Why Are People are Paying More Attention to Politics?
Dan Riehl offers an interesting insight into the hullabaloo over the President’s address to schoolchildren and I highly recommend you read the whole thing. Noting that it is “a fascinating time to be both a close observer of politics and politically involved, he concludes with an observation that helps explain a number of recent phenomena:
People are watching in ways they might not have been for years. I doubt very much if they are going to like what they see, no matter what the short-term results happen to be.
Could it be the President proposing vast increases in the size and scope of the federal government that accounts for their greater interest in politics–and their discontent with the state of things?
Anyway, Dan has written an interesting post and I encourage you to read it and ponder his ideas and use the comments section either here or there to address the question I pose in the title to this post.
(H/t Glenn).
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Short answer, because politics is paying more attention to them.
Americans broadly don’t like having government involved in every detail of their lives, but that’s what’s happening. Obama’s Castro-esque address to the youth is just the latest manifestation.
People want the government to back the hell off and leave them alone. Until it does… there’s going to be more pushback.
Comment by V the K — September 4, 2009 @ 6:29 pm - September 4, 2009
If you’re unemployed and no one is hiring, what else is there to do (once you’ve tired of Jerry Springer)?
Comment by SoCalRobert — September 4, 2009 @ 8:37 pm - September 4, 2009
Both of the previous statements are correct.
This administration is politicizing everything and with 1/7 of the working population unemployed and underemployed, watching TV or websurfing are two of the cheaper ways to occupy your time.
Comment by LCRW — September 4, 2009 @ 9:23 pm - September 4, 2009
Because they feel threatened by their government.
Comment by American Elephant — September 4, 2009 @ 10:12 pm - September 4, 2009
Basically, number 1 above. People are paying more attention because there has never before been in our lifetimes such an attempt to usurp so much power in so little time. This has been coupled with out and out lies and poorly disguised disdain for the common citizen.
Joe
Comment by Joe — September 4, 2009 @ 10:14 pm - September 4, 2009
(once you’ve tired of Jerry Springer)
Not a whole helluva lot of difference between that and watching the libs.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — September 5, 2009 @ 5:15 am - September 5, 2009