Posted by
Jyalai on Friday, January 18, 2008 2:36:35 PM
We vote with our hearts, not our heads.
Let me give a few examples:
1) Huckabee won Iowa for one reason: he convinced evangelical Christians that a vote for him was a vote for their faith. They did not look at what his policy stances were, they voted with their hearts.
2) Independents in New Hampshire helped McCain win that election. What is it about independents and McCain? Independents are anti-establishment at their core. McCain's frequent attacks against his own party comes across as anti-establishment, even though much of McCain's policies support the DC establishment. They voted with their heart.
3) Traditional Republicans in Michigan came out and voted for Romney as a visceral reaction to the idea that independents were going to upset the primaries. After New Hampshire, Republicans in Michigan were not going to have their candidate chosen by a bunch of independents. They voted with their heart.
The question is which candidate is reaching the hearts of South Carolina voters. Huckabee is still trying to make it about 'standing up for Christianity.' That is his strategy, even if his positions are anti-thetical to core Republican values. He knows evangelicals will vote their heart. McCain is still trying to make himself the anti-establishment maverick, even though his policy positions are Democrat establishment talking points. He knows libertarian and independent leaning Republicans will vote their heart. Romney is trying to convince the rank and file Republicans that he is conservative enough. The traditional Republicans will vote their heart.
Thompson has a problem in this area. Selling conservatism intellectually is sometimes a hard sell. How do you reach voters hearts when the message is a return to an intellectual ideal like federalism. Thompson needs to identify how federalism helps people, how it positively affects everyday Americans. He needs to get to their heart.
Sometimes, as political intellectuals, we forget that people do not sit around arguing the affects of free markets, limited governments, and national security in cerebral ways. They want to know how the candidate will affect their lives. Will he/she make them feel good about themselves? Will he represent them well? These are heart issues, not head issues. In the end, these are the reasons people vote for a candidate.