TPM Reader MH echoes TPM Reader SS in just not buying ‘Shellshock’. His main point is the point I’ve made a few times now. I can believe all the rest about ‘Shellshock. But the real tell for me, the best evidence is what these folks were actually doing. I still think the move into PA only makes sense as a desperation move. Indeed, as long a shot as it was, it actually did make sense, given the terrain they were dealing with. Anyway, TPM Reader MH …
Allow me to echo the sentiments of Reader SS: the “shell-shocked” claim is nonsense. Romney’s inner circle (and the GOP establishment in general) may have gone into election night cautiously optimistic about their prospects, having convinced themselves that the unskewing analysis had some merit. They might even have thought there was some plausible chance that things could break in their favorable and result in a comfortable win.
TPM Reader SS says, no way. He’s not buying shell shocked and neither should I …
Josh, your initial instincts were correct IMO.
Mitt could have won FL, OH and VA, and Obama would still have won the election.
The poll numbers even unskewed had to show the IA, CO, NH and the rest were very close (in reality they were in the 3-4 point margin?)
The Carmona campaign says they haven’t given up yet on the Arizona Senate race. And the outstanding vote numbers suggest there’s a non-trivial chance he could still win.
Okay, enough of that presidential stuff. Smartphone battery life could be doubled or tripled with new uber-cool silicon graphene technology.
TPM Reader ML asks why I’m surprised …
You find this so hard to believe? This seems totally unsurprising to me. The whole basis of the modern conservative movement is an indifference or hostility to facts.
A number of TPM Readers have written in this morning saying, “Josh, how can you of all people be surprised that Republicans or at least Republican pollsters had created their own alternative numbers reality (or in Megyn Kelly’s now immortal words, “Math you do as a Republican to make yourself feel better”) that wasn’t completely cut off from reality.” Read More
Romney has colossal goof in Debate #2 because he and his staff had been so deep in Benghazi, right-wing blog alternative universe that he couldn’t believe that President Obama had used the words “acts of terror” immediately after the attacks.
Romney team not only loses the election but gets a colossal slap in the face on election night because they’d spent the last two months unskewing their own polls following the guidance of Dean Chambers, founder of unskewedpolls.com.
As you know, the great question that faces the nation today is this: were Republicans, particularly Mitt Romney, really “shell shocked” by the results of Tuesday’s election or is this just some elaborate con-job for reasons as yet unknown. Read More
Very handy and interesting web app allowing you to look at the Hispanic vote from last Tuesday. Not just the partisan breakdown between Romney and Obama, but men, women, US born v naturalized, different nationalities. Very interesting stuff. It’s put together by Latino Decisions. Very reputable source.
Two more intriguing articles on this story. First one from the WSJ which goes a bit deeper on just how this emerged when it did — with the fascinating tidbit that someone from the FBI apparently leaked the story to Republican lawmakers in October. Second, this one from Jane Mayer in the New Yorker asking, looking at just what role politics may have played in the timing of the revelation of the story.