2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: On what issue is Hillary better than Bernie? [View all]Sancho
(9,175 posts)but for most people on the street, well, they STILL think that the Iraq war was a response to 911.
It's amazing how confusing things were to people who watch the news twice a year, etc.
That's the people many Senators represent. Even on DU there are terrible arguments over what the "truth" is and that's among political junkies. When you ask your local auto mechanic or college student or single parent, you will get an answer that they picked up somewhere, but it's rarely even close to accurate.
People vote for a certain candidate because they identify with a demographic group (women, hispanic, Southern, etc.) or because of an important issues (choice, taxes, path to citizenship) or because they like a certain personality (Kennedy, Reagan), or because they are affiliated (Democrat, union member, etc.). Historical accuracy is way down the list and rarely matters.
A large segment "in the middle" can be influenced by propaganda. In this case, a LOT of that middle group was fed all kinds of stories about Iraq, 911, Bin Laden, etc. Remember the colored alert codes and duck tape for your windows?