First Principles

So it turns out that Republicans in Clark County are currently getting crushed in voter registration numbers.  Even non-partisans are registering more voters than Republicans.

I’m sure glad we killed off any possibility of using the Caucuses as a recruitment/party building tool by eliminating Same Day Registration.  We can all be certain that Democrats will not be doing the same on their caucus day.

It also is frustrating vindication of my contentions over the last several days (see the last post and the comment streams) that the loud actions of a few crazies within the GOP are continuing to drive potential Republican voters (and volunteers and donors) away.  (It’s not that they’re “too conservative,” it’s that they’re just plain crazy and divisive.)  And while one could, I suppose, argue that post hoc doesn’t necessarily mean propter hoc, it’s pretty tough to figure out any other reason why so many people in a state so devastated by the economic policies (and careless comments) of this President would be flocking to him and his party now.  In politics, perceptions are reality, and credibility and momentum are everything.  When you play the politics of subtraction, you get… less.

Guys - this isn't what I meant when I argued we needed to understand politics as a game of addition...

I do sincerely hope – and certainly expect – that the same folks who spent so much time and energy killing an opportunity to register tens of thousands of new Republicans in February will be spending the next several months making up the difference down south, even if they have to travel from their safe rural perches to do it.