When minority voters don't flock to a candidate, we're told we just don't know enough about them and

[BainsBane]

104. It's not idealism. It's a particular set of priorities

because when it comes to matters others care about, like gun proliferation and abortion rights, we are told those concerns just aren't practical. So spare me the idealism excuse. It doesn't fly.

I also think it dishonest for politicians to promise what they know they can't achieve. I resent when they perpetuate misinformation and ignorance rather than talking seriously about the challenges we face. I don't trust politicians who promise the moon, any more than I trust people who talk a big game in non-political life. I also don't find a refusal to concern oneself with policy or data to be a positive. I don't respond to emotion over substance. I want political representatives who care about more than rhetoric, who develop policy based on evidence, and who listen to and are responsive to voters concerns.

You want politicians that focus on your concerns, and if others suggest their own you tell them they are wrong, that their concerns aren't based in "policy," when we have seen very little policy discussion from what you call idealists, particularly lately. Bumper sticker slogans about corporations are not policy. They are rhetoric. One could develop policy based on some of those concerns, but that requires a willingness to learn about issues in detail and putting in the time necessary to craft serious, effective legislation rather than vanity bills introduce for political effect.