Swing Voters

[Null Pointer]

I'm sorry, but who the flaming hell are these retards?

A swing voter, at this point, is either dumb as a bag of shit or has been living under a pile of it for the last 4 years.

Seriously, I know most of us here are pretty much decided what our ideology is and who we're going to vote for, who are these people who think Kerry is good one day (Center-Left) and Bush is good another? (ULTRA-Right Whackbag)

My ideology has NEVER swung that far. I've always held certain beliefs at the core of my being. Empathy for the less fortunate, a woman's right to choose, etc, etc...

I can't imagine anybody who holds similar beliefs can waffle back and forth between two candidates who are, frankly, as different as night and day.

Who are the swing voters?

[unblock]

1. they don't decide on ideology

most of them decide on "character", which is great for those who control the media.

mostly they end up voting one way or another because they want someone "strong" or "experienced" or "not from washington" or "a straight-talker" or whatever. the media loves this because it's all so easy to manipulate.

the swing voter attitude is not unreasonable, in the sense that it sure sounds good to judge a politician based on character. what they miss is how readily these images can be distorted.

[Dark]

3. Also

Alot of them are one issue voters. They only vote on who gives them back the most money or abortion, those are the two big ones.

[MisterP]

4. and the "what have you done for me today?"

From & Fiends might pretend they're DLC "kinder, gentler Neoconservative goose-steppers" like himself, but they go more for "character," "apperance," and "results." Some are easily swayed, others rely more on economic results, and still others are single-button.
And then there's the 100 million who've given up on voting since it only encourages them

[Dark]

2. I know I know.

One of the strangest headlines I ever saw was this:

Gay Republicans split on support for Bush

How valuable is a tax cut that you'd sell your very soul for it?

[JayS]

5. They are not necessarily waffling. One thing that I find with...

...swing voters is that they have little love for any candidate and often see very little difference between them. They tend to see right through the spin of political advertising and the hollow statements of politicians. The vote usually comes down to who they think can sit in the Oval Office for four years without touching anything.

I see that in my little area of Texas right now. We have been pretty much written off by Kerry as far as I can tell. I have yet to see a Kerry bumper sticker or sign but there are still plenty of Dean advertisements although they are starting to get a little sun faded.

What is so funny is that almost ALL the money spent campaigning right now is to go after this little slice of undecideds. Most everyone else has made up their mind by now.