Presidential & CA Postmortems, Strategy & Thanks

I also worked for local (state assembly) candidate Craig Huey’s election, and despite his loss, he invited volunteers to an appreciation night (see below).  Lots of political junkies, refreshments, but most interesting were his post-mortem of human stories & statistical breakdown (including the presidential race), and lessons learned going forward.  In the photos below, Craig is the silver-haired guy in blue shirt & tie.  There were a few younger volunteers -- but we need more!  For those less interested in local politics (though they have broader ramifications), I’ll put up front his insights on the national race, which he saved to the end.  

A Postmortem on the Presidential Race

Romney got 8% more of the Catholic vote than McCain, but far fewer Evangelicals.  I believe I got the numbers right that he shared – 8 million Evangelicals didn’t vote in 2008, but 24 million in 2012!!!  The entire crowd groaned loudly at that -- I thought they'd break out the torches & pitchforks.  Romney lost the popular vote by only 3 million.  And in the battleground states by only some 400,000.  That answers in fair part the question I raised in my last post, as to why with such an unprecedented get-out-the-vote campaign, 3 million fewer Republicans voted in this election.  Clearly the GOTV campaign was highly effective among non-evangelicals – apparently increasing their vote by some 13 million.  But now we can apparently say more definitively where the blame lies – with the 16 million evangelicals who voted in 2008 and refused to in 2012.  I correctly suspected the Evangelicals were a factor.

To be fair, there were many Evangelicals who openly (perhaps a bit late in the game) recognized what was at stake and that they must swallow any objections to Romney’s religion for the sake of the country.  But apparently, the earlier poison spread during the primaries by evangelical leaders had a lasting or ongoing (whisper campaign?) effect on a very large number of Evangelicals.  Yes, their petty reluctance due to theological differences will have serious, longterm national consequences that they must now bear much responsibility for.  They allowed the vote to be incredibly close, where it shouldn’t have been, and when it’s close, the Dems can cheat, and indications are that as usual, they did (“Obama Likely Won Re-Election Through Election Fraud,” Rachel Alexander, http://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2012/11/11/obama_likely_won_reelection_through_election_fraud) Some of the statistics by cities of Huey’s race vs. the presidential also were puzzling, pointing to possible fraud, and one volunteer present knew that her sister-in-law had voted from the grave.

Yes, of course there was also the vicious personal attack campaign by Obama against Romney, but just as it’s true that America will only be defeated from within, so it is with the Republican Party.  No doubt the Ron Paul extremists also bear some responsibility.  My sense is that the Tea Party did in the end back Romney/Ryan.

 

The Huey Race

Huey’s race received more attention and funding from Democrats than any other in the state, as it was so close and the deciding race in the Democrats winning their 2/3 super-majority to ignore Republicans and have carte blanche.  While Huey won over 54% of the South Bay, he lost Venice & Santa Monica (notoriously liberal).  Normal campaigns run about $300,000, but Democrats threw some $3.5 million to his opponent, outspending him about 4 to 1.  The most expensive race in the state.

There were several things that lost the battle, but not the war.  We were able to establish education about economic freedom, etc., and lay a groundwork for the future. 

Polling showed Huey had a favorable chance or likely to win, but something happened in the last 20 days.  Gardena, W. Carson & Lomita turned out but were not expected to.  In retrospect, we should have done mailings to Hispanics and Asians.  Huey did do a special newspaper-like mailing tailored to each city, different targeted mailers & absentee voter applications (they got back 1100).  The Torrance Police Dept. union endorsed Huey because he has integrity & they believe him – they’d been burned by Democrat candidates in the past.  And they got a lot of grief from the Dems & unions for doing so, even going along w. Huey’s pension reform proposals.

Muratsuchi painted Huey as too extreme – on social security & medicare.  83% of their $3.5 million came from the unions.  Huey raised more than any other Republican running & w. matching had $800,000.  41% of his opponent’s winning margin came from Gardena, 27% from Red. Beach.  I went up after to let him know I live in Gardena, and walked my precinct, and informed several voters of the criticality of their vote in the face of a potential Dem. super-majority.  And I told him something he hadn’t heard – that 2 SEIU people came door-to-door in my neighborhood pushing prop. 30, and against 32. 

He collected valuable data for the future.  24 pastors supported him, yet his opponent called him immoral.  Obama & the Dems are expert at online marketing & social media.  Huey did web ads that follow people to different sites – the most savvy Republican campaign.  He also did live & telephone town halls, TV ads. 

Prop. 13 will likely be destroyed w. the Democrat supermajority (the first since 1930).  The Save CA website & Anderson Cooper expose teacher union corruption in the state assembly.  And we’re already seeing elected CA Democrats proposing huge car tax increases, even raising the ire of at least one Democrat in a letter to the editor.  They’re starting to wake up, and this election may be the darkness before the light.

Where from Here?  The Art of Political War

Huey’s wife gave an emotional account of being inspired by the movie “Stranded” recently – a takeoff of the Swiss Family Robinson where they resourcefully came back after a shipwreck, and beat the pirates.  She & her husband are not sure whether they’ll run again, but he promised he was going to continue to fight for California.  There were some clear, over-the-line outright libelous lies used by his opponent which he intends to contest in court (he needs some donations to pay for that – see Huey.com, I believe).  And similar settlements have been some $13 million, which he promised would go to Republican candidates in California for 2014, 2016, which he feels we must begin now to regroup for, and which we have a good (better than before) chance to win.  I’d agree – as things continue to get worse economically in the state (& country), eventually, surely people will wake up, and be much more open to honest, fiscally responsible candidates, and not just people who promise free goodies without regard for the future.

For those interested in becoming more savvy and effective in countering the Democrats’ character attacks, lies, voter fraud, etc. in the future, here is a link to the booklet mentioned in my last post by former radical Leftist David Horowitz.  For those w. negative feelings toward the “Tea Party,” don’t let the last part of the title distract you from what is really a generic treatment of conservative strategies.   “The Art of Political War for Tea Parties,” http://frontpagemag.com/upload/pamphlets/Tea-party.pdf.

A Thank-You to Mitt Romney

Here’s an email that was forwarded to me, and that I’d second.

“Thanks!”

 November 7, 2012

“This is a thank you note to a good man.

Thank you for turning aside from a life of ease and security to run for the presidency against an incumbent.

Thank you for enduring the slander of you, your family, and your faith perpetrated by a criminally negligent media.

Thank you for calling things such as 'terrorism' by their right name.

Thanks for selecting Paul Ryan as vice presidential running mate.

Thank you -- and your lovely wife -- for demonstrating true love.

Thank you for handling yourself with grace and equanimity in every situation.

Thank you for your patriotism.

Thank you for believing in America.  It is to our eternal shame that America did not, in this time and place, believe in you.”

Mitt Romney’s Email Letter to Volunteers/Contributors

Mark,

Ann and I cannot thank you enough for supporting and believing in our cause.

This was more than just a campaign -- this was a national movement.

Thank you for the work that you did -- going across neighborhoods to knock on doors and put up yard signs. Thanks for making phone calls, coming to rallies, donating funds, and convincing friends and family to join our team.

What's really inspiring is that you came together because you care about America.

We still believe that better days are ahead. It's up to us to rally together to renew America's promise and restore American greatness.

From the bottom of our hearts, Ann and I thank you for your support, prayers, efforts, and vote.  We are forever grateful to each and every one of you.

Today's a new day. Keep believing in America.

Thank you and God bless America,

Mitt and Ann Romney

Craig Huey’s Email Letter to Volunteers

Dear Mark,

I am humbled and appreciate your help so much.

Volunteers are something that I do not take for granted.  It is with great respect for you, that I am writing to thank you for volunteering in my campaign to Restore the California Dream.

Even though this battle was not won, we press on.

Your volunteering helped send a clear message throughout the South Bay and the state.  Every hour that you volunteered was reflected in the voter turnout.

Over 70,000 people in this district voted for me.  A direct result of your time.

The heart of our voters beats for a return to the paradise that California once was.  Our message will not be bought by unions or special interest groups.  Together we informed and educated voters.  They attended telephone and live town halls.  They actually read the direct mail pieces that contained specific plans for progress.  You were the reason the word got out.

Your time spent volunteering made sure that all of these efforts were not in vain.  And for that I am eternally grateful.

What happened here is not something that ended with this campaign.  We have a grass root uprising of a new type of voter.  These voters will not back down and crawl under the mat, like my liberal opponent and his party hope. 

Despite being outspent 4:1 and being attacked, we did better than other Republican candidates in California.

“Restoring the California Dream” is not over.  As you know, losing this race gave the Democrats a 2/3 super-majority, making it more difficult to create change.  But, I will continue to be a voice for voters.  I will expose and educate them with periodic updates from The Huey Report and other avenues.

I look forward to being a voice for you and the thousands of voters just like you.  I am honored for your time helping on the campaign.

Let’s continue to build together a bright future for California.
Let’s continue to push forward to “Restore the California Dream”.

This Friday, November 16th, I am having a volunteer appreciation night.  I hope you can come.  It’s at the campaign headquarters at 21707 Hawthorne Blvd. Suite 302 in Torrance at 7:00 pm.  I hope you can come.

You are a True Patriot.

Fight On.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Craig Huey