Anger Drives Citizens to Vote

An article titled, "Who's upset over the economy? Everybody, everywhere" by Jane Sasseen, discusses the difference in attitude between Republicans and Democrats. She also goes on to explain how these attitudes effect the poles. Apparently Republicans tend to be more angry which causes them to vote more and Democrats are just dissatisfied giving them less motivation to head to the voting booths. Not only is there a difference in attitude between the political parties, but there are differences between generations. The article explains that:

"While many Americans middle-aged and up have lost jobs, seen the value of their homes collapse and their retirement savings eviscerated, younger adults, despite the drab job market and daunting levels of college debt, probably feel they have more time to wait out the downturn."

"Millennials have not lost as much in the downturn, so they have less to be angry about," says Michael Cornfield, an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Political Management at the George Washington University. Moreover, he adds, "They don't have as high expectations from government as boomers do."

Sasseen summed up the end of the article by making clear why an angry person is more likely to vote than someone who is just dissatisfied.

"Everyone is unhappy today, but when you get the higher level of intensity, those people are more motivated to vote than those who are just dissatisfied," says Cornfield. Republican voters, along with an increasing number of independents, don't like what the government has done; they're eager to put a stop to policies they see as both intrusive and ineffective. Democrats, on the other hand, are unhappy with the pace of change but think the administration deserves more time to right the economy. "If you're a Democrat, you're in favor of waiting," he adds. "But waiting doesn't get you to the polls."