Some people think we need better politicians. I think we need better voters.
But don’t blame them. It isn't the voters fault if they don't buy what one is selling.
Leftist Facebook group members are expressing a lot of frustration this week. Joe Biden is still leading in the polls. Harris had her bump after the first debate, but she fell back to 8%. Mayor Pete had a quick start, but has settled back to 5%. Warren has moved up, Sanders has moved down. Most of the 20-something candidates register at approximately zero support.
Meanwhile Biden is back to to some 32% support, almost as much a the sum of Warren (19%) and Sanders (15%). That polling seems implausible and self destructive to young Sanders supporters. Voters are being so stupid!
Click for the poll
Biden's support reveals a generation gap, with 37% of voters aged 50 to 64 supporting Biden and 48% of people 65 and older supporting him. But only 10% of young voters 18-34 support Biden. The young prefer Bernie.
Sanders is describing a country in crisis and he proposes dramatic changes to address the problems, and yet the bulk of voters are foolishly choosing the status quo. Don’t the geezers understand how terrible Biden is? Don’t people realize the power structure is screwing them over? What's wrong with them?
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| Click: Satire website |
Wishing the cocoon of a Facebook affinity group people reveal their impatience and incredulity that there are people so wrongheaded that they willingly disagree. Bernie Sanders himself changed the boundaries of who was inside and outside the circle of virtue. He used to condemn “millionaires and billionaires.” Now just billionaires.
Facebook members are not so careful. Old people, centrists, moderates, and Warren supporters all get condemned as selfish or clueless.
The satire website The Onion spoofs this tendency to blame the voter with this faux story of Democratic frustration with rural voters. It imagines Pelosi and Schumer saying, “Hey, you redneck simpletons, put down your whittling sticks, drag yourself away from the Cracker Barrel, and let us tell you how it is.”
The Onion is done for humor, but it points to a real problem I witness directly on the political left: blaming those foolish voters.
It isn’t the voters fault if they don’t agree with you.
4 comments:
"It's not that bad, is it?"
The main difference between Biden and the rest of the field is that he is the reassuring voice saying all that's needed is a "return to normal". A big chunk of the electorate on both sides want to believe, in denial of reality, that climate change, gun violence, corruption, racism, misogyny, and the decline of popular music are all "not that bad". This is politics as usual, telling people what they want to hear, and is a tried and true way to get elected, barring an economic collapse that wakes folks up.
Sen. Warren is meeting resistance because, along with Sanders and to some extent the others, is ringing alarm bells while moderates have their hands over their ears going "nanananna".
Sen. Warren is meeting some resistance because many Americans want to WIN in Nov. 2020. Warren has vulnerabilities, but her number one cheerleader likes to pretend that she does not. In no particular order: 1) She is a woman, 2) She is a Democratic female candidate, 3) She is a Harvard professor, 4) She is a Senator from Massachusetts, home of Sen. John Kerry (lost) Gov. Mike Dukakis (lost) and Ted Kennedy, 5) She gives the impression of being a Big Government liberal, 6) Her Indian heritage issue, 7) Her presentation is not as professional as it should be (part Cambridge professor, part preacher, and part yoga instructor). Musicians tend to be impractical dreamers. We need to beat Trump. Period. I'm keeping my eyes on the prize. Dreaming is for when the lights go out and I can sleep because the Trump family no longer resides in our White House.
Continued (after a quick check on-line)... 8) Warren and her daughter (she also has a son) wrote a book in 2003 in which she warned women against having children for financial reasons and if divorced to remarry asap. She also remarked that children were financial assets to society but not to individual parents. Without trying to argue either for or against her points, this could hurt her politically, as seeming anti-family, anti-feminist, pro-golddigging, etc. Also, children can be very beneficial to older parents, even if the "return on investment" is not dollar for dollar. Some Americans will view her reasoning as overly cold and calculating.
But see: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-team-worried-about-elizabeth-warren-2020-democrats-2019-9
At some point Liz and Bernie cut a deal...
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