As a Precinct Committee Officer, I've canvassed the few blocks around my house once or twice a year for the last few years, and I'm just starting to
kind of know a few of my neighbors. I'm in a nice neighborhood which, like many, rarely has anyone at home.
I do see one of my neighbors from time to time, and he knows that I'm a Democrat. He's a democratic voter, but like most folks, doesn't have a lot of time to follow what's going on in DC.
In talking to him recently, I realized something (and maybe it should have been obvious to me - I'm a little dense :). Follow me past the cut:
Here's my neighbor, a well-to-do, well-educated democratic voter, who asks me the occasional question about "the Party", usually on the subject of message or platform, or "have we gotten it together?".
Most recently, he asked me what the Democrats in DC were doing. And I stepped back with him for a moment to explore what he thought they were supposed to be doing.
Turns out, he was under the impression that Democrats had a lot more ability to get legislation voted on. He understood that we would most likely lose anything we brought up, but he thought we could at least be having those debates. (insert the sound of me slapping my forehead). I had to explain about how the Republicans control the Committees, and how the majority has quite a lot of control over what makes it to the floor.
I explained that the Republicans don't want to debate anything substantive (if they can help it) before the elections, and want to concentrate on stuff like flag burning, gay marriage, and generally "fear". And I emphasized the importance of getting a majority back in at least one chamber, so that the issues that are important to all Americans can get a chance.
My realization was this: even our own friendly voters don't necessarily get how this works. Heck, I probably don't have a great grasp on it. And if that's the case, how less-clued-in are casual voters?
And my conclusion: Never assume that people are starting from the same page as you - even if they're Democrats who pay attention to the news and vote regularly. They may have a very inflated opinion of what our folks in DC can do in the current circumstances, and a correspondingly exaggerated disappointment in them.