Who Are The Undecideds?
It's a question we've seen popping up all over the place lately, and it's a pretty serious question. As rational progressives on this side, it's hard for us to believe anyone can look at the two candidates for president and be in any way undecided who is the best person for the job. Increasingly, we're seeing that even the GOP rank and file are fleeing the sinking ship like the rats we've been calling them for years, finally revealing themselves. But then there's this huge group of undecideds, and we can't even fathom (in an election like this) that anyone could still be undecided. And it was brought even further to the forefront when Mr. Undecided himself, Ken Bone, said after that second election that he was even MORE undecided than he was going into the debate.
Well, I have a theory that sort of occurred to me looking at this amazing poll:
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/texas-news/new-poll-trump-lead-shrinks-in-texas-within-margin-of-error/335896258
Where Trump's lead in Texas (yes, Texas) has sunk to within the margin of error, and there was this little graphic:
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Showing 5% undecided (which if they all voted for Clinton would hand her the state according to that poll).
Full disclosure, I'm a Canadian, but my in laws live in Houston TX, so I've spent a goodly amount of time in TX and I've chatted with folks on both side of the political spectrum. The hubby's immediate family are all pretty liberal (and are all super-supportive of our gay marriage!) but some of the extended family is super Republican, and I've chatted with a lot of them.
Is it possible that the undecideds are really rank-and-file Republicans, people who have voted and registered as GOP for so many years that they just do it reflexively at this point? Basically ideological inertia carrying the GOP vote in many places? These traditionally GOP voters are now looking at their nominee and they're thinking, "What the actual hell is going on here? The GOP nominated this?" and they can't bring themselves to vote for him. Sure, they may hate Clinton because of the thin gruel of hate and fear they've been fed by their party and the right-wing "news" media and talk radio for so long, but they just can't look at Trump and say, "Yeah, I'll vote for him." So, they're letting people know that they're undecided whether or not they're going to hold their nose in November and vote for the nominee of their party (that they're more than a little disgusted by), or the nominee of the OTHER party (ideological suicide, but they can't deny she has experience and is eminently qualified), or a third party (most like Johnson who looks more and more foolish and dim-witted every day).
Is that who the undecideds are? I just can't believe that in this age of ready information that people just can't decide between a qualified person that they personally dislike and a deeply unqualified and odious person they also personally dislike, but who heads the party they happen to have supported in the past.
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