Republicans: "Juicing-the-base strategy is a recipe for a respectable defeat, not victory"

[kpete]

The race to date has been characterized by two key facts.

First, the Democratic base is bigger than the Republican base. The number of self-identifying Democrats is substantially larger that the number of Republican-identifiers.

Second, contrary to what we might have imagined earlier in the year, Republicans have already been substantially more united behind McCain than Democrats have been behind Obama. I would not have predicted that. But the polls have been extremely consistent on this point.

In other words, the GOP 'base' was already substantially united behind McCain, subjective measures of intensity notwithstanding. The people who will win the election for McCain are disaffected Democrats and independents. In the context of 2008, a juicing-the-base strategy is a recipe for a respectable defeat, not victory.

more at:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/212852.php

[invictus]

1. The GOP is going down and for the next eight years it will stay down. n/t

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. They are shoring up down-ticket races and laying the hysteric grievance grounds for RW 2.0

[Growler]

3. K&R

[CTyankee]

4. I have been saying this since McCain chose Palin. He wanted to not go down

as the presidential candidate that did not involve the "base." Well, good for him. Take the whole damn ship down with you and be eaten by the sharks so that not even your bones will be left at the bottom of the ocean floor.