Everything is looking good, but we need more work with seniors

[troublemaker]

I like the way all the demographics and regions are lining up. The biggest red flag I'm seeing -- Kerry's BIG lead among unreliable 18-24 voters is covering up for his under-performance among 65+ voters who, as Lisa Simpson once said, "always vote in record numbers."

Fortunately there's a ton of legitimate and dramatic senior issues in play this year. I expect that during the last two weeks of campaign 2004 we are going to hear as much about Medicare and social security privatization as Iraq and terrorism.

ON EDIT: I should turn this into a question. What age demographic breakdowns are out there in recent polling? My impression is that compared to 2000 Bush is doing better with 65+ but worse with the middle-aged, but maybe that's incorrect.

[cheshire]

1. All the seniors I know are Dems, at least 8.

[cthrumatrix]

12. Fla seniors don't like bush playing with soc security

[skooooo]

2. I pointed out to a senior relative of mine..

...that Bush is proposing to reduce funding to section 8 housing (helps poor and elderly have affordable housing). She replied that Bush's drug program has made it cheaper for her to buy prescriptions.

Any ideas on how to counter this?

[merh]

5. How about this from his agenda!

Cut the Cost of Prescription Drugs
The Kerry-Edwards plan will reduce prescription drug prices by allowing the re-importation of safe prescription drugs from Canada, overhauling the Medicare drug plan, ensuring low-cost drugs, and ending artificial barriers to generic drug competition.

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/health_care/

[skooooo]

7. Good point...

If the topic comes up again, I'll mention it. Since she lives in Indiana, it really hardly matters who she votes for.

[merh]

8. But it might make her feel better.

Seniors worry so about the health care costs. They deserve to be given hope and to be told that someone cares.

[merh]

3. Are you kidding - the seniors love Kerry and hate the weed that

would be king! They see through the lies and recognize the corruption. They see history repeating itself.

[David Dunham]

6. Every poll shows Kerry now losing seniors to Bush.

We need to change that.

[soleft]

4. I would think non fundie seniors would be pissed about Stem cell research

Or maybe they think it's too late for them, so...

[Minimus]

9. In North Carolina I worked the phone banks last night for K/E campaign and

the youngest person on my call list was 66 yo and all the way up to 88 yo. Out of the 31 I actually spoke with my numbers were:
9 for k/e, 9 for b/c, 12 undecideds, 1 leaning b/c. These are all registered democrats mind you, (which doesn't mean much in the South.
I think they are actually Dixiecrats and just never changed their affiliation)

[troublemaker]

10. Any feel for their #1 b/c issue?

I can't tell if it's GWOT or moral values stuff.

[Minimus]

11. I was getting "unbiased" information so I couldn't ask specifics

but I was able to ask what issue out of the following was driving their vote:

economy/jobs
healthcare
education
terrorism/national security

the majority picked healthcare

[troublemaker]

13. Healthcare? God lord... well, it's their health I guess