Althouse: Some people will never understand us "undecideds."

July 21, 2018

Some people will never understand us "undecideds."

How will you vote in the 2018 mid-term elections?
— PollingAmerica🇺🇸 (@PollingAmerica) July 21, 2018

52 comments:

Henry said...: HAHA, they almost made me vote for Twitter.; 7/21/18, 5:30 PM
gspencer said...: "Straight Democrat"

Good one. Is anyone in the Democrat Party really straight anymore? More like a clown car,

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-laVartYwPGQ/TnIJExkG_yI/AAAAAAAAliY/lxA1ZeNy8do/s1600/RepublicanCandidatesClownCar.jpg

Here's Rosa DeLauro, Democrat, Connecticut,

http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Rosa+Delauro+House+Holds+Hearing+Corporation+V7GTCKJzYvwl.jpg; 7/21/18, 5:37 PM
Eleanor said...: We haven't held our primaries yet so I'm not sure. I'd like to replace our senator, but until I know which Republican wins the primary, I'm not committed to vote for anyone of them. If the Democrats tank Kavanaugh, I'd probably vote for any Republican. If the Republicans tank Kavanaugh, I might vote for Whitehouse in anger. The reality is whoever wins Providence will win. That usually means the Democrats, but the whole state is mad at "Outhouse". For different reasons, but a half-decent Republican candidate has a half-decent chance this time. Look for the Republicans to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. There's an independent with a shot at being our congressman. The current fellow has the "sympathy vote", but people aren't as sympathetic as they were when they elected him the first time. Most of Providence is in the other district so the rubes have a chance out here in the sticks.; 7/21/18, 5:42 PM
traditionalguy said...: Undecided, are you lying to me?; 7/21/18, 5:43 PM
Shane said...: LGBTQ&U!
Welcome to the party, Undecideds!; 7/21/18, 5:47 PM
Earnest Prole said...: As Admiral Ackbar said, “It’s a trap!”; 7/21/18, 5:50 PM
Big Mike said...: Straight Republican, because I haven’t seen any Democrat who isn’t batshit crazy since November 9, 2016.; 7/21/18, 5:54 PM
Francisco D said...: I just registered to vote in Arizona and realized that I have been an "Independent" since 1971.

I have rarely voted for Democrats after 1984. There is no way I will vote for those hacks ever again.

Arizona has two of the worst GOP senators - McCain and Flake. Luckily they are not on the ballot nor will they ever be again. I can rest easy.

It's going to be Republican from here on out. Even their failed politicians do less damage than the (MSM driven) "successful" Democrats.; 7/21/18, 5:57 PM
Gahrie said...: Straight Republican, because I haven’t seen any Democrat who isn’t batshit crazy since November 9, 2016.

Exactly what I'm thinking. The Left has simply got to be punished for their two year long temper tantrum. That should be one of the campaign messages: Should the Democrats be punished or rewarded for their behavior the last two years?; 7/21/18, 5:57 PM
Etienne said...: I no longer vote for incumbents.

Clear the decks. Roll the Duck Boats.; 7/21/18, 5:58 PM
Etienne said...: Henry said...HAHA, they almost made me vote for Twitter.

Yep, can't participate there - bunch of puffers.; 7/21/18, 6:01 PM
robother said...: Maybe Straight Democrats are like the Soccer Moms of old.; 7/21/18, 6:03 PM
ALP said...: Any posters here that have been called up for jury duty 5 times (or more) like I have? I know tons of people who really want to do it - they don't get called, ever. And the only time I meet others who have been called up as frequently as I have - is in the jury waiting room. Random my ass - it appears that once the system decides it likes YOU for jury duty, you end up getting chosen repeatedly.

AND - to add insult to injury - the system has a knack for choosing me at the worst possible times, like during the craziest time of the year for our practice area. I was unemployed/underemployed during the recession for about 5 years. Did they call me up when I had tons of time to spare: NO! The second I finally get back into the job market - summons in my mailbox. This. Ends. Here.

I mention this because I am seriously considering not registering to vote the next time I move. Five times is enough for jury duty, and I want out. When everyone around me has been called up 5 times - I'll put myself back in the pool. Living in Washington state - just outside Seattle, is a sea of solid blue. The state won't miss my blue vote, and my contrarian third-party votes don't result in anything tangible that I can see. By taking myself out of the voter registration pool, I won't be chosen again - hopefully.; 7/21/18, 6:07 PM
gadfly said...: Primary Ballots are constructed along party lines in Indiana but then things get weird.

- Details of voting in congressional and state primary elections:
- Affiliation with a party is not required to vote in primaries. However, voters can only choose the primary ballot of the party who received a majority of their [eek! his or her] votes in the previous general election, and voter records are kept as public information.
- If a voter did not vote in the last general election, they [IN.ORG writers need to lose pronouns] must "intend to vote for the majority of the nominees on their [again!] desired party's ballot."
- Voters can be challenged by another eligible voter on suspicion of perjury.
This system is an attempt to get voters to vote along party lines, but is not easily enforceable.

So none of your choices [except being forced not to vote] work for me. I cannot vote straight Republican because I would have to vote for the U.S. Senate candidate who ran as an unquestioning, brainless Trumpite.; 7/21/18, 6:09 PM
The Bergall said...: "I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's."

Mark Twain; 7/21/18, 6:22 PM
Eleanor said...: Not registering to vote does not keep you out of the jury pool. They use all kinds of databases to compile a list including drivers' licenses. Having been called up before guarantees you're already on the list. Not registering to vote won't take you off. You pretty much have to move out of state.; 7/21/18, 6:32 PM
Gahrie said...: So none of your choices [except being forced not to vote] work for me. I cannot vote straight Republican because I would have to vote for the U.S. Senate candidate who ran as an unquestioning, brainless Trumpite.

That's OK...we're probably going to take that seat anyway.; 7/21/18, 6:38 PM
n.n said...: LGBTQ&U!

The transgender spectrum is exclusive and characterized by #Labels. We can do better than political congruence ("=").; 7/21/18, 6:39 PM
Etienne said...: The way to get off of jury duty is to be hard of hearing.

Since my hearing is so bad, I sometimes look confused, or don't answer very fast, as I'm trying to process what I just heard.

Once, the judge stopped me, and asked if I understood the question, and I told him I was hard of hearing. He dismissed me on the spot.

I tell people that they have to speak loud, because all I can hear is jet engines from the 4000 hours I flew them. Women are especially hard, as their voice is right at 10,000 RPM.; 7/21/18, 6:41 PM
gadfly said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/21/18, 6:44 PM
Michael K said...: The Arizona primary is next month. I like Martha McSally and have heard some odd things about Kelli Ward but she may win the primary as Phoenix outvotes Tucson. I'm also concerned about the Tucson House seat. McSally has done a good job straddling the odd Tucson voter population but the Phoenix conservatives deride her as a "RINO." She is not but nobody could win Tucson (AZ2) with the policies being touted in Phoenix.

I am concerned about the Democrat who is said to have a lot of name recognition.; 7/21/18, 7:04 PM
MikeD said...: I live in"Red" CA, on the off chance. straight Republican save for US Senator. I'll vote DiFi's opponent so there's no more seniority with the seat.; 7/21/18, 7:07 PM
Michael K said...: I was on jury duty in Orange County once a few years ago.

The case was an obvious scam between the plaintiff and defendant, as insurance had denied coverage.

The jury pool all knew that it was a scam but during voir dire, the lawyer(I forget which one) asked the jury pool if anyone had ever been sued. Newport Beach is full of contractors so everybody raised their hands.

Then, during the quizzing of one juror, he blurted out that the plaintiff and defendant were obviously in cahoots. Pandemonium erupted and the judge declared a mistrial in voir dire.

Hilarious.

My FBI daughter was called one time and assumed she would be challenged as a lawyer and FBI agent. Instead, she wound up jury foreman.; 7/21/18, 7:09 PM
gadfly said...: @Gahrie said... responding to me

That's OK...we're (GOP) probably going to take that seat anyway.

Don't bet on it - we, the GOP, lost that seat the last time it was open because our candidate got tongue-tied answering a "right to life" question and so Joe Donnelly won. So now the Republicans are attacking his owning a factory in Mexico and his GOP opponent is being attacked for buying Chinese-manufactured stock for his auto parts business. So now we have Trump saying Donnelly voted against "our" tax cut when, in fact, seniors like me, aren't getting one but Trump will pull in hundreds of millions on the monstrously large give-away.; 7/21/18, 7:14 PM
Rabel said...: gadfly at 6:09, someone is pumping you a line of total bullshit. Are you too dull-witted to see the glaring problem with the "details" that you quoted?

I hope not.; 7/21/18, 7:27 PM
Michael K said...: "in fact, seniors like me, aren't getting one but Trump will pull in hundreds of millions on the monstrously large give-away."

So, you have a government pension ?

Most of us pay attention to the economy even if we are retired,; 7/21/18, 7:29 PM
ALP said...: Sigh - I do appreciate the tips on getting out of jury duty. Unfortunately, the 'hard of hearing' thing in a potential juror is addressed in our jurisdiction by supplying 'amplifiers' or whatever they are called. And I am aware that my driver's license could keep me in the potential pool - but I drive so little (under 3k miles a year) I have thought about letting my license lapse too.

And please tell me how $10 a day can even be called "compensation" with a straight face? My employer pays me for jury duty, but many do not. In Pierce county (where I live) the average household income is roughly half of Seattle (King County, just up the road). The financial impact on someone living paycheck to paycheck doing jury duty for a week is probably significant. I overhear the stressed out jurors worrying aloud how much less their paycheck will be due to the 'honor' of jury duty. It makes me want to pop a fucking artery during the whole "this is such an incredible opportunity you have here" speech during orientation, which now includes a required "by the way you are a closet racist no matter what you think your are" video.

Holographic or AI jurors. That is the Future! If I was on trial, I'd be happy to see a bunch of Data units (Star Trek NG) in the jury box.; 7/21/18, 7:38 PM
narciso said...: Yes synema is the blonde version of the other broke girl, miss ocasio Cortez,; 7/21/18, 7:48 PM
Big Mike said...: Most of us pay attention to the economy even if we are retired,

If for no other reason than the more people working, the more money Social Security collects to pay out to us retirees.; 7/21/18, 7:54 PM
Big Mike said...: Can any of you trial lawyers tell me whether jumping up and yelling “Hang the damned bastard!” would get me off?; 7/21/18, 7:57 PM
Jon Ericson said...: Sorry, can't vote. I don't have a twitter account.; 7/21/18, 8:03 PM
eric said...: Maybe they do understand undecideds.

And they way they get you to stop being so undecided is to scare the crap out of you with Russian collusion, shouts of treason, racism, sexism, homophobia.....

Just pick the one that scares you the most. That'll move you into the Dem camp, because they can stop it!; 7/21/18, 8:21 PM
Sebastian said...: Some of the undecideds may be the kind of people who vote for the "best person."

In congressional elections, you vote for a vote. You pick a team. If you don't know which team your prefer, stay home.; 7/21/18, 8:43 PM
buwaya said...: Re jury duty -
You could always claim to be an alien.
From outer space, for best results.; 7/21/18, 9:01 PM
Ambrose said...: This poll is homophobic.; 7/21/18, 9:21 PM
Michael K said...: Some of the undecideds may be the kind of people who vote for the "best person."

Some women called Hugh Hewitt one time during the Bush admin.

She claimed she "voted for the person, not the party."

He asked her who the vice president was. She didn't know.

I wonder if it was Inga ?; 7/21/18, 9:47 PM
Original Mike said...: Blogger Jon Ericson said...”Sorry, can't vote. I don't have a twitter account.”

Me neither.; 7/21/18, 10:16 PM
wildswan said...: It is homophobic but let's get down to it and figure out the correct way to say "straight party ticket". For example, "sheer" is a synonym for "straight" according to the internet. I like it; "Shirley, the sheer, how will you vote?:
Sheer Democrat. Sheer Republican. Both parties. Sheerly Not voting

But what about accurately polling Trumpsters? Leave the 'Crats off the questions and:
MAGA candidate. RINO candidate. I am lying. I am not answering at all.; 7/21/18, 10:34 PM
fizzymagic said...: There is a trick for jury duty in California. You are allowed to postpone your duty once up to six months each time you are called. And the summons come like clockwork every year. So arrange to have the call happen sometime after the end of June, and postpone to the week between Christmas and New Year's. Trials NEVER start during that week, so you have dodged a year. The same trick works reasonably well for the fourth of July, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving.; 7/21/18, 11:35 PM
J. Farmer said...: Straight immigration restriction. Every other issue is secondary to national suicide.; 7/22/18, 1:15 AM
FIDO said...: It is extraordinary.

As a Conservative, I am willing to trade DOUBLE Legal immigration rates for a Wall. I'm willing to discuss serious efforts at Amnesty...if we do e-verify for jobs.

But for whatever reason, the Left thinks that pictures of little foreign kids is going to Trump pictures of my own kids.

Since they rarely have kids (Ingas rants aside) I can understand their confusion at the interchangability of children.; 7/22/18, 2:52 AM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Blogger fizzymagic said...
There is a trick for jury duty in California.
This is the kind of thinking that makes immigrants from California despised pretty much everywhere else in the US. What you have just written, fizzymagic, is the equivalent of a Texan announcing that there is trick for occupying more parking places for your SUV.
No one, anywhere, likes jury duty (other than maybe retired school teachers) but to make a science of avoiding your community responsibilities? Pure Cali.; 7/22/18, 3:22 AM
Narayanan said...: If gun registry should come to pass, how would that database skew/screw/fit into jury pool selection system?; 7/22/18, 4:04 AM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Some years ago I served as a juror, in Kealakekua, Hawaii, on the Big Island. They picked nine jurors and three alternates. I was one of the alternates.
Two of my fellow jurors were filipinas. They wanted to be excused, because they didn't know English very well.
Their request was denied by the judge, a Japanese-Hawaiian. He has recently retired. His last name is . . . no, it is a small island. I won't say. His initials are "GH." He was ethnic Japanese, now retired as a judge.
The trial was for a local guy, last name Torres, for assault and attempted murder.
Mr. Torres had been driving around construction sites in Kona, selling smoked meat. At one site, a worker noticed that Mr. Torres's pickup truck looked an awful lot like a pickup truck that had been seen parked on a road in Honaunau, where and when several of his uncle's pigs had disappeared. A mighty battle followed, between Torres and his friends, and the construction worker and his friends, with the weapon of choice being rebar.
As an alternate juror, I was dismissed before deliberations began. I was happy about this. I couldn't believe the justice system was wasting my time with a case about a bunch of mokes beating the crap out of each other for pig rustling ("moke" is a derogatory term, BTW, in Hawaii, it means "islander"). No one was killed or crippled, and the Torres's were a notoriously bad local clan.
Mr. Torres avoided conviction. The jury let him off because it was such an odd thing to make a legal case about some privae beef between locals.
Later I found out that the police were out to get Mr. Torres because they thought he was a killer. An old hippy's bones had been found by the landfill in Kona, months old, gnawed and scattered by wild pigs. The last person the old hippy had been seen alive with was Torres. Torres was overheard talking to the old hippy, in a bar, about buying his moped. This was the last time the old hippy was seen alive, and Torres was seen driving around town on the old hippy's moped . . . but there was no evidence. The pigs had scattered the old hippy's bones.
The cops knew Torres was a killer and were charging him with everything they could, so I got called in for jury duty on a stupid case that wouldn't bring a conviction.
Six months after my jury let Mr. Torres go, Torres was convicted of incest and rape for molesting his cousin when she was 13, and he was 16.
The island people have a really good idea of who the bad people are. Don't cross them, they will get you.; 7/22/18, 4:16 AM
rhhardin said...: Democrat = block voting to block everything, so undecided is not likely. You want that or you don't.; 7/22/18, 4:45 AM
stlcdr said...: The question is, do you want politics as usual or do you want to get things done?

Both republicans and democrats are trying to keep everything working in their favor, but with Trump he has really mixed things up. I believe he has started us down the road of making things better. Change is always associated with chaos and humans are very good at dealing with chaos, on the whole. Politicians can’t forward their motives in chaos.

So, voting straight Republican or Democrat will tend to maintain a status quo. Unfortunately, there aren’t many alternatives.; 7/22/18, 4:48 AM
tim maguire said...: Is PolingAmerica a real outfit? "Undecided" is so fundamental to polling, I can't believe a professional polling group would forget it.; 7/22/18, 6:10 AM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: The fact that Democrats don’t take the obvious deals that are available on immigration that would be widely supported by the electorate and meet their own purported moral desires tells me that they have an entirely different agenda of replacing the current electorate and want nothing to interfere with that supreme goal.; 7/22/18, 6:46 AM
Josephbleau said...: Poll is quite glitchy; 7/22/18, 7:43 AM
dreams said...: Undecideds, clueless and damn proud of it.; 7/22/18, 8:24 AM
Jim at said...: Not registering to vote does not keep you out of the jury pool.

Correct. My younger brother refused to register because he thought that at one time. Imagine his surprise.; 7/22/18, 1:18 PM
gadfly said...: @Eleanor said...
Not registering to vote does not keep you out of the jury pool. They use all kinds of databases to compile a list including drivers' licenses. Having been called up before guarantees you're already on the list. Not registering to vote won't take you off. You pretty much have to move out of state.

Wrong. In Ohio and Wyoming, state law requires potential jurors to be registered to vote. No other criteria is considered.; 7/22/18, 3:31 PM