Campaign 2012: Lacking Enthusiasm; Why?

No you are not !
The answer is, excepting the Senatorial campaign (not that is much more exciting), a general lack of interest and joy at any choice
on the ballot in Maine! On the state level except the truly informed, most are probably just to tied up with everyday life ,to get enthused about the hope for any change.
While a repub. and shall vote so, the state level other than sen. is not exciting. Courtnys' one commercial is dreadful.

The lack of enthusiasm amongst the informed could be a sign that expectations have not been met the last two years w/ the majorities we have.
The public divide amongst the party has done no good to solicit enthusiasm. Yes I know all those new what ever marching for liberty etc. ,the future ,can not or have not yet to produce any
credible candidates for anything to create much joy.
The governor has not helped ,when accomplishments are over shadowed by other issues.

The easy out will be it is all the people on the dole , the unions fault,anything but a realistic view of he problem.

The only faint hope in Maine might be 2nd district ,but that is a good example of expectations in Augusta not met on important issues.

Your hope for response here if based on past treads and responses to them I hope are not to high !

It's because the candidates are lousy.

The problem with "moderate conservatives" is they have no passion, aside from concern about their next quarterly tax payment and the bottom line on their tax return.

It's just a miserable, self-serving purpose that no one other then the most self-absorbed could care about.

That leaves most of us to "defensive voting". Hardly something to get excited about.

Tom C may have something. "Moderates," "independents," and the like don't generate much in the way of 'excitement.'

There could be another side to it....the constantly declining state of our country and its governance, and the growing numbers who vote for a living.

It makes the word 'enthusiasm' strangely inappropriate in many ways, and the behavior it should inspire. Enthusiasm to me involves a 'happy warrior' component, and it is very difficult to view things with any degree of happiness.

That's just a quick 'gut' reaction.

I concur with Mel. We are in a very deep hole -- economically, sure, but morally and culturally as well -- and even if we started digging out tomorrow, it would take decades to get back to where we were just a few years ago. We are not electing people to solve our problems, we are electing people to start solving them. Our children may see the results, if we are consistent. But can we be? What will happen in the election after this, or the one after that? The Democrats have become entirely the party of socialism, while the opposition remains divided. Some see our current parlous state clearly, but are there enough to make a lasting difference? The answer is in doubt. Still, we should remember our founders and heroes, and not lose heart. The only way things will turn around is if we do it, and there is no one else to do it for us. Our helping hands remain attached to our forearms.

Good thread and good post, Mike.
I will say that I am moderately enthused about all of our federal races; I don't think that we have any candidates running at that level who will come close to doing the damage that the guys who are in office now regularly do (I know---that's a far cry from having true Greatness!)
But my local House race has me jazzed; we have an independent candidate who is exactly what is needed and I hope he gets in (Mark Goughan is his name). And we also have a really good Republican taking on Troy Jackson and the John Martin Valley Machine (Peter Edgecomb, who is termed out of the House).
I increasingly think the answer to our dire straits has to primarily be local and state-based.

For president, we have a choice between an empty suit and a stuffed shirt.

Full agreement Russ, and there is certainly a lack of enthusiasm, lack of energy, believing that we are past the tipping point towards financial oblivion, take your pick.

The moment Mitt Romney steps to the podium and says . .

It's time to decide. Do you want the government bird to puke in your mouth for the rest of your life . . or . . would you rather see a menu?

The two people I was most excited about both went to Tampa as scab delegates. Previously I've given money, written letters to the editor, done Lit drops.....this year not so much.

In the past I have done lit drops for senate candidates as well as house candidates at both the US and State levels. I have also worked on Governors races and several county races, but over the last couple of terms I have not found anybody that is worth getting overly excited about. At this point in time, I will vote for Mitt and leave the rest blank as none of them have convinced me as to why I should vote for them. We do have several local ballot issues and those will get my undivided attention.

Leave the rest of the ballot blank? Why go vote at all then? You think your one vote against Obama will make the least bit of difference? Just stay home.

I am not excited, but I am still working to get people out to vote.

Let's look at the ticket beyond the President... Which is easily understandable why people aren't excited.

Summers, King, Dill and a few 1% vote getters.
King's gonna win. I don't think Summers can close the gap and I donated $100 to his campaign. $100 I could barely afford.

Raye/Michaud... Raye can't win. I've seen him in Androscoggin County twice and Oxford County once. So we conservatives aren't excited. I see no campaign whatsoever? I have his bumper sticker on my car.

Courtney/Commie... Any of us who saw the debates during the Republican Primary saw that Courtney is an idiot, and if Raye and Courtney were running the Maine State Senate, it's no wonder we didn't get more done in the past two years.

Maine Senate... Likely to go back to the Dems. Why? Because you have a bunch of GOPrs there that have no testicular fortitude. So we're not excited.

Maine House... I think the R's will maintain the House... Why, there's about 40 or 50 true conservatives that will lead the charge. Dale Crafts in Lisbon is a good example. The Dems didn't even field a candidate against him.

Charlie Webster... The hard core right Republicans seem to hate him because of the Ron Paul situation, the liberal and moderate GOPrs don't like him because he's too conservative and he's perhaps the best guy they've had in that position in a generation.

There's plenty of reason not to be too excited, but if you think we're not excited, how would you like to be a Democrat? Your last choice for Governor got 18%. Your current selection for Snowe's seat is going to be lucky to get 18% and despite what you hear in the media everyday, I believe that Romney is going to beat Obama. I don't see too many people excited about four more years of what's going on now.

I am going out on election day and voting Republican down the ticket, even though I am not crazy about most of the selections... but it's much better than what we currently have. I will do my best to get 30 or 40 more like minded people out that day.

I heard $16 Trillion is $54,000 for every person in America. I'm the sole bread winner for our family of four, so I guess I'm in for $216,000 which is almost 3x the cost of my home. 47% of people pay no Federal tax, so I figure I'm really on the hook for $432,000.

I can see why none of us are excited.

King's gonna win.

Then we should vote for Dodge and Johnson so the Libertarian Party can get permanent status in Maine.

I could be wrong, but isn't it the Governor's race that has the ability to solidify a party's status in Maine?

It is hard to tell that was the result of the last gov. race isn't it ?????

Its partly because the public is willfully misinformed and easily malleable by the media and doesn't take the current state of affairs seriously and doesn't think about the issues. And partly because the idea that people are not enthused is a meme spread by the media which functions from a template of what "enthused" looks like which is something along the lines of the American medicine sales man standing on a podium yelling and screaming loudly and selling a bunch of hype to the mindless masses who are lapping it all up because they are stupid and malleable. Unless someone makes a dramatic and noisy display how would the media know they are enthused. ? The very idea that we are not enthused is being sold to us by the media-with instructions to repeat in hopes of manifesting a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Ann Barnhardt is a smart lady and has it figured out.

http://barnhardt.biz/

"Obama isn't even trying and is in fact making gaffes and antagonizing the country on a daily basis. This is the most compelling evidence that the Obama regime knows that the results of the "election" have already been determined, so they aren't even bothering to try. Clint Eastwood creates the "empty chair" meme and then two weeks later Obama refuses to meet with a single leader at the U.N., thus confirming the "empty chair" meme in the boldest possible terms - and you think Axelrod, Plouffe and the rest don't perceive this? Of course they do. They just don't CARE, because they already know that the "election" is fixed.

Likewise, Romney appears to be trying to throw the election, much like McCain. Romney, if he were a serious candidate, would be jumping all over Obama and his daily acts of treason, and instead is just doing enough to make it look like he is trying, without ever doing any real damage to Obama. Oh, and let's not forget that Romney holds basically the same positions as Obama, and has actually implemented those positions (RomneyCare, government funded abortion on demand, sodomite marriage, gun control) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Sorry, but I'm not falling for any of this.

Let me make two predictions:

1. Obama will be given all of the questions before the debate and will have canned answers for every question. Given what you have seen from the "media" in this country just over the last few MONTHS, do you have any doubt whatsoever that they would even hesitate to cheat? There is no way Obama could possibly engage in honest debate. He lacks the intellect to speak extemporaneously, much less to debate extemporaneously. The media in this country is now more dishonest than Pravda in the Soviet Union. And you doubt for a second that they will give Obama all of the questions in advance? Come on.

2. Romney is going to get some sort of position in Obama's "second term" regime. Romney isn't throwing an election for free. I could totally see Obama naming Romney to a cabinet or czar position. SECTREAS? Why not? The damage is already done and irreversible. Let Romney twist in the wind as SECTREAS while the economy collapses while Timmy Geithner lands an eight-or-nine-figure spot at Goldman or JP Morgan. My point is, I don't think Romney is just going to quietly go home to LaJolla."

So Roger, if your last post is true, which I am not saying that it isn't, why waste a vote on Romney. Why not send a message by voting for Gary Johnson?

"I will vote for Mitt and leave the rest blank"

The poster had it exactly backwards:-) The "stuffed shirt and the empty suit" Mike Lange is talking about are real and present dangers to what's left of the Republic. Our best bet is the states - 42 Scott Walkers would go a long way toward righting the ship of state, and we'll get 'em - IF Obummer skips back in.

A sizable vote for Governor Gary Johnson is the only spanner the voters can throw into the works. A GOP Congress vs Obama stalemate is the best possible outcome of this election.

Our beast, the Great Leviathon, the federal government..........we have to attack its soft underbelly. So I agree, focus attention on your local and state races. Governors and legislators matter.
That said, I will vote for Romney. I like Barnhart, but she's veering pretty close to tin foil hat status with that last post. And it shows she is not grasping just how extraordinarily different and unique of a candidate and President Obama really is. People just don't get it. This guy is different........very different.

Yeah....Gary Johnson! Why didn't I think of that?

Oh, that's right, because I'm voting for Howie Carr.

That's your right Melvin.

Maybe people are beginning to examine the actual policies of the two parties as opposed to the rhetoric and are discovering that they aren't really very different. As I said in another thread, if the R's are so smart then why do they continue with the insanity of ethanol? And if they can't, or more likely won't, do anything about such an obvious issue; then why would any voter think that they have the ability or even the desire to tackle any of the much more complex issues facing us?

But what do I know, I'm just a stupid citizen, not one of the super smart Republican operatives who really know what is going on. I'm going to continue to prepare for the worst, because that's what both parties are giving us; and they're giving it to us good and hard.

Bob S wonders:
"why waste a vote on Romney. Why not send a message by voting for Gary Johnson?"

Gary Johnson is not going to be nominating any members of the Supreme Court. Obama and Romney are both progressives. However, there is a slim chance that Romney would nominate somebody for the Supreme Court other than Eric Holder, for example. That's faint praise, but all appearances so far in this so called campaign indicate that Romney is in it for the entertainment value. I have not seen him go after the incumbent, a fundamental requirement for any challenger.

That said, has anybody seen any evidence that Chris Christie has been to Lake Winnipesaukee or small Vermont colleges lately? Romney sure could use some tutoring on being specific.

Gary Johnson is not going to be nominating any members of the Supreme Court.

Ya know Roger, I get tired of hearing that same old threat. Supreme Court Justices are NOT guaranteed lifetime appointments. When we get the numbers, they can be removed!

Maine, in 1992, voted for Perot over Bush 1.

How lasting was the political movement created around Perot? The only effect of the "protest" vote for Perot was 8 years of Bill Clinton. We are in the present mess we're in in large part due to those 8 years.

How long has the Libertarian movement been around in its various incarnations? What affect has it had on the political process? It's been so influential, it's practically invisible. It's best known proponent is a man who hasn't garnered more than, what--10%? Maybe 15%?--of the Republican vote at his peak, and usually much less.

And now you want us to vote for Gary Johnson to "send a message". The only message that will be sent is "irrelevant", as in "having no affect whatsoever on the political landscape". Do you think a newly minted Obama dictatorship (because if he's re-elected, there will be no brakes at all on what he will do) would take even the slightest notice of you?

I submit that a President Romney, with a conservative Congress, can be alternately directed and held in check. Then a voting block of solid conservatives makes sense. The only role you will play in a second Obama administration will be "enemy of the State".

Don't vote "protest". Vote "rational". Vote for the one person in the race for whom a vote will make a difference.

I'm voting for Romney.

I'm voting for Romney.

That is your right. That is what makes this country great, and no matter how "irrelevant", it is my right to vote for Johnson. :-)

Talk about your harmonic convergence! I rarely listen to Sean Hannity. Sometimes, when I can't get a better signal, I'll listen to him. I heard this a few days ago and, lo and behold, I heard it again, tonight. I'm happy to provide this link and I hope Mitt sees it.

This is passion!

Scroll to 'Radicals!' Author: David Horowitz

Taxfoe, I was lucky enough to hear David Horowitz at Bates a few years back, and chat with him briefly afterwards. A great man (I especially loved how he shredded the USM faculty hack who tried to challenge him but had no substantive complaint......she was booed down when she persisted in heckling him).
Things in this country are going downhill..........there are 50 million pure takers, communists and/or America-haters out there. When things get bad enough, then the 150 million Americans who still have some shred of integrity, Americanism and patriotism left in them will simply be forced to take to the streets (no, not to riot, simply to take to the streets). They will not be able to remain as apathetic as most of them now are. None of my neighbors------good folks all-------really do anything politically to try to turn this tide. This true "people power moment" is inevitable, and it will be a truly amazing day. Part of me hopes for an Obama win, just to hasten that day.

Jim Cyr,

........"When things get bad enough, then the 150 million Americans who still have some shred of integrity, Americanism and patriotism left in them will simply be forced to take to the streets (no, not to riot, simply to take to the streets)...........This true "people power moment" is inevitable, and it will be a truly amazing day. Part of me hopes for an Obama win, just to hasten that day"........

I couldn't have said it any better. I believe an Obama win is inevitable, not only because his side, and the MSM have done everything they could, legal, ethical......or not, with the help of the total stupidy of many of the voters (such as the woman with the free "Obamaphone" vid I posted the other day) who care about nothing but themselves and what they can selfishly gain for themselves, with their vote.

I have said this a lot here, but will join Jim in saying it again: I do NOT believe our nations troubles can ever be fixed by "voting" as the system of "voting" that we have has gotten us to this point, as DeToqueville predicted would happen, over 150 yrs ago!

In order to govern themselves, people have to be intelligent enough to understand the issues, and cast their vote to hopefully, bring the best long term results to the outcome. Continued good economic growth and social success, is critical to the welfare of the entire United States. When people forget all of that, and vote only for what they think they can get for free, from those making the promises we see now, the welfare of the nation takes a back seat to selfishness and stupidity, right where we are at the moment, IMHO! Stupid is as Stupid does, as Forrest Gump said, and the truth of that is evident every day. Political campaigns in the United States have been dumbed down to where they are nothing but shrill hucksters, promising the moon to people too stupid to know any better, thus we are toast! A very large part of the base of the democratic party is just plain "ignorant" and it is killing our nation!

Stupid ranges the gamut from the welfare rats who do not know how to do anything for themselves, all the way up to College professors with PHD's advocating for economic systems that only exist in fairy tales, and have no relationship to the truth, such as the stupid prof from USM who says government will "never run out of money". The saddest part of that is that not only does she believe it, but so does the stupid POTUS and millions of his stupid "voters". History contains plenty of evidence to prove that that idea is wrong, but they are too stupid to consult history, thus condemn themselves and the rest of us to repeating it! Where in the world do college professors get the education that leads them to believe that they are so smart that they can make ideas work, that have repeatedly failed in the past?

If those dummies want to take themselves, and their nation, for a flush down the toilet, why in the world do they have to take the rest of us with them?

But, in the long run, our social and economic collapse is inevitable. I agree with Jim that we need a "do-over" and the only way that is going to happen is the hard way!

WC

Post #16 is just the basic Ron Paul Third party bash and defeat Romney ( and deliver a win to Obama in the process) BS. There is absolutely nothing to support it but it gets repeated and re-articulated as BS for the pseudo sophisticate all to serve the purpose of destroying and bringing down the United States of America. I thought I had seen the depths of stupidity that the America electorate could go to in the 2008 elections but in the 2012 elections there is a whole new dimension .

I saw a preview for the show Homeland- which is about a war hero who has been secretly turned to work for the enemies of the United States. He is running for a political office and his campaign slogan is "change" I am hoping they include a Ron Paul type character who is also covertly working for the other side. That is who it really is- NOT Romney. Romney is just a plain old fashioned good man of solid character that the jaded America that elected our enemy as out chief executive in the last election have no way of comprehending.

However it remains to be seen because I speculate there are a lot more old fashioned Americans with simple undramatic solid character in the the "silent majority" than the media likely realizes.

One reason why it may appear that there is no enthusiasm is because the Bash Romney crowd on the side that allegedly opposes Obama is drowning out all other narratives as we see here in great evidence on As Maine Goes. It is so obvious that they are projecting themselves into Romney as they try to portray Romney as a clone of Obama although Romney is quite the opposite. Of the two "third party candidates- one acknowledged and one de facto" and Obama that make up the opposition to Romney- none will take the threat of Iran seriously. In fact of the three candidates that compose the Romney opposition, Obama is the one that might be the one that takes the Iranian nuclear threat the most seriously- but that is not saying much and is certainly not enough.

And not to mention that the repulsive class warfare that Obama has seeded has become a successful strategy against the USA.

I wonder what happens when the movie 2016 is released.