The 10 dumbest things Republicans have said this year

Many GOPers still haven't learned the lesson of 2012

Mitt Romney's "47 percent" remark may have cost Republicans the White House, and his GOP colleagues are still busy sticking their feet in their mouths.
(Image credit: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

If the 2012 elections proved anything, it's that words matter. Unfortunate comments about rape by Rep. Todd Akin (R) in Missouri and Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) in Indiana likely cost the Republican Party two Senate seats they otherwise would have won.

And Mitt Romney's infamous "47 percent" remarks may have cost Republicans the White House as well.

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won — Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA TodayBoston Globe, San Francisco ChronicleChicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.