Undecideds: WTF?

[tjdee]

Can we talk here for a minute about the fencesitters/undecideds who seem to be a major deal for both campaigns?

When I hear "undecided" I think "uninformed" and/or "uninvolved".

Can someone explain these people to me?

How on earth do you not know what you think?

Unless they really are confused about the differences between Kerry and Bush?

I think we can blame the media in part for this muddling, as the GOP has the bully pulpit and the media is generally lazy. And, some Americans are lazy and would rather watch The Apprentice and don't do their own research on candidates, etc.

Personally, I think much more effort should be made to recruit NEW voters than worrying about these people.

[JI7]

1. yes, they are "uninformed" and/or "uninvolved" types with no strong views

and they do rather watch apprentice, american idol, etc. and know more about what is up with paris hilton, j lo etc than they do about politics.

they mostly vote based on how they feel at the moment.


there are a few undecideds who do vote on issues. an example is a conservative who opposes abortion rights, gay rights etc. but is considering voting for kerry based on hopes of a better economic situation since they have lost jobs or something. in this case they are undecided on whether to go with their party or ignore most of the issues they have disagreements with democrats on and vote for them in hopes of a better job under them. these are the types Kerry is trying to appeal to mostly.

[LisaLynne]

2. I'm tired of them ...

I think I understand pro-Bush people more than undecideds. I don't see how you can be undecided unless you've never seen a TV in the last 3 years. I really don't.

[salinen]

3. The media is not lazy!

They are corrupt!

[Nightjock]

4. On Bill Mahrer last week

Jason Alexander asked "Who the FUCK are these people? How are you undecided in this election.?"

Than someone joked they are probably just people who like attention.

I agree with the above poster.
You almost respect Bush supporters more than undecideds.

[TexasSissy]

9. Then Andrew Sullivan said "undecideds" are

people like him: people who don't care for either candidate. Makes sense.

[Kat45]

23. Makes sense, BUT there are real differences between the two

Differences in the views they espouse, and differences in what they would do. Even if one doesn't care for either candidate, he or she should be able to see the differences between them and decide who would take the country in the right direction.

[mairceridwen]

5. the thing is

I know lots of people who are pretty oblivious to the details, catch the morning news, skim Yahoo's headlines, and even THEY know that bush is evil. I mean it doesn't take much.

And then there are the ones who remain ignorant out of fear and remain with shrub because of that fear.

It all makes me ill. I caught a blog the other day that said, about the war, that it's not Bush...they (meaning Iraq and Afghanistan) drew blood first. That there can still be so much idiocy makes me want to vomit.

[shockingelk]

6. Many people go straight to the sports section

You've seen them, they - "Hey, can I borrow the sports page?"

They still vote in elections, it's just that they don't care as much if Kerry or Bush is in the WH.

This doesn't mean they're "uninformed" - some of them are cynical about all government, and frankly I don't blame them.

Your attitude seems to be about people who think it's important to put effort into making an informed vote by spending some time the week or two before an election. What exactly are you saying about such folks?

People may be as of yet undecided because they are pro-choice or pro-life, but like the "other" candidate more. I've heard several people like that call into radio shows saying they still can't decide if they can vote for someone who doesn't agree with them on their #1 issue - although they do see that overall, that candidate is the better choice.

Not everyone is as partisan. And I think that's great.

[tjdee]

7. I think you and JI7 have hit it...

I guess I can understand how someone who is pro-life but doesn't want social security privatized can be somewhat conflicted.... but I'm curious how you can go weeks and weeks and just not know which of your issues you're going to go with. Maybe I need an undecided friend, LOL.

I think it has less to do with partisanship than it does with priorities, perhaps. Why worry about the presidential election right now, some people may think. It's not for another month or so....I think everyone should make an informed decision whether they do it now or November 1st, but I'm frustrated that people don't pay attention to what is going on in their country.

Do you think that the cynics you talk about are so because the difference between the two choices isn't clear enough, or because they feel disappointed/slighted/whatever?

[shockingelk]

18. I have a conservative pen pal

I don't think she'd ever vote for a candidate that was pro-choice.

Earlier in the year, she was saying she wasn't going to vote for Bush - she had reluctantly convinced herself that most of the charges against Bush concerning Iraq were valid.

Now she's into Bush again - she even went to a rally. She said Bush "owned up" to Iraq and that she thought Bush had character because he did what he thought was right to protect the country concerning Iraq - he saw a threat.

She looks for reasons to like Bush.

I responded in agreement Bush does what he thinks is right and that, indeed, is the reason America needs to fire him in November.

[RoyalWickedness]

8. Anyone who, at this point,

is still "undecided" is an utter and complete f**king moron. Sorry, but it's true.

All this pandering to the "undecided" needs to come to an end. Senator Kerry needs to focus on getting out the non-voters; people who either have never voted before, or who have become so disillusioned with the system that they've just given up and stopped voting. The way to do this is simple: GIVE THEM A REASON.

[salinen]

10. Let's say some * voter

is getting curious for once in their lives and is thinking through all the RW BS. They may need a little time to transition from braindead to thoughtful. Give them a chance.

[Nightjock]

12. I was a Republican from 1980 to

1998.
I was one of those people that just skimmed the news and thoroughly read the sports section.
Than when "my" party made a hard right turn trying to bring down Bill Clinton, I started paying attention .....
and realized that I actually agreed with the democrats on almost every issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was ignorant and I admit it. My dad was a republican and as a kid he was the smartest man I knew and I looked up to him.

In 2001, I named my first child "Chelsea" --after the daughter of the man I voted against twice! I am SO ASHAMED to admit that!
There is hope for many people out there that just need to be informed.
I know, I was one of them.
And now, I try to politely inform any friend or aquaintence on what they may not know is going on in the world.
Since last year, I personally know of 6 diehard Republicans who will vote for john Kerry this year. And 4 people who will vote for Kerry who did not even vote in 2000!

[cheshire]

21. Your story is great as it give hope to people who pray for a lift out of

this huge sucking whole.

[Myrina]

11. um, let's see.

Hypothetically speaking, of course, most people don't spend 20-30 hours a week on DU or FR and aren't as obsessed with politics as the regulars are.

They maybe don't have cable, but do have a houseful of kids and a shitty job, and 90% of every day is consumed with JUST GETTING BY.

They don't think about politics, on a local OR national scale, and don't pay much attention to any issues unless they affect them directly, at that very moment.

It's a shitty excuse because of course we know that the decisions made or not made in DC directly effect day-to-day life for these people, but they haven't had the time or the energy or the education to develop those critical thinking skills.

Our 'work til you drop just to stay alive' society has made sure that people's heads are down and their eyes are on the ball that most directly affects them, so that asswads like the BFEE and PNAC can run dirty tricks just off to the sidelines, without questions from the constituents.

Insulting them or pointing fingers at them isn't going to make them any more likely to vote. Taking time to help them connect their lives to the bigger picture, will.

[artv28]

13. uninformed

I share an apartment with a guy that never watches news or reads any part of a newspaper other than the sports section. He will come home from work and change the channel to ESPN while I'm in the middle of watching cable news (It's his TV). He is completely uniformed (thinks Sadaam was involved with 9-11) yet he's a registered republican and votes republican every time. When people try to discuss issues with him he gets angry and says I don't like talking about politics. He will sometimes add some ignorant racist comment about how we should bomb more of the Middle East. These are the people that scare me more than the independent undecided.

[JI7]

14. do you ever ask him why he doesn't join the military and go fight in Iraq

?

[donkeyotay]

15. uninformed, but not undecided

"...he's a registered republican and votes republican every time..."

Yep, I live in a whole town of them. Either they live for sports or they vote they way their church tells them to: pro-life and anti the decadent left.

Nothing can penetrate their fortress.

We're left trying to pursuade folks who either can't decide, i.e., detect enough policy difference bwtween the parties, or the folks who, for whatever reason, cannot trouble themselves to vote.

I'm scared. I admit it. I'd like to think this election isn't hanging on what Homer Simpson thinks.

[cheshire]

20. Man I hope you can move soon.

[Blue_Roses]

16. we must be all drinking from the same water this morning

'cause I just posted this a few minutes ago before I saw your post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x783936

[friesianrider]

17. Please...they're decided...

They just want to be courted.

It reminds me of what Jason Alexander said on Bill Maher last week about the undecideds:

"Undecideds...who are these fucking people!!??"

[cheshire]

19. My theory is they like the attention. I see people in store lines start up

with some small issue and make a big deal that way a lot of people pay attention to them. I'm dead serious. I was just on line with them and am trying to get in a forum and they think it's funny.

[Kat45]

22. Some of them are apathetic.

I think most of the reasons folks have given in this thread are valid ones, and one or more of them apply to most of the undecideds.