On 2012-03-11, at 8:06 PM, Joseph Catron wrote:
> You said:
>
> The question, of course, is whether the "small differences" between Obama
> and a (chastened) second term Bush administration or a Romney
> administration have "large effects". Depends on your standpoint. If you're
> poor and powerless, non-white, or have liberal rather than conservative
> social values, you'd be inclined to agree.
>
> Have I somehow misread your words, which seem clear enough? You're saying
> that those who are "poor and powerless, non-white, or have liberal rather
> than conservative social values" are most likely to see "large effects" in
> alleged differences between the two parties, correct?
Yes. That's a fact, not a judgement. These constituencies are strongly Democratic. It's not a congenital condition. If they cease seeing differences between the two parties, they would move towards a third.
> Unless I've
> misunderstood you completely, I can only repeat that, with the exception of
> your last category (which makes the whole set seem a bit random), actual
> historical turnout at the polls would seem to indicate the opposite.
You do seem to have misunderstood me completely. What historical turnout are you alluding to?