Meet Your Average Rick Santorum Supporter

[speciallyblend]

the gop deserves obama!

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

another reason to go 3rd party

Or no party

the gop deserves obama!

Yes it does

 

[Tyler_Durden]

Sovereign Citizenship seems to be more and more appealing these days......

 

[juvanya]

One of my friends has a friend (a girl), who supported Bachmann and now supports Santorum (since Iowa). I dont know her other than a few interactions on facebook, so I havent a clue her logic behind all that.

 

[tbone717]

In 2016 or 2020, we are going to need to reach people like the one referred to in the OP and persuade them to vote for our candidate. Rather than mocking him, wouldn't it be more profitable to find out ways to better reach them?

From the conversation posted, you can see that the voter is driven primarily by emotion: "I like what I hear him say...I believe he will change the direction of the country." This is perception driven, rather than issue driven voting. It is not that this person stated a list or two or three things that Santorum would do as President, instead it is the delivery of Santorum's message that won his vote; "not rehearsed right wing answers".

So what can we learn from this? How do we reach people like this the next time we have a candidate for the nomination? I believe that it is by meeting people where they are and communicating to them in a means that inspires them. A voter like this is not won over by policy, they are won over by the presentation of that policy. There is no reason that folks like this cannot be reached - they are not a lost cause as some here might suggest. Instead the libertarian-conservative message simply needs to be expressed in a way that stirs up positive emotions as well as being ideologically sound.

 

[unknown]

Yes...they are. I corrected him on that...

I'm just saying, this guy DOES NOT care about their voting records.

And this is why America is f*cked. The sheeple continue to elect POLITICIANS based on their RHETORIC and NOT their RECORDS.

It will take a complete collapse and mass hysteria to wake people up.

Hit him with this, isnt morality part of being a good Christian?

Santorum:

* Sided with the unions and voted against Right to Work.
* In just two years, 2003-04, he cosponsored 51 Bills to increase spending.
* Voted for No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D.
* Voted for the Bridge to Nowhere.
* Voted to raise his own pay at-least 3 times in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
* Voted to fund abortions via family planning/Title X.
* Campaigned for pro-choice candidates Specter and Whitman.
* Owned by the lobbyists via the K Street Project.
* Named "most corrupt" Senator in 2006 by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.
* Suffered the worst loss as an incumbent in Pennsylvania state history.

 

[JohnM]

A voter like this is not won over by policy, they are won over by the presentation of that policy.

That is an important point. Ron Paul supporters tend to be people whose vote is determined largely by policy and by the stance of the candidates on the issues. To some extent, this is true of most voters, but the extent to which policy affects voters varies considerably.

Based on my own experience of speaking to family members, two things strike me.

1) Even intelligent, highly educated people are very partisan, and will make up their mind what they think of a candidate, and what they think of a policy, based on party loyalty. If the Democratic Party (or the GOP) says something, they accept it. And even if they disagree with what their party says, they will often fail to realize that their own opinions are closer to the candidate of the other party.

2) Intelligent, highly educated people who do care about the issues often vote simply on how they perceive the candidate's personal qualities - particularly whether they perceive someone to be "strong" or to have good managerial skills. I don't think that this is totally unreasonable, but I think a lot of people like this tend to be swayed by how charismatic a candidate is. I think Barack Obama's ability to be "inspiring" swayed a lot of intelligent people who didn't look too closely behind the rhetoric.

Speaking for myself, I'm pretty much policy driven, but I do admit that partisanship has influenced me. I come from a family that were all very staunch Democrats, and I continued to think of myself as a Democrat even when I probably was closer on the GOP on policy until I finally realized that in actual fact, I had very little in common with the Democratic Party.

And as for personal qualities, I must confess that there are some candidates that I like as people and some I don't like as people, and that would certainly influence my vote.

 

[Lishy]

I want Santorum as prez just so we can say "We told you so!"

 

[tbone717]

And this is why America is f*cked. The sheeple continue to elect POLITICIANS based on their RHETORIC and NOT their RECORDS.

Honestly, it has been that way for a very long time. Most Americans lead very busy lives and paying attention to politics is low on many people's priority list. This happens to be our passion, but for most people it is not.

Knowing this, it is important for any candidate to have the ability to sell themselves to the voters. Meeting people where they are, rather than expecting people to come to them. My biggest complaint about Paul and the campaign is that they never focused on targeting the message to the voters in a way that they can understand it and embrace it. Painting a positive vision for the future of the country through libertarian principles is what will inspire people to go to the polls and cast their vote for our candidates.

 

[parocks]

And this is why America is f*cked. The sheeple continue to elect POLITICIANS based on their RHETORIC and NOT their RECORDS.

It will take a complete collapse and mass hysteria to wake people up.

Hit him with this, isnt morality part of being a good Christian?

Santorum:

* Sided with the unions and voted against Right to Work.
* In just two years, 2003-04, he cosponsored 51 Bills to increase spending.
* Voted for No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D.
* Voted for the Bridge to Nowhere.
* Voted to raise his own pay at-least 3 times in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
* Voted to fund abortions via family planning/Title X.
* Campaigned for pro-choice candidates Specter and Whitman.
* Owned by the lobbyists via the K Street Project.
* Named "most corrupt" Senator in 2006 by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.
* Suffered the worst loss as an incumbent in Pennsylvania state history.

Well, we don't really care about any of that. Because <1144 is where it's at. Anything to get us to Tampa. And Santorum isn't getting 1144. So if that Santorum supporter wants to support Santorum, that's fine.

What state is that fella in? Santorum needs to beat Romney. The strategic voting worked in Alabama and Mississippi. We should've gotten 10% and no delegates, instead we got 5% and no delegates. But Santorum and Gingrich both beat Romney. And that gets us closer to <1144.

 

[123tim]

send that person this video. don't explain it.

Just providing a public service announcement to tell everyone that Lemmings don't actually do this....


It's Disney propaganda. It's not true, and the Lemmings were actually forced off of the cliff during filming.

 

[TC95]

Your friend said,

"I just like what I hear him say and how he answers questions...from the heart."

He can stop right there. He has no idea what's in Santorum's heart. How does he know he's not just a really good liar? He doesn't because he refuses to take an honest look at his voting record. I'd tell him that he needs to stop listening to what politicians SAY and start looking at what they DO.

 

[coffeewithchess]

Your friend said,

"I just like what I hear him say and how he answers questions...from the heart."

He can stop right there. He has no idea what's in Santorum's heart. How does he know he's not just a really good liar? He doesn't because he refuses to take an honest look at his voting record. I'd tell him that he needs to stop listening to what politicians SAY and start looking at what they DO.

You don't have to explain this to me, I already understand...he cannot be bothered with facts, history, videos, or anything else that bursts his protected bubble.

 

[coffeewithchess]

Please post the whole conversation. We need more laughs around here.

You would need blood pressure medicine, and mine is high enough today as it is...

 

[na_golfball]

Your friend said,

"I just like what I hear him say and how he answers questions...from the heart."

He can stop right there. He has no idea what's in Santorum's heart. How does he know he's not just a really good liar? He doesn't because he refuses to take an honest look at his voting record. I'd tell him that he needs to stop listening to what politicians SAY and start looking at what they DO.

As a Christian I can tell you that, "...from the heart" phrase is irritating because so many Christians jump on bandwagons (Kony 2012) without looking into the issue. Its like they assume because this guy is Catholic/Protestant he'd never lie to me, so what he says must be true. People in general don't judge by action enough, they take someone's word as truth.

 

[coffeewithchess]

As a Christian I can tell you that, "...from the heart" phrase is irritating because so many Christians jump on bandwagons (Kony 2012) without looking into the issue. Its like they assume because this guy is Catholic/Protestant he'd never lie to me, so what he says must be true. People in general don't judge by action enough, they take someone's word as truth.

Propaganda goes a long way, as does a well presented idea/presentation (see Kony). While Santorum has had the help of the media, in that the media has looked down upon RP and belittled him/the campaign at every turn.
You are correct though, the majority of voters do not look at ACTIONS (voting records, history), they only hear/listen to what the media/candidates say. So, if the media repeatedly says, "RP blames America for 9/11" "RP blames American for 9/11" and "RP is an isolationist"...the campaign has to do SOMETHING from RP's own mouth, REPEATEDLY to destroy the lies that they spread.

The very same people on my Facebook group that like/support Santorum, will not read a voting record, and will not "google" anything. They won't even watch videos posted, and use logic/reason in discussing actual topics like the national debt and foreign policy. It defaults to the talking points they have heard repeatedly, "I agree with RP about 90% of the things, but 10% I don't and can't vote for him because of it." (see: Hannity has said the same thing...REPEATEDLY)
When you ask them, "Oh, well have you read the 9/11 Commission Report?" .....silence
"Have you called your Congressman lately?" silence.

They will go and say, "But RP is weak on the drug issue and thinks people are maybe born gay." to which I say, "As the government gets bigger, the church gets smaller."