I have read plenty of analysis and read plenty of comments.
Lots of people focus on Candidates, Message, ... etc.
Yes, those matter ... to some degree. But , I have been thinking about the last few elections since I have been voting (2004) and to me, it comes down to one think: The reliability of the voters.
If your voters are reliable, It doesn't matter what you sell them, they will vote for you.
The Republicans have the worst candidates. Congress approval rating is at an all time low. Republicans hate each other, they want to kill each other in primaries. They shut down Governments. They buy Elections. Most of them only care about Guns, Bible and Tax Cuts.
But when comes the General Elections, they all VOTE and they vote for their own candidates regardless.
Democrats complain about their candidates, then complain about voter laws, then complain about the President and at the end, they refuse to vote. Then they lose, then they complain even more about being squeezed ...
Republicans are supported by people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, ... etc. All these people are a true embarrassment to human race. They are the lowest of the lowest of a person. They are Racists, Bigots, ... etc. But, they are the guys who set the Direction of the Republican Party. If Rush or Sean were running for Office in many parts of America, he would win elections hands down.
I live in NC and we have A General Assembly that has done the worst things in NC. Teachers have left the state. Voters have been disenfranchised. In polls after polls after polls, people dislike the work of the General Assembly. But their leader just won a statewide election and the people so hated in the polls have won re-election. How can you hate people and keep electing them? Simple: Those who really hate them DO NO VOTE. They stay home, no matter how many early voting days. No matter how many ID Laws are passed, ... etc.
Republicans voters are reliable. They vote consistently, reliably and all the time, no matter the weather, the circumstances.
I live in Wake County, NC and have a lot of friends from various backgrounds. I just found out (via the voting registration website NC) that the vast majority of my White Friends (Men or Women) are actually registered Republicans. This discovery shocked me, because in conversation many of them don't sound Republican at all.
Democratic voters are sporadic, unreliable, and sometimes even annoyed by politics.
I'm very saddened today ... But life goes on and we need to keep fighting.
Peace out and make it a great day ya'll ...