Last post of the night: Paul Freedman's Slate article, which I've already sent to some of you, breaks down more numbers on the cause of the election. His principal conclusion is that there was a "terrorism gap", wherein more voters trusted Bush exclusively than trusted Kerry exclusively to handle the terrorism problem. Which, basically, I consider even further evidence for my working hypothesis that many Bush voters were not operating in reality.
I think people disappointed by the election already understand that the majority of Americans are operating in a Baudrillardian unreality, a collective hallucination. But more concretely, they also need to understand (and effectively address the fact) that the working poor in this country have largely lost hope in the possibility that the federal government can improve their lot. The reality for many of these working poor who are also Anglo-Saxon Christians is that their church plays a more substantive role in their lives and the quality of their lives than the government does. The Mormon church, for example, financially supports single working-mothers by paying their rent and providing food, healthcare, and childcare. In some instances, they make it possible for these mothers to not have to work at all, so that they can take care of their children. Now, if that's your daily reality, a Democrat giving a stump speech on healthcare and jobs is going to have a very difficult time trying to earn your vote. Instead, you'll be more likely to vote for the candidate who stands for the two things your church is vehemently against: gay marriage and abortion. That's what the Democrats have to contend with; it needs to make a case for government itself, really. Or else, it needs to highlight the immorality, the utter unChristianity, of the current administration.
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