So Why Did Those Ohio Voters Swing?
November 9, 2011 | 6:04 PM
As Ron Brownstein notes below, the dramatic, whip-lash-y movement of working class whites to a cause championed by Democrats in Ohio may offer a road-map of sorts for Obama to reach his 2008 demographic watermark among white working class voters.
A big question hangs over this theory: why? Why did these voters, who are energized by how much they oppose the president, decide to identify with a Democratic cause? Was it because the economy is so bad in Ohio that populism (suddenly) works as a strategy? Was it because the unions simply did a better job mechanically in turning out voters? Was it because they are warming up to Obama's economic principals? Was it because Republicans have alienated these voters to the point where they were ready to send a message -- ENOUGH?
How the Democrats can capitalize (!) on this swing is tough to predict. But many Beltway strategists say it validates the message contrast that Democrats have been trying to set up between a party that at least recognizes the problem versus a party that irresponsibly wants to gut the entire system and say no.
A big question hangs over this theory: why? Why did these voters, who are energized by how much they oppose the president, decide to identify with a Democratic cause? Was it because the economy is so bad in Ohio that populism (suddenly) works as a strategy? Was it because the unions simply did a better job mechanically in turning out voters? Was it because they are warming up to Obama's economic principals? Was it because Republicans have alienated these voters to the point where they were ready to send a message -- ENOUGH?
How the Democrats can capitalize (!) on this swing is tough to predict. But many Beltway strategists say it validates the message contrast that Democrats have been trying to set up between a party that at least recognizes the problem versus a party that irresponsibly wants to gut the entire system and say no.
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