Giuliani: Immigration reform a hurdle for GOP
What's next for the party that tried and failed to retake the Senate and White House? Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to Anderson Cooper about the Republican platform and his party's dwindling support among Hispanics.
"I think there's one big issue...we've got to get over this immigration reform hurdle. President Bush was on the right track with comprehensive immigration reform. If we had passed that, we would be a party that probably had a 40 – 45% Hispanic base," says Giuliani. "Big opportunity lost really in Mitt Romney losing because I think that's one of the things Mitt Romney could have accomplished."
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Post by: Filed under: 2012 Election • Immigration • Mitt Romney • Republicans |
Graham: GOP going in the wrong direction
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says his party has a "demographic problem," and it comes down to immigration reform.
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Post by: Filed under: 2012 Election • Immigration • Republicans |
Castellanos: Pressure is off Obama now
Alex Castellanos says Obama can focus on the debt and economic growth now that the election is over.
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Post by: Filed under: 2012 Election • President Barack Obama |
Lessons for Republicans after Romney's loss
Alex Castellanos, Kristen Soltis, Ari Fleischer, and Erick Erickson discuss Mitt Romney's loss and the GOP message going forward.
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Post by: Filed under: 2012 Election • Mitt Romney • President Barack Obama |
Minorities, women helped Obama win
CNN's John King shows how President Obama won re-election with the support of women and minority voters.
What must happen to avoid fiscal cliff
CNN's Dana Bash reports on the motivation both parties have for preventing the fiscal cliff and the negotiations that have to happen in Washington.
Letters to the President #1388: 'Four more years'
Reporter's Note: President Obama won re-election last night. What that means to this letter writing campaign…well, who knows?
Dear Mr. President,
Like you, I had a late night and a busy day, so sorry if I’m running a bit late with today’s letter. I suppose you’ve had enough on your plate anyway so it’s not like you missed it, but I still hate to be tardy.
First things first: Congratulations on your big win! I know it was a long campaign, but your organization (the “ground game” as politicos like to call it) clearly herded folks to the polls more effectively than the Republicans, and you should be proud. It must feel great to realize, after all that effort, that you have won. No need to book a tee time or find some nice paperbacks to pass the autumn; you still have a job!
In the midst of your excitement, however, I need to mention one thing: Don’t forget everyone who voted against you. Now, I realize that this may be the furthest thing from your mind, and some of your supporters would like to keep it that way. But I think sometimes the greatest measure of any political leader is not how he treats his fans, but how he handles those who voted against him. Some 50-million Americans did not want you to be President again, and they are likely disappointed, wounded, angry, and skeptical about what the next four years will bring.
You can either fulfill all their worst fears and deepen the divide in the nation, or you can find a way to make them feel respected, cared about, and listened to…and maybe you’ll help close the great political chasm.
I hope you opt for the latter. The politics of “51 percent” has too long been used by both parties as an excuse for ignoring everyone except their own true believers, and it has embittered people on both sides.
I know many Democrats felt lost and furious when George Bush was re-elected, and my advice to him would have been the same: Find a way to include them and let them know that you truly are their president, too. Of course the winning side will get more of its way in legislative matters over the next four years, that’s what winning is all about. But that doesn’t mean the losing side needs to feel abandoned.
True champions are humble in victory and helpful to the vanquished. If more of our leaders, Democratic and Republican thought that way, I suspect we’d have less rancor and more solutions in D.C. At least, it is worth a shot.
Congratulations again and give my best to your family.
Regards,
Tom
Tonight on AC360: What Obama's win means for America
The outcome of the 2012 presidential race answered the immediate uncertainties about the next phase of leadership in the country, but there are bigger questions remaining.
Take the balance of power in Congress. The Democrats retained control in the Senate, with a net gain of one seat and maybe two depending who the new Senator from Maine wants to caucus with when they convene next year. The scorecard is 54 Democrats, 45 Republicans and 1 Independent. We know the GOP will still be the majority in the House of Representatives, and the final tally will be made after the seven unresolved races are settled. Will the legislators compromise with each other and the president and leave politics aside?
Analysis: Obama won with a better ground game
Editor's note: Watch Anderson Cooper on AC360 at 8 and 10 p.m. ET for a comprehensive analysis of the race, a break down of the other key contests and initiatives around the country, and a look at the challenges ahead for President Obama.
Two days before Election Day, Vice President Joe Biden paid a visit to foot soldiers serving on the front lines of the 2012 campaign: suburban Colorado. Early voting had been under way in the Western battleground for weeks; the Obama team was counting on a volunteer army to deliver the state.
The polls in the race's final weeks had careened back and forth between razor-thin Obama and Romney leads. But Biden told the volunteers he wasn't worried - and they were the reason: "The ground operation which you guys represent is the best in the history of presidential politics."
"I'm telling you, it's this way in Virginia, it's this way in Florida. ... And I think that the one thing that is going to fundamentally make the difference is you guys - for real," Biden said. "I'm not just trying to be nice. I really genuinely believe that's the deal."
Republicans, surveying the very same landscape at the very same time, sounded a much more skeptical note.
5 things we learned on Election Night
Editor's note: Watch Anderson Cooper on AC360 at 8 and 10 p.m. ET for a comprehensive analysis of the race, a break down of the other key contests and initiatives around the country, and a look at the challenges ahead for President Obama.
The 2012 presidential election shattered spending records, further polarized a divided country and launched a thousand hashtags. The race appeared to be a nail-biter going into Tuesday night but in the end, it came down to the state that most had been saying for weeks that it would — Ohio.
Here are five things we learned from Tuesday
1. The GOP has a Latino problem
"If we don't do better with Hispanics, we'll be out of the White House forever," says Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ana Navarro, who was the national Hispanic co-chair of Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.
"The big issue Republicans are going to have to wrestle with is the Hispanic issue," adds Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ari Fleischer, who served as President George W. Bush's first press secretary. "Republicans are going to have to find a different way forward."
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