One of the more common areas of discussion among political professionals is the phenomenon of low-information voters. These are folks who care about the country and its future, but choose not to keep up on current events, due to some combination of feeling busy, apathetic, and frustrated. Political pros find these Americans difficult to reach -- and at times, easy to manipulate -- precisely because they're disengaged and far behind the curve.
The point isn't that low-information voters are dumb, but rather, that they're ignorant. In focus groups, you'll hear these same folks express poorly thought out opinions based on vague "something I heard on the news" observations.
But what happens when we move past low-information voters and start looking at low-information politicians? Ezra Klein relayed an incredible exchange from last week about the ongoing fiscal debate in Washington.
Would it matter, one reporter asked the veteran legislator, if the president were to put chained-CPI -- a policy that reconfigures the way the government measures inflation and thus slows the growth of Social Security benefits -- on the table?
"Absolutely," the legislator said. "That's serious."
Another reporter jumped in. "But it is on the table! They tell us three times a day that they want to do chained-CPI."
"Who wants to do it?" said the legislator.
"The president," replied the reporter.
"I'd love to see it," laughed the legislator.
In other words, an elected member of Congress -- a "veteran legislator," not some freshman who's only been in office a couple of months -- wants to see President Obama endorse a "serious" policy like chained-CPI as part of a larger debt-reduction package, but the lawmaker has absolutely no idea that Obama has already endorsed chained-CPI as part of a larger debt-reduction package. Indeed, in this case, the Republican lawmaker was so incredulous, he or she laughed at reality, as if it couldn't possibly be true.
So, is it fair to say Washington debates would be less ridiculous if low-information Republican lawmakers were simply brought up to speed on the basics? Would compromise be easier if GOP officials had some clue as to what President Obama is, in reality, offering?
Well, no, probably not.
Jon Chait reminds us of the classic Upton Sinclair line: "It is impossible to make a man understand something if his livelihood depends on not understanding it."
As this is applied to the ongoing political debates in DC, Republicans seem ignorant to a jaw-dropping degree about some of the basics, but even if they suddenly became more informed, it's likely they'd come up with new reasons not to govern constructively with the White House.
Indeed, we don't have to speculate to know this is true. Over the weekend, Ezra highlighted concerns raised by Mike Murphy, one of the top political consultants in the Republican Party, who said President Obama could reach a bipartisan deal with Republicans if only he endorsed chained CPI, apparently unaware that Obama has already done this.
Reminded of the facts, Murphy dug in, saying Obama endorsed means testing, but "refused" chained CPI. This is factually incorrect, too -- indeed, it's the exact opposite of reality -- and when this was brought to his attention, Murphy switched gears, saying chained CPI is a "small beans gimmick" and Republicans just aren't able to "trust" the White House.
Keep in mind, Murphy's no dummy, but his line of argument is literally incoherent. He wants Obama to endorse a policy. Told that Obama already endorsed that policy, Murphy denies it. Presented with proof, Murphy decides the policy he supports isn't so great after all.
So what does Murphy recommend? That Obama "earn trust" with Republicans by "first" agreeing to spending cuts. But in our reality, Obama already embraced about $1.5 trillion in spending cuts in 2011, with no accompanying revenue. In other words, Murphy believes the way out of the current mess is for the president to give Republicans 100% of what they want, accepting another cuts-only package.
Ezra's bottom line rings true: Republicans have effectively eliminated the possibility of compromise, since they "just want to get the White House to implement their agenda in return for nothing."
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In politics ignorance is not only an excuse it's a requirement.
Hah! We are the imbeciles because we are STILL talking about austerity not jobs, and if you add up the wins and losses in this battle, let's face it. We were taken to the cleaners. Today, even after being creamed in the elections, the GOP has walked away with 4 dollars of spending cuts for every one dollar of revenue. And we are entertaining ourselves chuckling about how the GOP the buffoons? Please Please. Step back and look at the big picture.
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What Obama needs to do is start using the bludgeon: The Executive has the discretionary power which Congressional districts will feel these cuts the harshest..
Oh but I forgot. He won't do that because he believes that rational discussion rather than brutal political combat is the way that politics ought to work. Well, after 4 years of a good faith effort, isn't it time to recognize that the GOP has not comprehended the language the President has been using?
It is time for the President to begin communicating with the GOP. This would not be patronage politics that Obama naturally detests from his experience in Chicago. Nonetheless, it would have every appearance of it. It is a vocabulary that the House members in swing congressional districts will understand though.
In the movie "Thirteen Days", the actor playing McNamara delivered this line upbraiding an admiral for his infantile understanding of what was going on before his eyes. It about sums up the kind of communication through raw exercise of power that is required of Obama:
At various times, I wonder if The Obomination is not a Clintonite (DLC/DINO/Repuke-Lite) in a democrat's costume. At other times, I am sure that Obama is a repuke-lite more beholden to Wall Street and the wealthy than to working people.
Obama is a moderate Republican at least fiscally...look at his policy stances...and to be honest I am ok with that. The reasons I am a liberal aren't financial they are all based on ideas of Egalitarianism, collective responsibility and social justice. How you get those things is less important in the broader sense as long as you get there and the policy actually works.
I don't know if you have any experience as an insurgent in a large organization. I remain confident that the President has good intentions. I agree he appears to have picked up his instincts for economics more from his grandmother the banker rather than his mother the idealist. That's why Summers and other bankers find it so easy to sway Obama. It is like the wise voice of "Toot" is talking to him. It's not just this.
It has been said that turning a battleship requires patience. It is much more than than. The President has discovered in his first 4 years that it is even more difficult if the steering wheel in the bridge of the battleship isn't directly hooked up to anything.
I started to reply that the President needs to learn about "tough love", but John Messerly is spot on.
Steve, this is one of the best and most important posts you've ever written. VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC.
You gotta know, I don't say that lightly.
Granted, I am already familiar with the Ezra Klein column you reference, which was also mind-boggling. But connecting the low-information voter to the low-information legislator is really important.
Information overload too is a factor, yet not an excuse. There is much more to discuss on this topic (tho, for once, I won't go on and on about it at this moment, hee hee!)
I think John is right...the only thing I would add is that Since Obama has figured out that the steering is broken he is trying to put up sails to use the wind of public opinion to get here he wants to go.
Obama has to deal with politics as they exist and not as we would wish them to be. It is going to be a long battle to drag the country back to the center. This will not happen for a few election cycles until Dems retake control of Congress on a continuing basis rather than the divided government we have seen for at least a decade. Republicans intend to go down fighting rather than adapt to the new demographics. The GOP is bucking the scientific wisdom of "Adapt or die" but they will lose.
And CEO's of corporations don't read their companies voluminous SEC filings. They know in broad terms what they say and depend on the people who work for them to bring the important parts to their attention.
If the MSM were all journalists instead of teapub talking point repeaters, we would have more informed voters with the exception of Limpbrains and Faux fans.
Why do you think the teapubs refuse to go on TRMS? She won't ask them softball questions and let them weasel out of answering a question. She even has the gall to ask followup questions!
the idea of of media having either a "Liberal" or Conservative" bias is a myth...they are biased toward one thing: Money.
And conflict sells
You stepped on your own foot , how freakin LIBERAL is MSM corporate wall st profiteering fixation gaze? Not very , ask Soledad Teresa O'Brien ,They will bring up the sob stories , then when it comes time for the opportunity to actually correct the problem , they let the romney party pile on so many lies that no one can get to the truth , and then they crank the volume , they also have a choice on what MESSAGE they make the profits off , to a certain degree
A large portion of the t party movment was a myth created for corporate msm profits , where the liberal version of that?
So, do members of Congress know what has been offered by the President or are they relying on Boner and Friends to tell them what was offered??
I suspect it's whoever Boehner gets his talking points from, as the speaker says the same stupid things. Note in another blog post how Boehner was called out for saying the same wrong things.
"It is impossible to make a man understand something if his livelihood depends on not understanding it."
In GOTP-land even if the President were to endorse their "plan", they would probably be against it. Mitch McTurtle said that they wanted to make this President a 1 term President; now that the President has been re-elected they want to make the American people pay dearly for voting him back into office. Right now this is about the GOTP keeping their power and their corporate sponsors happy! Damn the natives and what's good for the country - full speed ahead on destroying the nation!
Zora Renee, You just solved the sequester, just get President Obama to say he likes the repubs plan and they would turn against it, just like they did on several bills in the senate.
The idea of a properly functioning two party system is so that neither party can get so much power that they run roughshod over the minority, but instead provide reasoned compromise and consideration from all viewpoints to insure that problems are addressed in full. We need a good, rational party right of center but the modern Republicans can't deliver it anymore, instead to simply oppose anything a Democrat says, or anything they think a Democrat says, regardless if the Democrat in question said it or not. This stimulus-response approach of simply rejecting anything your opponent says or might say is destroying our country.
What are you trying to say, afairhope, that the republicans would be against what they originally opposed? That would be like McTurtle (love the name, Zora) filibustering his own bill - oh wait.
Oops. The above should read "proposed" not "opposed."
Thank you Brewer, but I can't take credit, my Mommy gave me that name.....
Zora,
I love your referring to McConnell as "McTurtle" but now that you mention it, I do love your given name too (as well as just about every post you've contributed here). Sorry for the confusion.
Re: Ezra Klein's observation ending your post, Mr. Benen:
True That! -Kevo
I don't care if it matters to a Republican - Chained CPI, which cuts Social Security benefits, is unacceptable to me. As it should be to EVERY Democrat.
Changing the CPI is not acceptable to me either. At least, maybe now that President Obama has endorsed it the Republicans will be against it.
I got about $25.00 this year $5.00 of which went to pay for my Medicare Part B. How many people really know that seniors pay for Part B. My sister got $16.00 so that now she gets $1,000.00 a month on SS. She cannot afford Part B. Our living expenses have gone up more than our cost of living increase.
Changes to entitlements must come from savings and not cuts. Some indexing for very high income seniors might help, but I do not favor turning it into a welfare program. Those are earned benefits.
There are two very significant ways Medicare could cut costs significantly while providing the same coverage. First, by being able to get with the Veteran's Administration to be able to negotiate drug prices. (I would also like to see Medicaid and current government employees drug prices be negotiated in the same pool as well.) Second would be to allow Medicare to pay for in home Hospice care, instead of requiring late stage terminal patients to be admitted only to hospitals or nursing homes for end of stage care.
Chained CPI is a red herring thrown out there by the politicians' corporate overlords, and will not benefit the average citizen in any way.
http://www.thirteen.org/bid/sb-howmuch.html
http://medicarenewsgroup.com/context/understanding-medicare-blog/understanding-medicare-blog/2012/10/04/tackling-end-of-life-costs
http://thehill.com/special-reports/state-of-the-union-february-2013/282395-chained-cpi-an-economic-moral-disaster
bflynch
I agree. While the intended focus of this article is the complete will ignorance of most Republicans the stated example of Obama offering to cut Social Security benefits should set off alarm bells for every Democrat.
It should never be offered in the first place.
Sprint_72
Yes - I agree with you on all points. Did you notice when Jindal tried to eliminate hospice care in Louisiana he had to walk that back because it would so clearly cost more to be admitted to hospitals or nursing homes.
Look at the headlines with Walmart saying sales are down due to the social security tax "increase" (the end of the temporary payroll tax holiday) and you see that putting money in the people's pockets results in increased demand, etc., etc. So, while reducing social security payments might save the government some money, it is bad for the economy. This is not the same as saying a tax increase on the wealthy is bad for the economy, because they don't spend it, so please, no false equivalencies.
Also, from what I understand the Reagan and Tip O'neill changed the CPI used in computing S.S. COLA and it is already unrealistic in not including things like healthcare, gas/heating fuel, and food costs in the "basket of goods." Just uncap the salary maximum and it'll be fine. You might even be able to give people earning less than $50,000 in wages a 2% decrease if you make it a progressive tax like the income tax.
Brewer: your point about Wal-mart is so well taken because many of us on SS have to shop at Wal-mart. It is and has been my contention that the reason the Great Recession did not become another Great Depression is that SS recipients kept getting their checks, and those who lost their jobs were able the get by on unemployment insurance. Neither of these programs existed in 1929.
The sequester is going to cut off unemployment for many people. That will hurt Wal-mart a lot.
Not including gas, heating, and food costs in the CPI is already hurting the really poor who can barely exist on SS. For many of these people it is a choice between food and heat.
I understand there are many factors involved in an informed public. However, I do notice that what I would term Major news stories are not captured on the "National News". If it weren't for my wife and I watching Rachel Maddow we would have known nothing about the Republicans trying to restrict voters, or all the abortion clinic battles raging across the east and mid-west. The list goes on ad-nausium.
I'm not sure if ratings are driving the national news shows from standing up and telling the american public what's really going on or if they choose to let their "alternate egos" do the dirty work.
The American public has been trained by the media to expect quick and concise snippets of information in their lives.They have not history of sitting and watching informational news.
If the country is going to change, then the news organizations need to stand up and be counted, just like the electorate is expected to.
The corporately owned media are fulfilling their assigned tasks of acting as echo chambers and message amplifiers for repuknican messages.
Notice the following from Ezra's followup column:
A-yup.
I just listened to Diane Rehm's NPR program on the sequester and surprise surprise: both sides are to blame. Anyway this Exra Klein column was brought up and discussed in a very limited way. They focused on the republican's trust issue with the president. The conservative economist then went on to intimate that the president needed to more to gain republicans' trust.
I swear, I wanted to smash my radio. Nothing approaching the documented conclusion of the column that republicans will accept nothing less than 100% capitulation from Obama and democrats was broached.
So basically obama would have to step down to EARN THEIR TRUST , because there is little else that will satisfy the lunatics , you can rest assured the moron gop economist could come up with NOTHING , if asked what obama would have to do to EARN THAT TRUST
And this is on NPR .... The infection has spread to the point it is terminal , you have blantent proof the the gop are completely unreasonable , so they just twist the truth on twisted truth
The free corporate wall st press will be the demise of america as much as anything else , it is its own government / lobbyest propaganda machine at this point , and not many realizes it , if not for the internet , they would have taken it all over by now , and they have their sights set on that now
Anybody remember the 60s and 70s when we protested everything about the war and the government? The papers didn't cover much of the facts then either so we had our own "underground" newspapers. Come on younger generation, it's your turn to pick up the fight. Help us get the real news out to people. I'm too damned old to stand outside all day with signs. It's your turn now.
Republicans have effectively eliminated the possibility of compromise, since they "just want to get the White House to implement their agenda in return for nothing."
Bullsh!t...
If The Obomination completely (rather than just partially) sells out the ameriKan sheeple and completely accepts the repuke agenda, the repukes will move the goalposts and insist that he capitulate even more!
Excuse me, Sad"Old"Veteran. What kind of adult uses "Obination", "ameriKan sheeple", "the repuke agenda" and the "repukes"? Sounds like middle school to me. All heat and no light.
Remind you of anything?
The Scorpion and the Frog
"A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the
scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The
frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion
says, "Because if I do, I will die too."
The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream,
the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of
paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown,
but has just enough time to gasp "Why?"
Replies the scorpion: "Its my nature..." "
from: http://www.aesopfables.com/cgi/aesop1.cgi?4&TheScorpionandtheFrog
If I'm never going to be able to use it, I want my Social Security pay-in back. With interest Mr. O-bama! When the f#ck did this country turn to the Confederacy for how to run central government? These hee-haws in the Congress need to be impaled (or catapulted from the top of the Washington monument onto the National Mall) for treason. It is torch and pitchfork time if I've ever seen it.
We are also paying for disability insurance , get sick and go file for that , and you will know how much we are already being ripped off ....Ever here anyone say we need to address that joke? It is bunched right in with the dems allowing the gop TO CONTINUE to shred what little safety net there is for american workers
Liberals need to harden the platform in this regard , just tell these dems that if they are elected to office , they will stick to platform issues , or face impeachment / recall or what have you
Funding and advancing these programs is popular , AND THEY ARE ACTUALLY HELPFUL IN GETTING PEOPLE BACK ON THEIR FEET , a win win for everyone , instead the dems get in office , and the 1st thing they want to give a way is any help for those dam working class poor
Then who do you vote for? the people who say they want to destroy social programs , or the people who say they are for them, , then lay down and allow the gop to destroy them , all because the gop might say mean things about democrats
I may be showing my age, but I remember when "low-information" meant ignorant at best or just plain stupid at worse. I can't imagine my dad saying "Why did you do that? That was a low-information thing to do."
How long does it take to recognize the obvious?
The current Repubs are the ones who should be investigated for "Un-American" activities.
but but but...'the sequester was the President's IDEA. We never LISTEN to the President and we can't tell you what he SAID, EVER, but it was all HIS idea...'
Belief -vs- Knowledge, or how the Authoritarian mind works.......
Authoritarians have been proven to have highly compartmentalized thinking, and very poor reasoning skills. Duke U. just did a study on this phenom, and I often have referred and cited Altemeyer's groundbreaking, 30 year peer-reviewed empirical study of Authoritarian behavior.
The study proves that no matter what the education or income level, the Authoritarian mind will always trust it's self propagated beliefs over actual facts.
These people have no place in Governance of any kind.
Oh here are the references.....
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_and_political_orientation
http://www.truth-out.org/right-wing-id-unzipped/1329147417
I always thought "low-information voter" referred to a Faux Nooze watcher. To distinguish these voters from the ones mentioned by Steve above, I suggest referring to the Faux watchers as "highly-misinformed voters" from now on.
Why would anybody be surprised to find out that the Republicans don't know what is going on? Apparently they only know what they want their base to believe. Oh you believe in Unicorns? why of course Unicorns are real, please send your donation to the RNC, y'all have a nice day.
Upon closer examination, the horned beasts appear to be RINOs.
Sequester Sinkhole: (Information Fails to Inform)
The political and media forces feed upon the carcasses of the public's dead consciousness that has been ground into finely textured beef, by generations of advertisers.
Taking into account the world's longest imbroglio that being loosely called the Congress. We can see the various sock puppet performers of the right and left staged with backgrounds more familiar that the mystery science muppet-piece theater. Then again viewed in see-through C-Spandex, we find hidden behind advertising props, well position media types.
If all of Congress, both good and bad, would fall deeper than a Florida sinkhole, but I repeat myself; the media would be nonplussed when the sinkhole appeared to be covered by a house, but as though it all were a ruse, could then cut to an advertisement; until the "offal" (see below) arrived announcing that; while one person was rescued in trying to rescue his brother; that the incident was so disconcerting that it was unsafe to attempt further. A first reaction was to curse the lack of heroism, in making an immediate attempt of rescue, even if it required some bravery and innovation. The presence of a building appearing unaffected over the sinkhole overwhelmed the "offal", with stunning effectiveness; leading me to ask please don't call Florida in case of emergency.
It is just because we are in the market for a proper metaphor, a simpler explanation, in fewer words and less thoughts and elimination of the extraneous; that we are stunned into looking again for that lack of action, the inclusiveness of the problem, but the lack ability to both stand back and to see anything.
Just one extraordinary circumstance, changes a powerful if common sinking feeling; of darkness inside and out; in faint and silence cry's; that might not have been discovered even by the light of day. And just were a little knowledge is dangerous, the fear of expansion, of all consuming terror and of the expedience of flight; to just get away as all being out of control.
The cautious "offal" pronounced that the perimeter of the sinkhole could grow larger. What could be more analogous than the current swirling of myth and legend than the debt and deficit as being the national sink hole, and on to the "The Fall of the House of Usher", or the House of Congress as the house of cards for the nation's pandering uncertainty?
There must be a word to describe the imperative of doing something and the futility of doing it. The dragging in of another character to the lord of the rings to cross another set of mountains higher than those we escaped?
The same word that would apply to Ockham's razor vs. The razor of Queen Dido of Carthage) tossing on Norse mythology and distant reference to the Geekdom of Mathematic matters (venture Mathematters).
The perimeter of the sinkhole currently extends to include the Washington Beltway (sinkhole), but the Houses of Congress and the media espouses accurately the confusion. But all being swallowed up in darkness twice over cannot see the lights of the rescue team. The rescue team is stranded at the edge, withholding the Economic Means of rescue. The rescue team does so because no one in that sequestered sinkhole can see how the economic system must work; only seeing what they believe; when what they believe is that the rope is too short. That if it is thrown it will run out, and if it does not run out the hole will be too dark to see the end of the rope, and that if they hold to on to the rope that no one will pull on it because it is to dark outside, and if it is not too dark outside the rescue team might fall in themselves; forgetting that the rope could hold fast the rescue team.
We cannot see the peril, we just close our eyes, hope for the best, give up while the sinkhole just keeps growing, we just refuse to save ourselves.
References: (Knit one, purl two awaiting at the Place de la Concorde, Madame Defarge)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offal
Offal
This word is so coincidently similar to the word Official that it just might be suitable for opening a can of worms, but that is just food for thought.
http://www.moolf.com/interesting/top-ten-strangest-foods-from-around-the-world.html
Top Ten Strangest Foods From Around the World
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivar_the_Boneless#Scandinavian_sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_(Queen_of_Carthage)
Dido (Queen of Carthage), Alyssa, Elissa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del's_incompleteness_theorems
also
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GoedelsIncompletenessTheorem.html
vs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor
Gödel's incompleteness theorems vs, Occam's razor (also written as Ockham's razor, Latin lex parsimoniae)
Lastly Richard's Paradox
If you travel with the razors of Occam and Dido into the proof demanding world of Mathematters, you can NOT return to the Political or the Economic world, because the former creates order and the latter depends on disorder. It is the simple physics of basic thermodynamics that render economics a temporary reprieve in affording politics. (The energy of the Universe runs downhill, slowing only to allow life and economics to afford politics.