Report: Swing voters don't matter

[sarahlee]

A National Annenberg Election survey (PDF) found that "just 16 percent of those who voted for George W. Bush said there was 'ever a time' when they thought they would vote for John Kerry. And 15 percent of Kerry voters said there was 'ever a time' when they thought they would vote for Bush."

"Put another way, 84 percent of Bush voters and 85 percent of Kerry voters said they never thought they would vote for the other candidate."

http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/naes/2004_03_mindset-bush-kerry-supporters_%2001-05_pr.pdf

Proves that if Kerry and the DNC HAD campaigned to the Democratic base, Kerry might have won. Because, had he campaigned hard on tried and true Democratic issues, fewer discgusted progressives would have stayed home or voted for Greens.

I know people who planned to vote for Kerry, but then wound up campaigning for and voting for Nader simply because they were so disgusted with the DNC efforts to keep Nader off of ballots. Some progressives and Greens did not vote at all - some were disgusted with the Cobb decision not to run in swing states.

I really believe this help prove what many of us have been saying over and over again - you have to have issues you really believe in and then you need to campaign hard on those issues without all of the manipulative thinking about whether it will appeal to a swing voter. Either you believe in something enough to fight for it or you don't, and then the voters who are hot on the issues have no reason to get excited and work for you.