A lot of democrats and their supporters seem to be in shock over the shellacking that they got in the senate elections where they lost control of it to republicans. So, the question that naturally arises is why did the democrats lose? Did they completely lose track of the reality? Did they fail to understand the voters' minds? Were the voters stupid not to see the democrats' accomplishments?
There might not be a single answer to the above questions. But if we are still forced, only one answer comes out. And that is, voter mindset and voting process involves very complicated psychology. And if you can understand it, you can script the perfect story to tell the voters.
While prediction is very difficult, there is no scarcity of analysis. And there are tons of articles on that. This is also one such article. But I guess this is a rather pedestrian, simplistic view adopting article.
So, why did the democrats lose?
If the economy was doing great, why did the democrats lose? If the stock market was breaking records, why did the democrats lose? If the unemployment was down, why did the democrats lose?
The bottomline is, from a voter's point of view, I don't give a hoot to whether stock market is breaking records or not. I know it definitely benefits the CEOs. What I care for is, is the improvement in economy mapping into my prosperity ? Is it raising my wages? If it is not, I am not impressed. Being thankful for having a job is not enough for the voter to vote for incumbent. Status quo is never a reason. So, if I have a job, I dont care. If I dont have a job, I am bitter. Economic wellbeing must map to personal prosperity. That definitely was not on the discussion table when statistics and unemployment data were presented
I think, people have started getting tired or weary of the wars. While scare tactics like "there is some enemy out there" and "you are at risk" charge up the voters, things like bringing back troops, not starting wars are not taken up as achievements, particularly when the opposing party is also not. They are seen as expected actions. The difference would have definitely been there, if republicans were war mongering and democrats were truce speaking and actively highlighting the costs of wars, monetary as well as emotional.
Then comes immigration. While voters are kind and welcoming, everyone is strongly against illegal immigration. Inspite of that, people seemed very welcoming about those who illegally entered not on their own but with their parents when they were children. Somehow, democrats could never create a strong story about their immigration initiatives. And to add to the frustration, they seemed to be tagging the legal and illegal immigration together causing a lot of disdain to the skilled legal immigrant communities. They never seemed to be working on this problem with full energy. It seemed like suddenly they would raise the issue and the issue would gradually die down causing severe frustration amongst communities. I wonder if this played a role in losing some significant Asian votes in this election.
The people in this country have a strong stand on their individual freedom, privacy and space. Somehow, with all the snooping news coming out, it left a bad taste in several minds. And it felt like the Government is being heavily intrusive in personal lives. While the government talked about freedom and abolishing snooping, more revelations that suggested the intrusion that happened, left a bad taste.
Democrats could not create a strong story on Net neutrality. Instead the net neutrality was painted by opponents as an act of Government overreach which was a dubious point.
Voters hardly care for things like Climate change which are not of immediate consequence to them.
While the voters might have made a serious mistake, its the democrats who should blame themselves for being butterfooted on several issues and not displaying spine.
Voters will realize that net neutrality is in their own benefit, climate change is a reality, no kid left behind is in their benefit, education is in their benefit, but the prominent thoughts that might have significantly influenced their minds and subsequent decisions are the thoughts :
- Republicans can move things forward
- Republicans can bring individual prosperity
I hope they are right. Tea party noises dont paint a rosy picture though
