02-11-2002 01:00									#1
	Single Issue Voter? Support Apolyton

My aunt votes for ppl based only on their stance on one issue (generally abortion). I find this rather ignorant. However, I don't ussually consider certain issues when I vote, but I take into account more than one issue.

What do you think?

Are there issues that you feel are SO important that you would ignore all other issues when determening who gets your vote?

If so what issue? What issue(s) are the most important to you?

	02-11-2002 02:43									#2
	Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

Baby consumption. I will not vote for somebody who is in favor of consuming human babies, no matter what his/her stance on other issues may be.

	02-11-2002 02:51									#3
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

But they're delicious!

	02-11-2002 02:54									#4
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

and make fine soft gloves

	02-11-2002 03:09									#5
	Remove this text

I'd say it's difficult to hold a logically consistent position while at the same time adopting a single issue that's outside the realm of that position. I, as a complex-system-of-analysis voter, would inevitably end up voting for someone with roughly a similar position to my own if I found someone sharing my analysis of a single issue. Not being a centrist in any way probably helps, there's nothing that could compel me to switch blocks short of bloody revolution.

Of course, there are single issues that make me totally stand against parties. I'd never vote for the Social Democrats in Sweden because they supported the Transporter Liability clause in the Schengen agreement, for instance.

	02-11-2002 03:10									#6
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

The Invasion of mars:

I will only vote for candidates that support new budget measures to make sure that the 10 trillion dollars such an invasion would cost (we need at least 100,000 men in the first wave), probalby actually 3 times that with cost overruns, will be available by 2015.


In reality:

No single issue is important enough for any single candidate in my view. At the same time, certain views are usually derived from a certain ideological world-view that also leads to other views. So I generally would only support liberal or left-center candidates.

	02-11-2002 04:27									#7
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Better to vote because of a single issue than to not vote at all...

	02-11-2002 05:32									#8
	Increase the size of your Attachments

Anyone who'll repeal your Sony Bono Copyright Extension Act, DMCA, Patriot Act is worth voting for. I am guessing that such candidates would come from the Libertarians and the Greens, but I am not intimately familiar with Yank politics.

	02-11-2002 07:06									#9
	Got spare money?

I will not vote for anyone who is bald or has a beard.

	02-11-2002 07:08									#10
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

I don't understand people who run for office on a single issue and those who vote for people on single issues... extremely ignorant...

	02-11-2002 07:37									#11
	Get a bigger avatar today!

I've harped on this before... But I would never vote for someone who believes creationism should have equal time in school.

It's not that I think teaching creationism is going to bring down civilization par se, it is just that it says so much about the mindset of the person. Bush is the prime example... He has the exact same philospohy about EVERYTHING - He makes up his mind about something, and then he goes about either trying to find a motivation for it or willfully ignoring the objections...

	02-11-2002 08:59									#12
	Put an end to popups!

quote: Originally posted by Fez I don't understand people who run for office on a single issue and those who vote for people on single issues...

Why not? You like people based purely on party affiliation.

quote: extremely ignorant...

hee hee.... hee hee hee...

	02-11-2002 09:02									#13
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

quote: Originally posted by tandeetaylor Why not? You like people based purely on party affiliation.

Yup but I base judgement after listening to several of their views... don't make stupid assumptions.

	02-11-2002 09:13									#14
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

I would likely vote for a candidate if they had a well-considered plan for the abolition of Social Security, even if their other views were mostly diametrically opposite of mine.

	02-11-2002 09:27									#15
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

I'm actually a single issue voter. That issue is, of course, liberty. If a candidate supports liberty (liberty as it is properly defined, of course), I vote for them. If they don't, then I don't. Wouldn't matter to me if that person called themselves a Communist, Republican, or anything else. Of course, the only people who support liberty these days are Libertarians, so Libertarians get my vote by default.

	02-11-2002 11:18									#16
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

quote: Originally posted by JohnT I would likely vote for a candidate if they had a well-considered plan for the abolition of Social Security, even if their other views were mostly diametrically opposite of mine.

Wow. You're cool.

I actually have a plan, but it's simplistic, childish and ignorant, and it involves other policies concerning foreign aid and other social programs. I haven't thought it through yet or researched it well enough. So I guess I won't get your vote this time. Maybe next time around.

	02-11-2002 11:18									#17
	Got spare money?

Pretty well says it for me too, David.

	02-11-2002 11:30									#18
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

Single issues will only make me vote in the negative (i.e. I won't vote for people if I find one of their planks to be totally asinine). Like Golisano in the NY elections - I can't vote in NY but that guy has this loopy "take back the lotto money" idea that would blow a massive hole in the state's budget. Politicians who make completely unrealistic promises always lose my vote. (which does leave me with a tough time choosing in most elections).

	02-11-2002 11:32									#19
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

quote: Originally posted by tandeetaylor Wow. You're cool. I actually have a plan, but it's simplistic, childish and ignorant, and it involves other policies concerning foreign aid and other social programs. I haven't thought it through yet or researched it well enough. So I guess I won't get your vote this time. Maybe next time around.

Thanks for the compliment. Does that now mean you think I'm attractive?

DF and I got into a little spat about it in this thread, though I must warn you that I remained on-topic and talked about reforming Social Security and not abolishing it. If you feel like adding something to the conversation, please do - I'd like to hear your opinion.

	02-11-2002 11:39									#20
	Got spare money?

quote: DF and I got into a little spat about it in this thread, though I must warn you that I remained on-topic and talked about reforming Social Security and not abolishing it.

Actually I talked about reform too - my reform was total privitization

	02-11-2002 12:16									#21
	Inflate your Upload Space

My primary issue is liberalism. It someone supports liberalism or the Democratic party I will not vote for them.

Of course Democratic liberals are wrong on the vast majority of issues and a higher percentage of them are bad people than any other group. So its kind of a one size fits all litmas test.

	02-11-2002 12:21									#22
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

"My aunt votes for ppl based only on their stance on one issue (generally abortion). I find this rather ignorant."

I don't see how you can say it is ignorant. If you belive that abortion is murder and that babies are being killed off in massive numbers every year(which I do), you are obviously going to place a pretty high importance on that issue. That being said, I do have other issues and if there isn't a significant real difference between beliefs and what the politicans are likely to do if elected, I will look at their other issues. But if there were a Socialist that had a legitimate chance of winning and would be able to treat abortion exactly like murder if elected, I would vote for him even though I am strongly against socialism.

	02-11-2002 20:28									#23
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

quote: Originally posted by jimmytrick My primary issue is liberalism. It someone supports liberalism or the Democratic party I will not vote for them. Of course Democratic liberals are wrong on the vast majority of issues and a higher percentage of them are bad people than any other group. So its kind of a one size fits all litmas test.

I'm always confused when Americans start talking about "liberals". What does that word mean down here?

In Canada, the Liberal Party is what you would get if you mixed the right of the US Democrats with the left of the US Republicans. Fiscal conservatives who support some minimum amount of social safety net. They haven't run a deficit in years, keep a pretty tight lid on social program spending, and just generally concentrate on doing whatever it takes to get re-elected.

What is a "liberal" here? I get the feeling that Nader and the Greens are considered "liberal" - is that right? Is the extreme left called "liberal"?

	02-11-2002 20:35									#24
	Got spare money?

"Liberal" is used as a smear word now in American politics, as the conservatives make it synonymous with "permissive." The implication is that those who are "liberal" are soft on crime, pro-drugs and pro-massive welfare state. It's a bogeyman.

Oh, and Democrat liberals are no more corrupt and morally repugnant than Republican conservatives. Jimmytrick seems to have blinders on to the moral terpitude of the GOP. Folks like Gingrinch, Gramm, Barr, Livingston, Packwood, Helms, etc. aren't moral or "good people." And I'd be interested to know how he comes to the conclusion that most Democrats are "bad people," since I doubt he's met most Democrats.

	02-11-2002 20:38									#25
	Tired of ads?

You're last two questions answer your questions. "Liberals", at least to those on the right who have no need to refine their terms, are anybody to the Left of, say, Jerry Falwell, just as "conservatives" are, to those on the left who have no need to refine their terms, anybody to the Right of Nader.

Both terms are pretty lazy characterizations that are supposed to bring to mind an evil hobgoblin for the other side.

	02-11-2002 20:39									#26
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Boris showed a pretty good example of what I was saying even while I was typing it. Thanks, Boris!

	02-11-2002 20:42									#27
	Support Apolyton

But ... I thought the Republicans were the party that championed individual rights over collective ones - i.e. small government, anti-gun control, low tax & low social spending etc.? Doesn't that make them the liberals in the straight forward sense of "people who want liberty"? Aren't they the ones that want "the government off their backs" so that they can be free to do what they want?

You would think they would characterise the pro-massive welfare state as the people who were against liberty. Political discourse is pretty good at twisting words into pretzels.

	02-11-2002 20:45									#28
	Full PM-box? Change here!

Yup (he says while eating pretzels).

	02-11-2002 20:46									#29
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

The GOP only champions individual rights when it is convenient and in line with their moral philosophy. They are anti-individual rights on drugs, gay rights, the flag burning ammendment, the war on terror, etc. It's not consistent.

	02-11-2002 20:47									#30
	Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

That would make sense if GOP stood for Grumpy Old People.