Reports Of Republican Turnout Demise Are Premature

Inshallah! John Podhoretz searches his memory and provides a highly plausible answer to a vexing question, to wit, where did the Republican voters go?

As I write, Mitt Romney has 57.4 million votes. John McCain ended up with 59.9 million. It’s a little noticed fact that in two weeks following every presidential election, votes continue to be reported…by the millions. As I recall, Barack Obama got something like four million more votes in the weeks after election day, while John McCain got two or three million. It’s likely that by Thanksgiving, the final vote tally will show Romney very close to or even slightly exceeding McCain’s total.

I have more confidence in Mr. Podhoretz's memory than I do in my own. However, trust but verify!

Wikipedia gives McCain's 2008 final vote total as 59.9 million.

However, this cool NY Times graphic had McCain at 58.3 million as of Dec. 9, 2008.

CNN had McCain at 58.3 million as of Nov 17. However!

Yahoo preserved a Q&A from right after the election, with an answer that linked to the CNN site above:

Electorial Votes:

Obama: 349
McCain: 163

Popular votes:

Obama : 64,639,738
McCain: 56,899,510

Source(s):

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results…

Given the Electoral totals I infer that North Carolina had not yet been called for Obama nor Missouri for McCain. Each man received about 2.1 million votes in NC, so McCain's total of 56.9 million must include some North Carolina votes (or else it would have jumped by 2.1 million to 59 million after N Car was called.)

So, if current reporting has Romney with 57.4 million popular votes, he is running a bit better than McCain's immediate post-election total. Wave the hangmen away from the Romney GOTV effort!

EXIT POLLS: Here are the WaPo and CNN versions of the exit polls.

Comments

[Threadkiller]

Mark Levin must have been looking in a mirror.

[Sandy Daze]

Although I love what I do (working with students), I'm not sure how much longer I can work here. It's poisonous and I'm feeling defeated.

Posted by: MAM | November 09, 2012 at 11:43 AM

Have you considered working with students where you are not an insurgent, say, a place like Hillsdale?

Many here have suggested and I fully agree, that supporting organizations and institutions that support your views is the only rational way forward. Hence, defriending those on fB who support the resident, who are socialists, not supporting actors or singers who are leftists, and not supporting educational institutions which are socialist /communist when there are good alternatives.

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

Obamacare is just now imploding, JIB. As you point out, there are no pub fingerprints on it. We'll see if the dems and the MSM can create some.

[Sandy Daze]

I think Tom Collins addendum to Jim Rhodes idea (Congressional abstention) is excellent, so much so I am reposting it so those who missed it the first time around, do not need to go looking for it now:

I would add one tweak to the proposal Jim Rhoads and Sandy Daze and Appalled were discussing above. I would have the House GOP (i) agree not to stand in the way of the House passing a prog plan, and (ii) pass a bill with entitlement reform and tax reform. Thus, Harry Reid would have a true reform bill (the GOP bill) and a prog dream bill. Then I would have the GOP Senators agree not to use parliamentary tactics to hold up the prog dream bill that came over from the House in return for Reid publicly covenanting that he wouldn't try to change the filibuster rule. The Dems in the Senate would then have a choice whether to send a true reform bill to POTUS for signature, or an economy tanking measure that will have only their fingerprints on it.
Posted by: Thomas Collins | November 09, 2012 at 11:23 AM

[Ranger]

Obamacare is just now imploding, JIB. As you point out, there are no pub fingerprints on it. We'll see if the dems and the MSM can create some.

I think that is the point behind the Speaker saying that Republicans are done fighting ObamaCare. Dems and the MSM will desperately want to depict its failure as the product of Republican obstruction. The Speaker just said there won't be any Republican obstruction. It stands or falls on its own.

[Jim Eagle]

Also, the repubs need to be diligent and stay alert to any add-ons like card check, minimum raise increase, changes to Taft-Hartley, and a raft of other dem dream legislations.

And don't let them play tricks with repealing the Bush Tax Cuts. You need the whole enchilada not just the over the million club or the 200k limit. You have to reach the underachiever at current no tax level.

[sailor]

The arrogant ONE is on the television and said that he was happy that John Boehner is "open" to tax increases.

[Another Bob]

Sara, re. blaming Palin et al. for Romney's loss?

All due respect, but you're smoking something.

I voted for Romney. He was the best candidate of a weak slate. But he is the epitome of an establishment republican. His problem wasn't that the Palin crew didn't show up for him.

At this point, I'm thinking Palin is far closer to the solution than the problem.

[cathyf]

People do have the choice to move to a less expensive place to live, though, and in the old days, they would tend to exercise that option more frequently. Now they stay put and ask for government assistance.

Well, that was the old days before the socialists and the compassionate conservatives got together and decided that home ownership was the most wonderful thing that everyone should do it, and now we have a gazillion people whose houses aren't worth the mortgage. Who are making the (quite reasonable) assumption that when all those Bernanke Bucks hit the fan and we have a couple of years of high-single-digit/double-digit inflation, then their houses may be worth even less than they are now (in real terms), their mortgages are in nominal dollars and they might very well end up with some equity back.

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

My problem, exactly, cathy. I am officially house poor. Fortunately it is in a red state, and the taxes are low.

[glasater]

Wow! Patreaus resigns! Extra marital affair!

[BR]

"...when the nation was tired of Iraq and Afghanistan" - I am not criticizing the commenter, I'm aghast at those who would be "tired" when they're not the ones doing the fighting. What an insult to America's great military. Do they also get "tired" watching firemen saving their house on fire? What a bunch of weaklings to be "tired" when others put their lives on the line for them. What if the military said, sorry, we're tired of defending you.

[Frau Biedermeier]

Sara, the link to Bill Whittle was well worth my time. I agree it's a comfort that half the country still believes in virtue and the United States. I'd like to hear from anyone else on Whittle's suggestions about a parallel society. I'm going to see how his Commonsense Resistance develops.

Chubby, Bill wasn't discouraging us from writing Tax Cheat by Timmy's name on legal tender. Be sure you use a red pen so it shows up.