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The underlying theory is that we'd find vulnerabilities that Republicans won't. That theory itself is indefensible since the Republicans are masters at finding weaknesses and exploiting them with approaches of the least common denominator. Republicans are MUCH better at winning elections; they have to be, because their policies benefit so few people. This isn't just lefty whimperspeak, it's very true, and you can see how they masterfully play on fears and prejudices like they did in the 80s by getting poor whites to dread the personal economic danger posed by affirmative action.
These guys are great at what they do. They're very well-funded, and they're manically focused on winning above all else.
Now if this was a "normal" primary year like the ones of yore, the nominee might very well not be apparent until June or even at the convention. That forces them to divide their energies, not only in the development of attack strategies but in their running the ads. It works against them in numerous ways: it divides their energies and monies to research and develop attacks against two or three different people, and it further divides their ability to run the ads and do the market feedback research necessary to see what's working.
People can only stand so much political advertising, so even if you're effectively running against three different people until the nominee's determined (or obvious), you can't triple the amount of ad time, you have to dilute the number of hits per person. It keeps 'em guessing. They also can't really use the same line against each person because people get tired of it and see through it as a blanket dismissal.
With the idiotic system we have this year, we're almost definitely going to know who our nominee is on February 5th, which gives the reactionaries nine months to focus hard, try everything possible, see what sticks and work on the weak spots with a sickening repetition that'll be hard for anyone to survive.
That's why it behooves us to find 'em ourselves and find 'em now. It'd be monumentally stupid to put on a happy face and commit to someone who has a huge, inherent problem that can be exploited.
Think of it like the rigors we put astronauts through; they're grueling for a reason.
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