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THE CASE OF THE MISSING VOTERS (SOME THOUGHTS)
Powerline ^ | 11/24/2012 | Scott Johnson

Posted on 11/24/2012 9:28:37 AM PST by SeekAndFind

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1 posted on 11/24/2012 9:28:43 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s amazing how people will stand in line for hours for black Friday, football games, concerts, the latest iphone, etc. but could care less aboiut voting.

The mentality of this nation has gone to sh!t. Completely.


2 posted on 11/24/2012 9:30:49 AM PST by unixfox (Abolish Slavery, Repeal The 16th Amendment!)
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To: SeekAndFind
This writer essentially verifies Romney's “47%” comment and his “free stuff” comment as being correct.
3 posted on 11/24/2012 9:35:31 AM PST by stylin19a (obama -> Fredo smart)
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To: stylin19a

“This writer essentially verifies Romney’s “47%” comment and his “free stuff” comment as being correct. “

You are quite correct. They (voters) just didn’t want to hear it and prefer to remain in denial.


4 posted on 11/24/2012 9:39:33 AM PST by headstamp 2 (What would Scooby do?)
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To: SeekAndFind
I am concerned that the bedrock belief in free enterprise that was taken for granted in our youth may now be mostly gone. It is not hard to see why that might be the case, since all of the organs of our culture, from the public schools to the television networks to the comedy industry to Hollywood to higher education to the women’s magazines have been diligently working to undermine faith in economic freedom for several decades now.

And, of course, the problem is compounded by the fact that increasing numbers of Americans live outside the free economy, either as public employees or as dependents on government benefits.

In other words, America is dead and gone.
I concur. It is every man for himself now. Good luck.

5 posted on 11/24/2012 9:42:04 AM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: unixfox

Someone said recently; Voters don’t learn from day to day events, they learn from disasters. There’s some serious learnin’ coming at us. When the govt. runs out of money, all social programs crash and burn, then they will learn.


6 posted on 11/24/2012 9:44:17 AM PST by chiller (Do not consume any NBCNews;MTPTodayNightlyNewsMorningJoeMSNBCBrianWilliams)
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To: SeekAndFind

Again and again, this is all BS.

The people were shown the contrast between Obama and Romney. They even had Obama on a Newsweek as the empty chair from the convention.

No, the people in general changed.
Many went on endless welfare, endless unemployment, food stamps or the dole.
Other kids were being gifted through money for college.
Most of the various stimulus went to grow government employee union jobs (especially the worst on earth, the teacher’s union).
At schools teenagers and college kids were given reasons to go out and vote Obama.
OBAMA PHONES.
Our tax money to Auto Unions.

On and on, “THERE WAS AND IS NOW A HUGE COALITION OF THE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR”.
Wasn’t a lack of white people (who should and did know better).
If someone who knew better didn’t go out to vote against Obama and for Romney, then same on them for sure, but in general lots of people don’t pay taxes and get other people’s stuff and we have been dealing with various forms of Santa Clause Democrats for over 40 years. It’s why Republicans went soft, so now what?


7 posted on 11/24/2012 9:47:40 AM PST by A CA Guy ( God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: SeekAndFind
About as sound a post-election analysis as I've read.

However, my take is more pessimistic: I look around me at the type of society we've become, and I've concluded that we are no longer a people capable of self-government, at least on a national level. Granted, Mitt Romney had his flaws, and I never counted myself an enthusiastic supporter. His campaign team in particular I thought a bunch of incompetent dolts - which in fact they turned out to be. But for all his faults, Romney was a decent man campaigning on policies that at one time would have been considered the very essence of moderate. And he lost to Barack 0bama, the nakedly anti-American, anti-free enterprise failure. Could any sane, responsible people reelect an incompetent, sinister fraud like Barack 0bama?

No. But a dependent, selfish, morally corrupt people certainly could.

8 posted on 11/24/2012 9:49:36 AM PST by mojito (Zero, our Nero.)
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To: unixfox
It’s amazing how people will stand in line for hours for black Friday, football games, concerts, the latest iphone, etc. but could care less aboiut voting.

The mentality of this nation has gone to sh!t. Completely.

Of course it has. The demographic shift tipping point has come and gone and all of the post election "what ifs, shoulda, woulda, coulda" and tactical electoral pontification is so much empty meaningless crap. The nation we were born into, once knew and loved is done. Americans have given into the temptation of "free stuff" and a false sense of security over the blesings and responsibilities of liberty. All that's left now is the impending implosion and aftermath.

9 posted on 11/24/2012 9:49:49 AM PST by TADSLOS (LOSING BIG- The GOP legacy.)
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To: chiller

Obama was already a disaster. I think most voting for him knew that but had their hands in the Democrat Party’s pocket for taxpayer loot.

How do we deal with that?
Add th decades of stacking the bench with liberal Judges and the punks teaching in schools and you see almost the need for a complete political war.
In one way or another, I think I will live to see political riots in our country.
They will happen due to having to go off the dole (like in Italy, Greece or Spain) or the people will rise up in constant protest of not balancing a budget and growing government and entitlements.
I think first we get the riots over not getting the dole, then riots to balance our budget minus giant government and government handouts.

Think I will live to see a two-for...


10 posted on 11/24/2012 9:52:56 AM PST by A CA Guy ( God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: A CA Guy

The GOP put up a technocratic venture capitalist who parks his money in the Cayman Islands and came across as holding no sincere political philosophy or convictions.

And you wonder why a lot of people weren’t motivated to leave the house to vote for him?


11 posted on 11/24/2012 9:53:03 AM PST by WilliamIII
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To: SeekAndFind
Today, I fear that a great many Americans believe that free enterprise only favors the rich, or something close to that proposition.

Well, given the massive bailouts to the well-connected rich - bailouts that large numbers of politicians in both parties supported - I can't imagine why so many people became cynical towards corporatism. /sarcasm

IMO the key reason so many people simply didn't vote this time is a perception that no matter which guy won, the same crap would keep getting perpetuated.

And this is why it is so vital that the Tea Party maintain its identity apart from the GOP.

12 posted on 11/24/2012 9:55:40 AM PST by dirtboy
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To: SeekAndFind
Today, I fear that a great many Americans believe that free enterprise only favors the rich, or something close to that proposition.

Not "the rich", per se, but those who have initiative and talent. Fewer Americans have either, so they lean toward supporting an alternative system with a guaranteed payout.

People no longer see free enterprise as something that can directly benefit them.

13 posted on 11/24/2012 9:56:48 AM PST by Mr. Jeeves (CTRL-GALT-DELETE)
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To: chiller

I don’t buy this articles take. Romney rose in the polls late in the race, the voters didn’t abandon him. Long lines were reported in Romney voting districts. The longest that most voters had ever seen. This contradicts the results of the election count. I don’t trust anything the socialist democrats have their commie hands in. NOTHING.


14 posted on 11/24/2012 9:58:37 AM PST by spawn44 (moo)
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To: chiller

When the govt. runs out of money, all social programs crash and burn, then they will learn.

Even though you’re right about the threat of national bankruptcy, I think a lot of voters don’t buy those warnings from the GOP, when the Romney campaign also continues to support unlimited spending on military budgets and initiatives. There may not be such as thing as a “free lunch,” but to hear GOP candidates and activists tell it, there are “free wars.” At least at first, Romney was criticizing Obama’s announcement that he would get us out of Afghanistan by 2014. Didn’t Romney even criticize the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq? And didn’t some of Romney’s advisors talk as if they wanted a war with Iran? Where’s the money going to come from, for all of that? We’ll have to borrow from China to invade Iran. You can’t really blame voters for tuning out lectures about deficits, from the same politicians who want to spend trillions more on foreign adventures.


15 posted on 11/24/2012 10:01:09 AM PST by WilliamIII
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m sensing a post election slacking of interest, it’s as if the current mood is one of resignation and surrender.


16 posted on 11/24/2012 10:03:11 AM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment,a Matter of Fact,Not a Matter of Opinion)
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To: All
I thought I read the other day that the "missing voters" are a myth.

After tallying all absentee ballots, provisional ballots, etc. Romney actually won more votes than McCain.

Is this incorrect?

17 posted on 11/24/2012 10:04:21 AM PST by what's up
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To: SeekAndFind

They have to stop discounting Romneycare. If he had not had Romneycare around his neck, he would not have been radioactive on this site during the primary season. He might well have moved out of his 40% primary election range and swept through the primary season in much better shape. Presumably, not having to attack/defend himself from Republican primary opponents would have saved money to run counter-ads to Obama smears. Even when Obamacare passed some distorted constitutional test in Roberts’ mind by his declaring it a “tax,” Romney was never able to pick up that ax and swing it, though initially from what leaked out ,there was some wavering in the camp to do just that. You really can’t find out from exit polls the reasons that people stayed home, only the reasons for the people who showed up voting as they did. Obamacare was the biggest political issue of the past four years and could have been far more and better exploited by another candidate. I believe that would have pulled millions more to the polls. I also believe Mormonism did hurt Romney, but not in the “evangelicals won’t vote for a Mormon” hypothesis. It was “I really hate it when those Mormon missionaries “ come around the neighborhood crowd. Door- to- door and approach -on -the- street salemanship and evangelism are important to many groups, but they are going to turn off the great majority of people like almost nothing else in everyday life does. I know the visceral “Yeccch” I experience when I’m approached by Jehovah’s witnesses or people trying to sell me siding at the buyer’s club. The very week several years ago that an Islamic extremist murdered a pregnant Jewish women in an attack at a Seattle synogogue, I heard a caller on local call-in show who identified herself as Jewish, complain not of Moslem terror, but of born again proselytizing. Again , I’m not criticizing either side of that transaction, but there is collateral political damage.


18 posted on 11/24/2012 10:05:40 AM PST by gusopol3
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To: what's up

Overall turnout as a percentage of the voting age population was down pretty significantly. From the growth of the voting age population, at 2008 participation , there would have been 5 million more votes, but 2012 turnout isn’t even going to match 2008.


19 posted on 11/24/2012 10:09:42 AM PST by gusopol3
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To: spawn44
Long lines were reported in Romney voting districts

Not generally in Virginia. The longest lines were in swing counties like Loudoun that went for Obama (although not by much). In my rural county the longest lines were at the one black/lib precinct (we are only 5% black). The county went 60-40 for Romney and at my white precinct there were stupid-looking fat chicks who I had never seen voting before, likely Obama voters. I also know (from day to day dealings) some of them and they just voting for Obama because they didn't like Romney. Considering that Romney was blasted with millions of dollars of negative ads (Planned Parenthood had their own anti-Romney ads every 10 minutes on the country station) it is no surprise he had such negatives.

20 posted on 11/24/2012 10:12:45 AM PST by palmer (Jim, please bill me 50 cents for this completely useless post)
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