Polling Conservative Bloggers On the Lessons The GOP Should Learn From The 2012 Election Defeat

Right Wing News polled more than 230 right-of-center bloggers on the lessons the GOP should learn from the 2012 election defeat. The following 66 bloggers responded.

101 Dead Armadillos, Alexa Shrugged, All American Blogger, Argghhhh!, Backyard Conservative, Basil’s Blog, Betsy’s Page, Black and Right, Blonde Sagacity, Cara Ellison, Cassy Fiano, Conservative Blogs Central, Conservatives4Palin, Dodgeblogium, Doug Ross, Fausta’s Blog, Freeman Hunt, FrontPageMag, GayPatriot, GraniteGrok, Hoosier Access, IMAO, John Hawkins, Lady Liberty 1885, Lee Doren, Left Coast Rebel, Liberal Logic 101, Libertarian Republican, Likelihood of Confusion, Lonely Conservative, Marathon Pundit, Midnight Blue, Moe Lane, Moonbattery, Newmarks Door, Nice Deb, Professor Bainbridge, Pubilus Forum, Pursuing Holiness, QandO, Right Wing Rocker, Rightosphere, Russ. Just Russ, Say Anything, Sunshine State Sarah, The Anchoress, The Hedgehog Report, The Jawa Report, The Looking Spoon, The Lotus Blog, The Right Mixx, The Smallest Minority, The Sundries Shack, The TrogloPundit, The Virtuous Republic, The Western Experience, The Whole Shebang (mostly), This Ain’t Hell, Vox Popoli, Weapons of Mass Discussion, Wires, Wyblog, YidwithLid, Zilla of the Resistance

Here are the results.

1) If you had to pick one reason why Mitt Romney lost, which of the following would it be?
D) He wasn’t aggressive enough in attacking Obama and/or his campaign was too passive in defending against attacks. 48.5% (32 votes)
E) He didn’t inspire voters to turn out for him and/or his get-out-the-vote operation was poor 43.9% (29 votes)
B) He was too moderate overall. 7.6% (5 votes)
A) He was too conservative overall. 0.0% (0 votes)
C) His campaign was too socially conservative. 0.0% (0 votes)

2) Was Mitt Romney your first choice in the Republican primaries or was there another candidate you preferred?

B) There was another candidate that I preferred. 81.8% (54 votes)
A) He was my first choice. 18.2% (12 votes)

3) Are there any of the other GOP candidates that ran against Mitt Romney that you believe could have won or do you think they all would have lost to Obama?

B) All of the candidates would have lost, too. 62.1% (41 votes)
A) At least one of the other GOP primary candidates would have been able to win. 37.9% (25 votes)

4) Mitt Romney appears to have turned out white voters at an even lower clip than John McCain. What do you think the most likely reason is that so many white voters didn’t turn out to vote Mitt?

E) They may not have liked Obama, but Mitt didn’t given them enough of a reason to vote for him. 56.3% (36 votes)
A) Obama’s negative campaigning convinced them Mitt was a bad guy. 20.3% (13 votes)
C) Mitt had a mediocre get-out-the-vote operation. 12.5% (8 votes)
D) They just didn’t like Mitt. 9.4% (6 votes)
B) They tuned out because of the negative campaigning on both sides. 1.6% (1 votes)

5) How can the GOP most effectively reach out to Hispanic voters?

D) By financing and supporting conservative versions of groups like La Raza and MEChA to reach out on our behalf in the Hispanic community. 38.1% (24 votes)
E) By running more Spanish language ads, recruiting more Hispanic candidates and reaching out more aggressively through the RNC, NRSC, NRCC, etc. 33.3% (21 votes)
F) By continuing to do what we’re already doing and waiting for Hispanic voters to come to us. 14.3% (9 votes)
A) By offering comprehensive immigration reform or a path to citizenship for illegal aliens? 12.7% (8 votes)
B) By offering to give illegal aliens a legal status other than citizenships? 1.6% (1 votes)

6) As part of the conservative new media, what grade would you give the RNC on New Media Outreach during the last cycle?

C) D or F 51.5% (34 votes)
B) C 34.8% (23 votes)
A) A or B 13.6% (9 votes)

7) Do you think the Tea Party movement is helping or hurting the conservative movement overall?

A) Helping 74.2% (49 votes)
C) Not Sure 21.2% (14 votes)
B) Hurting 4.5% (3 votes)

8) Should the GOP become more libertarian or become more vocal about its social conservatism?

A) More Libertarian 77.8% (49 votes)
B) More vocal about its social conservatism 22.2% (14 votes)

PS: If you’re a conservative blogger who regularly updates and wants to be included in these polls, email me at johnhawkins -at- rightwingnews1.wpenginepowered.com.

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