2012 Political Landscape Panel Paints ‘Bleak’ Outlook

Listening to the first half of the 2012 Political Landscape panel on the 2012 election, you’d think the Republican Party was doomed.

Panelists Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of RedState, and Ralph Hallow, senior national correspondent at The Washington Times, were pessimistic at best about the future GOP presidential nominee’s ability to beat President Obama in 2012.

Erickson blamed former president George W. Bush for the weak presidential field.

“I think the Republican Party has yet to reset itself from the Bush years,” Erickson said.

Hallow took a more direct approach, blaming the GOP 2012 candidates themselves.

“Why are any of these candidates running? What are they going to do to change America?” Hallow, said

Hallow said the playing field is currently Obama’s and predicted it would be in November, too, because Obama has the incumbency advantage and will have more money than the GOP nominee whoever he is.

“Unless the nominee has a message, a simple message he can get out in three sentences, I don’t think we have a chance,” Hallow said.

Moderator Scott Rasmussen, of Rasmussen Reports fame, fought back against their negative analysis, saying, “Every bit of polling shows that the economy is the top issue driving 2012.”

But Erickson said making 2012 a single-issue election could backfire on the GOP.

“It seems like we are setting ourselves up to lose if the economy gets better,” he said.

Ralph Reed was the sole panelist to provide a positive outlook, saying of fellow panelist Ralph Hallow, “I don’t think it’s as bleak as Ralph is making it sound.”

Reed said that looking at the states in play “I like our chances.”

He reminded the audience that it’s also their responsibility as conservative activists to help elect conservative candidates.

“When you look at what that is going to look like, it’s not just on the nominee’s back. It’s on our back,” Reed said, encouraging the audience to get involved in grassroots activism in their home states.

“Let’s send Barack Obama in a U-Haul back to Chicago,” he said.

By /// February 9, 2012
Francesca Chambers About Francesca Chambers

Francesca is the Editor of Red Alert Politics - an online publication written by and for young conservatives. Red Alert Politics is a product of Clarity Media Group, the parent company of The Washington Examiner and The Weekly Standard. She is also a contributor to The Washington Examiner.

Francesca is a veteran of several political campaigns and political organizations. She has also worked in new media and communications at The Leadership Institute, at the Republican National Committee and on Capitol Hill. She has been featured as a speaker at Leadership Institute, Cato Institute, Americans for Prosperity's "Defending the American Dream Summit," the State Policy Network's annual conference and CPAC, in addition to appearing as a regular guest on the "Big Picture" with Thom Hartmann on Russia Today.

She has also appeared on ABC's "Nightline", PBS' 'NewsHour', PBS' "To the Contrary", MSNBC, CNN, on TheBlazeTV (aka Glenn Beck TV) and had radio segments on Take Action News with David Shuster, NPR and "The Michael Koolidge Show."

In 2012 she was named to the DC GOP's first ever "35 under 35" list.

Francesca graduated from the University of Kansas with BAs in Political Science and Journalism. At KU she was an editor of the University Daily Kansan and an active member of Student Senate.

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