Is it safe to say that at this point undecided voters are STUPID?

[ariesgem]

I was watching CSPAN this morning and they had a line open for callers that were STILL undecided. Although I hate listening to callers from the republican line, I can at least say that they're firmly committed to * for their lame, bigoted or cult-like reasons. The Democrats that were calling in are feeling the pain of the * administration and are firmly committed to Kerry.

What planet are undecided voters living on? The people that were calling in were somewhat educated - finance administrators, teachers, nurses, etc.. Some were leaning toward * because he sounded "more forceful" than Kerry in last night's debates.
:wtf:

I realize people are busy with their lives but the contrast of where this country was BEFORE * was selected and where we are NOW should hit EVERYONE over the head! Why aren't these people paying attention? Should democrats even waist their time and money trying to court these people for votes? I apologize for the rant but these UNDECIDEDS are driving me crazy! :crazy:

[LiberalVoice]

1. It was safe to say six months ago...

:shrug:

[kikiek]

2. Makes em feel special to have all these people working to get their vote.

[UCLA Dem]

5. why decide when you can be on TV?

[kikiek]

10. They drive me nuts. They're not paying attention if they haven't decided.

[progdonkey]

7. makes them feel smart, too

Whenever these "undecideds" are interviewed, they're almost always obviously on one side of the fence or the other, but they still claim they haven't decided yet. By telling everyone they're "undecided," these people can pretend that they're smarter than others; "I'm able to stand back and take in every last bit of information. I don't get caught up in all the excitement. I don't jump to conclusions; I'm better than you. Even though I think the War in Iraq was right, Saddam Hussein attacked us on 9/11, Abortion is murder, and Kerry is an untrustworthy flip-flopper, I'm still not sure if Bush is the candidate for me. Aren't I objective?"

[cheezus]

3. less stupid than those who have decided to vote for Bush

at least give them *some* credit

[ariesgem]

6. True

I get a massive headache trying to figure them out.

[Thrill]

4. Don't believe this crap

about people being undecided. Everyone has already made up their mind its all about voter turnout. No one needs answers. Everyone knows Bush's failures and they already know if they're sick of it or thirty for more.

I would rather Kerry spend these next few weeks energizing the base. Reaching out to minorities. All these so called undecideds is bull. Get the Dems excited to get out to vote.

[ariesgem]

12. I honestly don't know what to believe anymore.

I do know when I drive through my neighborhood (I live on the borderline of a ethnicly diverse, rich/lower mid-class area in Altadena, CA), the Kerry yard signs outnumber * signs 5-1. Same with bumperstickers. That includes the rich areas!

I gonna take a late night drive to clear my head. Seeing those yard signs give me hope. Nov 2nd can't come soon enough!

[Ron Green]

8. It's the "Smart Shopper" syndrome. Comes from a society that confuses

consumption with democracy. "I'm so choosy that I haven't really made up my mind yet which brand to buy until I have ALL the facts." F**king dumbasses, IMHO.

[kikiek]

9. I agree especially about confusing consumption with democracy.

[George_Bonanza]

11. Count me in too

I can't believe the ignorance of some of these people. They're the ones on the news saying after a Bush-Kerry exchange, "I'm leaning Bush because I think he has a stronger plan for the war on terror". Fucking hell, that "plan" is what's going in Iraq today. Does anyone concur that that is a strong plan? My hypothesis is that these are just embarrassed Bush supporters just waiting for a popular and valid enough reason to back that disgrace. But don't worry, Kerry will win anyway.

[Lexingtonian]

13. it's certainly not nice....

There does seem to be a consistent 3-5% out there that says they're going to vote and aren't interested in Nader or other wastes of votes. And they've been extremely sales resistant.

I think this is the infamous set of people who come to a reportable decision during the weekend before Election Day. They have, in recent elections, consistently given Democrats about 3% that the pundits didn't see coming. The explanations they give sound hodgepodge and pretty ignorant, but the pattern really says that what they are actually deciding is whether to be indulgent (vote Republican) or dutifully help the better/smarter candidate (vote Democratic). So maybe they're 'stupid'- or maybe they're deciding their vote on keen assessment of the quality of the politicians rather than worrying themselves with political details that are too much trouble and mostly deceptive.

It's not clear whether trying to reach these people with 'messages' really does anything at all. But it keeps Democratic campaigns talking to swing voters in a general way rather than veering off to pump up their hardcore support and losing swing voters by carelessness. For comparison, look at Bush's rallys to drive turnout up among the Republican hardcore this year- it's Nuremberg for Walmart shoppers and doesn't convince serious swing voters. Give me the careful, Undecided voter targetting type of campaign any day rather than that. When we have a solid national majority we can dabble in the other sort of campaigning.

[Barney Rocks]

14. some are definitely stupid.

but a few of them that I know are exceptionally smart--they just are not that interested in politics.

I know this is hard to fathom for many people here, because a lot of us are political junkies are follow what is going on constantly. But some people barely pay attention.

A case in point: A very good friend of mine (NOT stupid--she has a doctoral degree in Food Science and Technology) is nearly 40 years old and she had never even bothered to register to vote! I harped on her for nearly 8 months--and finally got her registered right before the governor recall (she lives in California). I felt quite confident that she would vote to retain Gray Davis--she agreed with everything that I said when we talked. After the election, she informed me that she had at the last minute voted for Arnold--get this--because of an ad that she saw on TV a day before the election. She was quite pathetic-she told me--if you had just seen the ad--you would understand--anyone who followed the ads would vote for Arnold!!!

I was shocked!!! I have been working on her since to vote for Kerry--we do not live close--so I am limited to phone contact. She agrees and agrees--then she will talk to another mutual friend and be in the Bush camp! it is extremely frustrating. She is a brilliant and well educated person. However, she does not read a newspaper, she gets her news from the internet and I suspect from RW sources. She does not listen to talk radio--she prefers blasting music 24-7. She only watches mindless garbage on tv--the very worst of reality tv dating shows and the like. She did not want to see F911--she only likes happy movies. So she is extremely difficult. I am probably going to give up--because I don't feel confident about what she will do when she goes in the voting booth--and we have California anyway.

*She leans conservative because her family escaped from China under terrible circumstances--her mother was even imprisoned and tortured. So her family is quite anti-communism and I think they loved the anti-communistic rhetoric of Raygun back in the day. So I think she is predisposed to vote Republican--although she is extremely liberal on all social issues.

[bush equals idiot]

15. "waist their time" lol

[ariesgem]

18. Ok Spelling Police - I meant to say "waste"

Now that was stupid of me. ;)

[not fooled]

16. some may be "emotion-based" voters

Some of these "undecideds" may be "emotion-based" voters rather than "logic-based" ones. They base their decisions on "gut" feelings and hence have half-baked perceptions that leave them vulnerable to touchy-feely propagandistic garbage that appeals to their emotions and baser instincts (e.g. "Bush is a strong and decisive leader...Bush is a nicer guy than Kerry").

However, because reality intrudes in the form of news about one disaster after another from this admin, they can't go over totally to *, and hence waver back and forth.

[Andromeda]

17. That's what's good about this place...

you can rant and rant as much as you want and everybody understands where you're coming from. (Most everybody:) )

Most undecideds probably have problems making a decision about anything and they lack the critical thinking skills to make an informed decision.

There might be another reason: It gets them attention. The fact that both parties are courting them gives them the attention they crave.

[nonconformist]

19. They're lying

I suspect at least some people are lying when they say they're undecided, because then their "opinions" might carry more weight with the opposing party.

Otherwise, they're completely apathetic and I have to wonder with their head-in-the-sand mentality if they'll even vote.

[Piperay]

20. YES definitely

they are either stupid or lying because if you have a brain in your head you just can't be undecided. :silly: