The People Deciding Whether Democracy Continues to Exist in America

Undecided voters….

Jesus Christ, who are these idiots?

Perlstein explores this question.

Thus, finally, my hypothesis about undecided voters.

I imagine that what at least some of them—certainly more than those supposedly entering the two candidates’ issue positions onto spreadsheets to study, ruling out the candidate not “specific” enough about their fiscal policies—are undecided because they are poised at a threshold. “Undecided” is a way station between the final surrender to the Trumpian fantasy, and all the imaginary comforts it offers, and sticking with the rest of us in the reality-based community, despite all the existential terrors the real world affords.

Is my theory correct, or is it nonsense? Honestly, I can’t say—or can’t say without the kind of resources reporters from The New York Times, Washington Post, or the network news operations enjoy. Because to figure that out, you’d have to talk to people. I mean really talk to people. Which means, first, earning enough of their respect and trust to get them talking about how they really see the world.

This is probalby right and I think also gets at the problem of the news media, which isn’t so much how people discuss it around here, but it more just a general failure of reporters and their bosses to even understand the game. Another thing Perlstein is correct about is that issues are not the point here. They exist around the margins for these people, but it really about is having Daddy protect you. Daddy isn’t going to protect you, that much is sure. But good luck telling that to these people.

Sometimes you just want to give up. You can’t. But my god.