What are you voting for?

[SFC JeffJ]

With the mid-term elections just around the corner, what issues are your primary concern?

For me, in no particular order, they are:

National Security
Civil liberties
Fiscal responsibility
Funding for stem-cell research/science in general
abortion
Foreign Policy
Role of Govt.

Notice, a lot of those I'm really not stating where I stand on them. That would just lead to arguments, which really isn't what I'm shooting for here.

Jeff

 

[exile]

With the mid-term elections just around the corner, what issues are your primary concern?

For me, in no particular order, they are:

National Security
Civil liberties
Fiscal responsibility
Funding for stem-cell research/science in general
abortion
Foreign Policy
Role of Govt.

Notice, a lot of those I'm really not stating where I stand on them. That would just lead to arguments, which really isn't what I'm shooting for here.

Jeff

Jeff---I see National Security, Civil Liberties, and Science as bundled up together: they are all part of protecting an open society from zealots of the right or left, from sectarian hysteria and a mediaeval view of the world. I want my liberties protected both from authoritarians within the country and those who, within and without, want to force me to live under a theocracy of their own choosing. I want the West to continute to strive in the directions that began in the Renaissance and developed during the Englightenment. And that's what's going to determine my voting choices in the upcoming election.

 

[michaeledward]

With the mid-term elections just around the corner, what issues are your primary concern?

For me, in no particular order, they are:

National Security
Civil liberties
Fiscal responsibility
Funding for stem-cell research/science in general
abortion
Foreign Policy
Role of Govt.

Notice, a lot of those I'm really not stating where I stand on them. That would just lead to arguments, which really isn't what I'm shooting for here.

Jeff

Jeff,

Are you ignoring the war in Iraq?

Or does that fall under one of these headings?

I'm curious, because I feel it is significant enough to be considered on its own. Although certainly, it impacts on more than one of the subjects.

 

[FearlessFreep]

Voting 'the issues' is a waste of time and why we are in the mess we are in.

In *theory*, the job of a person who is going to make a legislative decision on any given item is supposed to spend the time to determine what's at stake and then make a principled and informed decision. That's not what happens.

What happens is that people vote on the issues* so politicians promise one way or the other on the issues in the hopes of getting the most votes from one group of voters or another. "I'm a Democrat, the people who vote for me are pro-union as a whole, so my stance on an immigration is going to be driven by what I think my voters opinions are on immigration" So the whole political process becomes a game of trying to divide up blocks of voters to curry favor oover the calculated attempt to find the most popular combinations. The politician sells out his vote to the highest bidder, in this case the 'highest bidder' is the largest block of voters, often organized into groups such as political parties, professional organizations, etc... who are willing or motivated to consolidate their bribe 'votes' as a a way of gaining power or influence.

*those who don't just vote on whomever is more attracive or has the clickest ads or whatever...

Instead of 'issues', vote 'integrity'

I don't have the time in my life to become an expert on social security, national defense, immigration, abortion, stem cell research, foreign trade imbalances, etc...etc..etc.... and then go find someone who will vote the way I want him or her to on those issues, often without having done the same reasearch I did, even though they have far greater resources and, well, that's *supposed* to be their job and their responsibility.

When you hire someone, you hire a minimum wage janitor because you will tell them exaclty what you want them to do so they don't have to think about what they are doing. You hire a prrofessional because the responsibilities and stakes are high; you need someone you can trust to do the right thing because they will need to use auntonomy and creativity to make the right decisions for the right reasons and then you let them do it. Integrity is a janitor is nice but not neccessary, because the potential damage is minimal. When you hire a professional, integrity is paramount because the costs are much higher.

We hire politiicans like we hire janitors. "You get the job because you've promised to do exactly what I say and if you don't, you're out" when we should be hiring politicians like we do professionals "I don't have time to do your job and to mircomanage how you get it done; I need someone with the skills and personal integrity to go and do the job I need them to do"

Don't hire a politician who has promised to to kowtow to do exactly what he or she thinks the most of the people want him to do, whether they have a clue or not because he probably doesn't really have a clue either but has just sold out to what he hopes is the larget group. Hire someone who can be trusted to research the depth of the issue and make a principled and intentional decision. That's what they're being hired for...unless you think you have the time to do their job

 

[FearlessFreep]

Admittedly I don't know who to vote for in the above situation because I really don't see politicians running on platforms of "compentancy and personal integrity" because attack ads and selling out seem to have worked so well...

 

[terryl965]

I'm voting for the right to have a beer, smoke a cigerette and have sex with conciending adults.

Wait that was how I voted 30 years ago!:erg:

Today it would be for higher education, job training for those who need it, civil liberty and the right to carry arms.

Also the right to have peace with are brother and sister in the great world and the right to have a great pastrami sndwich on jewish rye and a splash of mustard.

That is what is important to me.:asian:

Seriously we can never have what we want so we all settle for who is giving us the best line before election, then after we put them in office we ***** and complain about everything, that is our true American system.:rofl:

Now before you all go out and hang me remember we all do exactly what I have said.:nuke:

Terry

 

[FearlessFreep]

Seriously we can never have what we want so we all settle for who is giving us the best line before election, then after we put them in office we ***** and complain about everything, that is our true American system.

Now before you all go out and hang me remember we all do exactly what I have said

Yup! That's exactly the case and exaclty whyour political situation is as bad as it is...

...and what I'm arguing against.

Voting 'the issues' is just voting for whomever has figured out how to sell-out to the most people at one time, or least one who has promised to sell-out to *you*. And we wonder why we get people of little personal inetgrity and accountability when we use this process?

I want someone to represent me, which is what we are voting for after all; not my opinions on a check-box list of items and issues, but my integrity and work-ethic. Not just my emotional, manipulated whims and half-informed opinions but the best and most noble parts of me as a person, of us as a people

 

[terryl965]

Seriously we can never have what we want so we all settle for who is giving us the best line before election, then after we put them in office we ***** and complain about everything, that is our true American system.

Now before you all go out and hang me remember we all do exactly what I have said

Yup! That's exactly the case and exaclty whyour political situation is as bad as it is...

...and what I'm arguing against.

Voting 'the issues' is just voting for whomever has figured out how to sell-out to the most people at one time, or least one who has promised to sell-out to *you*. And we wonder why we get people of little personal inetgrity and accountability when we use this process?

I want someone to represent me, which is what we are voting for after all; not my opinions on a check-box list of items and issues, but my integrity and work-ethic. Not just my emotional, manipulated whims and half-informed opinions but the best and most noble parts of me as a person, of us as a people

Very well said Fearless

 

[HKphooey]

I am looking for the most well rounded candidates.

 

[terryl965]

I am looking for the most well rounded candidates.

That would be me I'm round perfectly

 

[SFC JeffJ]

Jeff,

Are you ignoring the war in Iraq?

Or does that fall under one of these headings?

I'm curious, because I feel it is significant enough to be considered on its own. Although certainly, it impacts on more than one of the subjects.

For me it falls under both national security and foriegn policy. I debated on whether it should be it's own "catagorey" but decided to let it stay within those two.

 

[CoryKS]

With the mid-term elections just around the corner, what issues are your primary concern?

For me, in no particular order, they are:

National Security
Civil liberties
Fiscal responsibility
Funding for stem-cell research/science in general
abortion
Foreign Policy
Role of Govt.

Notice, a lot of those I'm really not stating where I stand on them. That would just lead to arguments, which really isn't what I'm shooting for here.

Jeff

I'll go with national security, fiscal responsibility, foreign policy and role of government, not necessarily in that order. The others I see as aspects of the role of government debate.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

for me...

getting rid of the current administration
fiscal/economic policy
more liberal social agenda
more conservative economic agenda

hard to find that candidate.

personally, i don't see much use in voting at the federal level. it's a machine oveer there that seems to be run by lobbyists and the heads of the dem and rep parties. nobody i vote for really has a say.

locally, i'm really quite involved. my vote and voice do make a difference at the city and state levels, and it's my hope that this will trickle up somewhat.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I vote as I almost always do to have balance in our government. When the balance gets a little out of whack then whatever party is in power goes a little nuts. (over spending, passing to many laws, etc)

 

[Cryozombie]

Why vote? Regardless of who we elect the same puppetmasters in the illuminati will be pulling the strings.

 

[Tez3]

In a democracy all you are doing is voting into government the people who will make the decisions, you don't actually get to vote on the decisions.

 

[CoryKS]

Why vote? Regardless of who we elect the same puppetmasters in the illuminati will be pulling the strings.

Bavarian or Alhambran? Come on, man! These things matter!

 

[FearlessFreep]

In a democracy all you are doing is voting into government the people who will make the decisions, you don't actually get to vote on the decisions.

Until you vote for the people who will make the decisions you want, at which point you are voting on the decisions by proxy


But technically, democracy is when everyone votes on the decisions. A republic, or representative democrcay, is what we have, whereby you vote for the people who will vote or the decisions

 

[Tez3]

So how do you get the people you vote in to make the decisions you want? In this country we did not vote to go to war in Iraq or Afghanistan yet we are there. If we'd been asked the majority of people would have said no.I must admit though I don't understand how you give so much power to one man? Do you ever consider another system of government? (not a criticism, just curious!)

 

[CoryKS]

So how do you get the people you vote in to make the decisions you want?

By voting them out during the next election cycle. The problem is that it can become a choice between bad and worse. Ideally, you want to get involved during the primaries to help pick the best candidate, but most people wait until election day and whine that they only have two choices. Another problem some people have is that they just happen to have minority opinions, however passionate they may be about them. In that case, all you can do is make papier-mache puppet heads.