The Barber Factor
November 5, 2013 - by
Some Democrats fear – and Carter sincerely hopes – that the Rev. William Barber will become the face of the Democratic Party.
But ponder this: If Barber can inspire thousands of people to protest on “Moral Mondays” – and 900 of them to get arrested – how many people can he inspire to the polls a year from now?
Ned Barnett put it this way in Sunday’s N&O: “Is there deep enough discontent to produce a tidal wave for change during a typically low-turnout mid-term election?”
Conventional wisdom and history tell us that voter turnout in off-years tends to be whiter and older. But there is a hot streak of anger this year running through the segments of the electorate that are younger, darker, more urban and more progressive. For one thing, they don’t like politicians trying to keep them from voting.
Anger fueled the Tea Party’s rise in 2009. A backlash against Obama led to the 2010 GOP sweep.
Now the anger is on the other side. It led thousands to protest publicly. It led school teachers to stage a “walk-in.”
Yes, things could cool off in a year. Or get hotter.
The Barber Factor
November 5, 2013/
Some Democrats fear – and Carter sincerely hopes – that the Rev. William Barber will become the face of the Democratic Party.
But ponder this: If Barber can inspire thousands of people to protest on “Moral Mondays” – and 900 of them to get arrested – how many people can he inspire to the polls a year from now?
Ned Barnett put it this way in Sunday’s N&O: “Is there deep enough discontent to produce a tidal wave for change during a typically low-turnout mid-term election?”
Conventional wisdom and history tell us that voter turnout in off-years tends to be whiter and older. But there is a hot streak of anger this year running through the segments of the electorate that are younger, darker, more urban and more progressive. For one thing, they don’t like politicians trying to keep them from voting.
Anger fueled the Tea Party’s rise in 2009. A backlash against Obama led to the 2010 GOP sweep.
Now the anger is on the other side. It led thousands to protest publicly. It led school teachers to stage a “walk-in.”
Yes, things could cool off in a year. Or get hotter.