GOP Turnout. Do y'all even care?

[fightingquaker13]

This isn't a slam on the party, its a slam on the fact that the vast majority of the GOP hates their candidates this year. Love him or hate him, BO got a record number of folks out to the Iowa caucus because the Dems and independents were fed up with W. and wanted change. Fast forward four years. We have a failed administration and an economy in the tank. Folks should be just as fed up and wanting change, right? Wrong.
I just read an article that compared the Iowa  turnout to my county's general election turnout. A new County Commissioner in an off year election got 30,146 votes. This beat out Romney's statewide total by 131 votes. His spending? $145K. The second place finisher in this race got 18,587 votes and spent $25K and still got more combined votes than Bachman and Perry. In fact, Perry spent about $322 per vote. He dropped $4.19 million to get 12,604 votes.  Hell, our Port Commissioner, and damned if I know what he does, got 76,000 plus votes, double the total of Romney and Santorum.  Is it fair to say that the GOP has a bit of ennui this cycle? I'm not gloating here, I'm pissed. When a party spends $12.5 million on a "nationally important" statewide campaign and comes up seriously short of the vote totals of a county commission race that took place at a fraction of the cost in an off year election, am I wrong to say WTF?  Anybody? Please?
FQ13

[Herknav]

I know a girl from Iowa.  She couldn't care less about politics.  To her, it's all about having famous people pander to you.  I think this is true of many folks in the early primary states.  

[soapbox]I think it's complete and unadulteraded {crap} that a few states get to pick the nominee.  This isn't the pre-television days where candidates needed to travel to a state to get his/her/its message out.  I want 4-5 actual debates where each candidate is given equal opportunity to answer the questions asked from the audience.  Then everybody goes to the ballot box on primary day.  One day nationwide.  Is that so difficult?[/soapbox]

Maybe tom would stop foisting his liberal neighbors off on the rest of us.  

[twyacht]

This isn't a slam on the party, its a slam on the fact that the vast majority of the GOP hates their candidates this year.d

That might be true...

BUT what is an undeniable FACT, is that GOP voters HATE BHO MORE!!! Knife cuts both ways,....Dems fed up with W, got their hope & change,.....en mass by votinh for The Annointed One....

The tables are turned....The game is a high priced rigged system of having a candidate chosen for us simpleton voters...

As I've posted, The GOP can run Bobo The Clown, Arnold Ziffel, or Ron Paul,...and I will vote for them. Not so much in search of an "anti-Romney" just an "anti-BHO"...

Although having Newt spank El Presidente at a National Debate, would be worth some good vino to watch...

[Herknav]

BUT what is an undeniable FACT, is that GOP voters HATE BHO MORE!!!

I honestly can't tell the difference between Romney and Obama, other than skin tone.

[Rastus]

I honestly can't tell the difference between Romney and Obama, other than skin tone.

Gee, you need to open your eyes dude.

One word.  Hair.   

[Sponsor]

[JLawson]

I think the problem is differentiation... or rather the lack of it.

On the issues that seem to be most important to the folks - jobs, economy, spending - the GOP candidates have offered very little to set themselves apart from one another.  Some have offered slogans but nothing really substantial.  The voters are staying home because they don't see a clear difference in the field.

[tombogan03884]

FQ is working without enough info.
True, Romney only got 30,000 votes, but that was out of 122,000.
This was a caucus, not a general vote, I'm not to clear on the differences but I do know that it does not include all the people who would vote R.
Another thing that is skewing FQ's thinking is that since BO is running , more or less, unopposed, ( there are 6 registered dems running against him ) there is no Dem caucus to compare numbers.
I think you will find that while no GOP candidate has yet developed overwhelming support, on election day the "Any one but BO" vote will be enormous, That would , of course be, the total vote regardless of party, minus the specifically BO votes.

[Timothy]

Without reading FQs OP, it is rather sad that out of 2,000,000 registered voters in Iowa, only 122K bothered to turn out to vote in the caucus!

Compare that to the NH Primary of 2008 and over 500,000 people turned out for the two races on a total of 860,000 registered voters!  That's a decent turnout!

The primaries are where your vote counts the most!  We get what we deserve unless we voice our opinion!

[fightingquaker13]

FQ is working without enough info.
True, Romney only got 30,000 votes, but that was out of 122,000.
This was a caucus, not a general vote, I'm not to clear on the differences but I do know that it does not include all the people who would vote R.
Another thing that is skewing FQ's thinking is that since BO is running , more or less, unopposed, ( there are 6 registered dems running against him ) there is no Dem caucus to compare numbers.
I think you will find that while no GOP candidate has yet developed overwhelming support, on election day the "Any one but BO" vote will be enormous, That would , of course be, the total vote regardless of party, minus the specifically BO votes.

In Iowa, anybody can show up for a caucus, including same day registrants to that party. Its just a lenghthy process. every candidates guy gives a spiel, you move into corners of the room, noses are counted, and candidates who fall below a minum threshhold have their delegates wooed to join the ones who are over the threshold, noses are counted again and a tally is recorded. They're like a mini-political convention. The thing is though that anyone can show up. In '08 they turned out in droves, this year the only folks in the GOP who seem excited are the Paulites.
FQ13

[Solus]

In Iowa, anybody can show up for a caucus, including same day registrants to that party. Its just a lenghthy process. every candidates guy gives a spiel, you move into corners of the room, noses are counted, and candidates who fall below a minum threshhold have their delegates wooed to join the ones who are over the threshold, noses are counted again and a tally is recorded. They're like a mini-political convention. The thing is though that anyone can show up. In '08 they turned out in droves, this year the only folks in the GOP who seem excited are the Paulites.
FQ13

On a trip some years ago, we drove across Texas and into Oklahoma.  We stayed at a motel just across the state line in OK.

The next morning, Sunday, we were having breakfast in the motel restaurant and there was a family, father, mother and two sons at the table next to us.  Sons aged 8 to 10 maybe.  Dad was dressed in a black suit as where the boys.   Well the boys got to playing and teasing, one trying to keep the others fork from him.  Mom told them to settle down, but they didn't mind long.  Then Dad leaned over to them and said,  "Boys, if you don't start to behave, these folks are going to think you are Texans.".

The boys settled down and were well behaved for the rest of the meal.

I think that the Republicans just don't want folks to think they are Democrats.