dismal turnout in the Democratic primaries

[0rganism]

saw this posted in LBN just now:
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/27/election-officials-turnout-light-democratic-primary/81042276/
LBN link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141361947

imho, this should be our #1 topic of conversation here. we are getting absolutely smoked in turnout. South Carolina, sure, there are more Republicans there, but 2-to-1? That is some seriously bad shit right there, and it's been happening in the other states too

they still have what, 5 candidates, in the race while Dems are down to 2 and the punditry has all but called it for HRC, so that could account for some of the difference, but not all.

with turnout numbers like these, we will get absolutely demolished in the general election regardless of who we nominate. that means downticket races too, and you might as well scrap those nifty fantasies you had about flipping the senate.

this is a serious as fuck problem, we need to take it seriously, and frankly the DNC should regard this like a patient getting a stage II lymphoma diagnosis.

[onehandle]

1. Bernie clearly doesn't inspire Democratic voters to vote. nt

[w4rma]

3. This is a Hillary state. Hillary clearly doesn't inspire Democratic voters to vote. (nt)

[Chicago1980]

67. Turnout has been down for democrats in all the contests to date, so you may want to rephrase.

[w4rma]

74. No, I don't want to rephrase. Clinton fought tooth and nail against Howard Dean's 50 state GOTV.

Last edited Sat Feb 27, 2016, 11:22 PM - Edit history (1)

That Dean implemented for the 2008 election that Obama was able to take advantage of.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election/dem-voter-registration-leading-turnout-article-1.2545420

[Warren Stupidity]

5. On the other hand Clinton is driving them away in droves.

[WillyT]

15. + 1,000,000,000 - What You Said !!!

[leveymg]

64. SC is a GOP state. Even the Dems are overwhelmingly RW. BIG surprise

that HRC does well there, as 70 percent of the electorate in both parties are conservative.

[SCantiGOP]

66. Leveymg: I live in SC

and you are dead wrong. I know a lot of people who voted in the Republican primary to vote AGAINST Trump and Cruz, and they will not vote for them in the general election. Democratic Presidential candidates in recent elections get around 45 % of the vote. An openly gay woman lost a Congressional election for the district that includes Charleston a few years ago by less than 2%.

Get your facts before you make broad and completely inaccurate statements.

[leveymg]

75. When was the last time a Dem carried SC?

About the time that Nixon's southern strategy was hatched. Just as Atlanta isn't really part of GA, Charleston isn't a good indicator of the rest of the state. SC and GA along with the rest of the south will go to Trump. If Hillary is the candidate, so will most of the rest of America. Don't read too much into tonight.

[SCantiGOP]

78. 2008:

SC primary launches Obama to the White House.
Today: Clinton begins her journey to taking the oath of office in January.

[leveymg]

82. 1976, in the General. Or doesn't that matter? Goldwater won SC in 64

Jeez bus no wonder she won big tonight.

[dragonfly301]

77. We haven't had a Dem POTUS candidate carry SC

since Jimmy Carter. Obama lost the state 2x and we will lose the state in November no matter who are nominee is.

[giftedgirl77]

52. It actually looks like neither one is drawing people.

[BreakfastClub]

113. Nope. She got more votes than Trump did in SC. It must be Bernie bringing the numbers down. nt

[Hortensis]

114. WRONG ASSUMPTION, WarrenStupidity. Democratic turnout

was expected to be low -- Democrats are not worried about their race, both candidates are acceptable, and neither is black. Turnout in 2008 was an all-time record, 2012 also higher than normal for obvious reasons.

High Republican turnout has nothing to do with us. It is high because they're ANGRY and REBELLING against their own leadership, who have betrayed them so badly for so long. Btw, Trump himself is not popular with the GOP -- half his "supporters" are using him as a middle finger against the GOP. Rubio is seen as "establishment" so inherits the leadership problem.

Smile and stay cool.

[dickthegrouch]

21. Hillary's entitlement to the nomination is putting them off from voting

IMHO, at least

If it were a fairer fight between Hillary and Bernie (Absent PACs and super delegates), we all know who'd win: Bernie!!!!

[Chicago1980]

69. That makes those voters pretty stupid and lazy.

Then they'll want to bitch and moan... Again

[notadmblnd]

81. Apparently Hillary doesn't either.

so just go chortle on that a while.

[thesquanderer]

103. Fewer candidates motivating voters and doing GOTV. Fewer debates, less exposure. (n/t)

[grasswire]

2. All those who turned out for Obama have little enthusiasm for Hillary...

...apparently.

[BillyDawg]

10. That's an odd way to look at it

considering your candidate wants a revolution.

[JimDandy]

57. This was her state to lose and her base--they did not come out.

That lack of enthusiasm for her is going to continue across the country. On top of that the DNC and the party did very little GOTV. Pathetic. DWS should be fired for that alone, never mind because of her embarrassing, over-the-top, in-the-tank for Hillary corrupt decisions.

[Generic Brad]

85. She got 73.5% of the vote and her base did not come out?

Bernie Sanders had an embarrassingly large loss today. If anyone lacked enthusiasm today, it was South Carolina voters for Sanders.

[gwheezie]

12. Bernie is not getting the Obama coalition either

If you haven't noticed.

[grasswire]

42. Bernie never expected to get the Obama surge in SC

Hillary did.

Let's see how many less vote for Hillary than voted for Obama.

[giftedgirl77]

54. As usual it's still all HRCs fault.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

99. ...in large part because they diss him at every turn.

[Beacool]

109. Hillary got more votes from AA than Obama did in 2008.

So no, Obama's voters did come out to vote for their preferred candidate.

[kennetha]

4. Pie in the sky

Is not all that inspiring, I guess.

[0rganism]

17. it seems to be inspiring Republicans

well, i guess for them it's more like "Big Wall on the Ground" than "Pie in the Sky"

[GreydeeThos]

6. But wait - there's more

We also have the people who state that they will not vote for the Democratic candidate in November unless it is the one they are supporting in the primaries.

I fail to see how voting for Dr. Jill Stein or Gary Johnson is going to help the situation when a Republican takes the White House.

[PonyUp]

14. People voting their conscience? That's terrible. nt

[Bluenorthwest]

35. I think the issue of why people are not voting much in the current cycle is important now.

If this trend continues, November is fucking lost. That's the point.

[NJCher]

92. you're talking about feelings

It's really, really hard to see Hillary Clinton turn her back on Ashley, a young protester who paid $500 to air her conscience. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.

Ashley stood there with her hand-painted banner, trying to convey her message to Hillary, but Hillary turned her back on her. That's hard to watch for anyone who cares about racial injustice. Do you understand why such an action by Hillary Clinton makes it hard to vote for her?

Feelings are not something you can overcome with logic. Yes, some people might be able to overcome this visceral repulsion, but it's like getting food poisoning from a restaurant meal and then going back two days later for another meal.

Not so easy.



Cher

[Kall]

94. Oh good.

More loyalty oath stuff. That'll help.

[FangedNoumenom]

7. I blame the media, not the candidates.

The media has institutionalized cynicism and apathy among progressives/democrats in this country.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

11. The media frame candidates

[FangedNoumenom]

16. Indeed

And the framing has been quite telling.

[Fumesucker]

38. The Democratic party has institutionalized cynicism and apathy among progressives

[restorefreedom]

8. THIS is the big story imo

dems and indys are just not coming out, and the repubs are practically giggling all the way to the polls.

my personal theory is that dws poisoned the well when she screwed the debste schedule for low visibility and did not have many of them, or soon enough. there were weeks and weeks of gop debates, plenty of time for the repubs to get their message out and for people to get fired up about trump.

i believe her obvious bias and efforts to tailor this process for her preferred candidate resulted in dems not keeping pace with gop debates or messaging.

and this will screw us in terms of the downtickets, badly. and yes, kiss the senate good bye.

this is bad, bad, bad, and whatever caused it, we have figure how the fuck to fix it or we are rightly and truly screwed.

great op!

[elljay]

86. Not Just DWS

I can't even watch MSNBC any more. I understand they are not a news outlet, but I can only stomach so much Trump coverage and Hillary butt kissing. I am a political junkie and if I am repulsed, what about people who are not as interested?

[gwheezie]

9. Slim chance we keep the wh

No way we take the house, might edge out in the Senate.
I been saying this for months, neither candidate has a lock on winning the GE. If there is a chance of winning, we need the Obama coalition and so far neither Bernie or Hillary are pulling that together.

[haikugal]

13. Low turn out favors Hillary...and the DNC has made it clear they don't care about us.

This isn't a new phenomenon. It's been going on for some time just like the twitchy voting machines. No one has bothered to address either thing other than to tell us to shut up and sit down...fall in line.

They are destroying themselves and when they try to blame us this time I don't think people will just take it. They don't represent us and they haven't been representing us for decades.

[gwheezie]

20. Oh wait a minute

I just read an entire thread blaming black folks for the revolution not panning out.

[haikugal]

23. Are you disappointed?

[gwheezie]

28. Just trying to figure out who to blame.

So far today it's black folks, stupid southerners, vagina voting, obama, and Hillary, of course.
Here's my take since last year. We don't have a strong grassroots apparatus that brings up young dems to take local leadership positions within the party. We have not been grooming the next generation of democrats. There's a gap that is going to be difficult to bridge in this election cycle.

[haikugal]

30. Yes. Wasn't that the problem when Obama let the coalition fade after his election?

Then there is DWS...what a loser she has turned out to be. There are many reasons but the inevitable Hillary doesn't help at all.

[Beartracks]

91. The Republicans grass-rooted their way over decades to come back...

... from the wilderness. Democrats don't seem to think that sort of long game is necessary, and the results are stunningly apparent in the party's local, state, and national losses in recent years.

============================

[gwheezie]

93. Exactly

And I honestly am not bashing Bernie when I say this, the revolution he is calling for requires that his supporters do more than get him nominated but actually take on local party positions and run for office.
I watched the teabags in my county start by volunteering to get on county boards and committees that's how they built their grassroots.

[TheFarseer]

18. Damn right it's a serious problem.

I really think it's because we don't have an inspiring message and don't have an inspiring campaign. Bernie aside, this race was called by the pundits about 3 years ago. The Republican race is wide open according to the TV. Furthermore, Hillary is promising status quo, which is not going to inspire anyone.

[RobertEarl]

31. What you wrote Farseer

And...

All the republicans are running against both Obama and Hillary.

A real buffet. All you can eat!

What does encourage me is that H has not won. We still have a chance to win the GE if we put Bernie up.

[TheFarseer]

33. I just don't think enough people will show up for Hillary

And you're right, between Obama hate and Hillary hate, Republican turnout will be off the charts. I think Bernie has a better chance. Of course if Donald Trump wins the nomination we are definitely in uncharted waters. I think that general election is completely unpredictable.

[RobertEarl]

44. There will be a lot of Trump hate in the GE

Voting for Bernie is a positive experience. If it was H it would have been a 'who do you hate least' experience.

[Nedsdag]

56. There is no enthusiasm for voting for her this November.

The GOP will be a mess, but their voters are more enthused to vote than Democratic voters.

This is a dangerous sign.

[HillareeeHillaraah]

61. Just wait...

When the primaries are over and President Obama can ( and will ) start campaigning for her as his successor. He will generate the buzz to vote - all part of his legacy. She's running on Continuing and improving on what he's done He will be very involved in Helping her campaign just as she campaigned for him. His presence on the trail will bump up the numbers I'm convinced.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. It's concerning - but maybe there's another explanation?

It's possible that most people either assume Clinton will be the nominee no matter what and therefore don't think it's necessary to vote in the primary, or maybe because there are only two candidates, and both would be OK with them, they don't think it's necessary to vote? Just speculating, I dunno...

[0rganism]

24. i hope the DNC can chase down the root cause and resolve it

otherwise it's looking like a long 8 years of President Trump

[Binkie The Clown]

22. Say hello to President Trump.

Wave at him on your way to the Liberal Rehabilitation Center where we will learn how to love our new overlords. Or else!

[Jefferson23]

25. The DNC has their head in the sand and we have lost many seats while they blame

disaffected voters and Republicans. Clinton should not be having a hard time
if she is such a superior candidate. Bernie is at her heels and came into
this race WITHOUT all her advantages...which are enormous. If she
was so terrific a candidate Obama would not have needed to renege
on his claim of staying neutral..he has propped her up twice thus far.

It is indeed a serious problem for the GE.

[Duval]

49. Very true! nt

[Jefferson23]

59. An example of what Bernie is up against:

snip*“I don’t even know Bernie Sanders. Who is that?”
said one voter, T Jackson, after leaving a polling station in Hopkins on Saturday. “Nothing against him. I’ve never even heard of him before now. But we [have] known Hillary forever.”

It was that feeling of familiarity and loyalty that drew Jackson to the polling booth on Saturday morning.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/27/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-south-carolina-primary

[Onlooker]

26. Probably low turnout because not much of a contest

When we get to states that are more contested I would expect to see higher turnout.

[0rganism]

29. NV and IA were plenty contested, and Dem turnout was down in both

the DNC better get on this real soon or we're looking at 8 years of President Trump

[Onlooker]

32. That's not quite accurate

Caucuses are different, and I can't find any numbers on line whatsoever to support or challenge your claim. How do we know that Dem turnout was down? In NV, the caucuses are very new, and in Iowa it looks like the record only shows percentages, not number of people who attend.

[0rganism]

34. the GOP had record turnout in NV and IA

for the Dems?
NV:
Nevada Democratic Party spokesman Stewart Boss estimated turnout at 80,000, falling short of the nearly 120,000 voters who turned out in 2008.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/20/politics/nevada-caucus-democrats-2016/

IA:
Many precincts were delayed in reporting the Democratic results, but early Tuesday morning, the Iowa Democratic Party announced that 171,109 Iowans participated in its caucuses. That's a fall from 2008, which saw 239,000 vote in the Democratic caucuses throughout the state. 2016, however, is a dramatic improvement on 2012, when numbers dwindled to 25,000.
http://www.bustle.com/articles/139098-how-many-people-voted-in-the-iowa-caucus-2016-saw-a-record-turnout

2012 was a re-election year for a popular (among Dems) Democratic president, i'm not surprised the IA caucus was tiny then. 2016 is something else, and our turnout has been DOWN DOWN DOWN.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

110. Some prefer to whistle past the graveyard.

[2banon]

27. That's the headline right there.

I posted earlier about hearing that on the PBS Snooze Hour last night.

Some say it's a false meme. I'm in no position to actually know for certain. But if the projected dismal turn out numbers are close to being accurate, that should be a huge wake up call to the followers of the anointed IMO. The DNC does not appear to have gotten the memo, nor HRC's functionaries in social media.

That coronation will be a be but a fantasy withering on the political weathervane at this juncture in U.S. political events.

Her army of Bernie Bashers and reality deniers of course will cling to the veil over their eyes until the day after the GE. And then they'll blame the outcome on Bernie supporters.

That, we can bank on.

[lancer78]

36. Turnout is low

because of the perceived lack of a competitive primary. Why should I vote, when I already know who is going to win if my perception is that it will be HRC.

[0rganism]

39. by promoting one candidate as "inevitable" for several years

the DNC has done massive damage to its primary turnout.

as another poster in this forum said, people won't turn out to vote for inevitability.

after today, i hope it's well understood that the general election outcome is NOT inevitable.

[lancer78]

40. I think voters

understand nothing is for certain in the GE.

[sadoldgirl]

37. I have said for a long time that

both candidates have flaws.

We also have to remember that after W many
voters were willing to go with the dems.

Also Obama was/is a very charismatic speaker,
a younger man, who could mobilize voters.

8 years of a dem WH also leads to complacency
and even some skepticism among voters.

[draa]

41. Now they're worried about turnout? Not in 2012 or 2014, but now?

It's been coming for almost 8 years and the Democratic Party ignored it. We've lost 8% of our party over 8 years and they've stood by and done nothing. We've lost dozens of House seats and a handful of Senate seats and still nothing changes.

Now all that's bad enough but they put a candidate out there that is taking money from the crooks who stole people's lives and businesses and homes just 8 years ago. Talk about a HUGE fucking mistake.

I'll do a little math for all of ya'.

No change + Hillary Clinton = an ass whipping come November.

Democrats should stop taking votes for granted or be prepared to lose. People need help and the Democrats have stopped even trying. Until they do it will be tough to win anything.

[Adrahil]

43. Turnout is below 2008, but way above 2004.

It's a bit misleading to say turnout is "dismal" when it's the second highest ever.

[0rganism]

46. 2004 and 2008? 2nd term election for a "wartime" president?

we've got a lot more in common with 2008 here, except we're on the other side of the whitehouse.

if you think being outplayed 2-to-1 in the SC primary is okay, then by all means roll with it.

[Adrahil]

48. 2004 was heavily contested, as was 2008...

And 2008 had Obama. We don't have an Obama in this race.

[0rganism]

50. we sure could use a little more Obama in this race

i hope he gives plenty of support to the Democratic candidate in the general

[Adrahil]

55. On that, we agree!

Gonna miss that man!

[Doctor_J]

45. Hillary is going to get clobbered in November

When she and Bill desc decided to adopt all of the republicans positions except reproductive rights, the fate of the party was sealed.

[RBInMaine]

58. Tea-Left Nonsense.

[leveymg]

65. As the Clinton machine took over, we lost the House and the Senate.

The WH is next.

[Chicago1980]

68. And what happened in 2010 and 2014 genius?

[davidthegnome]

112. Tea-Left?

Did you take that one from Limbaugh or something?

[Lizzie Poppet]

73. Of that I have zero doubt.

If Bernie can't turn this around, we're looking at a GOP president (and probably both houses of Congress, as the high GOP voter turnout Hillary inspires will carry over to state races). We may very well be looking at President Trump.

Let's all let that sink in a while...

[Doctor_J]

83. No worries. They will blame the millennial and liberals for failing to show up and vote for

more war, lower wages, more fracking, more privatization, social security cuts, capital punishment, more wall street deregulation, TPP, higher student debt, more private prisons, still higher healthcare costs,... and abortion rights (though she may cave on that too)

[Station to Station]

47. 1988 & 2000

The last two elections following a two term President: In 1988, the top three Republicans drew 11.6m. On the Democratic side, it was 20m. Boring, anointed Bush won a landslide in the general. In 2000, Bush, McCain & Keyes got approximately 19m to the polls, whereas Gore & Bradley could only inspire around 13.9. Gore ultimately drew more votes in the general.

I think this has everything to do with a great many people considering Clinton's nomination a foregone conclusion, and is very little indication of how the Democratic candidate will fare when Donald Trump is in front of them in November.

[0rganism]

53. i do hope you're correct

we do have another problem now with voter suppression, and it's looking as if the primaries are a lost opportunity to address it.

for a lot of voters, particularly those aligned with Democrats, this could have been a dry run election to make sure they were registered, had valid ID, had access to working voting apparatus. now we get to deal with all that in the general.

[Doctor_J]

62. In those years the dem candidate was offering relief from a disaster.

We have no such hand to play this time. The dinos and the dnc have gone out of their way to tell the young people that the party big shots don't give a shit about them, and in fact hate their guts for not accepting a de facto republican candidate and platform. Extremely heavy losses coming again this November, even if her highness ekes out a win.

[Station to Station]

108. First of all, Gore wasn't 'relief' from Clinton

Regardless of what one thinks of Clinton's presidency, Gore was the continuity candidate.

Secondly, in the minds of the Republican hardcore, the last eight years have been an utter disaster. Therefore, like Democrats in '88, the base is eager to vote in the primary, but the dynamic is so very different in November.

For the sake of being transparent, I can say that I would prefer a President Sanders to anyone else in the race. Even though neither Democratic candidate is inspiring enough of the base to be a primary season sensation, I think there's an excellent chance that the winner is inaugurated in January 2017.

[mhatrw]

51. Three cheers for the Clinton campaign, the corporate media and the DNC who all did

yeoman's work to depress the vote and especially the youth vote today and in the foreseeable future!

The never ending mantra of Hillary's inevitability and "No We Can't" won the day! Other than the people who always vote Democratic out of habit, everyone stayed home.

The best future hope of the Democratic party now doesn't give shit about the political process because they know it is just as rigged as the economy if not moreso. Thanks, Clinton supporters for doing your part to ensure the triumph of oligarchy over the insidious threat of democracy

[Robbins]

60. Better get used to hearing words president trump

because writing is on the wall.

I myself will vote for bernie in missouri primary in march.after that i inteed to stay home in november for first time since i
became elgiable to vote In 1992.

It's my own fault for thinking we still had democracy.we only have corporate rule.

I don't care who wins between clinton and trump.me and millions of americans get screwed eather way.

[Chicago1980]

71. Giving up already are you?

Was that so called revolution just a bust?

You're going to stay home just because the candidate of your choice may not make it?

Please explain the intelligence in that decision.

You should care because it's more than about you.

So you're going to help give us SCOTUS Omarosa because of your 'meh' feeling about the process?

Talk about being selfish.

psh...

[Robbins]

79. why should you clinton supporters want me to vote

you called me a racist and sexist.

meanwhile your idol Bill Clinton attacked me as being like tea party.

celebrate your candiate winning.i won't vote against my self intrests as disabled american.clinton or trump it makes no difference.

Obama and reid want to consider a f-ing republican for superme court.

[Chicago1980]

88. I'll vote for whomever is the nominee.

If Senator Sanders were to win, I WOULDN'T HESITATE to pull the lever for him.

And I've said that time and time again, on DU.

I didn't call you a racist or sexist and if you're not then get over it.

Politics has never been pretty, you should know that.

What makes you think Bill Clinton is my idol? I wasn't old enough to vote for him either time. My first general, I voted for Gore.

Not voting is voting against your self interest as I'm betting that no republican is interested in assisting you.

That nominee has said no and they were testing the waters to see what the republicans would do.

I bet your preferred candidate will vote for and campaign for Secretary Clinton if and when the time comes.

[Robbins]

89. voting for clinton is against my self intrests

she will go along with destroying social safety net and push for more war.

doesn't matter if bernie endorses her.i won't vote for her.

[Chicago1980]

95. Sorry, but your attitude is pretty sad and just doesn't make sense.

I'm sure republicans are for your best interests huh?

I think you know she'll not do that.

To be honest, you don't sound like a liberal or progressive, just someone who jumped on the bandwagon.

Actions like yours by others over time is why things got so bad in the first place.

Attitudes like yours is what's part of the problem.

[Robbins]

97. neither clinton nor republicans are in best intrests

from 1992 to 2014 i always voted.now i can see it's pointless.

I am getting sick of those like you say who are real dems or lieberals or progressive.

Clinton is no liberal or progressive.she is corporist and neocon.

[Chicago1980]

100. Whatever dude...

You aren't one either.

[Cobalt Violet]

63. dnc is delusion about their own base.

They really don't even know who we are.

[Hydra]

106. No, they simply don't care

You see the party loyalty oaths everywhere. They took over our party and expect us to support everything they do.

[George II]

70. But the word we had all summer, fall, and into the winter was "Sanders inspires voters".

[MSMITH33156]

72. Despite Chuck Todd saying

that history says this matters, it actually has not been predictive in general elections.

Last 3 times there was no incumbent running:

1988 - Dems far outdrew Reps - > Rep landslide in the election.

2000 - Reps far outdrew Dems - > Dems won popular vote and electoral vote, save some cheating by the Bushies. Also Ralph Nader happened in the general election, or at least Florida and New Hampshire would have gone for Gore easily.

2008 - Dems far outdrew Reps -> Dem landslide in the election.

There is no predictive effect. Primary turnout has to do with competitiveness of the primary. When there is an "heir apparent," turnout is always WAY down. In 1988, it was George HW Bush, in 2000 it was Al Gore, and in 2012, it is Hillary Clinton.

Bernie Sanders has done a tremendous job getting this much of a foothold, but the narrative, fair or not, has never changed that Hillary has this. And because of that, turnout is just going to be down.

Meanwhile, the Republican party is a 3-way fight to the bottom, so the turnout reflects that.

[Lucinda]

111. +1

[iandhr]

76. The party that is out of power will always be more motivated in a primary.

[elmac]

80. I have my doubts about the GE

getting that nagging feeling that the turnout will be down. Had the same feeling when the fascists got swept into office the last election. hope i'm wrong

[silvershadow]

84. You have DWS to blame. Vote Tim Canova for Congress in FL Dist 23. nt

[Chico Man]

87. Oh yeah. To vote you need to register.

And actually show up to vote.

If only attending trendy 'feel the bern' parties had the same effect..

Note to next populist candidate: tell your supporters they actually need to vote to win..

[Rebkeh]

90. Dem turnout is always a problem but

I disagree with your diagnosis. SC is one state. Even with NV, it's not enough to warrant the panic.

Also, '08 was an unprecedented election year for many reasons, I don't think it's an apples to apples comparison.

[jmowreader]

96. Primary turnout is ALWAYS dismal. On both sides.

A little rough figuring:

According to http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/45000.html, there are 4.832 million residents in SC and 77.8 percent of them are 18 or older...so, 3.749 million potential voters.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/7543/special-report-statebystate-analysis-reveals-republican-shift.aspx says 50 percent of SC's residents "lean" Republican. Hence, 1.874 million potential Republican voters.

Update 6 at http://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016/02/2016-south-carolina-republican-primary-results-open-thread/ says 738,640 people voted in the SC Republican primary. That comes out to 39 percent participation.

Please don't get discouraged. Primaries are for people who are serious about their politics - and always have been. More people vote in general elections.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

98. Looks like neither candidate is galvanizing Democratic voters, then.

[AgerolanAmerican]

101. Greetings

Hello fellow Democrats!

I am from SC and have made some observations that may relate to turnout.

SC has open primaries so you can vote in any party's election.

I am afraid that much of the white, poor/blue-collar Democratic vote here in South Carolina did not turn out in the Democratic primary because they already voted in the GOP primary for Trump. I learned this while trying to rally friends and neighbors to the polls today (I make a habit of driving others to vote every year), most of the people who have joined me on the trip to the election booths in the past filled me in.

The reasons given were pretty consistent. They think Trump is advocating the interests of the working class more than any other candidate. When I suggested Sanders was the right choice for them instead, it became apparent that being a declared socialist was a deal breaker. This is a relic of the Cold War brainwashing days of "better dead than red" - the word "socialism" has very negative connotations to old school Southerners.

Only one of my neighbors joined me this year. He voted for Sanders as did I. I know of no one who voted for Hillary Clinton, but then again this area is rural and white.

[bobbobbins01]

104. I think its too early to tell, but here's what it looks like to me:

On the one hand, South Carolina was super low. I think that speaks more towards Hillary not inspiring anyone to vote. Its pretty clear that there is still a large number of African American voters who are unaware of Sanders, so South Carolina speaks towards her not getting much enthusiasm.

On the other hand, Sanders got more votes in NH than any candidate in history, so his turnout there was pretty big.

How things play out is going to be interesting. I'm not sure I know whats up with the party yet, these are just my speculations.

[slipslidingaway]

105. Please ...

do not use cancer as a comparison, it is difficult for too many people who are living through that nightmare or have lost someone to cancer.

Thanks in advance and yes the turnout numbers need to be addressed.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

107. As much as we've heard "revolution" on our side?

Guess what?

The Republican Base out there actually believes they have been living under tyranny.

They believe Obama has stripped them of their rights and they are in a battle for their personal FREEDOM. (To be racist and hate gays)