Why are the R's so surprised they lost?

[Whovian]

They alienated just about everyone in the country except the very wealthy, angry old white men and racists. All in a quest to service their Teabagger overlords.

They insulted women, the LBGT community, Latinos, 47% of the country in a broad swath, anyone not Christian, the Black community, Union workers, people who are collecting the social security benefits they have paid for all their life and of course anyone moderate or liberal. WTF did they expect to happen? I'm surprised they did as well as they did.

They have built themselves a massive circle jerk in which they do nothing except pleasure each other with tales of how right they all are while ostracizing anyone who suggests that one of their platitudes might be incorrect. This goes beyond cognitive dissonance, it's some strange communal psychological disorder that will be studied for years to come.

[Berlum]

1. They were systematically lied to...

...by their own vast, highly sophisticated propaganda network -- including Fox, Rush, Hannity, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

RepubliProles believed the lies their own propaganda pimps were spouting.

Now they are having a hard reckoning between their BS propaganda and reality.

It's not a nice feeling to learn that you have been manipulated & MASSIVELY SUCKERED.

[toddwv]

22. They also systematically lie to themselves.

They have no desire to know the truth because the truth is that people like them are slowly dying out.

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. You answered your own question

They have built themselves a massive circle jerk in which they do nothing except pleasure each other with tales of how right they all are while ostracizing anyone who suggests that one of their platitudes might be incorrect.

They thought they were going to win because the only news they believe and information they get is from wingnut radio and FAUX news. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I visit many business offices in which FAUX news is broadcast basically all of the time.

[Whovian]

4. They certainly have done themselves a disservice and still don't realize they are their own worst

enemies. BTW, how do you do that gray box thing in your posts? That is cool.

[Ya Basta]

6. "BTW, how do you do that gray box thing in your posts? That is cool."

div class="excerpt" in brackets then /div in brackets

[Whovian]

9. Thank you. I will remember this until my next cup of coffee.

Thank you. I will remember this until my next cup of coffee.

[Ya Basta]

15. :)

[caraher]

21. A simpler way

When you compose your post, there are several buttons just above the text box you type in... type or paste the text you want in the gray box into your post, select that text then click they button labeled "excerpt." You'll get the code added automatically!

DU rocks!

[justiceischeap]

3. They've immersed themselves in the propaganda by the right

Fox, Rush, Beck... but also, they can't seem to wrap their heads around the fact that there are minorities--AA, Asian, Latino--that vote. There are also women who vote and since they probably live in the same bubble at home as they do on TV, they can't fathom that all the "little wimmin's" around the US wouldn't want a "daddy" to take care of them.

It's not really about he alienation and insults, of course those play into it, it's that they can't fathom the rest of America doesn't see it the same way they do.

[Whovian]

7. Discussions with some of the R's I know have also led me to

the conclusion that they will not accept any "shades of gray" comment in discussion without answering "there is only black and white." It's as if they either formulate an opinion and that opinion is then forever written in stone for them or they accept the opinion of another as fact that shall not be questioned. There seems to be very little intellectual curiosity in the Republican rank and file.

[justiceischeap]

17. And it's that attitude that leads them to having their own set of "facts"

and "history." No matter what the Benghazi investigation turns up, there will always be those that forever believe and teach what they want to believe about the situation. There are always going to be those that believe the President is a gay Kenyan, socialist, atheist Muslim that gives away cell phones and has a "kill squad" (which I find funny--I wonder if those that believe Obama has a secret "kill" squad are the same that believed that of the Clinton's.)

[socialindependocrat]

5. Because FOX puts out such good propaganda

I was switching channels to see the different polls and election results and
FOX has a post that shows Obama 63 EV and Romney at 67 EV (or something close)

Then I bop back to good old MSNBC and they are showing that the Pres has already won!

I was so shocked that I questioned whether I was watching a replay from the 2008 elections.

They must take lessons from the Orson Wells School of News Reporting!

They skew and they lie and they spin - The FCC needs to make them change their name
to anything but FOX "NEWS" - FOX Propaganda -

Fox should hire Tokyo Rose and celebrate the good old days!

[doc03]

8. One of my Republican friends said Wednesday morning that he can't believe

that Obama was re-elected. I said don't you realize you have been lied to all year about the election. I said you watch Fox News and they have been telling you all the polls were wrong
now you know they were feeding you a line of bs. He didn't know what to say. That guy lives in a bubble he listens to Faux news all evening then listens to RW radio all day at work. Hell even Romney didn't have a clue and he is supposed to be the smart one.

[B Calm]

10. The FOX BUBBLE

[sibelian]

11. They can't believe anything that doesn't make them feel good about themselves.

They're incapable of it.

[rurallib]

12. They feel that them telling us what worthless humans we are

is doing us a favor and we will say thank you with our votes.

[caseymoz]

13. Because of the cult of optimism.

They really convinced themselves that the key to victory was to entertain no doubts about victory. It's the liberal progressives who lost because we're negative people.

Meanwhile, Mormonism is more sparkly than most religions. The way Romney is said to have responded, I begin to think he was so optimistic about it (because he did work long and hard) that he thought God had actually promised him the presidency.

[Kolesar]

14. Inside look: they thought the President's lack of popularity would win it for them

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57547239/adviser-romney-shellshocked-by-loss/

[trotsky]

16. I believe it comes down to this:

1. They misread turnout. They expected it to be between 2004 and 2008 levels, with a plus-2 or plus-3 Democratic electorate, instead of plus-7 as it was in 2008. Their assumptions were wrong on both sides: The president's base turned out and Romney's did not. More African-Americans voted in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida than in 2008. And fewer Republicans did: Romney got just over 2 million fewer votes than John McCain.

I believe Republican turnout was lower for a reason that no one seems to be mentioning: his religion. I believe that in the end, while far more evangelicals voted for him than I thought would, far fewer of them than the campaign expected did.

This is a situation entirely of their own party's making, of course, since they have never promoted religious tolerance or acceptance of anything outside conservative Protestantism, Catholicism, or (lip service to) Judaism.

Voting for a Mormon was just asking too much for a lot of Republicans.

[Whovian]

18. I also believe his religion may have played a part of it.

But for many, they would have voted for Hitler or Satan rather than a Black man.

[trotsky]

19. Ah but neither Hitler nor Satan were Mormons...

[Whovian]

20. LOL!

[Kolesar]

27. Anti-Mormon bigotry--outrageous!

There was a documentary on LDS on Current-TV network. They found Protestant Christians who said on camera that they would not vote at all since he was the 'puke candidate. The program continued into the topic of how Mormons who leave that church are shunned and harassed. They keep files on the apostates!

[submerged99]

23. They are getting angry again.

Reading some of the comments on their website it looks like their base is going to continue along the same path.

The day after "Black Tuesday" it looked as if there was a moment of clarity for many of them but it looks like they are quickly falling back to their default position---Angry.

That attitude will make them even more irrelevant and I say good riddance.

[Kablooie]

24. They depended on preventing the rabble vote and keeping America pure.

And failed.

[montanto]

25. Fox told them they couldn't lose. Fox is never wrong.

Fox told them they couldn't lose. Fox is never wrong.
Fox told them they couldn't lose. Fox is never wrong.
Fox told them they couldn't lose. Fox is never wrong.

[NuttyFluffers]

26. because evil expects good to sit there and take it...

and they expect to cheat, just in case.

their sense of superiority and hatred of their 'lessers' never ends, thus they are confounded when they don't get EVERYTHING that they want.