General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Can someone please explain to me why the Republican Party still enjoys [View all]customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)of one political party or the other. Yeah, there are some people who switch, like when there's a major life change. Those would include: Becoming progressive when medical bills have driven you bankrupt, or becoming conservative if you win the lottery and start discovering life in the top tax brackets, or if you want to be Governor of Florida again (OK, that last part was kinda snarky). But we know that at any given time, there will be some 30-40% of the electorate in the base of the two major parties, solid and immovable for the most part.
Who's left? Well, there are people who are so uninformed that they cannot possibly identify with one party or the other as having their back more often than the other party. They're the swing voters, and many of them decide just weeks, days, or even hours before going into a voting booth. Attack ads are aimed at them, and the party that scares them the least usually gets their vote at the last minute.
That's why GOTV is important to both sides, and that's why millionaires spend megabucks in last minute ad campaigns. Right now, I'd bet that the mushy middle is crapping its pants over the Ebola scare, ironically, one of the symptoms of the disease. That's why I'm pretty pessimistic this time around.