Politics is a nasty business.
The Republicans did a lot of Obama's campaign work for him during the Republican primary. Romney had a theme about reaching across the isle, in general practice Republicans can't even reach out to one another.
I suppose the election results must be blamed on the one issue of immigration, but immigration was a few notches down in the polls from worry about the economy.
The "youth vote":
Quote:
|
An analysis by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University found that had the youth vote been split 50-50 for the presidential race in just four states -- Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia -- Romney would have been elected president. In each of those four crucial swing states, exit polling shows young voters made up 16 to 19 percent of the electorate.
|
However, it seems the "youth vote" for Obama was down overall by 6% from 2008, the Obama "Jewish vote" likewise appears to be down 5%.
Immigration wasn't the decisive factor in the election, even though "Latinos" who responded to polls appear to have felt that they were "less enthusiastic" about Romneys debate positions on immigration.
I got to speak again with the Latino teacher who supported Romney and who became angry during our previous discussion when he misinterpreted that I was talking about race rather than politics. You have to hear his full statement from our second conversation I condense about the "Latino vote":
He began by strongly asserting that Latinos like to work and make their own way by creating businesses and working hard for employers, then very briefly added in almost hushed tones that there are a significant number of Latinos who work the system, and those who do so voted accordingly.
So, it all goes back to "What's in it personally for me".
I believe that among the myriad people collectively termed "Latino" immigration issues will figure strongly into the voting consciousness of those who either have close relatives who are illegally present or those among the multi-generational who are incorrigible brown racists, those taking advantage of the system will vote according to who will is more likely to keep the gravy train rolling, and business owners and the otherwise industrious will tend to vote for whomever they perceive will help them earn a living.
More issues:
People tend to be more "liberal" when they are young and grow more "conservative" as they age.
The "youth vote". Just like their parents did when they were young, they believe they have it all figured out and the "geezers" ruined everything they touched- so a significant number may oppose "geezer" conservatism or general ideals of previous generations. Those seeking education don't like the reality that until they pay off crushing education debt burger flippers may actually have a better lifestyle, nor do they appreciate that Chancellors are giving themselves raises while increasing tuition. Most of the rest inclined towards industriousness want jobs with all the accoutrements. Face it, except for varying cultural demands in societies concerning respect for elders instinctively it's generally about the young pushing aside the old. They vote accordingly.
"Obamacare" is misrepresented as a health care act, it appears to me more to be more of a health insurance gimmick which is extremely expensive and doesn't really deal with the issue of rising health care costs. Who is going to vote positively on the issue? The chronically ill, idealistic unrealists, and the "social justice" types.
Obama didn't seem to realize there was a national unemployment problem until it was time to campaign for reelection. However, he was perceived in the swing state of Ohio as saving jobs with the auto bail out.
The environmentlists:
Generally they believe that all progress besides their own personal kumbya version of the world is destroying the planet. So, rather than walking to work or school (or anywhere else for that matter), they will fill up at Arco and vote against the Keystone pipeline project. As well, they think electricity comes out of the wall, so they will vote against any project that upgrades the infrastructure but will take advantage of any "environmental" job on those projects to pay the bills - and not a one will demand that the power company remove the service conductors from their house. Which candidate was most likely to accommodate their world view?
In the end the pundits can argue all day long about what caused Romneys electoral defeat, but the simple reality is that all boils down to
Expressed by the aggregate of millions of individual votes. Romney didn't lose on any one issue (Republican back stabbing fratricide figures into the equation), and you can take that to the bank.