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This issue? joining us now is the co-host of msnbc's the cycle and a senior writer at salon.com. thanks for being here. >> happy to be here. >> there were a ton of these gay marriage bans on the ballot in 2004 and the common wisdom was republicans thought it would drive up turnout and help george w. bush get elected by bringing out conservatives who might not like him but who really hated gay people. did that turn out to be the case in '04? >> there is all sorts of speculation about that. you can certainly match up. it was a year in which turnout went up surprisingly overall and it was sort of...

This issue? joining us now is the cohost of msnbc's the cycle and a senior writer at salon.com. thanks for being here. >> happy to be here. >> there were a ton of these gay marriage bans on the ballot in 2004 and the common wisdom was republicans thought it would drive up turnout and help george w. bush get elected by bringing out conservatives who might not like him but who really hated gay people. did that turn out to be the case in '04? >> there is all sorts of speculation about that. you can certainly match up. it was a year in which turnout went up surprisingly overall and it was sort of ...

What republicans really need is sort of a human equivalent of up an auto pen. somebody with enough fingers to sign legislation. if you look at this legislation, it's not just a return to the days of george w. bush. on everything from environmental regulations to abortion to gun rights, it's worse than bush. so some of his centrist supporters they make this argument. this is a guy who seems to believe this is a base election, which is one of the reasons that he chose paul ryan. that he has a history of not only be a mode rate and they saw that when he was governor of massachusetts, but also in ...

As soon as people started to think that the economy was doing better, as soon as people started to think that this was about policies for the future and not just about a referendum on the past, he's found himself adrift in terms of what the message is he wants to hue to and he does feel as though this is a base election and he needs to stir up the republican base, and he doesn't have the kind of natural connection to that base that some of his -- many other people in the party, some of the people he ran against and some of whom he didn't run against, have. >> is that true, mark, that the only ...

These men are not really doing mitt romney much in the way of favors, are they? >> depends on who their audience is. this is going to be a base election. meaning mitt romney has to excite his base to ensure they come out. >> he's been exciting his base for six years. how much longer does he have to go on and try to do this? >> he's got to do it until the voting -- until the polls are closed across the country. and so -- but also remember donald trump and sheldon aidleson are not exactly for mitt romney. they're against barack obama. so whatever they have to say, you know, it's about their goal...