Sunday Roundup

This week, Obama won, Romney lost, rape turned out to be 2012's most surprising campaign issue, and Karl Rove refused to believe the math -- while his not-so-super Super PAC blamed its misspent $300 million on "very, very weak candidates." But it wasn't the GOP's candidates that were to blame; it was the party's narrow and sclerotic message. Romney actually attracted the vote of his party's usual coalition. But that's not enough anymore. The numbers aren't there, and are trending away from Republicans. "It's not a traditional America anymore," lamented Bill O'Reilly. "The white establishment is now a minority" -- replaced in his telling by black and brown people "who want stuff." Indeed they do; stuff like immigration reform, affordable health care, reproductive rights, and economic justice. For a two-party system to be healthy, both parties need to be in good shape. Right now the Republican Party is badly in need of a soul transplant.