Black turnout passed white voters for first time in 2012 election

By Jonathan Easley - 04/29/13 08:31 AM ET

  

Black voters turned out at the polls at a higher rate than white voters for the first time ever in the 2012 election, according to an analysis conducted by the Associated Press.

According to the report, released on Monday, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would have narrowly defeated President Obama if turnout had more closely resembled the demographic breakdown of the 2004 election.

The Associated Press called the analysis, conducted by William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a “tipping point” for black voters.

President Obama won 93 percent of the black vote, 71 percent of the Hispanic vote and 73 percent of the Asian vote in the 2012 election. However, it was the rate of turnout, not the high margins of separation with those groups, that won the election for Obama.

According to the analysis, if white voters and black voters had shown up at the rate they did in 2004, then Romney would have erased the nearly 5 million-vote deficit that ended up separating the two. He also would have won the key battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia and Colorado, giving him an Electoral College victory.

One of the primary criticisms of Romney was that he wasn’t a committed conservative, and was thus incapable of turning out those Republicans who remained on the fence. Overall in 2012, voter turnout was 58 percent. That’s down from 62 percent in 2008 and 60 percent in 2004.

How the demographics of the election would shake out was a hotly contested issue during the 2012 campaign. Many conservatives argued that the polls skewed in Obama’s favor because sample sizes were based on 2008, when Democrats — and Hispanics, blacks and young voters in particular — turned out in record numbers.

Those projections turned out to be correct, provoking many Republicans to re-examine their message and policies as they relate to minorities.

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus has been travelling around the country meeting with minority leaders in 2013, and has pledged to engage minority voters year-round going forward.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/296635-black-turnout-passed-white-voters-for-first-time-in-2012-election#ixzz2Rrfkpa00 
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Conservative Musings

Stuart Stevens, chief strategist on Mitt Romney‘s presidential campaign, says the Republican National Committee’s self-critical report gets it right. Particularly when it comes to the GOP presidential primary debates, of which there were 20 in the last election.

The report, released in mid-March, called for “a more rational number of debates.”

Stevens wants them entirely overhauled…

He writes in The Daily Beast:

The RNC report recommends cutting the number of debates in half and shortening the debating season. That’s a good start. But I think we should go further. To improve the quality of the debates and eradicate the commercial toxicity tainting the events, news organizations should get out of the business of sponsoring debates.

Let’s don’t kid ourselves. These “debates” have become phony entertainment spectacles not serious news events. …

In a different era, it might not have mattered if CBS or NBC sponsored a debate. But in today’s hyper competitive economic environment, with every network and cable news channel fighting hand-to-hand for each eyeball, the pressure to tart and hype is irresistible.

@eScarry

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You have a chance to visit with former GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in Park City, Utah. That is, if you have $ 5,000 and a healthy interest in venture capital.

(Image: Fox News)

Mitt Romney is back to soliciting donations, but it’s not for a political campaign. Romney will be hosting a four-day summit as part of his newest business venture:

Romney recently announced he was joining his son, Tagg Romney, and aide Spencer Zwick’s investment firm Solamere Capital. He will also be giving a presentation on the Solamere Founders Fund update following the first evening’s official program, according to the email.

“In the span of four days, we will have a chance to hear from political, business and other thought leaders and spend time together enjoying a variety of outdoor activities,” Romney wrote in the email obtained by POLITICO. “We are calling the event, Experts and Enthusiasts. As we only have capacity for a small group of people to be part of this gathering, invitations will be kept to a limited group of industry and thought leaders.”

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It’s Mitt Romney‘s 66th birthday. Here’s how he spent some of it.

[Photos via his son Tagg Romney's Instagram account]:

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Behind-the-scenes footage, courtesy of The B.S. of A:

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A new survey by Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling shows most voters in Michigan, where Mitt Romney was born, also believe the state’s trees are “just the right height.”

While campaigning in 2012 Romney repeatedly… Continue reading »

From a report in the Los Angeles Times regarding Michelle Obama‘s presentation of the “best picture” Academy Award on Sunday:

[Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron] had the idea several months ago for the first lady to appear — even if the first lady would wind up being Anne [sic] Romney — hoping it would add a different dimension to the best-picture presentation.

The report also says the original plan was for Obama to… Continue reading »

Just in from the American Conservative Union, regarding its annual Conservative Political Action Conference:

“The thousands gathered at CPAC this year are eager to hear from the 2012 GOP presidential candidate at his first public appearance since the elections,” said ACU Chairman Al Cardenas. “We look forward to hearing Governor Romney’s comments on the current state of affairs in America and the world, and his perspective on the future of the conservative movement.”

“I look forward to saying thank you to the many friends and supporters who were instrumental in helping my campaign,” said former Governor Mitt Romney.

Romney spoke at both the 2008 and 2012 conferences.

Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum, both of whom offered near-minimal support for Romney during the 2012 election, will also speak at CPAC.

The conference runs Mar. 14-16.

Others scheduled to speak… Continue reading »

(AP)

Apparently ABC’s Dancing With the Stars extended Mrs. Romney a dance card and apparently she turned them down:

A Romney adviser confirms to ABC News that she was approached by “DWTS” and she declined the offer. The news was first reported by TMZ.

The adviser notes that Romney “loves to dance” and is a “fan of the show.” …

TMZ reported the one-time potential first lady “seriously considered” the offer, but the adviser says she only did in the context of her love of dance and the show and “seriously considered” is going too far.

It looks like Ann’s dance partner will continue to be Mitt.

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There must be something bigger at work here.

Though the election ended more than a month ago a new Politico/George Washington University poll shows Mitt Romney‘s favorability/unfavorability rating: Both numbers are tied at 47 percent.

You’ll recall Romney was infamously caught on tape during the election at a fundraiser saying that “47 percent” of the country’s population is dependent on government. The line was also recently selected as the No. 1 quote of 2012 in the “Yale Book of Quotations.”

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