[Gorgo]

A better explanation at counterpunch.org

"A May 2004 ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 54 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in most cases and another CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found that 81 percent of respondents believe that abortion should be either sometimes or always legal [1]. Suggesting, as Vijay Prashad does, that these kinds of polls "might have been weighted for the coasts and not Kansas," [2] is an outlandish grasping at straws. It reflects an irrational (and elitist) refusal to accept that even people in the Midwest may, indeed, be more progressive than stereotypes of academia and the liberal establishment suggest. It shirks the responsibility that the left has of organizing that sentiment into something concrete and legitimates throwing up our hands at the hopelessness of the "ignorant masses."

So if Americans do have generally progressive viewpoints, why didn't this materialize at the polls? The question actually begs another question: Who says that voting is an accurate expression of the political consciousness of the American people? How can anyone claim that people voted against their "class interests" in this election, when both Kerry and Bush stood diametrically opposed to their class interests? Kerry offered not even the semblance of an alternative to the Bush agenda. When the media talked about something other than what Bush and Kerry did during the Vietnam War, right-wing discourse defined the debate. Kerry and Bush quibbled over how to suppress the Iraqi resistance and Kerry was even more bellicose than Bush on Iran and North Korea! Furthermore, Kerry's obsession with a balanced budget prevented him from making a dynamic case for health care, higher wages, unemployment relief, etc. If the discourse throughout the election season prioritized right-wing issues, why are we surprised that voters prioritized right-wing issues? This campaign was defined by the war on terror, and John "I'm-reporting-for-duty" Kerry did nothing to shift the paradigm--and so terror defined the politics of the electorate. Combine this with the fact that the "religious right," who (unlike the left) has the chutzpah to build a grassroots movement and demand things of the Republican Party, was mobilized, and you have your explanation for the 2004 election.

The disconnect between Americans' political consciousness and the election also has to do with the apolitical nature of elections, rooted in Americans' rightful cynicism at the electoral process and politicians. Since November 3, I have heard a barrage of anecdotes about how someone's Bush-supporting cousin, brother, sister, mother, father, or uncle cared more about the image of leadership that Bush represented, whether or not he was a "family man" or whether or not they could have a beer with him, than actual policy. Students, professors and others decried the fact that many people vote on their "emotions." It's a shame that some of these storytellers were too busy lamenting the "stupidity" of their relatives to ask why someone would have such apolitical reasons for voting in the first place. De-politicization like this is the result of cynicism due to the absence of a real political debate on issues that matter to Americans. Voting on apolitical or "moral" issues is another way of "checking out" of the political system. And Kerry's campaign was not going to reverse this cynicism. On the contrary, he probably enflamed cynicism with his disingenuous, focus-group based campaign which many people saw right through. In fact, real political debate has been absent from elections for so long, and cynicism about government is so high, that elections themselves cannot politicize people. There is widespread recognition among people that no politician will significantly change things like the economy, health care, or jobs and so voting (especially for a sorry Democrat like Kerry) will not be an effective funnel for people's anger at the system. Regardless of how many celebrities scream, "Vote or die," dissatisfied people will continue to either stay at home, as 45 percent did, or vote on apolitical issues (religion, morality, whether a candidate seems like a nice guy, etc.) "