And another thing

Obama lost about 8 million votes since 2008. That's a lot. Yes, Romney lost about 3 million GOP voters, so obviously, Obama won the turnout battle, but it's not as if he increased his popularity. Far from it. The election was not a demonstration of approval for Obama and his policies. It occurred me that Obama is far more loved by his supporters - cult like, as we've seen - than Romney was adored by his.

The GOP didn't want Romney all throughout the primary battle, he just won the war of attrition, namely because he had more money and support and organization. That wasn't an advantage he had in the general election. As has been the case many times (1996, 2004, etc) it isn't enough to want to get rid of the guy in charge. You have to offer something more (like Reagan did in 1980). Sure, Romney was offering something (in my opinion, far more than the narcissistic sociopath that was reelected) but as with many candidates who have been running for President since they were in grade school - being your turn isn't a good reason to vote FOR someone.

So, in the end, I don't think it is so much that the Dem coalition is necessarily larger (it might be, but obviously, not by much) but that they were more motivated to hold onto their power (an political gains) than the GOP was to undo their hold on it. Wanting to undo government tyranny isn't enough.

That's why losing the Obamacare legislative and court battles was so bad. That monstrosity is now entrenched and will wreak havoc on America, turning it into a European socialist democracy. That's why America is finished as a world power. It may take some time to occur, and there will be tangential battles in the future (over how much to hand out). But there's no doubt it's happening and there's pretty much nothing anyone can do to stop it.