I have a confession. I'm sympathetic to malevolent efforts at voter suppression. Sympathetic to the efforts, sympathetic to the malevolence, sympathetic to the fanatical urge to suppress certain voters--by all means, let's do suppress. I am not sympathetic to the prevailing prejudices behind today's voter-suppression efforts. My targeted prejudice lies elsewhere. And the vote I would freely, enthusiastically suppress is that of the still-undecided voter.
There's simply no excuse for these people. They're an abomination, a hideous scab of unforgivable bewilderment on the healing body politic, a swarm of hyperfastidious but profoundly uninformed clowns. For four years we've been steadily climbing out of the most wretched economic hellhole created since the 1930s--one brazenly opened beneath us by shifty plutocrats and right-winging demagogues and supply-siding "wonks" who couldn't add two and freaking two if their mammothly shameful lives depended on it. And yet what do the "undecided" have to say when the challenger, Mitt Romney--that manifestly brazen trifecta of shiftiness, demagoguery and supply-sided swindling--slithers forward and backward and sidles every which way? Well, gee, we're not sure about this choice between Romney and the guy who's been digging us out of the hellhole. Let us think about this a bit longer.
Mr. & Mrs. Undecided, I'm largely with the NY Times' Timothy Egan on this:
I’m going to let you in on a little secret...: we don’t like you. Not because you can’t make up your mind, but because you won’t.
Indeed, as noted, I'm prepared to go even farther. I'm there, in spirit, with the voter-suppressing Republican goon squad. I say if you haven't been able to make up your mind by now, or have simply refused to do so, then in 30 days you really don't deserve the chance to cast a 50-50 guess the wrong damn way.
has it occurred to you that the Undecided voter could be a Republican who so far cannot bring themselves to say "I like Mitt"? Imagine a Democratic candidate of equal awfulness, if that is possible which I don't think it is, but maybe in some future America.. or maybe picture Joe Lieberman. Anyway, I am familiar with the Undecided Republican, that is my mom and she's been pulling the same schtick since 2000. She just can't admit how awful the party has become. I try to have sympathy but talk about your slow learner! Thankfully she lives in blue state or I'd really have to get mad.
Posted by: mclorlor | October 06, 2012 at 03:48 PM
Had it occurred to you that by deciding how to vote by figuratively flipping a coin, this class of voter renders themselves statistically irrelevant. Barring some event so extraordinary as to give away the existence of an interfering god all they can do is cancel out each other's vote.
Posted by: Peter G | October 06, 2012 at 08:52 PM
Probably true, Peter. The problem is that both candidates must play it safe by catering to these nitwits. That's what's maddening.
--PM
Posted by: PM | October 06, 2012 at 09:22 PM
LOL
On the Myers Briggs personality test, these people score 100% "Feeling" versus "Judging". I am 100% judging, and assume PM is also.
i was so happy when I finally learned about this because it absolved me of all responsibility of helping these good people. These are the same people who stand in line for 10 minutes at the McDonald's counter, and when they get to the cashier , they need another 10 minutes to decide what to order.
From a McDonald's menu.
That has been in fronnt of them for the previous 10 minutes.
And hasn't changed in five years.
Having married and divorced two of these people, I can also assure you that they really have already decided. They just have not comitted. they are not "undecided" voters. They are "undeclared".
The post debate polling confirms this. Romney seems to have picked up a small bump. Almost all of this is from "conservatives". He finally gave this justification for going public with their declaration is all that changed.
Obama also got a small bump, at least initially, because Romney confirmed to undeclared "liberals" that he is as big of an asshole and threat as they suspected. So, they can now declare.
The bottom line is that the old trope that voters don't start paying attention to presidential elections until Labor Day is bullshit devised to make pundits sound smart.
The Obama campaign knew this and began attacking Romney as soon as the dust began to settle from the GOP primaries. They had Romney roped and tied by Flag Day.
The point is that this one is already baked in. If you don't believe me, just watch the betting lines.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | October 07, 2012 at 07:52 AM
robert: I'm pretty sure the M-B counterpart to "feeling" is "thinking." The counterpart to "judging" is "perceiving."
Posted by: giantslor | October 07, 2012 at 11:31 AM
@giantslor: Dang! I I even went to the trouble of looking it up. No more comments before the second cup of coffee. :-)
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | October 07, 2012 at 04:33 PM
I take your point PM. You have to invest just enough effort to keep uninterested and uninteresting nit wits in their state of Brownian Motion to generate the necessary random result. Which is about the best you can do.
Posted by: Peter G | October 07, 2012 at 08:26 PM