VERNON — Why did Mitt Romney lose the presidency? And what should Republicans do about it?
I'm not seeing a whole lot from Republicans on these questions, though I'm sure many of them are chewing on it. To me, the answers are easy.
Long before the election, I decided that President Barack Obama was bound to win, given that Republicans had taken positions that amounted to writing off most black, Hispanic, and gay voters. That's a total of more than 25 percent of the electorate right there.
Add to that other Republican positions that tended to alienate other minorities as well as women.
And add to that Romney's unfortunate 47-percent remark, which Fox News personalities and Rush Limbaugh proceeded to try to justify, compounding the damage.
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Now, what can Republicans do to move themselves back into relevance on the national scene, and to stand half a chance in 2016?
Here you go:
• Start by deciding you will be a party of all people, not just that of “the white establishment” (Bill O'Reilly's term, not mine).
• Realize that every election is about the economy and not much else, and declare that issues like abortion and gay marriage should be left to states to decide.
• Understand that immigration, wherever it happens, is always a driver of positive economic growth (check your history books), so get behind immigration solutions instead of demonizing “illegals.”
• Join hands with Democrats in Congress to get things done instead of being the do-nothing party that says “no” to everything.
That includes making Obamacare work, dealing with the fiscal cliff, and what lies beyond, and getting the money back out of politics.
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So, Republicans: Get all that done, and you can claim credit for it in 2016.
Stand in the way, and you're providing perfect fodder for Democrats in 2016.
Oh, and one more thing.
Next time, don't nominate a guy who has more than one house, like McCain or Romney.