Politics Wires

On the day after, Republicans ask what went wrong

 

McClatchy Newspapers

Several Republicans and many political analysts believe that the party lost gettable Senate seats from Indiana and Missouri because of language on abortion and rape from the Republican candidates in those races.

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, who was considered among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the Senate, defeated Republican Rep. Todd Akin, who spurred controversy this summer when he said that women rarely got pregnant in the case of “legitimate rape.”

In Indiana, Republicans put a safe seat in jeopardy by ousting longtime Sen. Richard Lugar in a primary and nominating tea party favorite Richard Mourdock. Mourdock was neck and neck with the Democrat for the fall election, then fell behind when he defended his opposition to abortion in cases of rape because he believed that life created even in rape was an act of God. He lost.

“This has to be more about how we appeal to the American people, not how we appeal to the party base,” Robinson said. “The agenda will have to help up us reconnect with the American people.”

One thing all factions within the Republican Party seem to agree on is the need to reach Hispanics. Obama captured 71 percent of the Latino vote to Romney’s 27 percent. Ironically, Romney warned in a secretly recorded video shot at a Boca Raton fundraiser that Republicans have to do something to get Hispanics into the party fold.

“We’re having a much harder time with Hispanic voters,” Romney said in the video, which was released by Mother Jones magazine. “And if the Hispanic voting bloc becomes as committed to the Democrats as the African-American voting bloc has in the past, well, we’re in trouble as a party and, I think, as a nation.”

A Republican outreach effort could include a serious bipartisan effort to pass comprehensive immigration legislation, something that Republicans helped scuttle during George W. Bush’s presidency and balked at under Obama.

“It’s kind of a threshold issue,” said Jeffrey Bell, a conservative consultant and author. “It isn’t the only thing that Hispanic voters care about, but if they think the Republican Party is not welcoming towards them, it’s hard to get their attention on anything else.”

However, Robinson believes that Republicans, in their post-election blues, aren’t ready to deal with the immigration issue.

“We’ve got to get ourselves straight first,” he said.

Email: wdouglas@mcclatchydc.com; twitter @williamdouglas

Read more Politics Wires stories from the Miami Herald

  •  

In this June 11, 2013, photo, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grassley says the Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts. He says his office has learned that the IRS is executing an agreement with the employees’ union on Wednesday, June 19, 2013, to pay the bonuses.

    Senator: IRS to pay $70M in employee bonuses

    The Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year, according to a GOP senator.

  • Capitol's Frederick Douglass statue to be unveiled

    The 19th-century orator and writer Frederick Douglass will once again stand tall in the U.S. Capitol.

  •  

FILE - In this June 6, 2013, file photo, a woman talks on the phone outside the U.S. Courthouse in Washington, where the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court resides. The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency’s secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of its low-profile existence, stymied by Congressional in-fighting and its work at times censored by government lawyers. The privacy board planned to meet privately Wednesday, June 19, 2013, in its first meeting since revelations that the NSA has been secretly collecting the phone records of millions of Americans: It was closed to the public.

    Obama relying on untested oversight board on NSA

    The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency's secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of low-profile existence, stymied by congressional infighting and, at times, censorship by government lawyers.

Miami Herald

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category