One question conservatives no doubt have asked themselves time and again over the last seven months is: Why did the Republican presidential ticket lose in 2012? And there are many different reasons, of course – perhaps too many to name in this space – but here is what the Wisconsin congressman himself had to say on this subject at the Faith and Freedom Coalition last Friday (via Politico):
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Friday that he and Mitt Romney lost in November in part because they were arguing against the “empty promises” of the not-yet-implemented Obamacare law.
“This was the challenge that Mitt Romney and I had in this last election … we had to argue against the promise and the rhetoric of President Obama,” he said in a speech at the Faith & Freedom “Road to Majority” conference in D.C. “The great soaring rhetoric, all of the empty promises.”
“Remember in his first two years, he passed his big program, but he didn’t implement his program,” he continued, referring to Obamacare. “Now, in his second term, we’re seeing it implemented — and it’s pretty darn ugly.”
Ryan said Obamacare is an “assault” on Americans’ freedoms and gives too much power to the government.
One can’t help but wonder: If the presidential election was in November 2013, instead of last year, would the outcome have been markedly different?
Given all the scandals that have surfaced recently and the truly worrisome news about Obamacare’s implementation, an election fixated on “binders full of women” and “Big Bird” narratives seems utterly fatuous and anti-climactic at this point.
That being said, while learning from the past can be instructive, dwelling on it usually isn’t. And wishful thinking is invariably a fruitless endeavor. Therefore conservatives and Republicans, instead, should be focusing on determining what the GOP and its supporters should be talking about now in order to win elections in the future.
Ryan, for his part, hit the nail on the head when he referenced Obamacare’s expensive and onerous regulations, and how the not-yet-fully-implemented monstrosity is already crushing low income families. Remember, this was a piece of legislation only Democrats supported. Republicans thus would be foolish not to highlight Obamacare’s resounding unpopularity – and remind the public exactly how it became law.
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