Posted on 03/30/2016 6:34:34 AM PDT by Kaslin
Although the current colorful, for want of a better word, presidential campaign is attracting attention from voters, indicators are that this attention reflects voters being turned off to the whole process.
According to new polling data from Gallup, in the first three months of 2016 the percentage of Americans who say they have given "a lot of thought" to the election increased from 63 percent to 71 percent.
However, over the same period, the percentage saying they are "extremely or very enthusiastic" about voting dropped from 48 percent to 43 percent.
And the current 43 percent who say they are enthusiastic about voting is way down from the 58 percent who expressed enthusiasm in January 2008 about voting in the upcoming presidential election.
Additional polling data from Gallup points to the extent to which voters, particularly Republicans, are being turned off.
In the first three months of 2016, the percentage of Americans saying they feel "the election process is working as it should" dropped from 37 percent to 30 percent. However, the percentage of Republicans and those "leaning" Republican saying the process is working "as it should" dropped from 46 percent to 30 percent.
In January 2000, 57 percent, and in January 2008, 67 percent of Americans said the presidential election process was "working as it should."
I am hearing plenty of complaints about the dirt-defined Republican primaries and more and more tell me they are just turning off.
But dirt, outrage and even violence are far from new in American political discourse.
Going back to the 1850s, we have the infamous incident of Congressman Preston Brooks entering the Senate chamber and beating abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner with a cane after Sumner gave a floor speech, which included a provocative attack on Brooks' pro-slavery Senate colleague from South Carolina, Andrew Butler.
In the years that followed shortly thereafter, there was an election in which Abraham Lincoln was elected president with just 39 percent of the popular vote, then a horrible civil war with more than a half a million killed, and finally the assassination of Abraham Lincoln shortly after his re-election.
Or we might look to the sleaze and character assassination campaign in 1991 that Democrats waged to destroy conservative Clarence Thomas in his confirmation hearings for his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A nation watched in disbelief as the Senate judiciary committee, then chaired by our current Vice President Joe Biden, permitted explicit and vile sexual allegations to be made against Thomas as part of the hearing.
Thomas told the committee, "I think this hearing should never occur in America. This is a case in which this sleaze, this dirt, was searched for by staffers of members of this committee, was then leaked to the media, and this body validated it and displayed it in prime time across our entire nation."
After Thomas was confirmed by the Senate, he wrote, "Mere confirmation, even to the Supreme Court, seemed pitifully small compensation for what had been done to me."
So mud, or even violence, is not new to our political scene.
But we do have something new now, which is causing many voters to shut down.
In the past, attacks were motivated by differences in ideas, principles and beliefs.
The systematic personal attacks orchestrated by Donald Trump against his Republican opponents, each in order as they have posed challenges to him -- Rick Perry, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio and now Ted Cruz -- have had little or nothing to do with differences in principles, ideas or beliefs.
Trump's campaign isn't about ideas but about personal accumulation of power through character assassination of other candidates.
This is a sign of how low we are descending and not about how great we can become. No wonder so many voters are turning off.
..the Jerry Springer era of American politics—it reveals the lack of character in everyone involved IMO...
I will vote enthusiastically against Hitlery.
Very well said
So will I.
I’m totally turned off by the federal government’s inability to manage the nation’s finances, debts that are inconceivable, an open doors border, widespread corruption (viz, Clinton fund raising through “charities”), spineless Republicans caving to a ultra-radical Marxist agenda everywhere you turn, and the amassing of unlimited and unbridled power. This causes the best and most capable people to flee from government service giving us this terrible crop of candidates. Who would be excited about voting for people who are going to accelerate our demise?
Where are the statesmen who ran the nation in the early years through the 1980s? It is no surprise there are none left. What person of a modicum of integrity would seek federal office.
The problem is much deeper than the author explores. He’s just touching on the surface gloss.
What about all the record-breaking voter turnouts?
Almost every state has had record turnout and but voters don’t care?
They are so easy to figure out.
Considering Star Parker, Town Hall and the rest of the “Conservative” media have done nothing but run a campaign of rabid personal attacks against Trump since Sept 2015, they can look in the mirror to find the sources of this current gutter scumbag style poltical campaign.
People were warned. Stick to making the campaign about your candidate, not trash talking the others but NO “Conservative Media” thought they were oh so clever playing the 1990s style “politics of personal destruction” game.
Well congrats morons, you have now destroyed both the remaining GOP candidates
look in the mirror for the source of this current gutter scumbag poltics.
Considering Star Parker, Town Hall and the rest of the “Conservative” media have done nothing but run a campaign of rabid personal attacks against Trump since Sept 2015, they can look in the mirror to find the sources of this current gutter scumbag style poltical campaign.
People were warned. Stick to making the campaign about your candidate, not trash talking the others but NO “Conservative Media” thought they were oh so clever playing the 1990s style “politics of personal destruction” game.
Well congrats morons, you have now destroyed both the remaining GOP candidates
I see no real reason to vote in this election. My high hopes for a Christian, Adult type of leadership has gone down the drain. It seems Ted is another man who can’t keep his pants zipped and Trump is really a democrat. Who’s left but Romney! Yuk.
More bs from the DC pundiots, who hate Trump 24/7!
Other voters may be turned off, but we will vote in mass to defeat Clintoon/Bernie/Biden/?!!
“What person of a modicum of integrity would seek federal office.”
Yup. If anyone wants to president on 2016 there has to be something way off, in my opinion.
Freegards
Just like in ‘08 and again in ‘12.
Well, if “right-thinking” Americans choose to be such passive fools and not vote and allow the democrats to take control (as opposed to the Republican Party, who allows democrats to take control), then no one can complain.
Well that is because so many democrats are voting for trump in the primaries,
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LOL, right and the evidence for this is....?
And the reason these Dem voters are voting for Trump at the same time the entire Democrat Establishment (including the media) if spending BILLIONS to destroy him is....?
Voter enthusiasm among Republicans at RECORD LEVEL while that of dems is in the toiler.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/21/gop-sets-another-turnout-record-democrats-numbers-/
...all that's missing is the food-fight.
I'm sure it's coming soon.
At their absolute best, Trump or Cruz would lose by double digits IMO...
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