"Normal policy issues don't make or break my life. Authoritarianism and ignoring the rule of law can and will."
It's so disappointing that so few Rs/conservatives understand this. Even fairly intelligent, well-educated, seemingly reasonable ones.
Of course, given that that group is a subset of country that consistently thinks, "I'll 'punish' whatever party has the WH if I generally don't one or more things going on in the country at the time - regardless of the control/influence they might have over them - it's not all that surprising.
And regarding the midterm "punishment" phenomena, I think the media (and pretty much everyone?) are far too kind in discussing this. Fine, it happens. Say that. But I don't know that I've ever even heard a pundit comment on what a sad commentary it is about the intelligence and logic of Americans. And it's REALLY sad.
Q: So, you're voting against that party because you have general sense that things are going bad?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you know much about the political cause and effect regarding these things that currently bother you?
A: No, not really.
Q: Do you realize that the party you're voting against agrees with you on a majority of policy issues?
A: Uh, no, not really.
Q: Does that fact change the equation at all?
A: Uh, no, not really. Things are bad, so......
As agip might phrase it, a seriously "un-serious" country.