Another week, another patient explanation by a Republican as to why that Mitt Romney guy lost. This time it's Romney lead strategist Stuart Stevens' turn. He says it wasn't technology's fault (apparently conservatives have been going around saying that Stevens screwed things up by not having mad Twitter skillz)—
no, it was a generational thing.
I don’t think it’s very controversial to suggest that a candidate who favors gay marriage and free contraception might have more appeal to a younger demographic.
Mitt's problem, you see, was that the content of his message was completely unappealing to the young folks, what with their wanting "Obamacare" and gay marriage and maybe some jobs eventually please if that's not too much to ask. That's not something a Twitter account can fix. No, what will fix that is
substance, and by
substance we have no idea what we actually mean but it sounds pretty good so let's go with that. Let's take a look, below the fold:
Content is king. The ugly, clunky Drudge Report site still harvests record numbers of eyeballs because it serves up a hearty meal at a good price: free. The content rule is true across mediums. How many graphic makeovers and relaunches has CNN attempted to arrest its slow slide? The simple truth is that most people feel there is no reason to watch CNN, and they are happy not to. Meanwhile, “Storage Wars” racks up viewers and “Dog,” the bounty hunter, has a new series.
So whatever "content" is, it consists of publishing faked or misleading news stories peddled by GOP insiders and the cheap sensationalism of mid-tier reality shows, and that's
still better than whatever CNN is dishing out on any given day. Noted.
So it is in politics. A Republican renaissance will inevitably be driven by policy.
Policy like "Drudge" and "Storage Wars," or like Drudge? I have no idea where Stevens is going with this one. Neither does he, since he then goes on to praise Michael Gerson and Alex Castellanos for their contributions to noting the overpowering stench of decay coming from the party, which is a bit like praising your child for recognizing that maybe stapling their thumb to their forehead wasn't such a great idea after all. I mean it's fine, but the standards have gotten a little low.
Today, social media fulfill much of the need for community and togetherness that were once provided by bowling leagues, church suppers and, yes, political parties. Like interests are drawn together through the invisible connectivity of virtual communities.
Facebook is actually a hell of a lot like church suppers, at least as I remember them. The bitter recriminations, the snide comments that seem to be insults but you're never quite sure, the people who are
way too proud of their current food product; ah, brings me back. All right, so we've learned that Republicans don't have a technology problem, and that technology is good, and that Republicans can win by adopting good, sensible policies like those featured on the Drudge Report and Honey Boo Boo. But what about the young people? How will Republicans compete with the likes of Obamacare and gay marriage for the hearts of the young people?
For 2016, the Democrats seem headed toward a fight between Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Both launched their careers in the 1970s; what will their slogan be, “Another Century of Service”?
On our side, we have Paul Ryan, Nikki Haley, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, Susana Martinez and more. Who has the best opportunity to win that generational battle?
Ah. As the GOP plan for wooing Hispanic Americans consists of the phrase "Hey look, here's Marco Rubio," the GOP plan for wooing young people will be to say, "Hey, look! We've got Chris Christie and Jeb Bush! They're pretty young, right? I mean, they've at least still got their original hips."
Well, you can't argue with that logic. Republicans are going to win the next generation by turning Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush into a boy band, which will then appeal to the young folks because content, where content means calling Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton old farts. This column really demonstrates how deep-thinking Republican strategy sessions must be. Really, I can't imagine why they lost.
