tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post126026368024773029..comments2023-10-15T05:33:35.272-04:00Comments on The Mischiefs of Faction: The asymmetric ground game continuesSeth Maskethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17178036016555722068noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post-59916440221480403572012-11-08T10:55:39.092-05:002012-11-08T10:55:39.092-05:00As the dust settles, I'd be very interested to...As the dust settles, I'd be very interested to see you go back and look at this question again.<br /><br />I've seen a number of Republicans saying "we were beaten by the Democratic ground game", but why were they surprised? Why didn't they see this coming months ago, when you did?Doctor Sciencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05460727665734543636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post-19970194644239796082012-10-26T14:41:53.965-04:002012-10-26T14:41:53.965-04:00On point 2, this is true, but there are still Demo...On point 2, this is true, but there are still Democrats in more rural areas who usually don't get contacted by Democratic campaigns. I think the Obama offices are designed to maximize their turnout. A Democratic vote in Salida counts the same as one in Denver when it comes to winning the Colorado's electoral college votes.Seth Maskethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17178036016555722068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post-89031557949062464832012-10-26T14:40:07.924-04:002012-10-26T14:40:07.924-04:00Yes, I'm getting that impression. That's a...Yes, I'm getting that impression. That's a great benefit for the Republicans to a point, but it's possible that the churches and the Romney campaign may have different priorities in some places. They may disagree on messages, which down-ballot candidates to support, etc. Seth Maskethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17178036016555722068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post-60704738809176784842012-10-26T14:38:23.460-04:002012-10-26T14:38:23.460-04:00Yes, there are important party differences here, a...Yes, there are important party differences here, and it seems clear that the Democrats put more of an emphasis on early voting. Also, historically, Democrats turn out in lower percentages than Republicans do, so Obama organizers probably feel these offices help for them to address that deficit.Seth Maskethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17178036016555722068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post-80677162330312124472012-10-26T14:36:49.338-04:002012-10-26T14:36:49.338-04:00Michael, these are great questions, and I wish I h...Michael, these are great questions, and I wish I had answers for you. (Although check out <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/10/obamas-edge-the-ground-game-that-could-put-him-over-the-top/264031/" rel="nofollow">Molly Ball's piece</a> for some ideas along these lines.)Seth Maskethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17178036016555722068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post-89382294329928552242012-10-26T11:43:01.833-04:002012-10-26T11:43:01.833-04:00As someone who grew up in Michigan politics. Two t...As someone who grew up in Michigan politics. Two thoughts come to mind. <br /><br />1) Democrats often are able to gain office space in buildings owned by local union shops. Republicans sometimes receive unused office space from GOP donors, but this seemed less common to me. <br /><br />2) It is worth noting that in a state like Ohio the GOP vote is spatially scattered across many rural counties, while the Democratic vote is concentrated mostly in urbanized counties. My expectation is that the ratio of field offices should be reversed based simply upon political geography.The Falconerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04076370578856420134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post-28117339480636062842012-10-26T08:48:33.061-04:002012-10-26T08:48:33.061-04:00"He's counting on field organizational ef..."He's counting on field organizational efforts from the parties, church organizations, and other allied groups to do the same sort of things that the Obama offices are doing."<br /><br />Every Evangelical church is a Republican field office now. People not in the heartland don't realize how pervasive this is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post-33217652956811951072012-10-26T05:49:58.766-04:002012-10-26T05:49:58.766-04:00Seth, I was wanting to know if this difference in ...Seth, I was wanting to know if this difference in ground game is similar to the difference in in the GOTV. It seems that the early vote is more of a priority for the Democratic Party and the 72 hour program is still what the Republican Party relies. If that is the case then your data may just be showing a difference in GOTV because the push for early voters starts earlier and takes more time while the last minute push takes less time but more volunteers for that time. There also may be differences in usage of phones and door knocking for the two campaigns. More offices makes it easier to go door to door because the offices would be closer to the volunteers. Your thoughts?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12764332959989917833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925493305476056067.post-56370720102264220642012-10-26T01:07:33.368-04:002012-10-26T01:07:33.368-04:00Are all field offices equal? Any sense of whether ...Are all field offices equal? Any sense of whether Obama's FOs are similarly staffed across a given state and/or staffed in similar numbers as Romney's? We're not talking about one or two people sitting in an empty room, right? Also, it seems like there could be a connection between Romney's approach to fewer FOs and his less intense travel schedule. Conversely, Obama has far more FOs and has a fuller schedule of campaign stops. Michael Kernshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194910894086026356noreply@blogger.com