Voters likely to look back when making decisions

Every election, more and more issues seem to be plaguing the country, each one taking its turn in the spotlight. This year’s election is no different.

And by “no different,” I mean we’ll still be talking about health care.

The 10-bazillion-page document that no one’s read — and its subsequent debates — have been the subject of controversy since the bill’s inception as politicians have struggled back and forth to get one thing or another removed or added, to pass it or block it out of sheer spite for the other side.

And even though legislation was finally passed, there’s still ongoing drama about what it will mean for Americans — though perhaps they should have figured that out before they passed it.

Even those who consider the deed done will vent their feelings in the voting booth.

Think President Obama pushed Congress in the right direction? Vote Democrat. Think Obama is the worst president in history and the health care bill will doom us all? Vote Republican. Think they’re all wrong? Vote independent — but don’t expect your vote to count for much.

A lot of people are going into this election not to vote for future issues, but to vote for the one that’s theoretically finished.

They’re going to vote based on whether they liked the way the current officials handled the process and whether they liked the way the legislation went.

Health care reform opponents might vote the other way to stop something like that from happening again — or they might just vote to remove the people they don’t like from office because of the bill.

Despite the other issues at hand, people often look to the past as much as — if not more than — they look to the future. And with the health care fiasco still fresh in voters’ minds, the issue could spell disaster for one of the major parties.


E-mail: hanns@indiana.edu