When you add up the exit polling from all the battleground states Mitt Romney got roughly: 7% of the Black vote; 29% of the Hispanic vote; 40% of the Under-30 vote; and, 35% of the single female vote.
There is no way you can expect to win 270 electoral votes with those kinds of stats. So the 2016 Republican Party should have to focus on the 4 “I’s” for the next Presidential election.
Inclusion: The GOP will have to change the perception that they are either racist or classist –no 47% comments. Many Blacks believed Republicans were the party of “No” purely for race and not for policy.
That’ll make an electorate mad which then makes them more passionate and loyal to their party and their candidate. Luckily for Republicans the next Democratic ticket most likely won’t have a Black candidate so Republicans can get at least 25% of the Black vote. In four years they should at least get 50% of the Black vote that earns more than $50k a year.
Immigration: President Obama did better with Hispanics in 2012 than he did in 2008. The party cannot support laws that allow police to stop you if you “look” like an illegal immigrant. What do illegal immigrants look like in the first place?
This type of rhetoric by Republicans alienated Hispanics that are here legally. Put that in juxtaposition to the Democrats that embraced this voting block with policy changes like the Dream Act.
Bush was able to win 45% of working class Hispanics by focusing on family and education and being a former Texas Governor gave him credibility. Texas will be a blue state by 2050 so Republicans need to prepare for those Hispanics, both young and old, now.
Innovation: Romney did better than McCain with the youth vote but still lost 60% of the vote. The party has to rejuvenate itself and be more assessable on social media. It needs to build enthusiasm and engagement among young conservatives.
Today, they feel alone and nervous to express their feelings in public. Its been unpopular since “Hope & Change”. Repealing Obamacare would kick off every 18-26 year old on their parents plan. That’s a hard message to sell to young voters then ask them to pull the lever for you.
Youth unemployment is over 12% with only a 50% labor force participation rate. Unfortunately the Republican message has been more socially conservative than fiscally conservative. Today, most young people have a gay friend, don’t want to go to war, are not overly religious, are not pro-life, and want to smoke pot.
If the Party could run on social tolerance and be able to offer a true job plan, they would get a bigger portion of the youth vote.
Invasion: Republicans lost the war on women by supporting policies that invade the privacy of women. Trying to defund Planned Parenthood is like 0.0001% of the deficit. It doesn’t make sense to bring it up if you are a deficit hawk. You lose credibility.
Also trying to place barriers in front of woman receiving contraception is a nice way to lose the women vote as well. Many women were turned off when the Republican House led a Congressional session on contraception with various leader and experts. Not only were none of them women, they invited Priests and Rabbis to speak about women and reproduction issues.
Also, answering the question about whether your Party supports equal pay for women should never be “Yes, but…”
1 Man 1 Mind