My 91 year old mother is always right. Always…
After every election she makes her routine pronouncement that goes something like this: Voters go to the polls not knowing why they’re voting or who will best represent their views. They don’t even know what they want, much less, who’s going to do it for them.
The number crunchers, bean counters, and data miners are frantically disaggregating the data from Tuesday and it echoes my mother’s wisdom.
Weird…
Reuters’ Mike Corones wrote an article on this bizarre post-election revelation mentioning all the holy crap moments in the world of America’s confused voters. The voters spoke, but we have no clue what the message was.
This observation from a Twitter political watcher: @bencasselman: “So voters want a higher minimum wage, legal pot, abortion access and GOP representation. Ok then…”
Yes, Ben, it’s confusing…I felt the same way. It does not compute.
And another: @jodyavirgan: “5/5 vote to raise the minimum wage; 3/4 to legalize weed; 6/7 to elect Republican senators. America, you’re a very interesting place”.
The issues on the ballot and the politicians who will administrate them do not match. The policies that voters embrace are the very issues that the GOP is against.
Why is this happening?
Media should be educating voters and parsing issues, but they’re not. They eschew uncomfortable confrontations that would a shine a light on what matters, because it might anger one of their corporate sponsors.
A free press should be the lifeblood of a democracy, but I’m afraid it’s bled out. That lifeblood is somewhat anemic now. Afraid of losing their livelihood, many journalists are afraid to offend. It’s easier to go along to get along and make nice with people, than to lift the veil from unpleasant truths.
With very few exceptions, the majority of local reporters have willingly become Lubbock’s newest eunuchs, because journalistic courage has consequences. Much of the local post-election coverage read like an advertorial for the winners. The only thing lacking was “I approve this message”. No difficult questions asked, no specific answers offered.
Over the next few months, voters may be scratching their heads. They will claim they didn’t vote for cuts in Social Security and Medicare or tax cuts to billionaires or a blank check for energy to foul our air and deplete our water supply, but they did.
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Carol Morgan is a career/college counselor, writer, speaker, former Democratic candidate for the Texas House and the award-winning author of Of Tapestry, Time and Tears, a historical fiction about the 1947 Partition of India. Email Carol at elizabethcmorgan@sbcglobal.net , follow her on Twitter and on Facebook or visit her writer’s blog at www.carolmorgan.org
How about this one:
"Michael Grimm Wins Re-Election Despite 20-Count Indictment"
"Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) defeated Democrat Domenic Recchia in New York's 11th congressional district on Tuesday.
The race was one of the most competitive and closely watched in the state. Democrats saw an opportunity to flip the seat after Grimm was indicted on 20 counts of fraud related to his ownership of a health food restaurant, but Grimm led Recchia in polls leading up to election day.
Grimm gained national attention when he threatened to throw a reporter off of a balcony. "
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/07/michael-grimm-midterm-election-results_n_5948492.html
The Republican campaign centered around attacking Obama, the ACA, etc, etc, etc.
Why didn't the Democrats use positive notes, like DJIA all time high, Standard & Poors all time high, unemployment 5.9%, jobless claims lowest in 14 years....
I don't get it. The economy is turning around in spite of the Republican obstructionism. Why didn't they campaign on that?
It seems to me that the Democrats alway underplay their accomplishments and don't defend them when challenged.
All the public hears is from the dissatisfied Republicans who are dissatisfied about everything all of the time......
"Republicans weren't elected to govern" --Rush Limbaugh commenting on the mid-term election results......
If the voters don't by the democrat product line the party needs to look at what is not selling and change the platform.
This, alas, is a lessening trend, heading toward oxymoron status, as we are increasingly bombarded by infotainment.
With things as they are, voters need to be motivated, it seems, rather than educated.
Fear certainly was used for motivation, this time around; just think of what went on with the Ebola "crisis"--that ginned up media news cycle stunt. And some rightwingers used it to claim that Obama was deliberately infecting Americans with an "African" virus. Unfrickin' believable, you'd think; but it was used to gin-up support for voting Republican.
You've even got a nut in Colorado (CO Springs) who has performed exorcisms on President Obama, and who was voted into Congress by (I believe) with a whopping 40-point advantage.
What a country...
By and large people vote their fears and prejudices and are "educated" by the 60 second media bite and the canned phrase. Record amount of money was spent, but it was spent getting out simple messages for simple ADD minds.
As for the Democrats, they were nearly MIA. Here in Lubbock you'd have to seek out the information about them; they wouldn't chase you down to get you to vote for them. TV ads ran about 10-15 for Republican candidates to every one for a Democrat -- which of course reflects two realities: less money and statewide Democratic candidates writing off West Texas.
I had the definite feeling that the Republicans were campaigning full-time while the Democrats had day jobs and campaigned only on weekends and a couple of evenings a week.
It was nearly funny. You'd hear an ad by that guy running for Lt. Gov. (never remember his name) supposedly responding to Van Der Putte's ads that we didn't get to see and then going on to talk about putting national guardsmen on the border and and, apparently, Van Der Putte's position on foreign aid for Central America! Surely a political ad written by a drunk, but it seemed to play well with voters.
Then there were the usual GOP ads featuring that actress who puts a sneer of righteous contempt in her voice as she mischaracterizes the positions of the Democratic opponent. Wonder how much money she makes from those Republican ads?
How much of these losses were due to poor campaign tactics and a failure to understand voter psychology? Here in Texas I think that was a factor. They could have played hard ball with Abbott and that guy who got elected Lt Gov and failed to do so. But of course not having much money limits the options. You don't saturate the airwaves and cable if you are broke.
Twice this year somebody knocked on my door and left a Wendy Davis brochure. One time I met the guy, nice fella, good representative for Davis and the party. Apparently he was campaigning for Davis only, nobody else.
I got some political ads in the mail. I think one was the same Davis brochure and another was from Marchebanks. Think I got something from maybe Perry or Frullo or both but I immediately filed them in the proper place.
Once coming out of United a young man handed me one of Delwin Jones' nail files. (What are we gonna do for nail files now Jones is out of politics?)
I saw a station wagon with Marchebanks' sign on it, parked at Walmart near the entrance on Ave. R.
That's it. All the campaigning I was on the receiving end of except for signs and TV and radio ads. Of course Republicans write off my hood and would be afraid to knock doors here, irrationally imo. Not many Democrats trying to get out the vote here either.
There were speeches and meetings. Van der Putte and Marchebanks came to speak within a hundred feet of where I live, but I didn't know it at the time, saw the cars, didn't know what was going on. Found campaign signs lying around afterward. Saw a van der Putte's sign on the ground. I went over and stuck it up in front of the building where the meetign was held; somebody else pulled it up and left it flat on the ground again.
I got emails from Kenny Kettner and would occasionally look at one. One time the email said there would be an event at that park in Overton [corr., Tech Terrace]where the tennis courts are; I went by at the stated time and saw no one. That's the only time I tried to attend anything.
To summarize, I don't think there was any Democratic organization in Lubbock. There were events held, maybe, but not well publicized. And unless you went to the trouble of finding out about them and going, you were out of the loop. What Democrats here did was preach to the choir; events and information for those who were going to vote for Democrats anyway. The outreach to those not voting or independent and unenergized was near zero.