I think we forget how uninterested in politics most people are.

[undeterred]

Something like 2/3 can't name a single Supreme Court justice. Over half don't know who their congressman is.

At DU we come armed with brilliant arguments aimed at people who care very much about these things. But the teeming masses of voters - who are the ones we really need to convince - don't think "politcs" has anything to do with them, unless it comes home to roost - they lose a son or daughter in combat. They don't care enough to do their own research. They don't want to take the time to watch a debate, or a show on PBS, or read a couple of websites. Headlines only, please.

I am avoiding saying the masses are stupid- maybe a lot of them are, but even more feel that the world of politics just doesn't matter or they feel it can't possibly make a difference how they vote.

Hence, the vote turns on things like the weather, how long the line was at the grocery store that day, and whether or not they were reminded the day before.

:shrug:

We at DU are the exception rather than the rule.

[Mythsaje]

1. This is why I wrote THIS...

I hear it all the time. “All politicians are the same. They don’t represent me.” Or, better yet, “I don’t do politics.”

“That’s okay,” I tell them. “Politics will do you.” Then I might add. “Got lube?”

There’s a strong swelling sentiment in this country that the politicians don’t represent the people, a sentiment reflected in the increasingly low voter turnout on Election Day. We can debate the reason for this for days on end, but the truth of it is unmistakable.

We can blame them, rail against them, condemn them for their attitude, but none of these things are likely to do any good. Some want to make voting mandatory, like Australia. Personally I think that’s a stupid idea. Forcing people to participate in something they don’t give a rusty rat’s ass about? Not a good idea. I can’t see how anything positive can come out of it.

I could be wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time.

So how can we reach these people? How can we get people to actually vote? A radio caller once mentioned an idea that we have a voter lottery. A chance to win money for casting your votes. Well, on the surface it sounds pretty good, but…well…I’m sure we’d rather find a way to encourage informed voting. I’m not sure this would be the best way to do that.

So what is?

Well, first we have to determine which demographic is least likely to vote. Maybe we should sponsor a survey, try to figure out why they don’t vote. Get a consensus rolling. Where are we failing? We’ve got “Rock the Vote” “Rap the Vote” and who knows what else, trying to get the youth out there involved in the system. These things have seen a measure of success, but there is a great untapped resource of voters out there that just don’t connect with the system.

I think part of the problem is that we’ve allowed the whole electoral process to devolve into a mass of soundbytes, where the politicos aren’t so much talking TO the people as talking AT them. A lot of it is obviously manipulative, and, I’ll bet if you did do a survey, you’d find that most people dislike being manipulated by either side of the political spectrum. They don’t need slogans, they need solutions.

The media isn’t helping, of course. The mass communication medium that has sprang up over the past sixty years has done nothing to improve the connection between people and their “representatives.” Only in the last ten, with the advent and expansion of the internet, have we seen a way to reach the people as individuals actually arise. But only a few politicians and campaign people have tapped into this.

The RW has tapped its base, and I’m willing to bet that nearly all of the voters out there who don’t vote now are more attuned to the Democratic message, if it could only reach them effectively. Clearly. And attached to people they can believe will try to make a difference.

They say that “all politics is local.” Howard Dean is building a grassroots financing campaign for the DNC and doing a remarkable job of it. But it’s only half the battle. Getting the money from those who are already interested isn’t the hard part. Getting the votes from the people who aren’t is.

We need strong, charismatic leaders on the ground, in all our communities. Not just talking at the media, but walking around, shaking hands, and being real people. Listening to other people. Because we know that liberalism is about real people…their hopes, their fears, and those things they’d like to see to make their lives better.

It takes real people to connect to real people. So who’ll stand up and be that real person the voters can get to know?

Is it you? Or is it someone you know? Someone who’s willing to go out there and glad-hand, not politicking for any particular candidate, but for our Cause in general. Because that’s a part of what we need.

We already know that the majority of folks support Roe v. Wade and don’t want to see it overturned. We already know that the majority question the Iraq War. We already know that the majority of people want serious healthcare reform.

We need to let it be known that we want the same things they do, and we’re willing to work hard to give it to them.

Democrats. Neighbors helping neighbors. That’s what it’s about.

[undeterred]

6. excellent

thanks for posting it here...

I will be that real person the voters can talk to.

[BrklynLiberal]

7. ROTFLMAO!!! I am going to remember that line!!

“That’s okay,” I tell them. “Politics will do you.” Then I might add. “Got lube?”

[flamin lib]

9. Ya' know most people just don't have the time.

They might make the time like most of DU if they only had the access. Take the 6 guys that over the period of a week jack hammered a hole in my foundation to repair a plumbing leak. They show up at 7:30, work their buns off, take a half hour for lunch and repeat until they're sure the plumbing is secure if not repaired. When are they going to spend a couple of hours on-line? So what if they go home and watch local news? Nothing there but cutesy news or a closeup following blood stains to an apartment door.

What if they had cable and tuned into the Sunday talk shows? 1) They wouldn't have a context in which to understand the stories and 2) they wouldn't get an even look at the news anyway.

That's why the Prez can lie us into war, kill tens of thousands, rob us of our basic rights and basically fuck the economy for the next 5 generations but nobody notices until gas reaches $3 a gallon.

It has to really bite for anyone to take notice.

[Mythsaje]

10. It's not the people who are too busy making a living that are a problem...

as much as it is the people who just don't care, who'd rather spend their off-time glued to a video game or a sporting event, or the latest episode of Survivor. I split my time between working 40 hours a week, working on my current novel/writing project, watching several different television shows I've DVRed throughout the week, promoting my work in on-line chats and interviews, reading or listening to audiobooks, writing reviews, spending time with my wife, AND keeping up with the real news and writing essays about what I think about it all.

Maybe I just multi-task better than most. I'm not sure. I can identify nearly any song from the sixties through today, identify the artist, pin down the author to any one of several thousand different sci-fi, fantasy, or suspense novels by title or plot-line, identify any one of several hundred actors from TV and the movies by voice alone, tell you how my local federal "representatives" voted on any number of different issues, and explain the nature of pack mentality in dogs and how they relate to humans from that perspective, name some of the traits of any one of a hundred different breeds, discuss the history of religion and political interaction from the fall of Rome to today, and yet, somehow, most people can't seem to muster up the interest to know the name of a single Supreme Court Justice?

Unbelievable.

And it's not that I'm a genius. I test at 129. I just happen to believe the brain is more than just packing peanuts for the skull. So I'm not up on the newest video game releases. Nor can I name more than a handful of sports stars. I can live with that.

I think a lot of it is just intellectual laziness. Or, simply, that they just don't get it. Politics isn't about something that happens a long ways away that has no impact on your life. It's about stuff that happens that can dramatically change your life in a heartbeat. THAT'S what they're missing, and what needs to be pointed out to them until they're sick and tired of hearing it.

Ignore politics at your peril. Because politics sure as HELL isn't ignoring you.

[Bill McBlueState]

33. just a second, though

You say, "I can identify nearly any song from the sixties through today, identify the artist, pin down the author to any one of several thousand different sci-fi, fantasy, or suspense novels by title or plot-line..."

and then "I'm not up on the newest video game releases. Nor can I name more than a handful of sports stars..."

But there are very involved, motivated, informed people out there who follow video games or pro sports instead of music and literature. Don't assume we're all knuckledraggers!

Besides... being able to say something intelligent about the local baseball team might be the foot in the door for a conversation about class in America or any of your other favorite political issues.

:)

[serryjw]

13. Boots on the ground for 3 years

I have spoken to thousands. THEY have the time. We are asking for 30 minutes a day IF

MSM would STOP lying or omitting important truths
Stop Stealing elections.I hear that a lot now "I voted the last two election & they stole it!"
Do something that HELPS me! I have seen a MAJOR difference in the attitude from our seniors. They are scared and feel betrayed. THEY are tired of the corruption and it's easier to stay home than contribute to it.
They system is very broken at all levels of government. UNTIL we Federally Fund national elections we are doomed. Corporations win.

[rzemanfl]

2. And how uninterested in people most politicians are, unless the

people have money...

[napi21]

3. That applies to most things in life. It doesn't matter much until

it directly affects YOU! The other thing I'pve found is that the older people get, the more interested in politics they become. I'm not sure if it's because of life experiences, or because each of their lives get touched by something the gov't does as they age.

The internet has helped disseminate information much better that ever before, but there really are a lot, the majority I suspect, who have a lot of other things that take priority in their lives!

[undeterred]

5. thats true

I care more than I did before, but a lot has to do with my own unemployment. I cared about the other issues before enough to become informed, but not enough to become involved. I can't understand my former self!

[napi21]

8. Job loss, gas prices, plant closings, etc. all have a direct personal

impact on individuals! That's why you're seeing so much reaction about gas prices everywhere lately! The seniors are still up in arms about the Medicare Part D, because they don't like what they're finding as they try to use it!

[dragonlady]

16. Another issue that should hit close to home: Real ID

If people knew what this is about, they would be horrified. But Sensenbrenner sneaked it through in a defense appropriation bill and it gets very little attention in the MSM. Basically it mandates the states to adopt a uniform driver's license that will become a de facto national ID. Your private information (birth date, SSN, digital photo, maybe fingerprints or retinal scan) will be in a national database available to DMV employees around the country. Merchants and banks will scan this in with every transaction you make. You'll have to bring in original documents like birth certificates to renew your license (another way to knock off poor people and immigrants?), and the states will have to absorb most of the horrendous cost of the system.

This is supposed to be in place by May 2008. Everybody will need this ID to drive, open bank accounts, collect social security, and get on airplanes. This is the kind of thing that most people would really care about a lot and want to repeal it before it gets going.

Here's a link to a diary on kos about this: <http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/29/151749/631>
and you could also read about it here: <http://sensenbrennerwatch.blogspot.com/>

[serryjw]

14. I have posted this several times

The DNC should have a link to all the lefty websites. IF people go to networks online it is just as much bushit as on TV.

[madame defarge]

4. Attention Deficit Democracy...

Just heard an interview with James Bovard, the author of "Attention Deficit Democracy" talking about how we Americans suffer from "battered citizen syndrome."

Much of what he was saying -- and what looks like his book discusses -- addresses what you're talking about.

Here are a few paragraphs from an essay he recently wrote...

Another poll has confirmed that most Americans are constitutionally without a clue. Americans’ political illiteracy is good news for Washington politicians hungry to seize more power. But this ignorance is one of the most perilous elements of attention deficit democracy.

The McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum poll, released last month, found that barely a quarter of Americans could name more than one of the fundamental freedoms recognized in the First Amendment. Far more Americans could name the characters on The Simpsons than could recall the provisions of the First Amendment. Three-fourths of Americans recognized two of the product brands connected to five popular ad slogans, while only 28 percent could name two or more freedoms cited in the First Amendment.
--snip--

America is becoming an attention deficit democracy. The government is still nominally democratic – elections are boisterous events accompanied by torrents of dubious ads and mass rallies. But after the election, the president returns to his pedestal, congressmen return to their free lunches, and most people ignore political life.

Because so many people are so ignorant, it becomes easier each decade for politicians to seize new power and decimate established rights. But the fact that most people are politically negligent does not entitle government to trample their rights.

--snip--
Attention deficit democracy lacks the most important check on the abuse of power: an informed citizenry resolutely defending their rights. But no amount of popular ignorance can legitimize political absolutism. The government must respect the Bill of Rights regardless of how few Americans understand the highest law of the land.

Read the whole article here ==> http://www.lewrockwell.com/bovard/bovard28.html

[proud patriot]

11. This is my experience as well

luckily my friends have me and they trust
my research . I'm thankful they at least vote
and ask my questions if they have any .

I only have one friend who doesn't vote .
I've been trying for years x( .

I wish I could help them feel empowered to make
a difference . I wish they cared to know the
gruesome details .

[Warpy]

12. That's why the word "unchristian" is so devastating

when you use it to describe pubbies in general and Stupid in particular. They may not give a rip about politics, but chances are 9 out of 10 that you're talking to a believer. It's the one thing that gets through to them.

[politrix]

15. Humans ARE Basically Stupid

And, MOST can't live up to the lofty ideas we expouse.

The upper 1% represent continuing evolution. The masses represent what we are evolving away from.

Imagine how the first Cro Magnon felt in a world full of Neanderthals. The children of the new age must ever deal will the children of the last age.

[Warpy]

20. In the first place, Neanderthals may have been the superior

species at that time. They were way ahead of Cro Magnons in things like burial rituals and caring for family/tribal members with less than perfect bodies.

In the second place, just who the hell are you calling the elites? The wealthy? The intelligentsia? Rock stars? The professional athletes? None of these groups is particularly well suited to forming a world dictatorship and ruling the "unevolved" masses, although all score off the charts on measurements of human abilities or in social position.

Also be careful of dismissing your elders. You may find they have important lessons to teach you. My pop was teaching me lessons until the day he died at 89.

[Minnesota Libra]

17. I posted something similar to this and from people who are...........

....very educated and politically well informed.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1058982&mesg_id=1058982

[AnnInLa]

18. You are absolutely correct!

I just can't believe it when people don't know the in's and out's of politics like we do. Do you think we are political junkies? Are we internet addicted? I see all kinds of sites on the internet that make fun of DU...but, as a group, we are more informed than any other group in this country.

Sometimes I wish I didn't know all that I know. It was so comfortable when I was not this aware.

K&R

[politrix]

19. It's Called 'Evolution'

[moondust]

21. People with children

often have too many other things to take care of that they consider more important. It's probably why politicians spend so much time preaching family this and family that and generally ignore unmarried people (who might have the time to pay attention).

[Clark2008]

24. But, I would venture to say that most of us here have children...

In various stages of development - from fetuses, to newborns, to children, to teens to adults.

[moondust]

25. The exceptions to the rule. n/t

[seabeyond]

22. damn good thing we have two oilmen in the whitehouse

i say to the old man that pulled up to the pump in his conservative car. sure are taking care of us arent they.

someone is getting rich the old man says

no me i say, how about you

then go into convenient store to get coffee and say the same thing to cashier and three, four customers. yup says the gal. she says she is concerned with the old people on fixed income.

or the people making minimum wage i say..... (cashier at the store i am talking to)

ya she says. it is getting hard

all agreed

this is the very red texas panhandle.

they may not stay tuned to a lot a lot of things. i agree with your post. but of late, there has been a handful of things i am able to say to the most conservative that has effected their lives and making them do a little thinking.

i say something always, .... when i am out and about. passing on the unrest. and i have not had one person oppose me.

[linazelle]

23. You are right. I was reminded yesterday when at dinner with a friend

I keep in touch with her via email and had sent some political info a few times, but it's been several years since we actually sat down together. I explained why I sent those emails and what was going on politically. She is not ignorant. She, like most people, does not get the info we get here. It is our duty to educate people at every opportunity. I found that I had very litttle time to talk about all of the things we discuss here and so I chose a few--like the economy, voting and the media. I promised to continue to send more info to educate her and she welcomed it.

But people like her are not interested enough to buy Air America or attend protest marches, or even write their congressmen. They don't have enough info to incite them to do that. She hadn't even heard about Bush's outing of Valerie Plame and in our media discussion I told her about Fox and how she's more likely to hear about Aruba girl and the Duke Rape case than that treasonous bastahd in the White House.

I also have to say it wasn't too long ago that I personally despised politics. All of the politicos seemed like a bunch of phony blowhards--and they are. But despite their insincerity, I have come to see that politics is about much more than personalities, it's about our democracy, the Constitution and what it means to be a citizen in America. I am interested because I want our country to return to the thriving democracy it once was. I will continue to share my vision with others.

[struggle4progress]

26. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Short & Simple

The trick is to come up with something ordinary people can understand, that's not a monologue, and is delivered in a way that doesn't make them feel stupid.

Try stating facts as questions. Didn't Cheney get together with some oil executives to study maps of Iraq a couple of years before the war?

Political jokes are good. One that's circulated at DU is "Gas Oil & Petroleum" as the meaning of GOP.

Cook up some one-liners and try em out (pleasantly) in the course of conversation with people you meet in daily commerce ...

[Seabiscuit]

27. You don't have to believe the masses are "stupid" to get your point -

Uninformed, yes. Mamy, wilfully ignorant. Not the same as "stupid", although some are also that.

All that aside, I see DU as a place people can come to to educate themselves and to think about what they're learning.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

28. "All politics is local." One boss is like the other boss.

Most people don't give a rip about politics unless it effects them personally. The average person isn't at all concerned about abstractions such as "rights", or "justice", or "freedom". They're nice words they like to hear about but they will surrender them without so much as a blink if the loss doesn't have an impact on them.

Most people, around the world, are a helluva lot more concerned about making a living, raising their kids, enjoying their lives, than fretting about who the current bosses are.

The people hate Bush and the Republicans now because too many of their kids are coming home dead or maimed and they've discovered (again) that wars are expensive. They're beginning to catch on that the bigshot CEO's aren't concerened with things like unemployment, wages, outsourcing, except as nuisances that interfere with the bottom line.

They'll vote against Bush and his pals in congress because they're pissed off at high gas prices and the vague feeling that things aren't going well despite the flag waving and "good old boy" cornpone "patriotism" that's being passed off as a governement. Not because they're enamored of Democratic politicians.

They'll vote for Democrats because they don't like the Republicans right now and want a change in bosses.

[babylonsister]

29. That's why Americans are more irate at the price of gas than how

many dead soldiers there currently are. Their major concern is what affects them personally, not much else.

[American Tragedy]

32. So, people are just plain self-absorbed. No social conscience.

How depressing.

[readmoreoften]

30. I truly believe the real issue is lazy and fear of discomfort.

After being on strike for 6 months, I have found that most people will shut down any information that is unpleasant, even if it will benefit them. And if it doesn't DIRECTLY benefit them, they will make the most heinous excuses to avoid responsibility. I strongly believe that civic virtue needs to be inculcated in our people again.

As the cliche goes, we are entertaining ourselves to death. When I look at 1 million young people in the streets of France over a labor law, I wonder why we aren't in the streets. I believe that our best hope to ending this regime is a general strike. But I don't see one on the horizon. We have no voting, no democracy, we're living under a dictatorship that is actually practicing on how best to drop a nuclear bomb on Iranians--who have done nothing to us--which according to the Pentagon's own assessments will kill 3 million Iranians in 12 hours. The equivalence of half the destruction of the holocaust in 12 hours. And we are busy watching American Idol.

It's enough to pull your hair out.

My feeling is that if our elected officials pass a resolution-- or allow Bush to pass an edict-- to engage with Iran, we need to call a general strike. And, yes, you might lose your job. And, yes, you'll probably lose a day's pay. And, yes, your kids might eat beans for a month. And, yes, everything you've worked for might be jeopardized.

But we can't let this continue. Bush wants Armageddon. The PNAC want to engage with the entire middle east. We might have to get a little uncomfortable.

[Stand and Fight]

31. I could not agree more. Recommended. n/t