"They'd done their politics thing last year"

If what Marc Fisher writes in his column in this morning's Washington Post is correct, Democrats could be in big trouble this year in Virginia:

...what most park visitors shared was a sense that they'd done their politics thing last year, and they were glad they had, but they're not remotely ready to dive back into that sea of division and controversy, thanks very much.

"I personally just burned out on the presidential race," said Sherri Pudner of Reston, who was at the park with her daughter's preschool group. "I don't really know anything about any of the candidates for governor."

As a person who actually gets energy from being involved in politics, this attitude is difficult for me to relate to. Still, it's pervasive, with likely turnout on June 9 of a pathetic 4%-6% of registered voters, as Doug Wilder estimated the other day. The fact is, the vast majority of people "don't really know anything about any of the candidates for governor," feel "burned out" after the intense (and seemingly endless) presidential race of 2007/2008. Plus, there seems to be an attitude that "it's just a governor running," as one person interviewed by Marc Fisher says, so why should I care?

You know, on one level I completely understand this. For years, I was pretty typical, focusing overwhelmingly on national politics, particularly the race for president every four years, and almost not at all on state or local races. Governor of Virginia? Believe it or not, before I got into blogging (out of a desire to do something, anything, after John Kerry lost to George W. Bush for president in 2004), I seriously paid more attention to what was happening in Riyadh than in Richmond (I was a Middle East expert and world oil market analyst at the US Energy Information Administration, so that's what I was focused on). Prior to 2005, I thought about Virginia politics about as much as I thought about new knitting patterns or the latest developments in theoretical physics. In other words, not much. I also didn't see any particular relevance to my life, which revolved heavily around my career, commuting to DC every day, and living in a place (Arlington) that is generally well run and progressive.

What changed? I got involved locally, mainly to get out my frustrations about what was happening nationally and globally, and I found that it actually matters what happens locally. But how many people are going to follow that path? How many Obama volunteers from 2008, or Webb volunteers from 2006, are going to stay involved during a totally "non-federal" year? Even making the argument that results at the state level will affect redistricting after the 2010 census, and that this could have a major impact at the federal level doesn't seem to get people excited. Even arguing that Virginia is the place where national Republicans are determined to start turning things around heading into 2010, and ultimately 2012, doesn't seem to get people excited. American Idol? Now that gets people - well, some people anyway - excited. :) The price of gas? Oh yeah, that gets people excited. But who will governor Virginia, control redistricting, etc? Not so much.

Is there anything we do about this situation heading into Virginia's primary on June 9 and general election this November? As far as I can tell, there are only two possibilities to get people interested: 1) somehow get them excited, enthused, and inspired FOR our candidates; and/or 2) somehow terrify the bejeezus out of them about how McDonnell, Cooch, etc. will maraud through your bedrooms, take your right to choose away from you, destroy our state's AAA bond rating, trash the environment, destroy education, keep us locked in gridlock, etc., etc. What are the chances of doing either "a" or "b" either before June 9 or before November 3? I'm not sure, but based on the comments in Marc Fisher's article, it's hard to be optimistic. If people really believe they did their "politics thing last year" and that now they can go back to their lives, I doubt there's much anyone can do about it (although I strongly encourage everyone to talk to their friends, neighbors, families, etc. and let them know that there's an election on June 9!). Unfortunately, that means that only a tiny percentage of Virginians will decide who their nominees are in June, and another relatively small percentage of Virginians will determine who our next leaders will be in November. That's not a good thing, but it appears to be the reality.

P.S. One other thought: given how little most people know even about the gubernatorial candidates, I'd say that every campaign should be focusing heavily on covering the polls on June 9, having people with literature to hand out and a strong "elevator speech" about why their candidate is the best one. The fact is, many people coming to vote on June 9 may know who they want for governor, but they may have very little idea there even are other elections on the ballot, let alone who they plan to vote for. That's an opportunity for the candidates that take advantage of it by making sure they have a visible and effective presence at the polls.