Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Romney campaign: Rarely has so much been spent to so little effect.
So firstly, we see that there is no honor among thieves. Live by your corporate culture, die by it. Secondly, we see once again that Conservatives are - well, conservative. They're the last to adapt to change. Changes in demographics, changes in technology, it's all the same.
There is a larger story here that, up until now, we at Breitbart have not discussed. The left thinks the Republican party is beholden to its billionaire donors. Actually, the Republican party treats these donors as easy marks. The party is actually beholden to a small cadre of political consultants and media buyers who exert total control over the party's messaging and outreach.
All institutional arms of the Republican party have lists of "approved" vendors and consultants. If a campaign doesn't use someone from this list, the party will threaten to withhold financial support. If consultants on this list were competent, it wouldn't be such a problem, but the "approved" consultants tend to produce generic, cookie-cutter campaigns. Can anyone remember a single memorable ad from a SuperPAC or GOP campaign this cycle?
The problem is exacerbated because Republicans are addicted to broadcast TV ads as their primary means of communication. (This is mostly because it is the most lucrative for consultants, but more on that another time.) This made some sense two decades ago, when real-time TV had a lock on most viewers. But, in an age of TV-on-demand, video streaming and hundreds of cable channels, it is less efficient. According to our exit poll, two-thirds of voters made up their mind before September. So, all those hundreds of millions in ad dollars were chasing fewer and fewer voters.
To be sure, Obama and the Democrats also spent a lot on broadcast TV, but they also committed enormous resources in direct voter contact and turning out the vote. The Republicans were several orders of magnitude less sophisticated on this front. Its a big reason why the GOP was able to spend billions on this election and win fewer votes than McCain won in 2008.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/11/08/waste-gop-money-edge-squandered
All institutional arms of the Republican party have lists of "approved" vendors and consultants. If a campaign doesn't use someone from this list, the party will threaten to withhold financial support. If consultants on this list were competent, it wouldn't be such a problem, but the "approved" consultants tend to produce generic, cookie-cutter campaigns. Can anyone remember a single memorable ad from a SuperPAC or GOP campaign this cycle?
The problem is exacerbated because Republicans are addicted to broadcast TV ads as their primary means of communication. (This is mostly because it is the most lucrative for consultants, but more on that another time.) This made some sense two decades ago, when real-time TV had a lock on most viewers. But, in an age of TV-on-demand, video streaming and hundreds of cable channels, it is less efficient. According to our exit poll, two-thirds of voters made up their mind before September. So, all those hundreds of millions in ad dollars were chasing fewer and fewer voters.
To be sure, Obama and the Democrats also spent a lot on broadcast TV, but they also committed enormous resources in direct voter contact and turning out the vote. The Republicans were several orders of magnitude less sophisticated on this front. Its a big reason why the GOP was able to spend billions on this election and win fewer votes than McCain won in 2008.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/11/08/waste-gop-money-edge-squandered
