Exit Poll Results: Record Number of Minority Voters Cost Romney the Election

As the 2012 presidential election (finally) comes to a close, voters on both sides of the aisle are left wondering what might have been. Most pollsters had Romney and Obama in a dead heat headed into election night, with the Republican candidate making steady inroads on the incumbent p resident's initial lead. The battleground states were going to be paramount for both candidates. voter frustration with the country's lack of progress as we reached the fiscal cliff would surely make the race a barn burner. 

However, as the votes were tallied, blow after blow was dealt to the GOP candidate. As he lost the swing states, one after another, something became clear to me: Romney lost the election because of the GOP's threat to civil rights. 

Still, the GOP's attempt to combat the (non-existent) problem of voter fraud bit them in the ass. A base that might have otherwise stayed home due to the aforementioned lack of change was invigorated and mobilized in their opposition to the GOP.

Even as a party with a history of major disconnect with minorities in general, in the past this might not have been as large a problem for the GOP. But the demographics of the country are changing. Or, as totally unbiased political pundit Bill O' Reilly put it, "The 'white establishment' is the minority."

This country is only 40+ years removed from an era when pretty much everyone who wasn't a white male was a second class citizen in at least one aspect of their lives, and any attempt to reverse that course was met with a swift and descisive "no from voters. You can't threaten the civil rights of much of the country's population and then expect them to elect you as its leader.

We'll see what happens in 2016.