For several weeks I’ve been exploring an argument increasingly heard in the press and some political circles: Persuasion is wasted effort, at least in a midterm race; increasing turnout is the only way to win.
A future column will bring it all together, but here I’ll focus on the impact of persuasion, as last week focused on the effects generated by turnout efforts. Those who denigrate persuasion make two kinds of arguments: first, that there are not many persuadables, and second, that they cannot really be persuaded. CONT.
Mark Mellman (Mellman Group), The Hill