Voting for Dummies

I lifted this handy-dandy, subjective overview of the two major parties from a Chronicle columnist - feel free to share!

For years I have been trying to persuade supporters of the other major American party to change their mind and vote with me, to no avail. That is, until last week, when three politically minded friends came over for an evening of snacks and politics, and, halfway through the evening, I unleashed my new one-two approach to political persuasion.

First, I asked my friends how they would go about choosing a new dishwasher. We agreed that the responsible and rewarding method would be to ignore any marketing hype and instead follow the Best Buy recommendations by Consumer Reports. Because nobody mentioned the virtues or shortcomings of, say, Whirlpool's executives as a valid criterion for choosing the appliance, I asked why they argue for hours about the perceived personalities of the candidates instead of comparing the track records of the major parties. My friends answered that it's simple enough to summarize the essential properties of dishwashers, while the elections are about a large number of issues that defy easy tabulation. Therefore, they concentrate on the candidates, hoping that by choosing the right person for the job, the elected official will make the right decisions when dealing with all those different issues.

I used to share this view myself, but then I checked the numbers. I was surprised to find out that the results of comparing the track records of the two major parties fall neatly (with one exception) into two categories - economy and family values. In my analysis, I compared all administrations going back to 1960 and all states based on how they voted in the presidential elections since 1980.

It was time for the second phase. I presented my friends with a list of numbers. To overcome bias, I used symbols (A, B, C and D) to represent the two major parties under the two categories. All state-related numbers (including those for the District of Columbia) are per person.

Economy
Jobs: Since 1960, each of the A Party administrations has delivered higher rates of jobs creation than any of the B Party administrations.

Deficit: Since 1960, the deficit each of the A Party administrations has passed to its successor was lower than the one it inherited, while each of the B Party administrations has increased the deficit. The average yearly deficit under the B Party administrations was 277 percent higher than the average deficit under the A Party.

Productivity: The gross state product of the 20 states that voted for the A Party candidate at least 5 times out of the last 8 elections (let's call them the A states) is 15 percent higher than the other states (the B states).

Household income: The median household income in the A states is 16 percent higher than in the B states.

Poverty: The percentage of persons below the poverty level in the A states is 21 percent lower than in the B states.

Health insurance: The percentage of people without health insurance in the A states is 25 percent lower than in the B states.

Advantage: Party A

Family values
Divorce: The divorce rate of the 20 states who voted for the C Party candidate at least 5 times out of the of last 8 elections (let's call them the C states) is 19 percent lower than the other states (the D states).

Birth to teenagers: The teenage birth rate in the C states is 38 percent lower than in the D states.

Birth to unmarried women: The unmarried women birth rate in the C states is 7 percent lower than in the D states.

Infant mortality: Children born in C states are 24 percent less likely to die before their first birthday than children in D states.

Murder: The murder rate in the C states is 17 percent lower than in the D states.

Rape: The forcible rape rate in the C states is 20 percent lower than in the D states.

Aggravated assault: The aggravated assault rate in the C states is 18 percent lower than in the D states.

Robbery: The robbery rate in the C states is 10 percent higher than in the D states (This is the one exception).

High school dropouts: The dropout rate in the C states is 16 percent lower than in the D states.

College: The college graduation rate in the C states is 16 percent higher than in the D states.

Advantage: Party C

I asked each of my friends to pick the category he or she considers more crucial, and then I showed them the key to the symbols. That's when I was rewarded with my first success at achieving a crossover vote.

The answers
This is the key to the identity of the two political parties analyzed by Yagil Herzberg in "The long view of the other party":

A - The Democratic Party

B - The Republican Party

C - The Democratic Party

D - The Republican Party

Read more: Click HERE.