Where are the people who are polled when it is time to vote?

[redstatebluegirl]

You see all of these polls that show people are in favor of gay marriage by a large margin, do not want their education dictated by religious institutions, believe in separation of church and state but yet when it comes to electing the morons who vote against what the majority wants, they vote for them!!!!

So much angst down here in Oklahoma over the AP History curriculum bill put forward by a Baptist minister who got elected to the legislature and runs around dressed like a Patriot from the 1700's, but somebody voted for this nut! I have even talked to Republicans here who can't believe what they are seeing out of him and Sally Kern, but when push comes to shove they vote straight ticket Republican. It is almost like they are unable to ever vote for another party or become informed about what the candidate and the party stand for.

There have been Democrats here I have not been able to vote for because I could not handle their views on issues I care about. I left it blank because the alternative candidate was worse. I have voted for Republicans, back in Illinois where there were some moderates that I could handle. Those do not exist any longer.

People voting against their own interests and ideals.

I DON'T GET IT!!!!

[yeoman6987]

1. Getting a phone call is easier then actually

Getting to the polls. Sorry but that is the truth.

[madokie]

2. Stupid can't be fixed

Have you been paying any attention to mark wayne mullins and the shit he spouts? Where do the people who vote for these jackasses come from anyway

I still think we here in OK have a vote counting problem

[redstatebluegirl]

4. I see Mark Wayne and I stop reading to keep my blood pressure in check.

I agree about the vote counting, maybe it is just the people we see and talk to on a daily basis but it doesn't compute. Of course my husband thinks people say one thing and vote another.

[frazzled]

3. This article may help you to understand

And depress you. It's from back in 2004, but still relevant.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/08/30/the-unpolitical-animal

Add to it this one, by the same writer

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/07/09/fractured-franchise

[Chathamization]

5. People don't care enough, and/or are lead to believe it doesn't matter. Same issue with progressives

in primaries - just about know one pays attention or shows up to vote, and then we have some corporatist Democrat elected (and to rub salt in the wound, we then get people saying that this shows that voting doesn't matter). Or even worse, state party politics - you get a ton of people unhappy with Debbie Wasserman Schultz, but ever try to convince people to vote against the people who elected her? It's hard to get people to even pay attention to 95% of the people they vote for on the ballot.

A lot of people don't care enough to pay attention, and a lot believe it doesn't matter, and this is a problem pretty much across the board. Another big problem is the few times that people do pay attention and vote for an individual, they often do so for silly reasons instead of actual policy. They saw some comedian making fun of a certain politician so they think that politician is a joke, but they couldn't tell you anything about their policy (or the policy of the person they're voting for). Or you ask why they're voting for someone, and they say it's because that politician is a really good person, or they're good on issue X (often times something where their opponent and other politicians have the exact same stance).

Political apathy and illiteracy is a huge problem, it manifest just about everywhere, and it's dragging the country down.