T-Bone said:
1. We have an administration that has no problem with voter intimidation as long it is in their favor.
2. We have an administration that is used to Chicago style politics...which has no problems with either buying or manufacturing votes.
3. There are too many people on the government dole....they are too dependent on their "Obama" money and they will vote.
4. Ignorance and apathy on the part of too many!
I think those are legitimate points, but with or without your first moving permission I'd like to expound on them.
1 and 2. Everyone knows about ACORN and their "win at all costs" tactics in the 2008 election, and I think everyone expects the same type of campaign this year as well. It is the "why" that I feel is most important. The reason so many liberal democrats will excuse their immoral actions in this election is because they believe their cause is just and victory is vitally important for the welfare of the American people. They see this as a battle of good vs evil, equality vs prejudice, and freedom vs oppression. The reason for this (particularly with that last one) I believe you covered with the first part your fourth point - ignorace.
3. Probably. I think you smartly played into the second part of your last point here - suggesting that Obama's people will be highly motivated to vote while conservatives may be apathetic. I don't feel you're touching the independent vote at all with this point, and in a tight election it's the independents who determine the winner, but it's still a good point.
4. I completely agree with HeDied4U that this is the most important. On the part of conservatives, ignorance and apathy may work together here to hurt Romney. Conservatives may be apathetic because they don't understand how much weaker our country will become and how personal freedoms will be hindered under an increasingly socialistic administration. On the part of liberals, the anti-capitalist rhetoric is so strong that they honestly believe socialism is just and capitalism is evil. They think it is the capitalists who are oppressive (the war in Iraq was all about greedy capitalists wanting oil, Republicans support big businesses that don't care about the poor, etc.) and socialism will free them from that oppression.
Independents are caught in the middle having to decide who to believe, or whether social issues are more important to them than the economy. Here is where I feel Republicans should have an edge if Romney plays his cards right. Romney hurt himself with the independents because he played the politician and appeared to lean further to the right on social issues than he really is, but I don't think anyone believes him to be a racist or male chauvinist (which is a problem for Gingrich) or someone who will allow religious bigotry to affect his political decisions as many believe Santorum would. Romney has proven during his time as a governor that his religion has no bearing on his politics. For this reason, along with the fact that the economy is an obvious problem, this election will be more about the economy than about social issues.
I honestly feel that it would not be very hard to turn the tide against Obama. The anti-capitalist rhetoric on the part of the liberals is very weak. The fact is, socialism relies on capitalism but liberals don't understand this and conservatives don't use this fact in their favor. Maybe it's time they start.
