Have you heard; We caused Romney's loss

Was Romney's Loss the Tea Party's Fault?

It would be nice to hear opinions at our next meeting.

Forbes: Five Reasons Why Romney Lost

First: Ask how many Tea Party associates did not vote in 2012? Personally I know of none.

Look at some of the states where Obama won: 

Romney lost New Hampshire’s 4 electoral college votes by a margin of 40,659. Obama won with 368,529 to Romney’s 327,870.

Romney lost Florida’s 29 electoral college votes by a margin of 73,858. Obama won with 4,236,032 to Romney’s 4,162,174.

Romney lost Ohio’s 18 electoral college votes by a margin of 103,481. Obama won with 2,697,260 to Romney’s 2,593,779

Romney lost Virginia’s 13 electoral college votes by a margin of 115,910. Obama won with 1,905,528 to Romney’s 1,789,618.

An even more critical error took place in the diversion of financial resources from Virginia, Florida, New Hampshire, Ohio to “expand the map” and buy expensive television ad time in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. This grand strategy, developed by Karl Rove’s Crossroads Group and influenced by senior campaign adviser Ed Gillespie, was a fatal error in crucial last weeks of the campaign.

Another surprising statistic:

"When you talk about Catholics, there are really two Catholic votes, the white vote and the Hispanic vote, which look starkly different," said Robert Jones, chief executive of the Public Religion Research Institute. He said exit polls found that overall, voters were focused mainly on economic issues.

This election year saw strong advocacy on the conservative side of some issues by Catholic bishops, which caused discomfort for liberal Catholics. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops protested the Obama administration's health care mandate which requires Catholic hospitals and colleges to carry insurance that provides free contraception as a violation of religious liberty.

Church leaders also protested against same-sex marriage, which was on the ballot in four states. Some individual bishops took exceptionally strong positions, with Springfield, Illinois Bishop Thomas Paprocki warning his flock that if they voted for someone who promotes abortion their souls would be in jeopardy.The bishops' stands did not seem to have much influence on the vote, said Jones. Catholic attitudes on the healthcare mandate were unchanged in March and September polls, despite advocacy by church leaders.

What we need in the coming year is reasonable strong positions and activity. Our best hope at any time is probably a good Republican Candidate. Should such a candidate not emerge, God bless us. The first step in the direction of 2016 is activity this year. Put forth your thoughts in a reasonable manner while we make it loud and clear that we must have a candidate that honors our Country, its Declaration of Independence, Our Constitution, personal freedoms.

There are two primary reasons the Founders chose to select presidents via the electoral college instead of by direct, popular voting. The first reason was their lack of trust in the judgment of the people. They were fearful that a well-spoken but not well-intentioned individual could flatter the people and win their support. They hoped that a secondary body, such as the Electoral College, would not be susceptible to such attempts at manipulation. This reason for the Electoral College is virtually meaningless with changes that have "bound" electors to cast their votes for the candidate who wins the majority of the popular vote in each state.

The second reason for choosing presidents by electoral votes instead of by popular vote is to give the states a voice in the presidential election. The principle of federalism was and is a critical feature of the American political system. By placing states in this important position in the selection of the country's leader, the Framers sought to maintain the position of states as important entities in the American political system.

Imagine that presidential elections were not decided state-by-state, but rather by a nationwide popular vote. The significance of states and the candidates' competition for support in key, "swing" states would disappear. Candidates would be inclined to simply run nationwide ad campaigns and visit large population centers.

A more important question is why does the Electoral College set up ignore the existence of the vote by congressional district? If the Votes in congressional districts were greater for one candidate maybe that states Electoral College Vote should reflect the choice of the state rather than the majority of the state’s vote. The only fear is that a Congressman or Congresswoman would become more powerful if there district were to control a direct Electoral Vote.