McCain or Obama

[Largo]

What is very annoying is whenever a state government, or even the US Congress try to do something good.

I.E. Congressional term limits, or a line-item veto,

The Supreme Court rules that those changes have to be made via Constitutional Amendment.

Just those two changes would result to less federal spending. The term-limits, because then members of Congress would not be as beholding to special interests, and the line-item veto so that the Prez could eliminate wasteful riders.

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by cummings66

Say I firmly believe in every single plank of the parties platform, then IMO it's my duty to vote that party straight ticket. The reasoning is the person I'm voting for could be made to conform to the party by peer pressure, and certainly the opposite party doesn't have anything of value to offer.

I'm not trying to deny anyone a vote, but if you make an uninformed choice, in my mind you have no legitimate gripe if you don't like what you get. Voting for a party member without knowing anything about the individual can, for example, get you a RINO Republican like Jim Leach, who spoke on Obama's behalf at the DNC, or like Lincon Chafee who voted against the Iraq war and the Bush tax cuts and who has a liberal record on same sex marriage and abortion, or like Christopher Shays, whom the NRA gives a big fat "F", or like Michael Bloomberg, who changed from Democrat to Republican before the election so he could ride Guliani's coat-tails to victory. But hey... there's an (R) next to their names on the ticket, so I'm sure they each have the party platform foremost in their minds when they make decisions on behalf of their constituents.

Again, be careful what you vote for... you might get it.

[cummings66]

I'm just saying there are legitimate reasons to vote straight ticket. I don't do that, but there are reasons it's valid. First of all, who really knows a politician outside of his page he's sleeping with and the lobbyists he's taking money from? We don't know what they're likely to do no matter what, but you can say that I do not like the Democrats because their platform planks are poor, and that's a legitimate reason to not vote Democrat in the big elections.

[MSilvia]

As long as you have a reasoned approach, do whatever makes sense to you. All I'm trying to say is that just showing up at the polls and playing connect the dots with a bunch of candidates and issues you know nothing about doesn't do anyone any good.

If you vote for an unknown because you like his party affiliation, that to me is much better than voting for someone because, for example, you think you've heard his name somewhere before (maybe the news, maybe a wanted poster... whatever, it's familiar.)

[Rileybri]

Originally Posted by MSilvia

As long as you have a reasoned approach, do whatever makes sense to you. All I'm trying to say is that just showing up at the polls and playing connect the dots with a bunch of candidates and issues you know nothing about doesn't do anyone any good.

I like making a "S" pattern or sideways "M" depending on how many choices I get. It s so much easier than reading all those pesky choices on the paper thingy!

[cummings66]

Originally Posted by MSilvia

If you vote for an unknown because you like his party affiliation, that to me is much better than voting for someone because

That's what I was saying. I agree, to vote on an issue you know nothing of is not what was intended, but it is the reason the founding fathers made this a republic which was then modified into the mess it is today. They knew I'm sure that there would be Joe Blow out there voting on things he had no knowledge of and it would bring ruination upon the new nation at the time. Perhaps even now.

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by cummings66

They knew I'm sure that there would be Joe Blow out there voting on things he had no knowledge of and it would bring ruination upon the new nation at the time. Perhaps even now.

That it exactly. I don't much care how you come to your decision, but I do care that you know why you chose what you did.