tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post5828129611010126710..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: How Partisanship Works at the Voter LevelJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-40730980776845196492011-06-13T17:53:08.949-05:002011-06-13T17:53:08.949-05:00My guess: most of the 30-odd percent who call them...My guess: most of the 30-odd percent who call themselves indies are really partisans with an annoyed attitude. Think of all the people who are strong liberals/progressives, but have few good words to say for the Democratic Party.<br /><br />Perhaps 10 percent of the electorate are genuinely nonpartisan. But most of them dislike politics and pay minimal attention to political issues at all. In theory they are persuadable; in practice they mostly just tune it all out.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16932015378213238346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-28712962740965520072011-06-13T15:30:47.941-05:002011-06-13T15:30:47.941-05:00remember just how severe the limits are on how muc...<i>remember just how severe the limits are on how much that sort of thing can possibly matter.</i><br /><br />Well, but if one-third of the country are hard-core partisan Democrats, and another (say) 40% are hard-core partisan Republicans, that still leaves almost 30% of the electorate who <i>are</i> amenable to changing their opinion on issues based on "the right phrase" or "the right speech."<br /><br />Are you saying that it's not worthwhile to try to persuade these voters? Or, maybe, that there just aren't that many voters who are truly persuadable? (I'm sympathetic to the latter viewpoint, but it doesn't seem to be what you're getting at here.)Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15913245096162048743noreply@blogger.com