This post comes from a topic that was on a local radio show this AM. The shows host - Hallerin Hilton Hill - contended that endorsements don’t matter any more and that people vote their own pocketbook, etc. Hal also contended that the views / endorsement of family and friends have far more impact on voters then endorsements.
At the end of the day I think Hal’s main point - people vote for their own pocketbook in the end - is true. People looking for lower taxes find candidates that want lower taxes. People looking for more social aid and government services find those candidates and vote that way.
In reinforcing the point about friends and family being important in the candidate selection process, one must also remember that we tend to be around people that share our values and views. SO, when our family and friends say they support candidate x or y then it is likely we share a similar set of values and goals, so we are likely to desire a similar candidate. If the overall views of our family and friends are similar to ours then it is pretty obvious that their views on a political candidate will likely way on our decision making process.
The previous point, about people associating with those similar to themselves, is actually not true for me and my wife though. We are the lone conservatives in both our families and we are the only couple actively involved in church in either family at the moment. These two differences mean that we typically disagree with the candidates that our families support. This fact even cares over to our friends. We do have conservative friends, but most of our friends (i.e. non family members we see regularly) are fairly liberal, so we tend to disagree with the candidates that our family and many of our friends support. The fact that we don’t “run with” a lot of people like us means that we tend to reach our political views via personal research and endeavors. Endorsements tend to be just one small part of our decision making process.
That leads me to my key point about endorsements, they are more guide then guidance for the politically engaged.
As I have already stated, I agree with Hal on his second point - that the views of family and friends mean more then the endorsement of the paper or some columnist even if that is not true for me personally - but I think he missed the real point of endorsements. Endorsements are really designed to allow people a simple means of measuring their views with others that they do not know personally but respect or with groups / individuals they personally respect or support.
Let me explain a bit. Say for instance you are a Al Gore fan or a Trent Lott fan, that means that you respect their views / opinions. If you respect Mr. Gore or Mr. Lott and they openly support candidate X (or oppose candidate Y),. You personally may be actively following the race, but unsure about the candidates. The endorsement of a person you respect may guide you to that candidate. You have a core set of values, you share those with Mr Gore or Mr Lott, so their view is sufficient to guide your decision in a race you are aware of, but not passionate about.
Another situation where a endorsement may act as a guide is if you have narrowed it down to two or three candidates and the candidate that Mr Gore or Mr Lott endorses is one of those few. In that case, the endorsement reinforces 1) your respect for them and 2) the similarities in the views you share with them. That reinforcement may cause you to shrink your small group selection to one candidate which you will support.
If you are a member of a union or a pac the same can be true. You look at all the candidates and you narrow it down to a few. Then a group that you support or align with typically picks a candidate then you follow their lead.
Basically, I think endorsements are to politics what readers digest is to books. They let you quickly get the gist of the candidate and their views based on your past experience and view of the individual or the group offering the endorsement. They may not make the decision for you, but they help you narrow the pack.
The beliefs that I shared above are based on people actively following races and candidates. Unfortunately as fewer and fewer people actively follow races or candidates, I think endorsements are quickly becoming the voting guides for the lazy. No reason to do the work and find out for yourself, just listen to person A or organization B and vote as they lead you to achieve the common goals you share. When this happens it is little more then voting by proxy. In my view though the good news about voters like this is that they tend to be lazy and they may or may not show up at the polls as in the end they don’t care. Hal’s overall point though - people vote their pocketbooks - will at times make the lazy voter come out, but many even that is not sufficient. They want government on autopilot and voting is a annoyance not a privilege or right others have died to both grant and defend.
