Why Don’t Voters Care About Candidates’ Sins?
By Edward Hudgins

June 9, 2016 -- A recent poll found that 71% of Democrats think Hillary Clinton should still run for president even if she’s indicted. And Donald Trump hurls crude playground insults, which we discourage in our eight year olds, at the appearance or ethnicity of opponents, yet his supporters never flag in their enthusiasm. Why do these voters seem unconcerned about the serious moral failings of these seriously statist candidates? And what can be done in the future to stop the moral and political decline of the country?

The worst possible candidates

This year the major political parties nominated the most corrupt and thuggish candidates we can imagine.

Hillary’s unfavorable rating is 37%. She epitomizes the term “sleazy politician.” Her foundation raked in huge donations from foreign governments when she was secretary of state. She raked in millions in speaking fees from corporate donors and kept those speeches secret as she assured voters she would not bow to corporate influence. Her excuses about hiding her emails fooled no one, and her lies surrounding the Benghazi deaths were a disgrace. Yes, Bernie Sanders supporters were put off, but the majority of Democratic voters and political insider Super-delegates were just fine with her.

Trump’s unfavorable rating is 53%. Throughout the primaries, commentators kept predicting that his latest slur about the face or menstrual cycle of female opponents or his smearing of entire ethnic groups would drive disgusted voters to anyone but him. But his support grew.

Know your audience

In the case of Trump, we failed to understand just how disgusted voters are with all politicians. Uber-Christian Ted Cruz, an iconoclast himself, thought that evangelicals would flock to him rather than to the thrice married Trump who has bragged about his affairs and who defends Planned Parenthood. Cruz was wrong.

Free-market oriented candidates thought Republican voters would disavow Trump for his anti-free trade policies and his promises to vigorously use government power rather than limit it. They were wrong.

These failures certainly demonstrate the importance of “Know your audience.” Do you want to persuade someone of something, like why they should vote for you or your candidate? You need to tune in to their priorities, values, assumptions and expectations. Not yours. Theirs.

Trump tuned-in to their anger. None of the other candidates effectively tuned-in to their positive hopes... (Continue reading here.)