Is there any one particular political issue that is of such importance to you that you would vote for or against a candidate solely on the basis of that issue, regardless of his/her stance on any other issues?
For instance, let’s say that the issue of abortion is of great importance to you. Would you vote for a pro-life (or pro-choice) candidate, (depending on your views,) even if all of his or her other views on other issues conflicted with yours?
What about same-sex marriage, evolution, welfare, single-payer health care, etc.?
I am not single issue. I also weight my criteria differently depending on the office.
Not for, only against. Anyone who supports torture, for starters. Anyone who voted for the Iraq War. Anyone who voted for an Assault Weapons Ban. Basically, anything that demonstrates you are either too evil or too stupid to be trusted.
So if it’s a choice between Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton, you’ll vote for Bush?
It’s not a choice between Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton unless you make it.
I have only one vote. It is extremely unlikely to tip the balance no matter who I vote for, so I choose to spend it on a candidate who deserves it, not just on whichever of the two big names is slightly less shit than their nearest competitor.
Is “keeping Republicans out of power at all costs” considered a single issue when i disagree with every single one of their goals?
Yeah, like Grumman, if a single issues can decide me w/regards to a candidate, it’s always against, not for. And I have a plural number of “single issues” any one of which would rule a candidate out of contention for me.
• no anti-abortion candidate for any office capable of having the faintest impact on abortion access, reactions to pro or anti abortion protester activity, any relevant kind of public policy, etc
• no candidate who espouses the expansion of involuntary psychiatric services including mandatory screening
• no greetings to cats, named after gemstones or not
Absolutely not. “Touchstone” voting was a large factor in building the political mess we contend with these days. Most evident and recent in electing absolutely unqualified candidates who promised to “slash taxes.”
We have one here who won a town council seat at the Tea Party peak and subsequently won the State Representative slot against a very weak Democratic opponent in a short-notice special election (the Dem incumbent resigned to take a much higher appointed position, and good on him).
The guy is so, so, so STUPID* it’s unbelievable. That’s not a subjective evaluation, or not very - to call him as dumb as a rock is an insult to rocks. But by gum, he swore he could make the town slash its tax rate, and he got the seventh highest number of votes, so.
I will and have voted for candidates on which I had one or more points of serious disagreement, if I felt they were the best option for the seat. Don’t like doing so, but I won’t vote for a moron who doesn’t know anything but his one hobbyhorse, even if it’s a hobbyhorse I like.
Yes, I have been.
Same here. Some of my deal breakers:
I won’t vote for any candidate who I believe to be strongly anti science. E.g., anti-vaccination, global warming deniers, evolution deniers, etc., plus anyone who openly mocks scientific research the way John McCain did.
I also won’t vote for any candidate who doesn’t support same-sex marriage and strong anti-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals. I have in the past (e.g., I voted for Obama before his position on SSM “evolved”), but at the time I don’t think there were many better options on gay rights. Thankfully, I don’t foresee ever having to compromise on the issue again.
I won’t vote for any racists. Sorry, Donald.
I used to be single-issue in my opposition to the death penalty. I voted for Nader over Gore for that reason. (This was in Virginia, so I had the luxury of knowing the election almost certainly didn’t hinge on my vote.) But I’ve held my nose and compromised on that one a lot since then.
This is the United States. There are only two political parties that matter.
And if they can survive the extreme ideological idiocy that one’s swung to, and the absolute loss of direction and purpose the other one has, then it’s going to be two parties, and these two parties, for quite a while.
sigh
Understandable.
However Nephew Joe has spoken out for Donald Trump’s freedom of speech, which judging by the comments by some of the electorate there could be a turning-point for the Trump campaign.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio: It’s ‘amusing to see all the heat’ Trump’s statements generated
Great Artical!! So So So Right!! Time for someone like Trump to Shake this country up!! Go Donald Trump!!!
Yeah I love the guy. Breath of fresh air, just says it like it is. Don’t think he’ll ever get the endorsement of the party but man he has people talking for a change.
Did anybody READ this artical??? Our government is all Muslim now and hell-bent on conquering America from the inside!!! And all you can do is hope there will be another election??? My God!*
Great Article and Great Future President!!!
Sissi aint a sissy like Obama.*
His political views are identical to mine, and he is not part of the Establishment, and never will be. He is strong enough to do what it takes to take on the Big Boys, and clean out the White House. He will welcome the everyday Americans who want to work with him to fix this country. Oh, to be acknowledged as an American citizen who can contribute something to this country again, and to accomplish something great, would be the ultimate fulfilment of the American dream!
And the Voice of Youth, straight from Milton Hershey School:
If I could vote, I wouldn’t hesitate to vote for Donald TRUMP! America NEEDS people like Donald TRUMP; Dr. Ben CARSON; former Rep. Alan WEST, etc., etc. These people are NEEDED before America really goes down the shitter for good!!!
And, Kings Park High School:
Donald Trump for President 2016. Make America GREAT again.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei
Palin — Trump 2016 !
The environment and associated issues (like AGW, natch). Without a healthy planet to live on, all of the other debates are simply the equivalent of shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic.
That’s how politics works in the real world. If you want to matter you have to get elected. If you choose to join a third party, you’re telling the people who make the laws and run the country that they can safely ignore your opinions.
If you’re a libertarian or a socialist who actually wants to make a difference, then you have to be like Rand Paul or Bernie Sanders. You join one of the big parties and become part of it. Then they have to take your opinions into account. If Paul moves the platform of the Republican Party one inch, he will have accomplished more than a million members of the Libertarian Party have.
It seems my answer is, “yes.”
I would never vote for a pro-abortion Republican or a Democrat.
No Republicans. Ever.
That’s not an issue, that’s party-based prejudice.
Well, two issues…
No Pro-Choice candidate ever
No Anti-2nd Amendment candidate ever.
If you’re going by that logic, there is only one political party that matters. In the 2012 Presidential election the closest any vote came to a tie was 19,000 votes. So if you’re going to say “There are only two people who have any chance of winning, so vote for one of them,” my counter is “There is only one person who is going to win no matter who you vote for, so you might as well vote for somebody you actually like.”