For some Democrats, it's voting for
Clinton - and keeping it quiet
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[September 26, 2016]
By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) - One would expect
voters from the heavily Democratic Brooklyn neighborhood of Cobble Hill
to pick presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 general
election. Just don't expect them to advertise it.
Like lawns and windowsills in liberal pockets across the country, much
of the neighborhood is bereft of pro-Clinton signage in the final weeks
before the election. It's a stark contrast to the 2012 and 2008
campaigns, when President Barack Obama whipped up a frenzy of support
from Democrats and his signature "Hope" and "Forward" signs were
ubiquitous.
The scarcity of lawn and window signs is an indication of the Democratic
nominee's struggle to generate enthusiasm among left-leaning voters, a
challenge that's borne out in polling data, and could potentially haunt
her if voters fail to turn out on election day.
Clinton leads Republican challenger Donald Trump by four percentage
points among likely voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released
Friday.
But Americans of all political stripes have been more critical of
Clinton than they were of Obama when he was running for his second term
four years ago, according to the daily tracking poll.
Among Democrats, 78 percent say they have a favorable view of Clinton,
lower than the 89 percent favorability rating Obama had at this point in
the race in 2012. Clinton's favorability drops to 28 percent among
independents versus Obama's 47 percent.
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Nancy Kimmel Viola, a 63-year-old social worker who lives about a mile
away from Clinton's campaign headquarters in Brooklyn, keeps a "Bernie
2016" sticker taped to the front door of her Carroll Gardens home, a
vestige of her support for the unsuccessful bid of Sen. Bernie Sanders.
While she plans to vote for Clinton, she confesses that her "heart's not
in it."
"I have to vote for her." Viola said. "Having Trump in there is too
scary."
In Denver, residents in the Democratic stronghold of Park Hill posted
many yard signs over a local zoning issue, but few for the presidential
race.
"Most of us around here will vote Democratic, we always do, but we're
not overly enthusiastic for Clinton," said resident Pablo Marron. "But
we are united in our opposition to Trump."
'HOLD YOUR NOSE'
In the heavily Democratic Denver suburb of Northglenn, banners for local
office-seekers littered a major roadway, but there were no accompanying
Clinton signs. In the affluent liberal Washington DC suburb of Chevy
Chase, Maryland, signs for the Democratic nominee appeared only roughly
once every 10 blocks.
The lack of enthusiasm isn't just hitting the Clinton campaign.
Americans from both major parties say they are generally less interested
in voting this year than they were in 2012, according to the
Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, which compared results gathered during the
first 20 days of September with the same period of 2012.
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![](../images/092616pics/news_m21.jpg)
A photo of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is seen
on a window in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, New
York, U.S., September 23, 2016. Picture taken September 23, 2016.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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The Clinton campaign did not respond to emailed requests for
comment.
Clinton's online store displayed roughly a dozen different signs and
banners for sale, ranging from an 11-inch by 17-inch sign, sold at
$10 for a pack of two, to a four-foot by six-foot "Hillary for
America" banner, which retailed for $100.
Sales data was not immediately available and a request for comment
from the store went unanswered.
For some, there is a "hold your nose quality" to this election, said
Matthew Dallek, associate professor at George Washington
University’s Graduate School of Political Management.
"The lack of signage" in liberal enclaves may indicate, Dallek said,
"that there just isn’t this sort of enthusiasm that existed for
Obama."
But there are some blocks that buck the trend.
On a street in Gowanus, Brooklyn, no fewer than four homes bore
pro-Clinton signage, including a life-size cutout of the Democratic
nominee, which rests in the windowsill of retired lawyer Chris
Morrison's home. The beaming cardboard Clinton prompts many
passersby to take pictures, said Morrison, a staunch Clinton
supporter.
"You don’t see as much signage this time around. In this
neighborhood I don’t get so concerned (because everyone is) more or
less on the same page," said Morrison, 66.
"I worry when I go to some other places."
(Reporting By Amy Tennery in New York, additional reporting by Keith
Coffman in Colorado, Jim Oliphant in Washington, D.C. and Chris Kahn
in New York; Editing by Mary Milliken)
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