Comments on: Vote!

By: lemmy caution

lemmy caution — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:23:24 +0000

Certain groups vote less than others. For example, younger and poorer people tend to vote less. I don't think this is due to higher opportunity costs for poor people to vote. Voting is just considered a duty by the middle class. Ads aimed at low voting populations don't worry me much.

If voting really was a burden, you could do statistical sampling based voting. Get the sample size big enough and it would be pretty accurate. A lot of people like to vote though.

By: lemmy caution

lemmy caution — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:23:24 +0000

If voting really was a burden, you could do statistical sampling based voting. Get the sample size big enough and it would be pretty accurate. A lot of people like to vote though.

By: Sigivald

Sigivald — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:26:03 +0000

“Buggrit!” is the only example I can think of.

And even that might not be unconditional. But then I don't use “vote!” as an unconditional.

By: Paul Opinion

Paul Opinion — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:57:15 +0000

To add to Cool Cal, libfree and Jason; isn't the ad just the usual, Hollywood, self-praising drivel? If 8 year olds could vote, this would be very effective. But the real message is: We're big time Hollywood celebs and we want you to know how important your vote is, and by the way, aren't we great for doing this?

By: Jason Brennan

Jason Brennan — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:39:59 +0000

Steve Landsburg has apparently read Brennan and Lomasky, and so has the right stuff to say about this here:

http://www.slate.com/id/2107240/

Dear Uneducated Celebrities Who Don't Know What They're Talking About,

Look--there might be good reasons to vote. But please stop telling people that the reason they should vote is because individual votes are significant. They are not. We'd be happy to explain this to you, but it will involve math, and so you won't get it.

Sincerely,
Educated Experts

By: GU

GU — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:29:54 +0000

Sadly, I would guess that a majority of Americans would find a “pray” version of this commercial just as comforting (so long as no specific religion was invoked).

By: libfree

libfree — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:02:42 +0000

Is not voting one of these deep psychological issues where people don't vote so that other people (celebrities…) pay attention to them. If everyone said “hey don't bother voting if you don't want to” maybe the turnout rate would go up?

By: Cool Cal

Cool Cal — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:56:28 +0000

To add onto Paul's comment, anyone who is finally convinced to register to vote, who has not already done so, by ads like this – “I mean I wasn't going to vote until I 'Youtubed' a bunch of hip celebrities saying that I should do it in a way that speaks to my hip, albeit naive temperament, and now I'm totes gonna get my ass into that polling booth … honest to blog!” – are probably just the types who should NOT be voting.

I think it goes unmentioned that these campaigns are nothing if not gussied up versions of the ward heeling tactics of Tammany or the Daly Machine of old.

By: Paul O'Pinion

Paul O'Pinion — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:45:31 +0000

Curiously enough, those who would be swayed to vote by the 'beautiful people' in the video are exactly the folks who will almost exclusively vote for Obama. That ad and the whole 'Rock the Vote' campaign are intended for the 'hip' segment of America – young, liberal, left-leaning. MK gets it exactly right. The many folks whose intelligence is insulted by the ad have already made up their minds on whether they will vote and who they will vote for. The unspoken truth is that those who will be swayed to vote will, by and large, vote Democrat.

By: Publius

Publius — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:44:16 +0000

The cheesy one: love.

The more useful one (not unconditional, but closer…): work.