by Smitty
I just took in Morton Blackwell’s post-mortem on the election. He quoted extensively from Goldwater:
I had a very exciting time at the Republican National Convention. My conservative allies and I all worked very hard in the presidential election.
When I woke up the day after the election, everything I had worked for appeared to be in ruins. An extreme leftist had been reelected president of the United States.
Some liberal Republicans immediately began to blame newly activated conservatives for the presidential defeat. I knew they were wrong. It was clear to me that these newly active conservatives would be the key to major future victories for conservative principles.
Blackwell quoted the Lincoln Four-Step, and pointed out that the air game (consultants blowing piles of money on SuperPAC ads) at the expense of the ground game was a big non-winner, as it is a mis-allocation of resources. No kidding, said starving bloggers across the land. Aside: is Citizens United still the worst SCOTUS decision evar, or does the re-election of BHO mean people exercising freedom of speech in groups is OK again?
Another point brought out by Blackwell was that Ronald Reagan managed to say unpleasant things pleasantly. Mr. Romney never seriously articulated why the class warfare rhetoric is so false. Not all fights are tasteful, genteel, and on the ground of the general’s choosing.
The need for a permanent campaign was another drum he beat. Politics is NOT my number one priority in life. For the Left, it seems like it may be. There seem to be Statists who view politics as life itself. A lady in the audience mentioned a rich Obama family (around Richmond, maybe) that put up four Obama operatives for a full year leading up to the election. Think of Democrats as political Jehova’s Witnesses. I say that in admiration of a work ethic, not endorsement of either viewpoint. I don’t want to make politics that important, frankly. But the need to get people to set aside a modest amount of time to engage and build a coherent conservative response cannot be understated. “A Republic, if you can keep it,” said Franklin. We have to keep it.
“Organization wins elections,” said a fellow in the crowd. Not just the phone calls and door knocks by random people from wherever. The precinct captains who know their turf are what the GOP lacks. As a terrible neighbor who hardly knows anyone on my block, I have to own my slice of the problem. If we’re not engaging in a minor invasion of privacy to get to know people, we’ll be suffering increasing major invasions of privacy from Leviathan.
Sissy Willis on Twitter points to a mea culpa from Alaska:
Sarah Palin warned us, and that is irrefutable. But I have learned from it the hard way. Instead of “forward,” which is the current battle cry, it seems that “backward” is the new norm. I shudder to think what this country will be like in the next four years.
Yes, Sarah warned us, and some listened. I don’t agree with her all the time, but what is intriguing is that she somehow knew. How, I ask? Not sure, but she knew, and that is fact. Maybe I should have listened.
Update: thanks, Instapundit!