Favorability of democrats hit record lows
This article discusses a large problem facing the Democratic Party. After disastrous midterm elections, the Favorability of the democrats dropped 6 points to 36%. What could the problem be? Years ago, the republicans were facing the same obstacle after George Bush. What could the democrats do to fix this?
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For me it is scary to think that the Republicans are gaining more power just because if I had to choose I lean more towards the Democratic party. I am not surprised at all. People tend not to be crazy about things that aren't working or doing a great job. People haven't seen a significant change so they think the Republicans will be that change. Just like what happened after Bush. I think it is an natural and unavoidable pattern.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Taryna that people are hoping that the republicans will be the change they want. As we were saying in class, the majority of voters use 'retrospective voting.' They are basing their decisions off of the candidates' past actions and results. I think the same can be said here. If people are unhappy with Obama, they will show it through siding more with the Republicans.
ReplyDeleteI think that there are two main factors that explain this decrease in approval for the Democratic party: the pocketbook vote and retrospective voting. As people, especially in the middle class, realize that their incomes are not increasing, they use the pocketbook vote and choose the other party in the hope that their economic situation with the Republicans will be better. People also use retrospective voting, as they believe that since the Democrats have not improved their situation, the Democrats should be punished. In my opinion, the people are right to an extent, as if the party is not making things better, that party should be thrown out of office. However, I do realize that there is only so much a party can do, and that the Democrats cannot be expected to lower the deficit as well as raise incomes for everyone.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the fact that the favorability rating of 36% is an all-time low for the Democratic Party since polling began in 1992, I think there is more going on here than traditional retrospective voting. This election was a referendum on the Obama administration's policies of big government, anti-capitalism, overbearing regulation, and a general inability to lead or be honest with the public. In past election cycles, frustration with the ineffective policies of the party in power has lead to many people voting for the alternative, but rarely to the degree that they did in this election. Americans are finally waking up, not only to the fact that these progressive policies have not, do not, and will not work, but to the immense destruction that the Democratic Party has caused in recent years, as the record-low favorability rating proves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Taryna and Victoria. I can ser why people want to favor the Republicans. People are generally retrospective and will see that with having a Democrat as president for the past six years that is things are not working, then they want change and maybe by changing parties, then they will have a better chance of getting what they want from the government.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Aileen and and Taryna, The republicans can gain a lot of support through the aspect of retrospective voting. I can see that people want change and that the republican party is willing to offer that in order to gain more support. I am interested to see how the elections will look like in 2 years.
ReplyDeleteAileen is right, people are retrospective. Six years ago people were not happy with Bush and the way things were going so they wanted change. Now, once again people are not happy with the government and our Democratic president in particular. I agree with Taryna, I think these low ratings are natural and unavoidable. Hopefully these ratings will not fall much lower.
ReplyDeleteWhile approval ratings for Democrats are down, it's not like the Republican rating is fantastic. Overall, i think Americans are fed up with the polarized government we have the and lack of things it accomplishes. Republicans may have a slightly higher approval rating, but as others have pointed out this may be due to people's retrospective nature. Democrats do need to work on a definitive image that they're projecting to the American people if they want to gain approval.
ReplyDeleteI think Rachel's right. At this point, it seems like choosing a party to side with is like choosing the lesser of two evils. Personally, I think we need to focus more on changes and less on which party is doing slightly better than the other. Maybe general approval ratings would go up if the government passed some less partisan laws that would cause gridlock. Valence issues instead of position issues, if we're using terms from this past chapter.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that neither party has a completely correct agenda and that having two major parties has split our country when most people are actually more moderate than their political affliation indicates. It may not be that the republicans are becoming more popular because I feel like if your politically savvy it be hard to just completely switch parties becuase all your views won't change that fast unless of course your views are on the fence thus moderate. I think we need to focus more on the valence issues such as improving the economy and the education system.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I feel that Americas overall trust in government has decreased, which could explain the decreasing support of both the Democratic and Republican Party. It seemed that democrats had made so much progress in 2008, and now they are losing their hold on Americans. These statistic are definitely troubling especially because campaigning for the 2016 election will starting up soon. The results of this election will truly be a test of support for both parties.
ReplyDeleteI believe the severely low approval rating of the Democratic party in combination with their severely poor performance in the past midterms demonstrates well that Americans are fed up with the Democratic agenda. As Democrats continue to alienate their mainstay of elections past, the white middle class, with increasingly more liberal policy (ie. Obamacare) that really does not help the typical middle class voter, the trend of low support for Democrats will certainly continue.
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