Cartoon says it all

[packman]

What motivates the right, what annoys the left

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Gothmog]

1. Great cartoon

[jenmito]

2. Sad but true, but it could also say on the Dem. base's side...

"Ds and Rs are pretty much the same, so why bother?" Of course, the R base's words prove that's not true, but too many Dems. believe it, especially here at DU.

[ZombieHorde]

3. Have there been any sociological studies that have stated this? nt

[De Leonist]

5. Seconded

I have become very skeptical of prevailing opinions with regards to the base of either party. From now on until there is actual evidence to back up either opinion I tend to think that such claims are bs. Also, is the woman supposed to be a Millenial ? If so, than didn't us Millenials show up in large numbers both in 2008 and 2012 ?

[CANDO]

15. But you didn't in 2010.

And this is referencing another mid-term election in which far too many voters are just not interested in their government's actions and who controls those actions.

[Behind the Aegis]

7. here

http://elections.gmu.edu/Classes/GOVT311/Voter%20Turnout%20in%20the%202010%20Midterm%20Election.pdf

Adding this: http://cookpolitical.com/story/5776

[Rozlee]

8. Well, as usual, the lowest turnout rate was Texas.

No wonder we Hispanics get branded as lazy. If we got off our duffs and voted, we'd have turned Texas blue by now. Mid-term elections don't usually get much interest by anyone but the Republican base, which trends older, whiter and more traditional. My husband is 20 years older than I am and Anglo. He refuses to do early voting and sticks to voting on election day. It's how he was raised and tradition means a lot to him, even though he's liberal. The GOP base is very motivated though. People are more activist and vote when they are angry and have a great deal of angst and frustration, which has always been the case with the conservative base. Conservatives have never been happy. They've always been whipped into frenzies by demagogues who get them agitated about guns, God, the Gay Agenda, abortion, atheists, Obamacare, communism, czars, race, Mexicans, socialism, the IRS, birth control, BENGAZII!!! and just about every other hot button issue there is out there. And for Republicans, there's never a shortage. Everything makes them mad and looking for a scapegoat.

[ZombieHorde]

9. What a great reply!

The two studies are obviously more nuanced and detailed than the cartoon, since cartoons have a different set of limitations than studies, but they do seem to support the claim in the cartoon. Or at least that is my drunken view. Thanks for posting those!

[petronius]

4. On the other hand, in the not so distant future,

1) the fellow on the left will have popped a massive aneurysm, and
2) voting probably will be done online.

Advantage: Democrats!

[Bill USA]

6. good cartoon, hope many apathetes see it & hope it has some effect.

recommended!

[seabeckind]

10. That cartoon is garbage and an insult

It's just another one of those divide and conquer bullshit ads.

Just like the blame the boomer business.

I saw that girl on the right. She was standing in a line in the rain for 6 f'n hours to vote a couple years ago.

She's the one who walked a few miles to get people to sign the petition in Ohio.

She's the one who uses Facebook, the ONLY multiperson communication system available to her, to coordinate other young people to do those things.

And, with all of that effort...YOU let her down.

YOU didn't support a movement thru OUR administrations AG office to push and guarantee her, and every other citizen in this country, the means to vote...on an equal basis.

YOU didn't force OUR congress to focus on jobs and get around a stupid fake filibuster.

If you want to find out who's at fault, the first place to look is at the guy staring at you when you're combing your hair.

</rant>

[seabeckind]

11. Thinking about it...

It sure as hell does annoy me.

But not the way you think.

[CANDO]

16. She (rhetorically) may have been there in 2012...and 2008..

But I bet you she wasn't there in line in 2010. The whole point of the cartoon is Democratic voter apathy in mid-term elections. For anyone getting upset about that fact, just look at the devastating effect of the 2010 elections. The damage wrought by the Republicans since 2010 may take decades to fix. The President's term in office has been severely ham strung by Republican obstruction empowered and emboldened by their mid-term victories.

[polichick]

19. Try to remember why so many were fed up in 2010.

[CANDO]

20. And I can't disagree, but

Look at what not voting has done. I'm not so sure I buy the "base" didn't get out and vote argument. The base IMO always turns out even if pissed at the people they put in office. It was the casual political voter and Indies who voted D in 08 who sat on their asses in '10. These people are the ones that can't be relied upon to give a shit enough come mid term time.

[polichick]

21. I agree that it was the more casual voter - but, sadly, also first voters...

I worked with a lot of these kids who were thrilled beyond words to be part of what they thought was a movement. I've been speaking with them lately and many are over this corrupt system. I don't blame them - that's a sane reaction given where we are.

It's possible that change would come faster if things crashed and burned. I've never missed a vote since the 70s, never willing to let the other side do their evil shit. What happened? Our side adopted RepubliCon policies.

[CANDO]

22. Out of the ashes...

I have to admit to thinking that myself. But the danger of that strategy is that there is massive money out there ready and willing to define what and how and who is responsible for the the ashes. Crafting the narrative, if you will, of who is to blame and how do we clean it up. I'm not so confident we on the left would be in the position to win that contest.

[polichick]

23. Controlling the narrative would definitely be tough - and opportunists would...

surely swoop in! Sigh...

[seabeckind]

12. The states of WA and OR

do total mailin voting.

They provide advance non-partisan (PLEASE NOTE: NON) descriptions of the issues and candidates. Nobody stands in line unless they wait until the last possible second to MAIL their ballot.

So why can't that system be specified for all national elections? According to our constitution the states get those things the fed doesn't do. The wingnuts turned that around to be that the fed gets what the states leave by the side of the road. But that ain't what says.

If the fed implemented a voting system -- totally within its purview, then showing up and having to put up with teanut bullshit wouldn't be an issue.

Oh, never mind. It's a lot easier to find somebody to blame when things are f'ed up than to do something ahead of time.

[packman]

13. A cartoon that evokes this much passion

is obviously effective. I understand your pissed off comments about how the states have corrupted the voting system, but the cartoon is coming from the position that the right deals with emotions and are more motivated to vote in whatever election is on at the moment;however, the left needs to be cattle-prodded to get out and vote. While I disliked the vacant stare of the left caricature and the vapid comment, the idea holds.
In ancient Greece if a citizen did not vote, they were fined or jailed. I think there is some value to that idea.
BTW, I hope the "you" you are employing is the genetic second case plural form, not the singular case. Hate to think this was personal.

[seabeckind]

14. Missing the point

I am not pissed off at the apathy. I am pissed off at the stereotyping and the blame shifting.

I'll give you an example. I really liked Howard Dean. I liked his 50 state strategy. I think that the win in 2006 was a direct result of that effort.

Then after the election, we saw all the elation with Emmauel, Hoyer, Wasserman, holding hands and declaring how well they did. Really happy to take the credit.

Where was Howard?

Then instead of girding their loins and getting down to work to fix the problems...well, you know wht happened.

Then in 2008 we had all these promises. I know, I made them when I did the phoning. I volunteered to do citizen work to help implement those promises. All I got was a request to send money.

Then we managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

And now this nonsense? Blaming the victim for being apathetic? The one who was maced in Calif? The one who lived in a tent in NYC? The one who is demonstrating for their voting rights in NC?

Oh, yeah, it's the hispanics fault. <added on edit> For not supporting the dem candidate who shows up at the last minute and asks for a vote out of loyalty. The dem candidate who is just as bad as the repub and hasn't done anything but sit on his ass since the last election.

[CANDO]

18. I recognize and agree with your points here.

Upon further reflection, I realize its not the base which doesn't turn out for mid-terms. It's all the softies and independents who aren't as politically invested who are not showing up for mid-terms. Understandably, our base gets discouraged when things aren't carried out by our people once in office.

[polichick]

17. The decision not to vote is not about convenience; it's about being sold out...

at least for many who voted in 2008, and worked the Obama campaign.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

24. Pretty much sums it up...

If we could get our base to vote with the same quasi-religious fervor of the Republican base, we'd never lose another election.

Ever.