On Friday, in an editorial on FoxNews.com, Democratic pollster and strategist Douglas E. Schoen discussed the decisive role voters over the age of 65 played in the 2010 elections, drawing on Project Vote’s November 2010 report An Analysis of Who Voted (and Who Didn’t Vote) in the 2010 Election:
Regardless of how one analyzes last November’s election results, it’s clear that voters over age 65 played a decisive role. According to Project Vote, turnout of senior citizens surged and approximately 60 percent voted Republican; that is 10 percent more than 2006.
Since seniors —13 percent of the population—cast more than one out of five votes, winning their votes is vital if Democrats want to regain control of the House of Representatives and keep control of the Senate and White House in 2012…
Rather than defend (or debate) unpopular policies, both sides should acknowledge specific flaws, improve where necessary and, above all, take steps to demonstrate to seniors that they’re for sustainable and fiscally-responsible solutions.The alternative is putting a critical voting bloc up for grabs, and giving both sides the opportunity to demagogue – rather than really address serious problems.