1098 failed? Fear and the lottery mentality (someday I might strike it rich and it wouldn't be fair

[uppityperson]

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/429481_incometax2.html

[Andy823]

1. Yep...

And those against it, the rich, were able to convince people that it was only a matter of time before "everyone" would end up with a "state income tax"! People are easily scared, and the scare tactics actually work.

[uppityperson]

2. At least we didn't have "no sharia law" like the fearful in OK did.

People are easily scared and scare tactics work.

[Kennah]

4. I wish it were just scare tactics ...

... but I'm afraid it's more insidious. People are becoming acclimated to a plutocracy.

[pscot]

3. My daughter works at a public health clinic

in King county. One of her clients said it would be unfair to tax the rich because they work so hard for what they have.

[regnaD kciN]

5. More like: the antis mananted to convince voters...

...that, even though the tax would initially be aimed at the rich, it would be expanded to cover everyone in two years. Once people came to believe that, it had no chance.

[eridani]

6. No on 1098 online campaign more effective

http://pmottola.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/defeat-1098-prevails-relying-heavily-on-youtube/

While we can’t see how much traffic came to the campaign websites, we can see they had varying success in social media. For example, Yes on 1098 had used Facebook to much greater effect, utilizing events and photo applications and earning nearly 11,000 Likes. The engagement therer pummeled Defeat 1098, which drew just 4,325 Likes, on the biggest social networking platform. Twitter didn’t seem to be a successful medium for either campaign, which each drew fewer than 600 followers.

The big difference online for the winning opposition campaign was YouTube. While the pro-1098 camp only posted 16 videos drawing 10,254 channel views and 23,227 total upload views, the Defeat 1098 campaign posted 30 videos drawing an incredible 93,508 channel views, 26,586 total upload views. I had to double-check the numbers because the channel views were so dramatically dominant. I noticed the Defeat 1098 YouTube videos in ads on YouTube and ad spaces on other blog sites, so I have to believe there’s a correlation in the ad spend driving people to the YouTube that the campaign made and the high number of channel views they received.

What stood out to me was how the effective the video medium had to have been in delivering the message. Defeat 1098 essentially extended its television ads online and drove voters to watch them to get the message. We often think about social media being about the conversation, and Yes on 1098 put a lot of effort into hosting the conversation on Facebook, an obvious choice. However, strong campaign messages can get lost in social media conversation, where the latest opinion is usually the most prominent. Defeat 1098 appeared to control and drive its message with more content and less opportunity for rich dialogue — and that worked tremendously.

Yes on 1098 spend nearly $1 million more than its opponent, but it should have prioritized more of that budget on video commercials to spread its message. The lesson in this initiative race seems to be that while organic conversation that social media offers can be an opportunity for campaigns, if you want to control the message you have to amplify the messaged content to regularly steer the conversation in your favor.

[Andy823]

8. Interesting

I didn't know the vote YES supporters spent more on their ads. I watch Spokane for my local stations, and I saw far more vote "NO" ads than "YES"! Might be just that they spent more over on the coast than on the east side of the mountains. I also think the vote "NO" ads were all targeted with the idea that once it became law the state would put the "tax' on everyone, not just the rich. I saw the same tactics with the inheritance tax issue where those trying to get signatures to do away with inheritance taxes tried to make it sound like "everyone" would be affected and "HAVE" to pay inheritance taxes instead of just those with estates over so many million dollars, can't remember the exact figures on that.

It really does have to do with what is said, how you can influence the voters, no matter what the truth really is, and as you said, targeting more voters by going online with ads.

[tavalon]

7. Actually, the first time I saw one of the anti-posters on the side of the road

I knew it would fail. Low education voters (who likely didn't even read the voter's pamphlet) just saw state income tax and immediately decided to vote no, facts be damned. Sales tax is one of the most regressive taxes there is but few seem bothered by that but something that would only tax the well off got blown off.

[Mojambo]

9. Most of the people I talked to feared the "slippery slope"

They were convinced it was just a way to open the door to income taxes on everyone.

[demigoddess]

10. rush limbaugh has spent years on this, years trying to convince

people that they will be rich any time now. that being poor now is a good thing, and as soon as we have lots of republicans in power, everybody will be rich. So support the republicans and their agenda and you, too, will be rich soon.