Are undecided voters dimwits?

Balt

Lifer
Mar 12, 2000
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On the contrary, I think the undecided voters are the smartest ones in this election.
 

denali

Golden Member
Oct 10, 1999
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The choice of "none of the above" isn't on the ballot yet if it was the choice would be obvious to everyone.
 

DaBoneHead

Senior member
Sep 1, 2000
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I got an hour of Jesse Ventura yesterday on MSNBC (i think that was the station)...

All I can say is 'wow!'. Big as a mountain, sincere, and articulate. Why the hell isn't he running? He could have mopped up.

Why am I undecided? I'll tell you why...

Colin Powel for pres.. no problem, I'd have voted.
John McCain for pres.. ditto above.
Jesse Ventura for pres.. Woohoo! Our president can beat up any other nations president!
Al Gore for pres.. I'll vote for him when he stops acting like a dork (ie.. never).
George W. Bush for pres.. I will never vote for a slacker. Get beyond the name, this guy reeks. He is a loser who gets by on his name alone.

I don't know enough about Nader, my fault I know.

So, I won't vote for Gore or Bush... so what do I do? Anyone else but bush... give me peewee herman, but not Bush.

Does that help you understand, chess?
 

AaronP

Diamond Member
Feb 27, 2000
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I think all the people who are still undecided are either just uninformed, apathetic, or just plain stupid.

I mean, these guys have been campaigning for like 18 months if you don't know by now who you're going to vote for, then you shouldn't vote at all.
 

Isla

Elite member
Sep 12, 2000
7,749
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chess, I have to agree with DaBoneHead.

I think both Gore and Bush suck. I'm tempted not to vote at all...

but since Mr Isla is voting Bush, it is my duty to cancel his vote by voring Gore!

:D :D :D
 

DirkBelig

Banned
Oct 15, 1999
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I think that the "undecided" are a bunch of pansy fence sitters. If they can't see that Gore is a lying sack-o-poo who is lying every time he opens his mouth, it's because they're waiting to see which candidate panders to them the most with promises of gifts of other people's money.
 

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
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By lumping all undecided voters into one category, you have just shown how intellectually lazy and closed minded you are. Actually this is the same mechanism that powers stereotyping. But then if gross over generalizations are your sort of thing, who am I to stop you?
 
Jan 30, 2000
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I have a serious question. You guys can flame me if you want, but I mean this in all sincerity. Where does one go to get informed enough to vote? I don't just mean about the president, but your congressman, mayor, governor, issues on the ballot? Columbus has ONE newspaper with an obvious bias. The local and national television news programs have biases also. Where can you go to get as unbiased as possible information, in order to make an informed choice?

My father doesn't vote and my mother does, but she doesn't talk about it. When I've asked her how she decides who or what she's voting for, she simply replies that it's a private matter and not to ask her (I'm 24, BTW), so I received no guidance from them on how to become an educated voter.

I feel BAD about how uninformed I am, and as I get older, I'd like to become a more intelligent voter.

So, where can you go to get unbiased information, all the way down to at least the state level?
 

DirkBelig

Banned
Oct 15, 1999
536
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Interesting. Here's how my list came out: Presidential Selecter Linkified

84--Alan Keyes
82--Harry Browne
80--Howard Phillips
79--George W. Bush
74--Patrick J. (Pat) Buchanan
56--John Hagelin
21--David McReynolds
19--Ralph Nader
11--Albert Gore Jr.

The problem is that the choices don't allow for nuance in the issues. For example, I am full-tilt against the vast majority of abortions (admit it, it's post-conceptual birth control) and I consider partial-birth abortion to be infanticide, BUT, I wouldn't outlaw it from a Federal level. I'd support the overturning of Roe v. Wade because it was a bullchit perversion of the Constitution. The STATES should handle the decision. It would be wrong to force women to have children, but there must be an acknowlegement that someone's getting killed by that "choice".

So, am I an extremist right-winger? I don't think so. My libertarian underpinnings force personal freedom higher up the list and that would preclude government intervention, but facts are fact and abortion ends a life. Deal with it.

(Can't wait to see how this gets twisted out of shape.)

Presidential Selecter Linkified
 

denali

Golden Member
Oct 10, 1999
1,122
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Mrs AntiSocial Virge:

You might check at a local public library for information on the various canidates/issues. At least in Colorado every household with a registered voter get info in the mail for a unbias group that detail the canidates/issues that you can vote for, I don't know if Ohio does something similar.

You could also contact the local chapter of
The League of Women Voters or at DemocracyNet.

Another good source of info is Project Vote Smart.

Another suggestion is to contact each of the local canidates and ask them for a position paper, also you could attend local political debates, even ask a question or two.
 

Czar

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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An undecided voter is someone who is not happy with any of the candiates and is either going to skip voting or just voting the one who is not the worst. And finding someone like that is hard, considering the coandiates.
 

DirkBelig

Banned
Oct 15, 1999
536
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OuterSquare: "intellectually lazy and closed minded"? How do you figure that?

These "undecided" people when they're interviewed say that they want to hear more about the candidates proposals. Huh? With a few clicks, they can hit EVERY candidates web site and at least read their claims. Then they can go to a multitude of sites that evaluate those claims for truth and propriety.

These people can't express what they believe, they are MOSTLY waiting for someone to toss another goodie on the pile like dueling car salesmen:

B: I'll give you a full tank of gas.
G: And I'll throw in some carpet floor mats.
B: I'll include free scheduled maintenance.
G: I'll give you 2.9% financing.
B: How about 0% down and a $1500 rebate with no interest for the first year.
G: I'll give your grandma "free" drugs.
B: I'll cut your taxes.
G: I'll punish the rich and keep some tundra that you'll never see clean and pristene.
B: My dad should've bombed Tennessee.
G: I invented Tennessee.

And so on.

I'm not closed-minded, just open-eyed. You should try it. (Though you might not like what you see.)
 

JellyBaby

Diamond Member
Apr 21, 2000
9,159
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<< well, if you're still undecided go to http://www.selectsmart.com >>

AaronP,

Well I have already made up my mind but I did go to this site. They recommended I vote for Pot-Bellied Pigs, Llamas or Goats. Er, wait, I took the pet selector quiz my mistake... :)
 

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
15,581
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Dirk, that's not the point. The point is that you decided, based on that article or whatever other source you have (interview of a tiny, tiny sample size), that undecided voters are &quot;bunch of pansy fence sitters&quot;. You then applied that label as a generality to people who are undecided. Now, you tell me, do you honestly find that fair?
 

yata

Senior member
Jun 2, 2000
746
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It's journalistic commentary, just giving a different light on the situation. But informed versus not informed doesn't really relate to whether a person is decided or not. Doesn't matter if this is Bush and Gore. People rather put effort into things that they can realize, rather than voting for presidential nominees that &quot;promise&quot; but may not deliver. Budget plans or SSN issues may be concrete, but you never know whether those tax credits that really affects you will come through, or with the enough amount. And also, anyone understand the strategy of these political candidates? Because there are always undecided/swing voters, the two will converge on issues in order to grab more voters. Changing their stance, going to the middle...

These candidate suck. They're both more like &quot;I've made it this far, why not go for the presidency. I'll just hire more advisors, poll the public, find the largest population on a belief and I'll stand on it.&quot; Anyways, the title of the article grabbed my attention but the article has no merit. People who wants to vote(decided or undecided) are at a certain level of intelligence that can't be inferred as witless or dumb. Uneducated ones don't vote because they don't care or can't afford to. He gave an opinionated piece based on what he read which is also subjective. I think the author has some issues himself...
 

DanC

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2000
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<< Columbus has ONE newspaper with an obvious bias. >>


Mrs. Antisocial -
Hit the nail right on the head. LIBERALS control the media. Bwah!

:)
 

IronMike

Senior member
Jun 24, 2000
356
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No, Dan C, the newspaper of which Mrs. Anti speaks is a right wing rag called the Columbus &quot;Dogpatch&quot;. It is infamous nationwide for it's slant, biased reporting and news manipulation. Owned by a right wing family that also controls one of the television stations, it is no wonder many in central Ohio have right wing brain damage.