The end of Mitt -- and why and then what.

There are hundred of reasons why Mitt Romney lost the election and no one crazy enough to spend time enumerating them.  So we're all looking for a way to throw dirt on the coffin, fake a sob, and head back home for a celebration.  John Cassidy has made a good speech over the grave, worth passing on.

...  Part of his problem throughout this campaign, and the one before it, is that he’s never been good at disguising his lack of respect for the American electorate. His changing positions, his evasions about them, his misrepresentations—they all, ultimately, came off as a challenge: I think you’re too stupid not to fall for this. And there are very few people who appreciate being told they’re dumb, or the person who said it.

There are, of course, other, larger problems for the Republican Party to grapple with over the next few years. But they’ll have trouble solving many of them if they can’t get past this and realize that Democrats don’t have to bribe voters—not when their opponents are so interested in insulting them. ... New Yorker

Cassidy gets it absolutely right:  Mitt had no respect for the voter.  He needed us; he disdained us.  Most of us (see the numbers) knew this.  What remains really troubling --  for me at least -- is the extent to which all those other people fell for it.  That is the perfect storm if you're always on the look-out, as I am, for any clouds on the horizon signalling a storm of authoritarianism.