Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Re: Election Day on the DG
Author: Joshua Allen Posted: 11/8/2000; 8:35:27 AM Topic: Election Day on the DG Msg #: 21953 (In response to 21899) Prev/Next: 21952 / 21954
Still too close to count. It seems like there have been many decisive factors this election, no matter how it turns out. (Jesse Jackson is on CNN right now calling for a protest; maybe he'll be a deciding factor?) Maybe one thing that this all proves is that the two major parties have become remarkably adept at targetting their pitches. Obviously, the platforms of both major parties have morphed quite a bit to appeal to more voters, and the polling, data analysis, and targeting techniques have become far more sophisticated. When the amount of money and marketing expertise leveraged by the campaigns is considered next to the extraordinary contortability of the platforms, it's no wonder that things are this close. Since many voters are voting on a "lesser of two evils" basis, and there are only two parties, either party has merely to appear "less evil" to their constituency than the other party. This pretty much guarantees that the two will meet in the middle -- neither party has anything to lose by meeting the other. Perhaps if people voted only for candidates they could believe in, rather than who they thought was the lesser of two evils, or based on who the didn't want to win, things would not be this close (in vote or in platform). Until people start voting with their consciences, or until at least one more major party gets past the 5% hurdle, one can be fairly confident that future elections will be as close.
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