“If you’re reading this, you’re not normal.” That’s right; you’re not normal. Why? The vast majority of Americans don’t focus on politics. What can they tell us about 2024?
That’s the subtitle from the National Journal piece – its the bolding I did that’s the important bit. We here at GraniteGrok are NOT normal in that we live and breathe what the interaction of culture and politics is doing here in NH and in the US (and once in a while, internationally). The fact that you are here as a reader tells us that you, too, are paying attention. In fact, our Founding Fathers designed our political system to be DEPENDANT on an informed and moral electorate.
Are we?
At best, only one third of Americans pay close attention to politics. In a recent Marquette Law School poll, just 36 percent of respondents said they follow politics most of the time. Using different wording, a Grinnell College-Selzer poll from March found that 28 percent of Americans say they pay a lot of attention to political news.
There’s reason to think these numbers might be too high—that the actual proportion of Americans paying close attention to politics is lower. …
When it comes to paying attention to presidential campaigns, there is even more reason to think we dramatically overestimate how invested people are. Pew Research has asked respondents how much thought they have given to the candidates running for president in the lead-up to the last several presidential elections. In the summer of 2019, barely a quarter had given the candidates much thought. The figures were similar in mid-2015.
My take is that for MOST people, those percentages are way, WAY too high. For years I have told folks, when asked, that our target audience are the hardcore NH activists on the Right. In this small State of 1.4 million residents, I estimate it to be 2,000 – 4,000 which is just a number I’ve plucked out of the ether based on 17 years doing this stuff.
Sidenote: And a smaller number on the Left as we hear about their grousing about us. Especially those that say and do stupid stuff, get upset that we write about it, and then go berserk when we write about their reactions to what we wrote.
So while oOur total readership is much higher as we have national and international readership
Sidenote and Plug: All the more reason to help us to have Steve go full time here as his position at work is almost kaput – please, I ask, donate what you can as GraniteGrok would not be where we are without his wit, knowledge, humor, and snark/sarcasm!)
So let’s say 8,000 regular readers here in NH – that’s only 0.6% of NH that pays close attention. That’s sad.
Tuesday I was talking with a really active Activist and I heard the lament that it is so hard to get “regular folks” interested in politics because it directly affects them and their families. The Activists who are politicians and bureaucrats who are making decisions either for (or more likely, TO) you don’t care what it does because the regular folks are “apathetic” (yes, my word) on all this stuff. Like on school board budgets where costs are around $22,000/student and climbing even as enrollment is on a 10% downward trend AND the NEAP “Proficient” rating percentages show that the schools are doing miserable in teaching our kids. It’s HARD, in most communities, to get the “regular folks” to notice what is and isn’t going on and how much of their money isn’t getting the job done.
And they continue to “no show” to meetings and elections.
So, folks reading this, consider yourselves to be “not normal”.
Most folks would leave it at that. MY take is to inject the word “Exemplary” in describing y’all. You’re here because you care, you’re reading because you want to learn (and I hope that’s what we’re delivering!), and because you’re going out and DOING something about it. I thank you all.
Now, go out and get others “activated”!
(HT: National Journal via RedState)