PPP just released a mixed-issue survey of Louisiana that illustrates how little rationality affects people's political decision-making.
While the toplines are interesting--Jindal favorable down to 35%, Vitter will likely be next guv, Coke preferred over Pepsi--the value of the poll is way below the fold, where we'll go now.
Our state's residents are rather famously odd. While self-ID'd Democrats lead 'Pubs 42-38, we consistently elect not only Republican candidates to state and local offices, but the most virulently, some say unhingedly, conservative 'Pubs. This despite a self-identification of "moderate" or "liberal" beating out proud "conservative" self-ID by 8 points.
This break between convictions and electoral results is even more marked when one examines the responses to issue questions.
Medical marijuana: 60-30 aye.
Same-sex marriage or civil union: 54-43
Emergency unemployment extension: 65-29
$10/hr minimum wage: 57-35
And yet, when asked about candidates for state and federal office, these same people choose Republicans over Democrats in every single matchup, candidates who run on the specific promise to deny these voters what they, in often large majorities, claim they support.
Do you like sandwiches? Love 'em. Do you want a sandwich? Yes, please; I'm actually really hungry. Here are two possible managers of the sandwich shop: Joe, who'll sell you a sandwich, and Fred, who promises, swears on his mother's honor, he will never, under any circumstances, allow you to eat a sandwich. Which one do you prefer? Well, that Fred guy seems like a good fellow. I guess I'll go with him.
In just about any other circumstance, this would be a classic illustration of cognitive dissonance, a quality Scott Fitzgerald once saw as a mark of genius. But in contemporary partisan politics, it can't realistically be called such, as it involves no cognition whatsoever.
Fewer and fewer voters, particularly, I'll venture, on the right, bother with thinking. Their choices are based on beliefs, not conclusions of logic.
Yes, I want a higher minimum wage, but I believe Democrats are always wrong, so I must vote against them. Yes, cancer patients should be able to smoke weed to keep their meals down, but Democrats are evil, so I must vote against them.
I wish there were a way to break this spell of belief-over-facts, but I am doubtful. Perhaps a more effective electoral strategy would be to abandon logic altogether and just flat out lie, say voting Democratic will make your sex life better and get you a Corvette and win God's blessing.
But, then, I'd be a Republican, so what's the point of that?