30th October 2012, 5:03 PM
Admittedly, our's is far too tiny a sampling to mean too much, and we're all internet nerdy types who tend towards reason to begin with.
Anecdotally, I can say that a number of people I know in the real world are also growing disgusted with the republican party. However, poll numbers show that at the very least, those that remain are mobilized. Those that have left may still disagree with the democrats enough to "abstain" come election day. Then there's those who for various reasons simply either lack any interest in politics ("they're all liars") or simply feel that no current politician has their interests at heart (namely, issues like civil rights). Combine that with the "platform" who only take an interest in any candidate who might "legalize it", and you get voter turnout of a little over half the population, and that was considered "amazing turnout" last year. America is among the lowest voter turnout of the industrialized democratic nations. It's no wonder every politician out there focuses so very much time on just getting people emotionally invested, hoping so hard that maybe some of them might actually take a little time during a work break to get to a polling place.
(Oh, and it doesn't help that some companies are indirectly threatening their employees to vote their way.)
Anecdotally, I can say that a number of people I know in the real world are also growing disgusted with the republican party. However, poll numbers show that at the very least, those that remain are mobilized. Those that have left may still disagree with the democrats enough to "abstain" come election day. Then there's those who for various reasons simply either lack any interest in politics ("they're all liars") or simply feel that no current politician has their interests at heart (namely, issues like civil rights). Combine that with the "platform" who only take an interest in any candidate who might "legalize it", and you get voter turnout of a little over half the population, and that was considered "amazing turnout" last year. America is among the lowest voter turnout of the industrialized democratic nations. It's no wonder every politician out there focuses so very much time on just getting people emotionally invested, hoping so hard that maybe some of them might actually take a little time during a work break to get to a polling place.
(Oh, and it doesn't help that some companies are indirectly threatening their employees to vote their way.)
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)