As Far As I Know Obama Did Not Win The Senior Vote in 2008 And 2012 And ----

[TheMastersNemesis]

had seniors voted for Democratic candidates in 2010 we might not be facing what we are today. Seniors played their part in giving the House to Republicans. They believed Social Security was cut when it was not. And perhaps Obama would be saying some very different things politically. Granted a lot of senior voted for Democrats and Obama but not enough did.

I also know a lot of white seniors on Social Security and Medicare who hate Obama because he is black. And that is the only reason they vote GOP. They also believe that Democrats give minorities too much money.

Any senior paying attention should understand that the GOP has nothing to offer them. Given the power seniors would be royally toasted by Republicans. Social Security and Medicare would have been history long ago. And the GOP will never give up trying to end these "socialist" programs.

Democrats have been weakened because so many voters are conservative and vote against what is best for them economically. And they do it for bullshit reasons to be honest.

It is just like union workers who vote for Republicans because they like their bible, their gun or their racism more than a good paying job with benefits and job security and a pension.

[leftstreet]

1. Stop blaming voters

Democrats let GOPers run unopposed all over the country

[bluestate10]

7. GOPers run unopposed because voters, a lot of whom are Seniors, wont' vote for

a Democrat. There is a saying that people get what they vote for. Red districts are among the most pathetic parts of the country.

[roguevalley]

71. I wish if there was going to be senior bashing that they would

actually have data and not say as far as I know. How do you know, OP? I know zillions of seniors myself included who voted dem and obama.

We did not make this happen. we knew what was at stake.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. …and so Obama owes nothing to seniors…

That could explain a lot, I guess.

Once more I channel Lily Tomlin:

"No matter how cynical you get, it's impossible to keep up."

[TheMastersNemesis]

5. What I Said Does Not Mean That Obama Owes Nothing To Seniors ----

Had seniors voted for Obama in overwhelming numbers similar to minorities and had seniors in red states who tend to be GOP voted for him I believe he would take notice and be able to stand on more of a mandate protecting seniors.

If people actually voted much more progressively and pro union instead of the way they do. And if the public were openly more pro union by their vote workers would be in a better position. But when you keep putting the GOP in and give them the kind of power that they can push anti union legislation you generally lose. Maybe workers and the general public support and want collective bargaining but you cannot tell it by how they vote.

[Jackpine Radical]

9. I did not mean to put words in your mouth.

The cynicism is my own.

[KoKo]

30. But....this is your opinion and suppostion based on what? Your feelings? Links would be helpful.

[KoKo]

53. "No matter how cynical you get, it's impossible to keep up." BUT...WE...are the "NEW THING"....

And, we should NEVER/NOT forget it!

"POWER TO THE PEOPLE!" .....lest anyone forget HOW MANY OF US ARE ALIVE...with MEMORIES for FACTS & FIGURES!

As Poppy Bush said: "The Harps aren't Singing for us TRUE DEMOCRATS...YET!

"WE HAVE THE POWER...who HAVE THE MEMORY!"

[bluestate10]

3. I find how Seniors vote as a group disgusting.

Seniors vote mostly republican, but it has been democrats time and time going to the well to fight for Senior's interests. It is a selfish thought, but I sort of wish democrats would allow republicans to have their way with a small, but noticeable change to Social Security and Medicare. I am not sure that democrats shouldn't do just that if not for key states like Florida. Other than Florida, every state that voted Blue in 2012 has resources that can support their Seniors, so the suffering will be largely among red state Seniors, the very people that vote overwhelmingly republican.

[KoKo]

36. Are you kidding me with your wish?

You say:

"It is a selfish thought, but I sort of wish democrats would allow republicans to have their way with a small, but noticeable change to Social Security and Medicare. I am not sure that democrats shouldn't do just that if not for key states like Florida."

What you say is INDEED your OWN Selfish Thought!


Sheesh...!

[bluestate10]

56. No. I am from a solid Blue state with a Blue Governor and Legislature.

I am disgusted with red districts and with Seniors in those districts voting in republicans, who then work their asses off to screw up the whole country. My state will take care of it's Seniors if national republicans succeed in cutting SS and Medicare. Knowing what my state will do leave me comfortable with the thought that red state, republican voting Seniors need and must be taught a hard lesson.

[roguevalley]

72. wow bluestate 10 where is your data to prove your remarks

you want old people to die to prove some fucking point? Really?

[Le Taz Hot]

85. Well, the gun fury has died down,

it's back to old-people bashing on DU again. Closely followed by overweight bashing. It runs in cycles around here.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. I don't know how many seniors voted for Obama nationwide,

but even here in deep red Arkansas, I know several white seniors who voted for him. We may be getting older, but we're not getting entirely stupid.

[TheMastersNemesis]

11. Obama And The Democrats Should Be Able To Carry Over 65% Of The Senior Vote ----

yet they don't. Given that number the Democrats and Obama would have had the House despite all the gerrymandering and voter suppression. Where I live in Colorado of the seniors that I am around many of them still are ardent Republicans.

I am sure that Obama had white voters in even some of the most conservative states vote for him. And if you look at a place like Arizona that should be blue it is very red and there are a lot of seniors there.

[enlightenment]

22. Answer your own questions.

If Obama and the Dems "should" carry the majority of the senior vote - but they don't - and if Arizona "should" be blue - and it isn't - it implies that Obama and the Dems are doing something wrong . . . not the seniors.


I know a lot of seniors. I knew a lot when I lived in Colorado. MANY of them are staunchly liberal and not at all concerned with race. There is no one-size-fits-all group in this entire nation, regardless of what you think.

You are looking for something to blame and apparently have decided that the old people are a ready target. Get a grip. Politics is not as simple as you would like it to be and looking for a single answer to a complex problem only makes you look silly.

[kenny blankenship]

35. It's just their turn, is all...

in 2004 it was teh gays which supposedly cost the Democrats the election. In 2010, it was young people who got blamed. Now it's the rocking chair set. Get ready Hispanics, it'll be your turn soon!

It couldn't be the Democrats' own ineffectual disarray, their lack of a unifying ideology (I mean one distinct from the Repuke strain) and their horrible messaging ...could it?
Nah. Has to be the voter base that lets them down, everytime. There's no denying that we often do forget to grin when handed our free shit sandwiches!

[graham4anything]

59. I bet 99% of black seniors voted for President Obama. So don't blame them.

White male seniors are some of the most conservative people in the nation.
and they are the ones that are the biggest whiners

Being that President Obama won the female vote and every single minority group vote, guess who is the only group that wasn't.

[BeyondGeography]

26. Romney won 65+ by 12 points

[kenny blankenship]

42. Seniors were told that Medicare was cut by 700 billion to pay for RobamneyCare

And although the implications of that fact were exaggerated by the Republicans, there's more than a grain of truth to it as well. Beginning with the number: 716 billion. Skimming seven hundred billion out of ANY program even the Pentagon's budget is going to leave a mark. Approx one third of the Medicare cuts were savings culled from the overpaying Medicare Advantage program (overpaying: because it's based on the participation of the bilking, scamming private health insurance mafiosi) , but the other two thirds come from compensation to hospitals and doctors and home service providers. The line that this won't degrade the benefits experienced by Medicare recipients is disingenuous at best. So yeah Old Farts got alarmed and resentful about that. Surprise surprise, they voted their displeasure! Pollyanna handwaving aside, it's bound to pinch them, and Medicare is strapped enough already, and pays out so low already compared to the regular market rate, that MANY DOCS WON'T ACCEPT IT. It's also important to note (yknow, for Democrats who might care about such things) that they are slashing hundreds of billions out of a publicly run program of health care with an overhead of 2% to pay for a WHOLLY PRIVATELY RUN, FOR-PROFIT INSURANCE boondoggle with an historical overhead of over 20%. Way to go in the opposite direction from FDR and LBJ, Democrats! Want to follow that up next with some private school vouchers??? How about a flat tax??? Got any other core Democratic principles you want to betray this term?

[BeyondGeography]

44. You assume it was a straight self-interest vote

I think that's doubtful, particularly as the $716 bn. "cut" was not only effectively debunked, but Ryan's voucher plan, also favored by Romney, was showed to represent a $6,400 annual hit to the average Medicare beneficiary.

[kenny blankenship]

48. More like REVENGE

Vengeance is backward looking and irrational.

[Bohunk68]

84. I agree with a lot of what you said in your post above (not this one)

I am a retired white male and have been voting straight Democrat for longer than some of the bashers have been alive. I really resent the broad brushing going on in this thread. I've had a lot of conversation with other seniors and sit on our county senior citizen council in a county that is very poor. Many, nay, most of those seniors have been Republican all their lives and were so when the party had a whole different ideology. They still think along those lines. For many people, not just seniors, it is difficult to make an old dog do new tricks. A lot of us can. While racism may play a part in the way southern Repubs vote, that is not necessarily the case where people belong to Sons of Union Veterans. Kenny is right, the Democrats have done a shitty job and just expect the vote. When we see the leaders of the party continually say that everything is on the table, we feel threatened. Or how about when Nancy Pelosi said that Bush-Cheney arrests were OFF the table? Where is the honorable Democratic Party then? When we see Democrats falling all over themselves to praise a former Democratic president who signed DOMA, DADT. NAFTA and dumped AFDC because he said, OH, the COngress will override my veto anyway, so I might as well sign it. He had a set of balls as long as Monica played with them. The guy couldn't even have a goddam spine and say, Yeah, I had sex with her, sooooo fucking what??? Do you know how many people would've stood up and cheered?? NO, we had to stand up for a guy who couldn't even tell the truth about a blowjob.

And our current president, whom we had so much hope for, went and appointed a Catfood Commission headed by two of the worst possible people that could've been picked. And he still goes around with wishy-washy language about what is or is not on the table today, yesterday or maybe even tomorrow. GODDAMMIT, I WANT A PRESIDENT WITH FUCKING BALLS!!!!!! You broadbrushing bashers out there need to buck up and bring consistancy and spine back to the party instead of blaming everyone else.

[Doctor_J]

67. So do something about Hate Radio and Fox "News"

the roots of the problem

[sabrina 1]

6. So Obama is getting revenge on Seniors who didn't vote for him? Is that

what you are saying?

Are you sure you are a supporter of this president, because this is not a very flattering OP which surely you realize?

[Rex]

10. As far as I know, there are no polar bears on the Moon.

But I hear they are still trying.

[TheMastersNemesis]

18. What I Said Has Nothing To Do With Revenge

All I am saying is that weak support keeps a politician like Obama from being more aggressive about protecting Social Security. If you are uncertain who is behind you it is harder to attack a situation politically.

Even FDR did not turn more progressive until he was pushed and knew he had support of the populace. Oncece he took control and began to improve things economically he gained more support. And he grew bolder one he knew the public was generally on his side. He also went through a learning process early on.

Obama is no FDR. He is a fairly cautious and practical politician in many ways. He is also facing a lot more opposition and has not had the Congress FDR did.

[daa]

24. So you are saying Obama is going to offer nothing to seniors and continue to

Alienate them like the repugs do Latinos? That I a sure fire way to shrink the party, of which 4 of 10 seniors voted for him. He should try to get the 5 do 10 not piss ff the 40%.

His health care plan threatens older Americans.

[CakeGrrl]

60. No, you're missing the OP's point.

I'm pretty sure the OP is saying that seniors tend to vote Republican - directly against their own interests, whether that choice stems (IMO) from racism, ignorance of what the GOP is really about, or a combination.

Combined with people who thought they were 'teaching him a lesson' by not showing up to the polls in 2010, this has now brought about the situation that more people need to understand: You have a President who is working with a GOP-controlled House that would ACTUALLY love to do what some accuse the President of wanting to do (but he does NOT): Cut SS.

Bottom line: Get more Democrats in Congress. Both houses.

[treestar]

79. So Obama should be worried about those who did not vote for him?

This is a new tactic. Then why should he not cut SS? The Republicans wants that. Obama should not take revenge on Republicans, correct?

[Rex]

8. 'as far as I know'

People love to see that first! It sets them up for what is next!

[Lugnut]

12. The President won this senior's vote.

He won my husband's too. We're not responsible for the way other seniors voted.

[TheKentuckian]

13. Funny thing is who will really get screwed the hardest would be younger people

So that dog don't hunt either as ugly, stupid, and cynical as that old hound might be.

What is that you did to deserve the value of your benefits to crater, you have more to lose than the current crop of seniors due to the time elapsing. Too young and it might not be coffee money.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

14. After social darwinism claims the old GOP voters...

We can reclaim Social Security for the younger, liberal generation.

[djean111]

19. Gosh, what is to become of us old Democrat voters? Acceptable losses?

And if you think social security will be reclaimed once it is gone.....

[Le Taz Hot]

86. Collateral damage.

[roguevalley]

73. my only comfort is that you will be old, bitter and probably one of those

'seniors' you are berating now. A lot of seniors started out liberal and got kicked in the teeth. Nice.

[RainDog]

15. wow. what a steaming pile of bullshit

if you think this issue only applies to current soc. security recipients - well, no.

If you want to claim "a lot of white seniors hate Obama because he is black" - you are engaging in the same sort of race baiting that goes on with the right.

The majority of people in this nation who voted for Obama were white people. THE MAJORITY OF WHITE VOTERS PUT OBAMA IN OFFICE, as much as women, Af-Ams and Latinos.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/08/president-obama-and-the-white-vote-no-problem/

Obama’s 39 percent showing among white voters matched the percentage that Bill Clinton received in 1992 — albeit it in a competitive three-way race — and exceeded the percentage of the white vote earned by Walter Mondale in 1984, Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George McGovern in 1972.

so, please, stop spreading this RACIST BULLSHIT.

[TheMastersNemesis]

20. 39% Still Is NOT 50+%

[RainDog]

23. Obama wouldn't have won without the white vote

so, sure, shit on those voters who support him, especially the elderly, retired females who are already at a disadvantage in terms of the size of their soc. security in order to defend your RACIST claim.

[bluestate10]

58. I totally agree with that fact. Too many people in the news media talk about the

votes of the various minority groups, but those groups make up only ~28% of all voters. Minorities could have voted 100% for the President, but if Whites had voted 65% for Romney, the President would have lost. Fortunately for the USA and the world, there is a solid core of informed, caring White voters that don't let themselves be bullshitted.

[bluestate10]

61. Elderly Whites may not be all racists, but they as a group have a larger problem voting

for someone that doesn't look like them than their children and grandchildren do. The percentage of the White vote that democrats pick up will increase as the percentage of current elderly Whites drop as part of the voting population. The percentage of the White vote that President Obama got in this election is the start of an increasing percentage as younger Whites become a larger part of the White voting population, IMO.

[roguevalley]

74. I laugh in the face of the senior bashers on this thread. The young

don't vote for shit and I know zillions of them. They Don't Vote For Shit. Oh wait, that's an uncomfortable truth. I don't support revenge on them for being asshats and not voting. How about discussing the ocean of younger people who don't vote?

[roguevalley]

75. how about data? If you are stating this there must be data somewhere.

I am having a problem with blanket statements about racism and the like. We were after all the civil rights generation or is that forgotten?

[djean111]

16. Ah, divisiveness! Lumping people into groups by age or geography! Phfft!

This Florida senior voted for Obama - but what I really think is hysterically funny is that younger ones who are saying oh just cut Social Security and Medicare a little bit now don't realise that the cutting won't stop there. Once the cuts start, they do not stop.
As far as I know.

[marybourg]

39. As did this Arizona senior.

[Indykatie]

17. As a Group Seniors Have Historically Favored Republicans Despite Their Positions on Issues

This fact did not begin with Obama. As long as Democrats protect their interests Seniors will no doubt continue their voting pattern of supporting Republicans. Until Democrats fail in their efforts to protect their interests they will not wale up. It will take them being slapped in their pocketbooks to change.

[djean111]

21. Funnily enough, threats like this don't affect this old Dem senior the way you think they do.

Slap your own pocketbook.
I do admire the way someone or something is stirring the pot here - cutting out the seniors.
Don't think that is wise.

[bluestate10]

62. I think cutting off Seniors in red districts would be wise.

But don't expect my POV to get any traction. Blue states work to protect their Seniors, if Seniors are cut off by republicans, the suffering will be in red states. Fortunately, my faustian solution won't have to happen because I think many of the children and grandchildren of currently republican voting seniors will either go independent or go Democrat.

[roguevalley]

76. wow. Hannity would love this suggestion, bluestate 10. don't stop there.

how about fining young people who don't vote, oh say half the kids in this country

[newfie11]

27. From what I've seen

Seniors tend to vote for the party they have always done. Now if their listening to faux news that could change anyone mind with the propaganda they spew.

[newfie11]

25. He got 4

My husband and I and our two friends

[KoKo]

28. It would be a great help if you had "Links" to support your thesis from "reliable sources."

Just saying......

[MadHound]

29. Umm, we're all going to be seniors some day,

I'm guessing that you don't want to spend your golden years choosing between Friskies and Nine Lives. I know I don't.

[RainDog]

31. Honestly. This is a repulsive OP. Like social darwinism

which, of course, is a right wing meme.

in this case it's - hey, you don't vote for my candidate, die.

If this is what a loyal Democrat looks like - who wants to be one of those?

[KoKo]

40. Agree...although we are trying to "educate" this poster...because they are clueless that DU isn't

a site that accepts any post that is just "opinion" without seeking "verification" and this poster supposed that a willing audience for supposition would be ready, willing and accepting of their "personal propaganda opinion" WITHOUT LINKS TO VERIFY.

[RainDog]

41. you know, it's not worth the time

this person went on my ignore list soon after I saw him/her. Then I said... oh, give this person a chance.

I did. back to ignore.

so... bye. I won't be replying in this thread.

[KoKo]

45. RainDog...totally understand.....

"some of us gotta "keep on truckin' for truth" and sometimes it seems so juvenile one has to "cut out."

ayyyyyyyyyyy! the cluelessness! the lack of historical reading... It just sort of boggles one's mind.

Keep spirits up.... TRUTH will one day OUT!

[Louisiana1976]

33. I'm disabled and on Social Security

and already I choose between Friskies and Nine Lives. But it's for my cat.

[MADem]

32. Well, they did in my ride--I drove dozens of 'em to the polls in NOV, and they all voted for Obama.

[KoKo]

37. Your experience is NOT UNUSUAL...btw.

[Blue_In_AK]

34. My husband and I are young seniors

from the first wave of baby boomers. The recent and upcoming crop of SS recipients (which includes us since we took early SS) will undoubtedly be more liberal than their predecessors because of the times we lived through. You are very wrong to generalize.

[RebelOne]

38. Well, this senior voted for him in 2008 and 2012. n/t

[WilliamPitt]

43. Derp.

[KoKo]

46. Will...You Nailed this Post....Derpity Do.........You Tube

[Skidmore]

47. Yup.

It's all in the name.

[KoKo]

49. Skidmore...can you go the 10 Hours...........LOL's...Good on Will!

[Skidmore]

51. Nope, but I'll wager the OP can.

[KoKo]

54. You mean "Monster Garbage In..Garbage Out?

Lots of that going 'round.

's...and

[etherealtruth]

50. Significant numbers of seniors did vote for Obama, worked for Obama and believe in Obama

... they are likely the seniors that will be most impacted by any cuts to SS.

The more affluent seniors (likely Rmoney voters) will not be impacted or impacted less.

[KoKo]

55. Absolutely the Truth...the OP has yet to provide a Chart...statistical evidence,..an Article from

Reliable Source or anything except their view........?

[bluestate10]

64. Red state Seniors aren't wealthy as a rule. Many are poor with SS and Medicare being

their only source of income. The percentage of such Seniors that vote republican is rather large.

[roguevalley]

77. so what. your idea of punishing them will kill people. you cannot be a dem

and show me the stats that back up any of your assertions.

[etherealtruth]

81. Red state folk by and large voted "R" (making them a red state)

What is the answer .... do we simply visit extreme hardship on the poor and elderly because of this?

Did senior citizens vote for Romney in approximately the same percentages as white men? Do we hold white men accountable ... and not implement programs to help them?

Obama won the national elections ... his job is to try to represent the interest of all Americans.

[datasuspect]

52. oh! well then fuck grandma and grandpa in the the ear then

that explains everything.

[spanone]

57. double derp

[NeoConsSuck]

63. I agree with the OP 100%

Everyone here bashes the teabaggers because they vote against their own economic interest, why different rules for seniors?

Seniors voted Romney over Obama by a 12 point margin. They apparently favor Republicans, but not Republican policies towards SS and Medicare?

[KoKo]

65. No Links and No Charts to Verify? Surely you could provide link or links to verify the OP and Your

Views? Otherwise it's just "opinion post" without verification.

[Doctor_J]

66. So he shouldn't fight for SS?

OTOH he won the liberal vote handily, and hasn't really been serving us very well.

[Zoeisright]

68. "Greatest generation" my ass.

Most selfish and smug generation - that I believe. Most seniors I know got theirs and are fucking selfish.

[roguevalley]

78. you have the wrong generation but then you sound young so what would

you know? The greatest generation was the pre baby boomers.

We boomers were the generation of civil rights, women's rights and liberal ideals that ended a war and began the environmental movement. . Get your scorn going in the right directions. As for the generation now young and full of shit, they fill wall street and the banks. Nice group.

[ecstatic]

69. Oh my gosh, are some of you serious?

The OP makes some good points, none of which suggest Obama shouldn't fight for Social Security or medicare. President Obama and democrats in congress are fighting to protect social security and medicare IN SPITE of the fact that the very people who need it the most voted for the guys that wanted to get rid of it.

[Drunken Irishman]

70. It's pointless to just say, "well I know many seniors who are liberal and voted Obama..."

I know a few Mormons who did, too, but that doesn't mean most Mormons aren't Republican.

The fact is, Obama lost the senior vote by 12 points and lost it by 8 four years ago - even though it was a wave election for the Democrats and Obamacare had never even been suggested ... and implemented (no one seems to explain that - why seniors threw their vote so easily in '08). But seniors also voted for Bush by eight-points over Kerry and in fact, Gore was the last Democrat to win the senior vote and that was by only four-points. Clinton won it by 4 in '96 - after beating Bush by 12 in '92.

So, there is a clear trend where seniors have moved away from the Democrats. It's not just Obama - it was Gore and Kerry, too.

But you also got to remember that many of those 65-plus voters were only in their 30s when Reagan won in '84 in his landslide. Those voters had to go somewhere when they got old and they've stayed with the GOP all these years.

Why? It's not just Obama - that's too simple. For the last three presidential elections, the senior vote has gone more and more Republican.

[patrice]

80. Whatever happens to us dumb bigoted seniors is going to happen in spades to each succeeding

generation.

If we can start FUNDAMENTAL change now, possibly that trend can be reversed and things will get better for succeeding generations.

[Le Taz Hot]

82. Really? Last I heard it was

all of us Progressives who stayed home. We didn't, of course, but that doesn't fit the narrative now, does it? Now it's the Seniors' fault because they're, what? Too stupid? Too adleminded? Here's a thought. How about we quit blaming voters and start blaming the lame-ass candidates BOTH major political parties too often put up as "viable." With the Republicans it's the bat-shit crazy class. With the Democrats it's the milquetoast, Third-Way-not-any-better-than-a-Republican class.

[bemildred]

83. I am a white senior on social security, and I don't believe any of that shit. nt

[TBF]

87. Don't even start.

Go back and read Obama's State of the Union speech from 2008. He was talking about "having a conversation about social security" when it wasn't even on the radar. Now you want to blame seniors? Jesus fucking christ.

I voted for Obama given the repug's atrocious stand on women's issues and hoping that at least we wouldn't backslide further. But if I will not watch democrats pretend to disagree with republicans and gouge social security while blaming voters. This "third way" crap needs to stop right now.