Sanders: poor people don't vote

[Jjz1109]

So on this morning's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, a conciliatory Bernie Sanders stated that he has lost support because "Poor people don't vote. Pure and simple." He went on to state that 75% of poor people (he didn't clarify who the "poor" are) didn't vote in the last presidential election.

Is this an excuse for why Bernie hasn't garnered more support, presumably with his message targeting the little guy, or is this just a fact, as he states? If it is just a fact, why is that, with all the efforts over years to boost voter registration and get people into the voting booth?

 

[BillM]

So on this morning's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, a conciliatory Bernie Sanders stated that he has lost support because "Poor people don't vote. Pure and simple." He went on to state that 75% of poor people (he didn't clarify who the "poor" are) didn't vote in the last presidential election.

Is this an excuse for why Bernie hasn't garnered more support, presumably with his message targeting the little guy, or is this just a fact, as he states? If it is just a fact, why is that, with all the efforts over years to boost voter registration and get people into the voting booth?

Well how the hell did Obama get in twice???? Bill

 

[keenobserver]

So on this morning's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, a conciliatory Bernie Sanders stated that he has lost support because "Poor people don't vote. Pure and simple." He went on to state that 75% of poor people (he didn't clarify who the "poor" are) didn't vote in the last presidential election.

Is this an excuse for why Bernie hasn't garnered more support, presumably with his message targeting the little guy, or is this just a fact, as he states? If it is just a fact, why is that, with all the efforts over years to boost voter registration and get people into the voting booth?

It seems the revolution did not quite play put as expected.

 

[BIGBULL29]

Why in god's green earth would a poor person vote Republican??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Do you want to be tortured even more????????????????????????????????

 

[keenobserver]

Why in god's green earth would a poor person vote Republican??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Do you want to be tortured even more????????????????????????????????

Totally agree. However people have to be motivated to vote - even when it is in their best interests to vote one way or the others. Even great messages don't resonate with all the voters they were designed to reach. I do not know if Bernie is saying there are barriers to poor people voting that they have not been able to overcome (which may be a factor, but not THE factor) or if he does not understand why his message has not been better received by poor people than can vote, but choose not to.

 

[MisterB]

It would have been interesting to hear Bernie talk about what he's done in Congress to further an individual's ability to vote. I wish he had been pushed on that by the interviewer.

 

[Jjz1109]

Totally agree. However people have to be motivated to vote - even when it is in their best interests to vote one way or the others. Even great messages don't resonate with all the voters they were designed to reach. I do not know if Bernie is saying there are barriers to poor people voting that they have not been able to overcome (which may be a factor, but not THE factor) or if he does not understand why his message has not been better received by poor people than can vote, but choose not to.

If you saw interview, this was not what he was implying. He stated in a rather deflated tone that "poor people don't vote. Pure and simple. It's a fact." Yes, the revolution apparently fell flat on some, ironically the ones you could say with the most to benefit. So what happened? If they weren't motivated by a socialist proclaiming to right the ship (redistribution of wealth; free college; attacking Wall Street) then what WOULD motivate them? This was there biggest chance.

He said it matter of factly almost shrugging his shoulders. He made no reference to any perceived barriers or obstacles.

 

[Klingsor]

If you saw interview, this was not what he was implying. He stated in a rather deflated tone that "poor people don't vote. Pure and simple. It's a fact." Yes, the revolution apparently fell flat on some, ironically the ones you could say with the most to benefit. So what happened? If they weren't motivated by a socialist proclaiming to right the ship (redistribution of wealth; free college; attacking Wall Street) then what WOULD motivate them? This was there biggest chance.

I suppose if I were poor (oh wait, I kinda am), I might feel little incentive to vote within a system largely rigged against me, where I already feel disenfranchised--especially if a sub-standard education had left me ignorant of and oblivious to social and political issues. Or I might just be too preoccupied with putting bread on the table.

 

[Jjz1109]

I suppose if I were poor (oh wait, I kinda am), I might feel little incentive to vote within a system largely rigged against me, where I already feel disenfranchised--especially if a sub-standard education had left me ignorant of and oblivious to social and political issues. Or I might just be too preoccupied with putting bread on the table.

A system that's rigged? Lol. Sounds a little like trump.

So our substandard educational system is to blame for why the poor are not intelligent enough to acknowledge the importance of voting? Sorry klingsor, this sounds rather patronizing. Isn't it a slippery slope when we imply people aren't able to make decisions for themselves. This is a democracy.

 

[b.c.]

I suppose if I were poor (oh wait, I kinda am), I might feel little incentive to vote within a system largely rigged against me, where I already feel disenfranchised--especially if a sub-standard education had left me ignorant of and oblivious to social and political issues. Or I might just be too preoccupied with putting bread on the table.

Yes, and besides that feeling of disenfranchisement and lack of hope that much would change for them anyway, are possibly the logistics that make it extra difficult for some to exercise that right. Perhaps some don't have the kind of identification GOP voter suppression initiatives require them have, just to register. Perhaps some don't have transportation to get to polling places.

A visit to any traffic court reveals a courtroom consisting mostly of POOR people. That's because it costs money to maintain vehicles, repair and replace broken or inoperative tail lights, pay vehicle registration fees, maintain the vehicle to pass "brake inspection" and keep a current sticker on your car. And when caught with busted tail lights, expired stickers, etc. poor people get tickets, and they end up filling traffic courts and getting fined money they have little of in the first place, all part of the vicious cycle designed to keep poor people, POOR.

So perhaps some figure, why chance all of that to vote in a system that, to date, hasn't effected much change or benefit for them ANYWAY??

 

[phonehome]

It is not really a matter of "motivation" per se it is more a matter of difficulty maybe extreme difficulty and has been made that way "on purpose" by those in power that would just as soon you did not vote in the first place.

Lets just say you are a low wage worker getting minimum wage or close to it working in some "service industry" job, retail or what not and you have to be at work at a workplace that may not be anywhere close to your precinct by 8 AM 9 at latest and have to be at work until at least 5 or 6 maybe later if your boss makes you work over time. Because of all the things you have to do in the morning, getting the kids up and off to school and the time it takes you to get to work it is very likley that you can not vote before work, you get only an hour for lunch and if your polling location is any distance away and you are using public transportation IE "the bus" to get to and from work (which many poor people do) there is no way you are going to be able to go and vote and be back at work in just an hour. After work you are everyone like you is going to have to try and vote in that hour or two after you get home from work especially if you are in a state where polls close as early as 7PM and few are later than 8PM which leads to those long lines the news loves to show, now most states say that if you are in line at the poll closing time may get to vote "eventually" IF you can afford to wait around that long. IF those limited number of voting machines that are the main reason for those long lines all keep functioning and that is assuming that you could go at all because normally you have to as soon as you get home pick up the kids from what "day care" type of thing they have been in since school let out or otherwise take care of the kids.

On the other hand you are rich or at least not poor, which means you are some kind of "boss" so if you want to show up late or leave for a while during the middle of the day or leave early so you can vote "on the way home" it is pretty likley that you can do that. If you are a woman you either are a "stay at home mom" or some kind in some kind of job where you "work from home" telecommuting or something like that or you set your own hours, selling real estate for example and/or you have a nanny or something of nature who will take care of the kids in the morning or after school and because the Ken Blackwell's of the world are not trying to "keep you from voting" they have not closed any polling locations in and around where you live and they all have more than enough voting machines, often taken from those precincts that now do not have enough which results in those long lines which means for you voting takes mere minutes and not hours plus it is not likely you are "depending on the bus" for transportation

So add all that up and that is why "poor people don't vote" and I think that is what he was getting at.

 

[Jjz1109]

We can all guess at what he meant. He clearly did not specify during the interview. One would think that if he meant there were social barriers, he would have included that in his statement, and not leave it at "Poor people don't vote. Pure and simple." He almost seemed to be blaming them for not supporting him enough, or his revolutionary platform. It was awkward, unclear.

 

[Boobalaa]

A system that's rigged? Lol. Sounds a little like trump.

So our substandard educational system is to blame for why the poor are not intelligent enough to acknowledge the importance of voting? Sorry klingsor, this sounds rather patronizing. Isn't it a slippery slope when we imply people aren't able to make decisions for themselves. This is a democracy.

This is not a democracy when corporations are declared people by a Citizens United ruling. Money Talks. Do Poor people have as much money than corporations.
Have you not been following along with the whole inequality argument?
Countries with a vibrant middle class are better off than countries without a vibrant middle class.
Does the USA have a vibrant middle class?
Last time I checked, the inequality gap in this country is where it was in 1928.
You seem to be full of your usual woulda, coulda , he almost seem to be's, one would think he wouldve's.. pomposities this morning; gloating and gleaming with righteous indignation..
The man answered the question.."One" could ponder how he would've answered the question asked differently, couldn't one?
Your hard wired perception filters what you see and hear, and what you want to see and hear..and believe..like This is a Democracy..

 

[MisterB]

^I've heard so much speculation from the political pundits about what Bernie meant, which ironically, means nothing for me. I want to hear it from Bernie's lips. I think it would go a long way to stem the criticism that Bernie is a problem identifier with no solutions.

Which is exactly why I would have liked Chuck Todd to have asked Bernie to expand on the statement "Because poor people don't vote". A simple followup of What so you mean? or Why do you feel poor people don't vote? Then follow on that line of questioning with the how would you engage more voters, specifically poor voters?

I think it would have been fair game to ask what he's done to promote more people to vote.

 

[keenobserver]

^I've heard so much speculation from the political pundits about what Bernie meant, which ironically, means nothing for me. I want to hear it from Bernie's lips. I think it would go a long way to stem the criticism that Bernie is a problem identifier with no solutions.

Which is exactly why I would have liked Chuck Todd to have asked Bernie to expand on the statement "Because poor people don't vote". A simple followup of What so you mean? or Why do you feel poor people don't vote? Then follow on that line of questioning with the how would you engage more voters, specifically poor voters?

I think it would have been fair game to ask what he's done to promote more people to vote.

Promoting the vote is something Democrats have been dropping the ball on for sometime. Except when Obama ran the get out the vote efforts that I have seen have been weak, both nationally and locally. I'm not picking on Bernie per se, because I've been seeing it for years. When the wars over IDs started, I appreciate that most organizations put efforts into court battles to overturn the laws. However I felt then, and I do now that they should have also put a greater effort into getting people registered in spite of those laws. That effort was sadly lacking. When Howard Dean was DNC chair there were better efforts made to get people out to vote. Since then, not so much.

 

[Klingsor]

A system that's rigged? Lol. Sounds a little like trump.

More like Sanders--which, in this context, is the more apt comparison.

So our substandard educational system is to blame for why the poor are not intelligent enough to acknowledge the importance of voting? Sorry klingsor, this sounds rather patronizing.

In many states, public school funding is apportioned based on local property taxes, virtually guaranteeing that poor students, already at a disadvantage, will receive a substandard education.

In Public Education, Edge Still Goes to Rich

While this disparity doesn't directly determine voter turnout, it's easy to imagine an informed, enfranchised electorate being more involved in the political process.

Isn't it a slippery slope when we imply people aren't able to make decisions for themselves. This is a democracy.

People don't make decisions in a vacuum, but based on knowledge and experience. If you grow up with a limited horizon of expectations, your decisions are likely to be similarly limited.

 

[Boobalaa]

@MisterB ; concur, maybe one reason for Mr. Todd's remissive questioning, was his memory of Sander's quick one line comeback answers..such as "Are you a Socialist?"; Sander's ; " Do you ask others if they are Capitalists' ; If so what type of Capitalist are they?"
All the past Todd-Sanders Meet the Press interviews are on YouTube
Mr.Todd, "just didn't want to go there"..

 

[MisterB]

One advantage of being "mature" is that I remember "Get out the Vote", "Rock the Vote", etc. New voters become eligible every day. It is imperative to get them registered. It is more imperative that they take the next step and VOTE. That's where the disconnect seems to be.

Here's a little anecdote. My father was no Bill Clinton supporter. First time I visited after the election in 1992, my father said something disparaging about him (don't remember what). Rather than argue with my dad, I simply asked him if he had voted for President Bush. He replied he did not vote, because he was afraid of getting called for jury duty.

I remember the look on my mother's face when I told my dad that sorry, but since he did not exercise his right to vote, he had no right to complain about the President. Stuttering and stammering, he reluctantly admitted that I was right.

So yeah, voting is imperative to me. I am proud that I have voted in every election since 1972. Even the lower level county and school board seats. I believe if you don't vote, you have no right to complain.

 

[MisterB]

@MisterB ; concur, maybe one reason for Mr. Todd's remissive questioning, was his memory of Sander's quick one line comeback answers..such as "Are you a Socialist?"; Sander's ; " Do you ask others if they are Capitalists' ; If so what type of Capitalist are they?"
All the past Todd-Sanders Meet the Press interviews are on YouTube
Mr.Todd, "just didn't want to go there"..

I see your point. Indeed, Mr. Todd may have just been amazed at the simple honesty in the answer. I don't know.

Or, perhaps Mr. Todd needs a journalism 101 refresher...look at the interview Jon Karl on ABC did with Charles Koch. He got some good sound bites because he did ask the difficult questions in followup.

 

[Klingsor]

I remember the look on my mother's face when I told my dad that sorry, but since he did not exercise his right to vote, he had no right to complain about the President.

And conversely, I would add: If you don't complain, you have no right to vote.