Geeks don't vote; play up religion

Writing at TomPaine.com, political operative Richard Blow (former editor of George) says Dean is unelectable; what’s relevant for PoM is this bit of conventional wisdom:

A lot of Americans read the Bible. Somehow, I don’t think that Howard Dean is one of them. ‘Netheads may not care, but Internet geeks aren’t exactly a big voting bloc. Religious people are.


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2 responses to “Geeks don't vote; play up religion”

  1. xian Avatar

    Pete, what do you think is the PoM angle? Something about how Bible-readers are organizing? Or the limits of a secular, techie movement?

  2. Pete Avatar
    Pete

    Possible angles for the book:
    * Conventional wisdom is that the ‘Net is irrelevant. CW may be wrong, but it’s always worth reporting.
    * Churchgoers are, in fact, a larger force in American politics than the wired. The ratio may be shifting, and Dean might be evidence of that shift, but it’s nowhere near 1:1. Might be worth noting for a sense of scale.
    * Perhaps we can use the last two sentences of this quote? As a segue from Dean-space to the right? Or within a discussion of right or religious communities? “‘Netheads may not care [about whether a candidate reads the Bible], but Internet geeks aren’t exactly a big voting bloc. Religious people are.” Churches and their organizations have been blah blah blah…