This is a pretty interesting poll of "political operatives". When asked whether the public knows enough about the issues facing Washington to make decisions about what should be done, only 28% of Democratic operatives said "Yes", but 52% of Republican operatives said the same thing. Is this simply because Democrats don't think the public "got it right" in the 2010 election? Or does this demonstrate something about the Republicans confidence in the average person to make informed policy decisions?
5 comments:
Power to the people!
I think this does have to do with the 2010 elections but there could be other factors as well. In the Obama years, Dems have tended to come up with intricate policies that are not really understood by the public. They could be popular if Dems tried to explain them, but their messaging is poop. It's easier for the public to understand the GOP agenda because it doesn't involve complicated policies, it's just deregulate, cut taxes, make government smaller, cut spending. So I think it's more each side looking at how the public sees their own agenda, not necessarily all policy.
I think it has very little to do with 2010 and everything to do with the nature of the democratic agenda and messaging. Democrats create policies, Republicans tend to undo them. It is much easier to advertise the view that government is overreaching and spending wastefully than it is to explain the complex economic principles (such as externalities, market failures, and public goods) that support democratic policies. I don't mean to say that this is true for every single issue, but I certainly think that the Republicans have a much easier time conveying their ideas to the public than do Democrats.
I'm don't blame the public for not understanding the issues fully. No one can expect everyone to keep informed on every issue when they have jobs, families, etc. This isn't a "Democrats are smart and Republicans are not" argument. But it does make me wonder why candidates like Sarah Palin, Christine O'Donnell, and George W. Bush gain so much success from advertising themselves as being just average citizens. I know I certainly wouldn't want someone just like me to run the country. I'd want someone with much more expertise, not someone who would be fun to sit down and have a beer with!
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/16/americas-ruling-class-and-the/print
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/how-to-think-about-the-tea-party/
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