The Curious Case of the Incurious Electorate

Why Democrats shouldn't be worried about Republican attempts at nuance.

by Jeremy Novak

One advantage that Joe Biden will have going into the election is the same thing that has been disadvantageous throughout his presidency. Namely, nuance; or, rather, lack thereof.

Despite every macro-economic indicator suggesting we are in an unprecedented economic boom, with jobs aplenty and real wages growing, most people think the economy is struggling and that Donald Trump would manage it better.

Despite immigration data showing plummeting rates of border encounters and illegal crossings, plus a Republican House that won’t allow a vote on desperately needed updates to border funding and policies, most people think that Biden is failing on the border and that Trump would manage it better.

Despite crime going down at historically fast rates since Biden took office, most people think crime is a major issue and is running rampant across the country, and that—you guessed it—Trump would manage it better.

Right-wing propaganda is a part of this, of course. Fox News pushes the above narratives regarding Trump relentlessly. As a result they are legitimized in the public consciousness. But this wouldn't happen with a highly curious and engaged electorate.

All it takes is a Google search on most topics to find several sources that relay data that suggest the truth. But most of the electorate are “low-information” voters, that don’t seek out or seem to appreciate nuance.

Supposedly, they see what’s in their social media feeds, and maybe catch a headline or two on the television in the automotive repair waiting room. When they catch these headlines do they immediately do some research to learn more about the subject while they’re waiting? No, they probably go right back to their social media feeds where they’re bombarded with more anecdotes about how terrible things are in the country.

This scenario playing out this way has contributed to sticky low approval ratings for Joe Biden. That, plus the fact that he’s demonstrably an older man, and walks and moves slowly. He just doesn’t look the part of an energetic leader, ready to guide the country into a new era of peace and prosperity.

Basically, relevant nuance gets lost in the dust of propaganda and media stories. Curiosity about the facts of a subject aren’t typically felt or acted upon by much of the country. The one in charge takes the hit for this.

But, remember, this works both ways. And as Donald Trump becomes more platformed and visible in the public sphere, this lack of curiosity by the electorate, and hence, nuance, will bite him as well. In fact, it’s already happening.

This week, in a meeting with Republican Senators and Representatives, Trump purportedly said that Milwaukee, the host city of the upcoming Republican National Convention, is a “horrible city”. The aftermath of this was an object lesson in, well, fascistic propaganda and the adoration of the Dear Leader.

Republican after Republican made excuses for what he meant by that comment. He was talking about “crime” or “election fraud”, not the city itself. In other words, they are forced to inject nuance into the discussion. But the quote is the quote, and it’s a pretty damaging quote for someone whose path to victory includes performing well in the state where Milwaukee is located.

Before this, during Trump’s criminal trial, the country was subjected to nuance overload with reasons why the trial process was tainted or illegitimate. Witnesses against Trump should never have been brought, or legally could never have been brought, or would be roasted on cross-examination. Witnesses for Trump were brilliant, level-headed staters of fact. The judge was hopelessly corrupted, as was his daughter, etc. etc.

What was happening was pretty simple: Donald Trump was being tried for criminal conduct. He was found guilty. He’s now a convicted felon.

Thinking that the low-information voters in this country are going to see much beyond that is wishful thinking. This is the same crowd that apparently answers pollsters’ phone calls and tells them that the economy is bad, American is on the wrong track, they don’t like Biden, and Trump was mostly good for the country.

They are probably going to answer some of those questions differently now that a new major headline has occurred. Since Trump is now a convicted felon, suddenly, the economy is not so bad, American is getting back on the right track, Biden is looking better, and maybe Trump wasn’t so good for the country after all.

And as Trump starts getting onto the public scene more and more, he will generate more bad headlines and video clips and sound bites. And Republicans everywhere will try to justify, explain, and rationalize his statements and/or behavior. And these same voters will continue to ignore the noise of nuance and left with the first impressions of this media. Why? Because they generally don’t want to be bothered with research or nuance.

They’ll see the videos and headlines and say, “wow, that’s some crazy shit. This dude shouldn’t be president”. No further explanations necessary.

You can follow Jeremy Novak’s work here.

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