I'm sick of the liberal bashing going on here.

[Agnosticsherbet]

40. From my research, I have not seen a break down that showed liberals did not vote. I voted and am

a proud liberal.

My research found that elderly voters turned out in force and supported Republicans more heavily than in 2008. Another demographic, women, voted more heavily for Republicans. Minority and the youth checked out, and with the other changes in a smaller group it gave Republicans an edge in a low turnout (41%) election. Independent voters voted heavily for the GOP Candidates.
Galston at the New Republic voted for Republicans rather than Democrats. The combination of people sitting out the election and changes in the Demographic groups did the trick.

About 41% of American voted in 2012 http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2010G.html

According to minority news: http://www.blackradionetwork.com/study__minority_voters_sat_out_midterm_election_

However, several distinct features of the 2010 voting population stand out, and contributed to the results on November 3:
1.Senior citizens turned out in force, with the number of ballots cast by voters over 65 increasing by 16 percent. While making up only 13 percent of the U.S. resident population, Americans in this age group constituted 21 percent of 2010 voters. This age group also significantly increased their support of Republican candidates, from 49 percent in 2006 to 59 percent in 2010.
2.The number of ballots cast by Americans from households making over $200,000 a year increased by 68 percent compared to 2006.
3.Relative to 2008, minority and youth voters dropped out of the voting population at higher rates than whites, undoing much of the gain in demographic parity achieved in 2008.
4.Women—already one of the most reliable voting groups—increased their share of the electorate, and significantly increased their support of the Republican Party.
5.Bucking the national trends, Latinos increased their share of the voting population in several states, saving at least three Senate seats for the Democrats.

"It is fair to say that 2010 was the year of older, rich people," Dr. Minnite writes in the study.

Personally, I think the GOP takes full blame for the shut down and the enormous cost. People who did not vote in 2010 should feel some responsibility. As we all learned in 2000, voting does make a difference, and it only takes a few votes to make the difference, especially when there are people willing to screw up the count in their favor. Sitting out an election to Punish the Democrats led to years of GOP obstruction, and in the states turned the process of re districting into Republican Hands allowing them to gerrymander districts so that they can win a majority.

I didn't blame or bust on liberals or progressives. Failing to vote is neither liberal nor progressive as it absolutely will never advance the cause of either political philosophy.