Who Mitt could have been.

[Applejack]

There is an interesting special election today in D.C. An at-large D.C. Council seat is up for grabs and a Republican (A REPUBLICAN!) is a serious contender. For those unfamiliar with the intricacies of D.C.politique, the D.C. Council runs the city and is notoriously corrupt. Marion Berry is a CURRENT member of the Council. Way to go, pimp!
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3ohDdD6T54oVY-tQ-NdC8e2cEcb-dkS7rmzzb6uF12pZssbRl

Anyway, since D.C. is like the bizarro political version of Utah County, all 15 council members are usually democrats. However, there is an open city-wide seat that might be stolen by a Republican. Who is this super-human politician, you may ask? It's Partick Mara, a young, white, wealthy businessman, who has lost in three previous elections and whose personality is generously described as "goofy." Sound like any other formerly aspiring politicians you know?
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS3Byz8yFaVDbK-hM8blf0iVu86TjZkhju86ZwcS3GJ6KCsTBNN
So, how did Mara thrust himself into a punchers chance at victory in a city that votes over 75% democrat? By positioning himself in just the way Mitt should have:

1. He is not tone-def on social issues. He is pro-gay marriage, never talks about rape or abortion, and even supports decriminalization of marijuana.
2. He focuses on spending, but not in a draconian, I-like-to-fire-people kind of way. He is the only one running who talks about D.C.'s crazy spending, while he still talks about improving schools (the public kind). Essentially, he is suggesting that we shift spending away from frivolous stuff towards the stuff that matters.
3. He got lucky. There are too many white, uber-left candidates (4) who will drain each others votes. If two of them had dropped out, there isn't enough cross-over appeal for Mara to win. But because none of the 4 withdrew, they are all screwed. His real challenger is Anita Bond, an African-American woman who is the interim council-member. She will run away with the African American vote in the city, so it will largely come down to turnout (expected to be low).

So, could Mitt have won if he had dropped his "extreme conservative" persona? Who knows, but I think that the future of the Republican party looks like Mr. Mara. He has my vote today, even though he's a doofus - I'm all about diversity.

[U-Ute]

There is an interesting special election today in D.C. An at-large D.C. Council seat is up for grabs and a Republican (A REPUBLICAN!) is a serious contender. For those unfamiliar with the intricacies of D.C.politique, the D.C. Council runs the city and is notoriously corrupt. Marion Berry is a CURRENT member of the Council. Way to go, pimp!
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3ohDdD6T54oVY-tQ-NdC8e2cEcb-dkS7rmzzb6uF12pZssbRl

Anyway, since D.C. is like the bizarro political version of Utah County, all 15 council members are usually democrats. However, there is an open city-wide seat that might be stolen by a Republican. Who is this super-human politician, you may ask? It's Partick Mara, a young, white, wealthy businessman, who has lost in three previous elections and whose personality is generously described as "goofy." Sound like any other formerly aspiring politicians you know?
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS3Byz8yFaVDbK-hM8blf0iVu86TjZkhju86ZwcS3GJ6KCsTBNN
So, how did Mara thrust himself into a punchers chance at victory in a city that votes over 75% democrat? By positioning himself in just the way Mitt should have:

1. He is not tone-def on social issues. He is pro-gay marriage, never talks about rape or abortion, and even supports decriminalization of marijuana.
2. He focuses on spending, but not in a draconian, I-like-to-fire-people kind of way. He is the only one running who talks about D.C.'s crazy spending, while he still talks about improving schools (the public kind). Essentially, he is suggesting that we shift spending away from frivolous stuff towards the stuff that matters.
3. He got lucky. There are too many white, uber-left candidates (4) who will drain each others votes. If two of them had dropped out, there isn't enough cross-over appeal for Mara to win. But because none of the 4 withdrew, they are all screwed. His real challenger is Anita Bond, an African-American woman who is the interim council-member. She will run away with the African American vote in the city, so it will largely come down to turnout (expected to be low).

So, could Mitt have won if he had dropped his "extreme conservative" persona? Who knows, but I think that the future of the Republican party looks like Mr. Mara. He has my vote today, even though he's a doofus - I'm all about diversity.

I agree that had Mitt been more like this, he would've been much more attractive to Independent voters.

The problem seems to be that the caucuses are run by the ones that don't like such candidates.

[LA Ute]

I agree that had Mitt been more like this, he would've been much more attractive to Independent voters.

The problem seems to be that the caucuses are run by the ones that don't like such candidates.

He would never have been nominated if he had run that way. The problem is not with Mitt but with the GOP and its ridiculous primary election process.

[Applejack]

Update: He lost.

Anita Bonds was too powerful to take down. Fun fact: she is a mentee of Marion Berry and she works for a "major city contractor!" Excellent news!

[Rocker Ute]

I agree that had Mitt been more like this, he would've been much more attractive to Independent voters.

The problem seems to be that the caucuses are run by the ones that don't like such candidates.

Case in point, Jon Huntsman Jr. He got absolutely destroyed with his moderate views and because he wrote a *gasp* respectful letter to his employer, Barrack HUSSEIN Obama (said as an angry grandmother who forwards emails).

The only way to emerge a victor of a republican primary is to engage in dialogue that goes like this:

Candidate One: I have a view that goes too far...
Candidate Two: I think that his view doesn't go too far enough!

Candidate Two wins and emerges from a primary with enough indefensible sound bites that they get skewered by the Democrats.

Isn't it interesting that when the LDS church encouraged its membership to get involved in the caucus system locally that it flooded them with more moderate people who ousted the extreme right wing nut bags that were shoo-ins previously (see Mike Lee previously emerging as the Republican nominee over Bob Bennett whose own party accused one of the most conservative senators of all time of not being conservative enough - Orrin Hatch who has been in office far far past his expiration date was on the same path with Lilljenquist).

The only way that the Repubs are going to fix their problems is by getting the majority of the public to begin to be involved in the primaries. If I were running on a moderate platform, that is what I would focus on, but it is still probably a losing game.