At last, the phone has stopped ringing at dinner time. The pollsters and politicians have quit dialing random numbers in an effort to influence our vote. But most of them got it wrong. In the spring, they predicted a red wave washing over the country. Then, after The Dobbs decision in August, it seemed Abortion Rights would be a game changer. Looked like there would be a blue wave come November. And yet, a week before the election, Vegas odds, some pollsters, and politicians proclaimed a red tsunami was coming on Nov. 8. Didn’t happen. Here’s what I think did happen. A lot of people who usually vote, didn’t. They did not like their preferred parties’ policies or candidates. And yet they couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the other party. Instead, they just stayed home. Passive Aggression ruled the 2022 Election.
Why do I believe this? Because, over the years, I’ve known activists in both parties. After awhile, I found it best to not express my opinion about politics while in their presence. Some were passionate about either Obama or Trump. They went door to door trying to get out the vote for their president of choice. They blamed every problem in this country on their party of dislike, and attributed any victories to their own party affiliation. . This year, I didn’t hear much at all from these folks. They no longer tried to engage in political discussions at family gatherings and social occasions. And then, on November 8, these same people admitted that they had not voted at all in the mid terms.
As an independent, I was happy to vote in the midterms, and split my vote pretty much down the middle. Local candidates who’ve done a good job got my vote, regardless of their party affiliation. On a state level, there’s a tendency to vote for the party, not the person, if you don’t know much about the candidate. However, the choice was pretty clear, because the Republicans shot themselves in the foot by denying women reproductive rights.
In the state of Indiana, pollsters found that 69% of all voters in either party were pro choice. Physicians were aghast that party hacks with no medical background were able to get involved in an issue that should be determined by a woman and her doctor. And yet, the legislature did not listen to their constituents and decided to outlaw abortion in the State of Indiana. So what would you do if you were a dedicated conservative? Vote for a Democrat? That would stick in the craw. Easier just to stay home and not vote at all.
Ditto for devout Democrats. Do all of them agree with open borders, shutting down pipelines, and increased spending that’s led to inflation? I don’t think so. And yet, they really couldn’t stomach the thought of voting Republican. Once again, it was easier to abstain from voting at all.
In our county, voter turnout this year was 27%, compared to 60% in 2018. That ought to tell you something. Passive aggression ruled the 2022 Election.