What the fuck is wrong with Seniors? PPP: R/Rs greatest strength in Wisconsin is seniors

[cali]

They should be rejecting Romney/Ryan on a massive scale, but they're not.



PPP's first Wisconsin poll since Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan as his running mate finds him taking a small lead over Barack Obama in the state, 48-47. That represents a 7 point shift from PPP's last look at the state in early July, which found Obama ahead 50-44.

The biggest change Ryan's selection seems to have brought about is the unification of the GOP. Romney's gone from a 78 point lead with Republicans on our last poll (87-9) to now an 88 point lead with them (93-5). There's also been a tightening with independents. Obama still has a 4 point lead with them at 47-43, but that's down from a 14 point advantage at 53-39 six weeks ago. Democrats are unchanged from the previous poll.

Ryan isn't exactly a universally popular figure in his home state. 49% of voters have a favorable opinion of him to 45% with a negative one. But that does give him the best numbers of anybody on either ticket in the state. Obama has a 46% approval rating with 50% of voters disapproving of him, Romney has a 45/48 favorability rating, and Joe Biden stands at 41/48.

A big reason Wisconsin remains so competitive for the GOP is that the electorate looks like it will be considerably more Republican leaning than it was in 2008, reflecting the continued high energy level of the party's voters after its victory in June's recall election. We find an electorate that's 34% Republican and 32% Democratic. Exit polls in 2008 showed Democrats with a 6 point turnout advantage, 39% to 33%. Although the enthusiasm gap that plagued Democrats nationally in 2010 has dissipated some places, it appears to still be a real issue for them in Wisconsin.
Choosing Ryan as his running mate isn't giving Romney any trouble with seniors in Wisconsin. That's actually where his greatest strength is, leading Obama 52-43 with them. Which isn't to say the Ryan Plan is popular in Wisconsin- only 40% of voters support it to 46% who are opposed. But the concern with it is coming much more from young voters than seniors.

<snip>

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/08/romney-slightly-ahead-in-wisconsin.html

[sinkingfeeling]

1. What counts as 'seniors'? Doesn't say.

[Champion Jack]

2. One point?

[cali]

4. 9 points with seniors and that was my point.

not to mention that the President has lost considerable ground there (7 points)

[WI_DEM]

3. Obama's going to have to fight for WI. But it's not a gurantee that Romney will win it either...

remember PPP doesn't call phone banks either and that could also undercount younger voters in the state. Heck, I'm 48 and dont even have a land line.

[Politicalboi]

5. We should start a rumor

If you're a registered GOP be sure to bring your Medicare card and SSI card to be turned in on election night.

[Fumesucker]

6. A lot of them sit at home and watch the M$M all day..

Most notably Fox but the others are only marginally better most of the time..

The M$M desperately want a horse race for advertising purposes and their owners want the Republicans so the agenda is set..

[ProSense]

7. Which is why, as

I pointed out in another thread, the fact that the poll is skewed toward seniors is important.

18 to 29........................................................... 12%
30 to 45........................................................... 22%
46 to 65........................................................... 46%
Older than 65.................................................. 20%

That's 66 perent over age 46.

Democrat ........................................................ 32%
Republican...................................................... 34%
Independent/Other.......................................... 34%


Then again, the last poll was...

18 to 29........................................................... 10%
30 to 45........................................................... 28%
46 to 65........................................................... 42%
Older than 65.................................................. 20%

Democrat ........................................................ 33%
Republican...................................................... 31%
Independent/Other.......................................... 36%

That pol was only 62 percent, but did Wisconsin voters age since the 2008 election?

The exit polls (CNN or NYT) showed a split about 51/49 percent under 45/over 45. Of that, only 14 percent were over 65. Here it's 20 percent.

This is definitely a Ryan bounce, but the age skew is significant.

[EC]

8. The ones around here (Kenosha) believe him

when he says that it's the Dems trying to destroy medicare and that his plan repairs...The old union people left know he's lying, but there are a lot of fundies that have moved in here in the last 10 - 15 years.

[meow2u3]

9. Seniors are more likely to fall victims to scams

Republicans use the exact same scam on a political level as fly-by-night con artists use on seniors to steal their money. Seniors fall for it because of cognitive decline, losing their bullshit detectors.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=older-but-not-wiser

The invitations come in the mail, covered in large print: "Investment Workshop—Free Gourmet Lunch!" "Avoid the Biggest Financial Mistakes Seniors Make!" "Protect Your Financial Security!"

At the lunch, the salmon is accompanied by an investment pitch, with reminders that "there's a high rate of return," and "only a few opportunities are left."

Many of these free lunch seminars are scams aimed at retirees. Nearly six million seniors have attended such seminars in the past three years, the senior advocacy group AARP estimates—although conventional wisdom says that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Despite their years of experience, however, older people are more likely to err in their financial decisions by overemphasizing potential benefits and downplaying potential risks. Now insights from psychology, economics and neuroscience may help us understand why and how those errors occur.

Older adults aren't as upset by possible financial losses as young people are, psychological research has shown, and Stanford University researchers found in a recent brain-imaging study that seniors' brains don't anticipate a loss as much as younger ones do. That might be leading them to make less rational—and therefore less profitable—choices. But the news isn't all bad; a better understanding of why these mistakes happen may make it easier to prevent them.

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The reason elders fall for con artists is the same reason seniors are more likely to fall for Tea Party bullshit.