Will voters finally say ‘no’ to gridlock?

By Martin Schram

Monday, Oct. 27, 2014 | 2:01 a.m.

As this midterm election campaign drags into its final week of distortion, deception and irrelevancy, this much seems certain:

2014 is destined to be known as the Year of the Fed-Up Voter. But also the Year of the Independent Candidate. And perhaps the I’m-Not-Really-a-Democrat-or-a-Republican Voter.

After gifting America with one and a half presidencies of seemingly hate-crusted congressional clog, Republican and Democratic candidates have been straining to convey the full depth and breadth of their visions for America’s future. They basically came up with this:

Republicans: “My fellow Americans, I’m not Obama!”

Democrats: “My fellow Americans, I’m not Whatshisname!”

No wonder polls show voter interest in the midterm election is just where it was in June, with no traditional fall finale buildup. We know the superficial answers about why that is: President Barack Obama’s approval rating is dreadfully low; Congress’ approval rating is 12 percent; government is gridlocked; and GOP and Democratic leaders reflexively pander to their political bases and shun compromise solutions.

But many hard-line voters need to also realize they more than share the blame — by demanding ideological rigidity and defeating incumbents who compromise.

Yet, just when we’d least expect it, here comes some genuine good news:

For the first time in years, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll published Oct. 15, voters want Washington’s politicos to scrap gridlock and enact common-sense compromise solutions to our growing crises, foreign and domestic.

Although the survey has gotten scant attention, it could indicate the beginning of a much-needed sea change in voter attitudes. When voters were given two choices of candidate descriptions, 50 percent favored a candidate “who will make compromises to gain consensus on legislation”; 42 percent preferred a candidate who sticks to a position “even if this means not being able to gain consensus on legislation.”

That margin of 8 percentage points may not seem like a big deal. But it is a sharp reversal of how voters responded four years ago, when just 34 percent favored candidates who would compromise and 57 percent preferred candidates who would not compromise — an anti-compromise margin of 23 points.

Now add the two margins and we discover voter attitudes actually underwent a huge shift of 31 percentage points in just four years!

What changed? Well, four years ago, the Tea Party’s no-compromise edicts caused Republican leaders and incumbents to cower in fear of facing Tea Party challengers in GOP primaries if they dared to compromise with Democrats.

But today, according to that WSJ/NBC News poll, just 19 percent of voters view the Tea Party favorably, down from 30 percent in 2010.

Meanwhile, candidates running independent of the two major parties are making their presence powerfully felt. At least one could win — Kansas independent Greg Orman is virtually tied with veteran Republican Sen. Pat Roberts; the Democratic candidate dropped out.

In South Dakota, former two-term Republican Sen. Larry Pressler is running again — as an independent. And Libertarian Party candidates are running in some states; they’ll siphon votes from Republicans and perhaps some Democrats.

But while that WSJ/NBC News poll revealed voters’ significant shift in support of compromise solutions, no survey can predict whether voters will have the Election Day courage of their campaign poll convictions.

Will voters finally stop rejecting candidates who will seek compromises to solve our problems? One state’s Senate election may give us that answer.

Georgia Democrat Michelle Nunn has run a common-sense campaign that made a virtue out of, well, being virtuous. When Republican David Perdue ran a typical attack-politics ad showing Nunn with Obama, Nunn used the same photo in her own ad, as she told viewers:

“Have you seen this picture? It’s the one David Purdue has used to try to attack me. ... But what he doesn’t tell you” — (and as she continues, the photo changes and we see former President George H.W. Bush standing with his hand on her shoulder) — “is that it was taken at an event honoring President Bush, who I worked for as CEO of his Points of Light Foundation.

“Throughout my career I’ve been able to work with Republicans and Democrats, and that’s the same approach I’ll bring to the U.S. Senate.”

On Election Night, we will be watching to learn whether Nunn’s face on the screen turns out to be the new face of America’s problem-solving voters.

Martin Schram, an op-ed columnist for McClatchy-Tribune, is a veteran Washington journalist, author and TV documentary executive.