Based on this thread regarding “stupid assholes,” and the common assumption that undecideds are some of the worst offenders.
I pit all of us hand-wringing, slack-jawed, cowardly wastes-of-space who can’t decide who to vote for this November, when the answer is *so *obvious. We should all be rounded up and summarily executed en masse in a giant vat of hanging chads.
I mean, what else are we looking for? Does Jupiter himself have to break open the western sky with a divine proclamation? Do we not even know what we believe, for the love of Mike?
The issues are all laid out on the table like so many playing cards. The candidates have clearly defined what they’re for and what they’re against, and we can trust that they truly believe what they say, and that they will act valiantly/repugnantly according to their beliefs. So what’s the problem, us piles of excrement?
I don’t get it, us. We’re like squirrels standing in the path of an oncoming car, not sure which way to go and destined to be crushed all to hell just because we can’t choose a direction, even when one side is a glorious paradise filled with countless multitudes of beautiful virginal squirrels and a limitless supply of unsalted Emerald mixed nuts, and the other is bounded as far as the eye can see by ravening wolves and perfectly empty McDonalds breakfast burrito wrappers.
If there’s one thing that’s for sure, it’s that there’s one side which is absolutely The Best Choice and who will elevate America back to shimmering, immaculate greatness immediately using their obvious-to-any-layman-who-can-read skills in diplomacy and policy-making, and for some reason we drooling bottom-dwellers just. don’t. get it.
Sarcasm aside, why are you undecided? What information do you lack on the qualifications, history, political leanings, or proposed future activities of the two major candidates? What would it take for you to say “Aha! I get it now. My best choice is…”?
Enderw24, I was raised uber-religious and uber-conservative, went to college and came out moderately liberal. Now I’m just a cynic. I’m leaning toward Obama, but I still have trouble with the whole personal responsibility side of the equation. I mean, at what point do we all have to begin taking responsibility for our own success (not referring to those who truly need social assistance, obviously)? What if we’re descending into a pattern of self-pity as a nation? What if policies reflect that?
Look, I read quite a bit about this stuff, from all angles (aside from Fox News; I mean, come on, it’s practically satirical at this point), but I’m not educated in economics beyond the basic courses I took in college and what I’ve been able to learn on my own from books. This is all very, very complicated, and any given policy could fail if the the world ecomomy doesn’t act in the expected way. I just resent the notion that it’s all cut and dry and obvious. It’s not.
Also, it’s not all sarcasm; I really do resent myself for not knowing by now.
We’re responsible for our own success and failure, while at the same time we should acknowledge the social structures that have been put in place by our recent ancestors that make our success possible. We have roads and infrastructure and education and personal safety because as a group of people together we decided that we should provide these things to ALL, for the betterment of EVERYONE. What we do with these advantages is then up to us, up to our own personal responsibility; some will squander them, while others will use them to succeed.
Because we all did have a hand up due to these societal advantages, we therefore have a responsibility to future generations to maintain these social constructs that serve to benefit everyone that chooses to take advantage of them, and serve the country as a whole.
While no political party is perfect (far from it), to my mind, the party that currently espouses a philosophy that is closest to the above is the Democratic Party. The Republican Party, particularly the latest iteration of the “Tea Bag” wing, seems to hold a position that is diametrically opposed to this; elimination of the social safety net, focusing entirely on “do it yourself, don’t rely on others, that is Socialism and Socialism is self-evidently bad” seems to be their mantra.
Your vote is a tiny drop in a very large bucket, and whatever choice you make will make an microscopic difference to the final outcome. Er, unless you live in Ohio, or maybe Florida. Vote for whoever has the better haircut, if that’s your criteria. It’s not that big a deal.
I’m voting (D) however. The (R)s simply don’t represent my interests, particularly on social issues.
[QUOTE=A_Nested_Thorn;15476957 I’m leaning toward Obama, but I still have trouble with the whole personal responsibility side of the equation. I mean, at what point do we all have to begin taking responsibility for our own success (not referring to those who truly need social assistance, obviously)? What if we’re descending into a pattern of self-pity as a nation? What if policies reflect that? [/quote]
What part of Obama’s agenda causes you to think we might be awash in self-pity? The challenge for you is to present a clear, well-supported argument to show this concern of yours is rooted in something other than knee-jerk assumptions.
I have found that a lot of undecideds are unable to do this. They make claims loaded with rhetoric and emotional appeals, but they are noticeably short on facts and specifics. And so it is no wonder why they can make up their minds about who to elect. The choice appears blurry to them because all they’re working with is blurry notions.
Fair enough answer. I’d caution that, if you sit around waiting for the best candidate or, as is the case above, the best economic policy, you’re never going to find your answer. Neither side is guaranteed to do all good, all the time. Neither side’s economic policy is guaranteed to produce the results you want…or even the results they want.
So in a search for the best it’s really just a short jump to voter apathy. “Why should I bother to vote? Both candidates suck.” Yeah, neither candidate’s perfect. But there’s a difference between the two.
In fact, I cannot think of another election where there’s been such a stark contrast between the two candidates. The two major political parties are almost complete polar opposites from one another just about every area that it’s really hard for most people who have made up their mind to figure out why others can’t.
I’m not searching for the best. I know I’ll never find it. I’m searching for “the better,” and for me, that choice is easy.
What significance does this have? We all know that nobody’s perfect, and we don’t expect anyone to be perfect. But in this case we have two choices whose differences are stark.
I suppose it’s possible to say that the ways in which the candidates are different are irrelevant to you. That’s the position, that, just for the sake of an example, a hardcore communist or a Neo-Nazi would logically take, because neither candidate is anywhere close to either of those values. But if you’re somewhere close to the American center, then you shouldn’t have that problem.
I don’t get what’s so hard about this. Do you not have strong feelings on abortion, marriage equality, social programs, social security, the ACA, and military actions? I truly don’t understand how anyone can look at Obama and Romney and whine, “I just don’t know which to choose!” as they’re clearly and demonstrably different in terms of values and ideology.
What they’ll actually do. Take taxes, for example. Exactly how high is a “fair share,” Obama? Are you really just going to leave taxes alone, Romney? Take foreign policy. Would Romney have gone into Pakistan to get Bin Laden? Why did it take Obama four years to declare the Haqqani network a terrorist organization?
Yes, some more than others. About 50% have opted out of that deal completely.
That’s the problem. I can’t just say “They’re pretty similar in how to deal with China. We’ll call it a wash.” No. Now I have a clear candidate on each issue, and now that means I have to decide which issues I care more about. That’s not easy. If the parties were closer together, then I’d be able to vote with confidence.
No, no, yes, meh, eek, and yes. The problem isn’t choosing who to like on each issue. It’s choosing what the sum of the scorecard is.
As I pithily put it, one guy wants to take all my money and give it to poor people (“Let’s make a health care system that everyone can access and everyone will pay for, except those that don’t feel like it”) and the other guy wants to take my money and give it to rich people (“Fiscal cliff? No problem, so long as the top bracket keeps their ‘temporary’ tax cut.”)
I never said that was all you had to do but for a starter, just figuring out each position gives you a clue. Some people may be satisfied to count up the tallies and call it good. Others may want to establish some weighting but it’s not necessary. And forget strong opinions. You honestly don’t care at all what happens with abortion clinics? When the legislature votes to defund planned parenthood, you feel neither approval or disapproval? Surely you lean one way or the other.
You misunderstand the president if you are concerned that he doesn’t recognize the importance of individual responsibility to each person’s success or failure. That is, in fact, the most critical aspect of one’s success.
But one can take all the personal responsibility in the world, work very, very hard, and still not enjoy the kind of financial success that the right would have you believe is possible if only you just apply yourself better.
In point of fact, no one, not even the woman the Republican party trotted out on stage to kick off the “We Built It” charade can say they became successful all on their own. And guess what! Even she acknowledged that. Well, before she decided to run for Lieutenant Governor and needed the exposure the RNC could provide so she sold herself out as a shill for the Republican party.
Here, watch for yourself, how she, her husband and her business partner explain in great detail how they OWE SO MUCH OF THEIR SUCCESS to the government Small Business Association and the government 9/11 Rescue Loan they got so they could stay in business after the attack on our country. And not mentioned but relevant is the fact that they wouldn’t even have a business were it not for millions of dollars worth of government contracts for the products they manufacture.
I’d say I’d like to see them try to build that business without all the government help they took, but then, they wouldn’t be in business and even I don’t wish that on them.
You’d have a much easier time deciding if you didn’t resort to bullshit arguments in your head.
Barack Obama’s policies reflect the need for businesses to VALUE their employees more by paying them a more substantial portion of the profit THEY generate with their labor and stop sending 100% of the profits to just the Top Dog. Henry Ford did it. In fact, MOST corporations for DECADES did it, and that’s how we managed to have a vast and thriving middle class with only the out-of-work and destitute on public assistance. With Republican policies (both tax policies that give bigger tax breaks to corporations the bigger their CEO pay is! and their adamant opposition to even a MINIMUM wage for workers) in place for well over a decade, we now have 1/3 of families who rely on food stamps working full-time!
If you ask me, there’s only one sane choice to be made for the overall economic good of this country, and that’s to keep irresponsible Republicans as far away from the government as possible.
Oh, and as far as foreign policy? Just look at recent history. Bush was the worst foreign policy president since Reagan illegally sold arms to the Iranians to fund the Contra rebels (he may not have been caught, but there’s no question he did it and his lackeys took the fall for him). Barack Obama improved our standing, executed a military engagement that took out an evil dictator without the loss of a single American life, and killed our worst enemy.
Mitt Romney created such a clusterfuck on a simple ass-kissing visit that the Brits created the hashtag #RomneyShambles to rip him to shreds. Not only did he insult our best ally, but he told the Palestinians that they’re in their plight because of their culture. There was pretty much no one he didn’t offend on his trip abroad.
I beg you not to let that man anywhere near the White House except by invitation of President Obama.
