Normalizing democracy in the United States
Don't misunderstand the message from the polls. The polls report likely voter and registered voter margins. The gap between these two reflects the reality than many who can vote do not.
Why do so many eligible voters fail to vote? Listen to the barrage of political advertisements. So much money is being spent on these ads. Citizens United opened corporate coffers to assist Republicans. But the goal of corporate spending is not necessarily to persuade. It is meant also to discourage voter participation through spreading cynicism.
Union activists are familiar with this strategy. Managers facing union drives seek to quash workers' hope for change and confidence in their capacity to effect change. Corporate funding of political advertisements is partly dedicated to undermining voters' sense of efficacy.
The registered voter margins for President Obama imply that he has a potential majority of five points or so. Of course, there are many eligible voters who have not registered, certain that voting does not improve their lives. If the "unlikely" voters and eligible but unregistered citizens participated in this election, the probable result would be an even larger Obama victory.
More below the imaginary fold.
A former Republican speechwriter made an interesting distinction to me in a chat at Starbucks. He pointed out that the conservative party in Canada has reached out to immigrant minorities and has made gains in those communities. He implied that the Republicans have not. Ironic, isn't it, that the US Republican party, founded by abolitionists and exiled German radicals (among others), now seeks power through a strategy of discouraging and suppressing turnout?
The "get out the vote" efforts of the Obama campaign expand voter participation and enlarge democracy. This process is more important than any individual decision of an Obama administration. It promises a "normalized" democracy where neither major party is the instrument of a tiny collection of oligarchs. The citizens of the United States need a conservative party. But not one committed to shrinking democracy and destroying the power of government to help ordinary people.