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McCain's independents
I had a conversation with an "independent" voter over the weekend that astounded me for the fact that he knew very little about McCain's actual policies on the Iraq war, or anything else.
This is a 28 year-old white male, blue collar worker in a heavily Democratic state. Why does he find McCain so appealing?
My thinking is that he is enamored with McCain's "maverick image," which doesn't hold up on closer examination. Unfortunately, the media coverage of McCain does nothing to reveal his true ideological leanings while portraying him as non-ideological, non-partisan, an outsider.
To reach these blue-collar male voters, Dems need to hound relentlessly on McCain's real record on Iraq, the economy, his ties to right-wing Republicans, and what his real politics are.
Right now, the media love affair with McCain is hurting Dems with the kinds of voters they need to break off from McCain--independent, non-partisan white males.
Comments (4)
I do think for some of the independents, it does have a lot to do with that. My stepdad, a registered Independent, has up until recently, been leaning toward McCain. Well, as he is surrounded by people who are going to without a doubt vote Democratic in the fall, we have taken it upon us to present him with the facts about McCain, and he recently decided he will also be voting Democratic in the fall.
It's an image many have held of him. Personally, I even liked the old McCain. I wouldn't have voted for him, but he seemed like a good guy. Now he's backtracking on some of the "principles" on which he has based his career, a disturbingly undiscussed-in-the-media fact.
We definitely all will have to do our best to paint a more accurate picture of McCain in the fall, but it's all the more disturbing when you realize just how big a role the media plays in elections.
March 24, 2008 11:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm confused by the term "registered independent". Is that literal, or just a figure of speech? If literal, what state is that in, and how does one "register" with a non-party party? (Or is there an actual "independent" party out there somewhere?)
March 24, 2008 12:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Independents are unafilliated with one of the major parties, Democrats or Republicans.
In Massachusetts, I don't know what the primary laws are about party affiliation. They vary state-to-state.
March 24, 2008 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Right, but how does one register as an independent? Who do you register with? (I've only ever voted in Virginia and Georgia which both have open primaries, so forgive my ignorance.)
March 24, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
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