Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedAre Democrats raising more money online than Republicans because they are more popular or Web-savvy?
Results so far:
| Popular | 64% | 52 votes | Total: 81 votes | |
| Web-savvy | 36% | 29 votes |
Popular
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesThe majority of Republicans are people over forty. It's well known that people under that age are more Internet oriented. This is not to say that the over forty crowd is not Internet Savvy, it's just to say that they do not look to the Internet for the majority of their news. I would dare say that the over forty right wingers get more of their news from Fox News and talk radio.
Younger people are seeking their news from places like "You Tube". They tend to be attracted to far left blogs and websites. This is not the article to mention how they are being misinformed from these sites. I should rather go on to talk about how thinking changes as one ages.
When one is younger, under forty, you tend to be more idealistic. You think anything can be achieved by talking. You see the world through the eyes of a socialist. You want to share the wealth. You still have hope that you can create a utopia like world. I sometimes wish I could return to that way of thinking, but its just not possible for the world, at least at this stage, to become Utopia.
The opposite is true when you get older and begin to earn a living, raising a family. You struggle and come to appreciate the monies you have earned. The last thing you want to do is hand it over to a government that has a long history of misspending. The left claims to mistrust government, but at every turn they want to raise taxes and give the government more money instead of demanding for accountability. Obviously Republicans haven't done well at managing the money either. Thats why many weren't reelected. Thats one reason the Democrats took control of congress.
This brings us to donations. Republicans tend to send larger amounts than their younger, Internet, counterparts. They also, my opinion, tend to donate more by snail mail and through party functions. Typically Republicans are higher wage earners, excluding this writer who is broke.
The Democrats seem to see their getting donations from Internet users better for some reason. I can see only that it shows them that they are hitting their target group, younger voters. The only problem with this is that young people tend to vote less than the over forty crowd. Although, there is some evidence to show that this trend is changing, or at least so in this election.
Learn more about this author, Tammy Crain.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Web-savvy
I actually believe that neither choice is appropriate, however I know that Democrats know where their target audience is.
Democrats generally target younger voters like college students that are idealistic, but not necessarily well informed. They know that some of the best places that people that vote Democrat go is places like news websites like CNN, New York Times, or even American Online (which is basically just CNN's headlines being repeated). These websites specialize in quick encapsulated articles meant to give the most information with the least number of words (and greatest number of ads!). This suits a party well that prefers to use buzzwords over actual facts.
Now, Republicans do their share of web campaigning, but they know that a majority of their voters are blue collar workers, farmers, or just people that would rather do other things than read. They prefer to use television, because it's easier to find programming that they can use on their target voters. Show an ad during a NASCAR race or wrestling event and you're bound to keep your voters where you want them. However, they do use Foxnews.com for the same reasons why the Democrats would use the above mentioned sites.
Personally, I prefer to get my information about coming elections from my favorite news site: The Onion (http:www.theonion.c om). All of their news is completely bogus and satirical. I always know what to expect from them. However, somewhere among their lies I find truth.
Learn more about this author, David Furritus.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- US Elections (Other)
- Should lobbyists be allowed to make campaign contributions to politicians?
- Is eighteen too young to vote?
- Should eligible voters be able to register to vote online?
- Should members of Congress be prohibited from raising money from people outside of their district or state?
- Can winning the presidential debates affect the election outcome?
- Does negative campaigning between candidates lead to less voter participation?
