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PDF versionReturn of the Perotistas
by Michael Sean Winters on Nov. 03, 2009
The fastest growing part of the electorate are neither the Dems nor the Republicans. It is independent or unaffiliated voters. And, among all the soothsayers and talking heads tonight, the one thing to look for is how these independents vote tonight.
I base my analysis on my experience of working on a campaign in Connecticut’s second congressional district, where independents hold the balance of decision in the electorate. Whoever wins them will win the election as there are neither enough registered Democrats or Republicans to carry the district. It is a classic swing district.
Which is not to say that all independent voters are necessarily swing voters. A large chunk of them are more properly identified as Perot voters. This slice of the electorate is deeply suspicious of all elites and specifically of big government, big business, big unions. They are well represented at the Tea Party protests. They usually vote Republican except when the GOP has been in power for too long and then they respond easily, albeit somewhat uncritically, to the mantra “It’s time for a change.” I suspect some people voted for Perot in 1992 and Barack Obama last year, but not many.
The larger group within the independent bloc is probably not going to turn up at the polls today. They are independent because they are not very politically involved or motivated. After all, if you really, really care about your Second Amendment rights, chances are you are a Republican. And, if you really, really are worried about the environment, chances are you are a Democrat.
The first group, the Perotistas, will be out in droves today and they will be voting Republican. I anticipate a Republican sweep. But, if the margins are not as large, and if the Democrats more or less hold their own with independent voters, the GOP is in trouble. Perot got 19% of the vote in 1992, which was alarming in every way. But that, combined with the 20% who currently self-identify as Republicans will not get the party across the finish line in a presidential election. Indeed, because the populist Perotistas reinforce everything that is wrong with the GOP, even if they win tonight, the real winner might be President Obama. If the leadership of the Republican party is more concerned about placating people who voted for Perot and his remarkable running mate Admiral Stockdale than they are with reaching out to moderate, centrist voters, they will be in the political wilderness for a long time.
NCR: February 3-16, 2012
Subscribe to NCR to get all the news and special features that aren't always available online. In this issue:
- US News: Bishops Host Conference on Immigration
Conference fields advocates' questions on law, policy
- Special Section: Deacons. Serving as parish administrator; roles of wives; and more
- Study: Black Catholics are more engaged
New study by Notre Dame researcher about parish involvement in America
One other thing to watch for tonight: If Doug Hoffman wins big in New York’s upstate race, that is a big win for Sarah Palin who was the first national republican to break ranks and endorse him over the GOP nominee.
What possible misreading of
What possible misreading of the Second Amendment in our Bill of Rights places it firmly within the exclusive domain of the GOP?
Unfortunately our national electorate is so rigged as to exclude those who have been artificially defined as "illegal" (talk about taxation without representation!) and those who have been overwhelmingly, disproportionately and unjustly incarcerated and thus stripped of their voting rights: Blacks and Latinos.
In any case Waterbury CT, home of the Republican felons John Rowland and Phil Giordano, does not permit Blacks and Latinos to register to vote, nor to register Democratically.
Any election results now are as artificial and incomplete as the Florida Vote in the year 2000 and Ohio in 2004.
I really find that hard to
I really find that hard to believe about ANY US city. Can you provide facts/links thereto, please?
Waterbury Connecticut, home
Waterbury Connecticut, home of Catholic Republican felons John Rowland and Phil Giordano, has a long and well documented history of discriminatory voting practices, and federal court orders mandating equity in registration and access to the polls.
One of several examples of this may be found even under George W Bush’s tainted and highly politicized Department of Justice, in which Waterbury was one of a few districts nationwide requiring federal Civil Rights observers in 2002 (possibly therefore a hang over from the earlier administration). This may be found at the web page
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2002/November/02_crt_640.htm
“In addition, 70 Justice Department personnel, most of whom are Civil Rights Division attorneys, will monitor the election in:
§San Francisco, California;
§Waterbury, Connecticut;
§Broward, Duval, Miami-Dade, Orange and Osceola Counties, Florida;
§St. Louis, Missouri;
§San Juan County, New Mexico;
§Queens County, New York; and,
§Reading, Pennsylvania.
The observers and Department personnel will monitor whether certain counties and localities are complying with federal voting laws, for example: complying with the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act; determining whether any voters are challenged improperly on the basis of their race, color, or membership in a language minority group; permitting voters who are blind, disabled or unable to read or write assistance by a person of their choice; and permitting all eligible voters to cast a ballot.
At all times, complaints about discriminatory voting practices may be called in to the Voting Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division at 800-253-3931.
More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice's website site at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting.”
Again this is one of several examples due to a long history of discriminatory practices in Waterbury.
And discrimination is common throughout the nation. Over five years ago, when I went to register Democratically at city hall in militarist/fundamentalist Alamogordo, New Mexico, I was treated very rudely and my form thrown on the bottom shelf angrily. Thank goodness I am way out in the border desert now!
Plus we have legalized discrimination as one of the main purposes of our draconian immigration laws which prohibits a very large part of our residents from voting, and the disproportionate criminalization of our African American and Latino populations; to keep "them" from voting we declare them felons whole cloth. An ancient and dishonorable Jim Crow practice.
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