The media likes to call this group “independents”

[kpete]

More on Lofgren

by mistermix

I still think this essay by Mike Lofgren http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779 is one of the best summaries of current American politics that I’ve read in a long time. Another Congressional staffer adds this:

One thing that especially resonated with me about Mike’s piece is the importance of “low information” voters. The mainstream media absolutely fails to understand how little attention average Americans really pay to what goes on in all forms of government. During our 2008 race, our pollster taught me (hard to believe it took me 24 years to learn this) that the average voter spends only 5 minutes thinking about for whom to vote for Congress. All the millions of dollars of TV ads, all the thousands of robo-calls and door-knocks, and it all comes down to having a message that will stick in the voters’ minds during the 5 minutes before they walk into the voting booth.

The media likes to call this group “independents,” which implies that they think so long and deeply about issues that they refuse to be constrained by the philosophy of either party. There may be a couple of people out there who fit that definition, but those are not the persuadable voters campaigns are trying to capture. Every campaign is trying to develop its candidate into an easy-to-remember slogan that makes him or her more appealing than the other guy. Actually, because negative campaigning is so effective, they are more often trying to portray the opponent as more objectionable (“I guess I’ll vote for the crook because at least he won’t slash my Medicare”).

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/09/people-dont-realize-how-fragile-democracy-really-is/244559/

http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/09/06/more-on-lofgren/

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[Brickbat]

2. K&R. In my experience, the truly independent voters are the ones who consider themselves a

Republican or Democrat but are willing to vote for a politician in the other party, even if they don't agree with him/her. They do so because they often consider the politician to have firm beliefs about something. I saw this a lot when farmers, small-business owners and the like would vote for Paul Wellstone. "I don't always agree with him, but at least I know where he stands," they would say.

[SoCalDem]

3. I think most of them are just wishy-washy types who cannot be bothered to pay attention

and who, after much cajoling, will vote for "the cute one"..or the one who has great hair.. or the one their friends say is a great choice:(

[sufrommich]

8. I think so too.Frankly, if they're not really interested in paying

attention I would rather they stay home on election day.

[alc]

4. average voter spends only 5 minutes...

How many people here have already decided to vote straight D in 2012? Even if you have spent more than 5 minutes thinking about it, was there ever any chance that the "lesser of two evils" party would not get the vote. Is that better than someone who spends 5 minutes and selects on something other than "lesser of two evils"?

Legislation over the next 14 months will pay more attention to those will make make a decision in 5 minutes in the future than to those who have already decided.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. You know who tells them negative ads are effective?

People who write negative ads, that's who. I do not agree that they are a good choice at all.

[Supersedeas]

9. and who sells those negative aids that fill the national airways--the independent media

[EFerrari]

10. Negative ads are effective because people attend to problems.

It's a survival mechanism, we pay attention to what is wrong because it could be a threat.

[phantom power]

6. Anybody who has ever watched Leno's "Jaywalking" would understand this.

[MisterP]

7. and another dimension: they could be "75 percenters"

who're for Social Security and Medicare but have no party representing them
just a bunch of messianic promises