A Party that loses an election and blames voters for not showing up at the polls . . .

[branford]

154. I'm simply claiming that the R's did a better job at "selling" than us.

I fully agree that many of the voters that stayed home could very well have voted for Republicans, but that is not the issue.

If we did a better job, the voters who lean Democrat would have voted in much larger numbers, and may have made a difference. Moreover, we could have possibly swayed some of those Republican-leaning and independent voters, both those who stayed home and those who actually voted, to choose the Democrat as a better choice, as we obviously did when Obama was elected twice.

My primary point is absent proven illegal conduct, we are responsible if our party wins or loses elections. Blaming the voters and a host of other excuses (e.g., gerrymandering in statewide races!) does not absolve the party from its own failings. Focusing on such matters is not only foolish, but self-defeating. We cannot affect who the Republicans nominate or how they choose to campaign, but we most certainly are responsible for our own candidates and message.