I love history, politics, not so much. In the past 2 years I've scaled back my news consumption. Majorly.
I don't think I've posted more than 2 or 3 blogs dealing with politics in my whole life. I may not know much about politics, but I know something about people. And, I know why the Dems, most likely Hillary, will in fact take the White House in 2016 and I'd say and run Washington for another 8 years once Obama's term is over.
I've never voted Democratic, and I don't plan to. The right to life & sanctity of marriage are deal breakers for me. So, this isn't a "cheer on my team" post. It's an observation on why I'm convinced the Republicans AND the Libertarians have sabotaged their chances of winning the White House. Conservatives have fallen into a mental trap they won't give up. They think simply giving evidence, facts, numbers, statistics, and even solid logic will win over the American vote. There are two major blind spots with this approach, guaranteed to sink their hope for the next election, once again...
First blind spot: Conservatives think that everyone wants a better nation. Mistake. This is not so. Even if the majority of Americans wanted a better nation, they aren't willing to do the work to get us there. Republicans & Libertarians both point out we need to tighten our belts, sacrifice, and work hard. Last time I checked, kids cheat in school and people drop out of their health clubs, because most people are intimidated by hard work. Your message of hard work falls on deaf ears.
If your message is "tighten your belts, work hard & sacrifice," but you communicate it like a group of Sophomores with finger pointing and info dumping, why do you wonder when there's no response to your "evidence"? People don't want to cut back, especially when the people saying cut back, don't model cutting back...
Second and more serious blind spot: Here's the real reason we won't see a Conservative President in America, and this is vital, spouting facts rarely wins the day without answering the "so what?" question. I'm frankly tired of the griping from Right Wing Conservative parties. I'm more than a moderate, but the shrill lamenting of the Republican party and the Libertarians over the bankruptcy of Detroit, Benghazi, Fast & Furious, and a dozen other "facts" about how bad the Dems are, isn't changing the course of our future. I don't doubt the hype, I doubt they are using the truth wisely.
Ok, so Detroit has been run into the ground from over 40 years of Democratic Mayors. Pointing out the obvious, even if it's abundantly clear, will not change the will of the people. People crave a "so what?" solution, not a vilification of the villains. Why? Most Americans struggle with corruption and they can empathize with the corrupt. Tell Americans "Why" this action is harmful, don't keep repeating there's "a" problem without unpacking and explaining the fruition of the circumstances. That, is missing in most or all of the communication from the Right.
Give us a "so what?" to the facts. You've made your point, they are corrupt on the Left. The nation is in debt. Ok, the people know that, but this message has no substance, because people are easily distracted and the masses will always want the easy way out. For each and every Talking Point Conservatives tout, they waste their time if they don't describe "how" this will play out in the long run and what are the mechanics of the supposed problem.
People will not respond to negativity, that's a plain fact of communication 101. And, people will not be moved without an in depth purpose behind the facts.
It's obvious the Republicans, especially, can't uncover a Front-runner to energize the voters. That will be secondary to their number 1 problem, which is, not having a convincing message. They keep sharing the facts, without a compelling conclusion. That will sink them in 2016 -- which I predict the next election will run around 5 Billion dollars in campaigning costs.
Until the Conservatives in the GOP, or any party, can tell us "why" the facts are important, and lead us to a satisfactory "so what?" the people will happily settle for "Bread & Circus"
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