The country is not divided down the middle.

[Baitball Blogger]

The country leans democratically. But the problem is that the Republican's smaller minority is much better at voting consistently in our elections; and much better at working the system to suppress the vote for Democrats.

And then there is too large a proportion of Americans who call themselves apolitical, and don't vote at all.

[saidsimplesimon]

1. Yes, I agree.

The Democrats who take a defeatist attitude, "my vote doesn't count, it's rigged, etc. " should do their civic duty and vote. imo

[eleny]

2. We can never ever have a midterm election like 2010 when too many didn't bother to vote

[NewJeffCT]

7. What Trump and Avenatti have proven

is that you need to be able to grab the media attention and hold it.

The best parts of the trump economy are leftover from Obama, yet Trump is out there every day bragging about how he saved America and the economy and it's never been better. He may be an idiot about most important issues, but he's great at self promotion and his repeating it every day sinks in with not only Republicans, but moderates that don't pay a lot of attention.

As smart, stable and steady as Obama was, he rarely boasted about his administration's accomplishments. He should have been out there every day saying how he saved America and the world from the Bush economy, and that things are getting better and have only been slowed down by Republicans in Congress. They also waited too long to put a human face on Obamacare (i.e., the baby that was diagnosed as obese at 6 months old, and therefore thrown off of health insurance and given a pre-existing condition that will last a lifetime). If Obama did not want to brag, Biden should have been doing it, or else somebody on his staff should be doing this via Twitter, Facebook, etc.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. they also have a much more effective, lock step, fear based noise machine.

they thrive on short slogans and simple messages. we all know real life is more nuanced, but reality does not translate well to the right's simple lies...er, slogans.

[unitedwethrive]

4. A big part of it is that the repubs put people who are likely to vote Democratic into positions

where it is hard for them to vote. I'm not just talking voter suppression and gerrymandering. By keeping the middle and lower classes so financially fragile, it is nearly impossible for many to take off of work to vote, or to get transportation to the polls. And more importantly, people who are living pay check to pay check are often wrapped up in their own survival, and that of their families. It is hard to be drowning and stop and think about the bigger picture.

[maxsolomon]

5. Republicans have been better at buying consent of the governed.

They have built a political machine with endless resources: Media, Think Tanks, candidate training, churches. That machine is concerned with Power with a capital P, and nothing else.

[GoCubsGo]

6. We have had the same division we have had for well over 100 years.

As my late father pointed out, there has always been the 30-33% bed-wetting, right-wing nutjobs, who need a daddy to tell them how to get through life, and then there's the rest of us. That is what we have now. Only the MSM and social media have amplified the 30-percenters to where they seem like there are a lot more of them than there are.

[Initech]

8. The problem is that the GOP is much better at spreading the propaganda.

They literally own all of our media. He who owns the media decides who gets elected.