t touch that, it’s hot” over and over and over again. They simply won’t stop trying to touch it until they get burned.

    I’ve reached the point where I think we should let the other side get burned.

  27. On Messaging, the Media and Moving Forward | The Right Sphere says:
    November 9, 2012 at 4:47 pm

    [...] what the GOP and the conservative movement should do now, and I direct you to them for starters: RB says we need to start working on our messaging, and that we lost an American Idol contest, not a presidential [...]

  28. Sackcloth and Ashes – Thoughts on the 2012 Election « Life, Death, and Feeny says:
    November 10, 2012 at 1:41 am

    [...] over Romney’s campaign will be commentated on to death in the following weeks.  I agree with RB’s post that much of it had to do with marketing, but I would also assert that the country is changing, and [...]

  29. sql2005grantdatabasepe says:
    March 12, 2013 at 7:19 am

    Just wish to say your article is as amazing. The clearness in your put up is simply spectacular and i can think you’re a professional in this subject. Fine with your permission let me to seize your feed to keep up to date with drawing close post. Thank you a million and please continue the enjoyable work.

Post a Comment