Every day it’s a new problem for Democrats. First, independents, we hear, have deserted them in droves. Then Hispanics are soured. Young people aren’t enthusiastic. Jews are turned off. Ohio wants George W. Bush back. And on it goes.
Now it’s older voters:
Among seniors who say that they are very interested in the upcoming election, 51 percent prefer to see Republicans in control of the next Congress while 40 percent say they want Democrats in charge. …
Older voters — Democrats, Republicans or independents — are more pessimistic in their assessments of Washington’s performance than are younger voters. Based on historical voting patterns, they are also more likely to turn out in November — a potentially toxic combination for the Democrats.
Older voters say the federal government is not focused on the right priorities. They think Washington is working less well these days that it did in the past.
Three in 10 older voters give the government a failing grade, compared with 8 percent of voters younger than 30. Older voters also are much harsher in their judgments than they were a decade ago, when just more than one in 10 gave Washington an F … [O]lder Republicans and, crucially, older independents are more likely than their younger counterparts to say the administration has made things worse.
Let’s be candid — it’s increasingly hard to find a pro-Obama slice of the electorate that is going to turn out in large numbers for the midterms. Scaring them didn’t work. Cajoling them didn’t help. What do all these voters expect — results? And hence the problem for the Democratic incumbents.
