Monday, November 19, 2012

The Swinging Voter

I really do wonder how smart our political parties and their leaders actually are.

What seems to drive their approach is the so called *smart* polling and analysis of that magical being - the "swinging voter".

By definition a "swinging voter" is the opposite of a "rusted on" voter.  Apparently, he or she chooses a candidate at election time - based on analysis of the offerings of our political parties.

And people in the backroom think that they have an understanding of who the "swinging voter" is - and as a result they cause *batshit crazy* policy contortions to be adopted by their party - all in order to attract said swinger.

I just don't believe it.  If that is how the political parties operate then I think they have got it terribly wrong.

Firstly, there are few actual "swinging voters" who make choices based on policy alone.  There are many folks however who don't follow politics regularly and who make their mind up at the last possible moment - when they are in the polling booth.

The best way to capture these votes would be to "bribe them with actual cash" or with something else that causes them to recall your political party at the entrance to the booth.  Because they don't give a rats about your actual policy.  This question should be the subject of a couple of dozen PhD's at our Universities ;-)

Secondly, there are lots of thinking voters who are pissed off that our political parties adopt *batshit crazy* policy.  These are engaged voters who think that politics ought be about taking the high road and looking out for the nation and the people.  They hate the fact that the party they are going to vote for has compromised its policy - in order to attract a "swinging voter".

Some of these voters will go elsewhere if your *batshit crazy* policy is too-far off the wall.  Question to politician: Why would you chase after the fickle voter and risk losing the thinking voter?

I suspect that the so-called *smart* analysis by the political parties really isn't.  And if the parties had half a blue clue then they would have already worked that out.

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