Of Course Voters Are Wrong

If I may, I’d like to piggy back off Dan’s excellent post, “We Don’t Have to Pretend the Voters Are Always Right.” Dan writes:

And that’s before we get to general elections! Unless one believes that some higher power breathes unparalleled wisdom into anyone who registers as a Republican the very moment that he signs his name on the line — or, by contrast, that some higher power sucks all wisdom out of anyone who has registered as a Democrat or as an independent or as anything else — then, by the logic of one’s personal preferences, one is pretty much obliged to conclude that the country is full of voters who make “bad” political decisions. Like many people, I believe that elections are superior to the alternative, but this does not force me to conclude that there is something magical or impeccable about voters in any given realm. Voters picked Woodrow Wilson over William Howard Taft, and then reelected Wilson in 1916. Voters ratified Prohibition. Voters elected Jimmy Carter. Voters selected Bill Clinton over George H. W. Bush. Voters chose Barack Obama — twice. Thanks to voters, Kamala Harris is the vice president of the United States. As a result of voters, Elizabeth Warren, Mazie Hirono, Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin, Ed Markey, Bob Menendez, and Chuck Schumer are duly elected members of the Senate. Of course voters get it wrong.

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Charles C. W. Cooke

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

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If I may, I’d like to piggy back off Dan’s excellent post, “We Don’t Have to Pretend the Voters Are Always Right.” Dan writes:

And that’s before we get to general elections! Unless one believes that some higher power breathes unparalleled wisdom into anyone who registers as a Republican the very moment that he signs his name on the line — or, by contrast, that some higher power sucks all wisdom out of anyone who has registered as a Democrat or as an independent or as anything else — then, by the logic of one’s personal preferences, one is pretty much obliged to conclude that the country is full of voters who make “bad” political decisions. Like many people, I believe that elections are superior to the alternative, but this does not force me to conclude that there is something magical or impeccable about voters in any given realm. Voters picked Woodrow Wilson over William Howard Taft, and then reelected Wilson in 1916. Voters ratified Prohibition. Voters elected Jimmy Carter. Voters selected Bill Clinton over George H. W. Bush. Voters chose Barack Obama — twice. Thanks to voters, Kamala Harris is the vice president of the United States. As a result of voters, Elizabeth Warren, Mazie Hirono, Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin, Ed Markey, Bob Menendez, and Chuck Schumer are duly elected members of the Senate. Of course voters get it wrong.