Pennsylvania has been a target for the GOP in at least the last 4 elections. It's been a "close but not quite" state - fool's gold, some have called it.
It appears that the GOP can find up to 48-49% of the vote in PA fairly easily, as evidenced by Bush's showing in the state in 2004. But getting to that 50% mark has proven very difficult for a long time.
My question is open to anyone, but specifically directed at those of you who live in Pennsylvania. In your opinion, what specific measures should the GOP take in order to find that additional 1-2% of the vote, and turn the Keystone State into fertile ground for them?
Actually, the Republicans cannot "find up to 48-49% of the vote in [Pennsylvania]" easily. Since the 1950s, the state has had a Democratic tilt. (This is especially true when the two major-party candidates account for at least 98 percent of the presidential vote with the Key Stone State.) Last Democratic president elected while Pa. was in the Republican column dates back to 1948: Harry Truman was elected to a full term while Pa. carried for Thomas Dewey of neighboring New York. (Dewey's Republican pickups were nothing from the south, back then the base of that period's Democratic Party.) After that, all winning Republicans carried Pa. by a margin less than their national number. All prevailing Democrats carried Pa. by a margin exceeding their national number. And the losing Democrats of 1968, 2000, and 2004 carried Pa. in spite of Republican presidential victories.
