Why the Republicans Lost

So my favorite right wingnut correspondent sent me a message whining that this Obama victory means that the "takers" now outnumber the "makers".  So that my family and friends can see what I respond to, I've decided to give my correspondent this forum.  Here's what he wrote (I'm keeping the colors and underlining and huge font, as it's really part of the message):

The Hispanics wanted millions of people who came here illegally to be given a Pardon, not to be sent home as our existing law requires.

He decided to violate the law unilaterally and gave them a Pardon a few months before the election. VOTE OBAMA!

That sets a good example for anyone in the world who wants to enjoy all that America offers.

DON'T BOTHER STANDING IN LINE LIKE OUR GRANDPARENTS DID,,,SNEAK IN!

The Blacks who were faced with the prospect that Romney would take away their Unemployment checks and several other "free" things like Food Stamps had no choice but to keep Obama printing the Tax Payer money they wanted. VOTE OBAMA!

The Single Women wanted "free" Birth Control Pills and Abortions were scared of Romney taking the Tax Payer funded stuff away.

VOTE OBAMA!

Then there's the Unemployed millions, the Food Stamp Millions, the Welfare Millions the so-called Disability millions.

Heck, they were so scared Romney would make them actually be responsible citizens and earn their own money, they tried to vote twice!

VOTE OBAMA!

There are others who actually work and pay taxes. Union Workers, Government Employees, Socialists and yes,,a few thousand Communists and the die-hard Liberals who think the Euro-Zone (who incidentally are worse off than we are) is the kind of Government we need here.

 

You're probably asking why I bother responding to this drivel.  I ask myself the same question very often, but this is a failing of mine I guess- I can't leave well enough alone.  So here's my response, lightly edited:

See, what you and your ilk fail to understand is that this very attitude is the reason you lost this very winnable election.

I was just talking to a work colleague about this today. He is a successful psychiatrist, makes good money, and he is Latino.  He told me that Latinos are really excited about this election because they know they were the difference, and he says the Republicans won't do any better with them and not because of immigration. It's because when he hears people like Romney (and you if he heard you) talk, it's just clear to him that you have no respect for his people and believe that he should be scrubbing floors, not practicing medicine. He said "they think we want to collect checks from the government! But we want to work!" He describes his 12 year old daughter asking him "but Daddy, don't you like Republicans, because you'll make more money?", and he responded to her, in a teaching moment "No, because I care about the whole country and about other people, not just about my own paycheck".

You worry that welfare-collecting junkies are voting Democrat because of the gravy train. But you're missing an important point: people don't like being told that they're lazy leeches. If your party keeps telling Latinos that they're lazy leeches, then they're not going to vote for you. If you tell gays that they're perverts, they're not going to vote for you. If you tell single women that they're sluts, they're not going to vote for you.

Now I don't happent to think this is the end of the Republican party; I think your leaders will adjust and will find a way to make the bigots less prominent so they can find a way to a majority again. People like you, though, are the ones who are going to be shut down because your message is a guarantee of a permanent minority.

You are fundamentally and completely wrong about this army of the 47% voting for government benefits. Maybe you haven't spent much time lately with poor people, but I do it a lot in my work. Let me tell you, people on TANF and SSDI are not rolling in dough and driving Escalades- most of them want good jobs that pay a living wage, because life on the dole is really sucky. Your guys talk about jobs, but want to lower minimum wage so workers won't be able to live on their salaries. You want to destroy unions completely so factory workers will make the same crap wages as other unskilled workers. If you cared about poor people and wanted them to work instead of collect welfare, then you'd be in favor of making sure that it's worthwhile to work- but you don't.

Anyway, your lack of understanding is working fine for me! Keep it up, and you'll keep losing.

UPDATE: Matt Taibbi says much of the same thing as me here.