Yesterday I gave my general thoughts on the likely outcome of the November elections as they relate to the senate. While I want liberals to prevail the lay of the land this election cycle all point to a very good evening for Republicans.
One of the reasons for this, as I mentioned, is that voters are not in a good place with where the country is at this time. I also stated that most Americans are not overly informed or engaged with the issues of the day. They do not follow the political process closely, or understand it. Too many voters are only aware things are not working as they need to in order to allow the country to move forward. I do not think from my reading that voters are angry as they were in 2010, but just ‘ready to throw their hands’ up in dismay. Yesterday I wrote, “My sense from reading over the months about this election cycle is not that people are angry as they were in 2010, but simply flummoxed about how we are unable to find a way forward.”
With that in mind I came across perhaps the best morning article that adds to, and underscores my analysis.
“Bad.” “Haywire.” “Scary.” “Horrible.” “Unrest.” “Downhill.” “Box of chocolates” – as in, you never know what you’re going to get each day. Those are some of the terms a group of “Walmart Moms,” all likely but uncommitted voters with kids at home, shared to describe the state of the country today during a focus group in Little Rock, Ark., Tuesday night. The 10 moms, plus a similar gathering right afterward in Des Moines, provided a glimpse into an anxious and unsettled electoral climate, as a group of Washington-based reporters watching remotely. They had little interest in or knowledge of congressional politics. (None of the Arkansas moms knew who the Koch brothers were, and one started to convince the others than Donald Rumsfeld was a current member of congressional leadership.) But neither were they disinterested in world or international affairs. They were at least slightly scared for their children, mentioning the ISIS threat alongside the economy, Ferguson, and school violence as part of long lists of things that concern them about the present and the future. “It just feels unstable all the time,” one mom said. The majority offered something closer to pity than to anger toward President Obama, who gets credit for trying to get things done (though not for time spent on the golf course). Most of what they know about Senate candidates came from attack ads. And none of the moms was convinced that a change in congressional leadership would change very much about the direction of the country. The strong suggestion is that we’re poised for an election about anxiety far more than anger – a volatile stew of concerns and issues that offer few ready solutions for voters. These were voters in search of leaders who are able to tell them what the country needs, rather than fill out issue checklists.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 