Do you vote for a party or a candidate?

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How do you vote?

  • I always vote for the Democratic candidate on the entire ballot

  • I always vote for the Republican candidate on the entire ballot

  • I vote for both Democratic and Republican candidates on the entire ballot

  • I vote for neither Democratic nor Republican candidates


Results are only viewable after voting.

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
348
126
I vote for a candidate, not a party.

To me it's like ATI vs Nvidia, go for the best at the time. :p

If it were like ATI vs. Nvidia, you would be right about candidates.

It's not.

In fact, I love to illustrate with an analogy, but none are immediately clear that fit.

Taking a moment - it's a bit like whether you choose the word of Consumer Reports, or the word of advertisers.

You might say in theory you accept whichever is better, but you find that because of their agendas and sponsors, you pretty much always find Consumer Reports is better.

When one party is terribly corrupt so it's wrong at least 98% of the time, you can pick 'the best candidate' AND vote for one party, because they're the same thing.

The fallacy in this thread is that voting for one party means you are choosing a bad person of that party over a good person of the other party - it ASSUMES it's a mix of quality.

That assumption is not necessarily correct. People who can't recognize that have the 'centrist bias'.

In theory I vote for 'the best candidate' - but that includes the baggage of his party's agenda, and that is quite a burden for one side to overcome.

Looking back in history, the last Republican presidential candidate I would think might be 'the better candidate' would go to the 1920's, when I don't know the Democrats.

I'm not sure there's ever been a Republican presidential candidate that's the been the better choice. Teddy Roosevelt might be, but his foreign policy was wrongly aggressive.

Abraham Lincoln jumps out, but I'd have to see how Stephen Douglas was. I'd probably go Lincoln from what I recall.

Having said that, there have been some flawed Democrats it'd be hard to vote for, like Dukakis.

I understand the seductive quality of 'person not party', for people who think 'party' is all about blind loyalty like a sports team. I support the spirit of their position.

But I think such people fail to appreciate the importance of the party agendas - that the quality of the person can fix a bad agenda little more than a nice car salesman can improve the quality of the car. When you vote for the candidate, you are really voting for his party's donors' agendas, like it or not, and his role is largely to be a good salesperson to get votes so he can serve that agenda. It shouldn't be that way, and many good people who are elected hate it, but that's largely how it is.

See how some of Obama's least controversial bills that are even thigs Republicans previously pushed get 100% Republican opposition to see how that's the case.

That's not hundreds of Republicans each voting 'on the merits of the bill' they might even have previously supported when put forward by Republicans, it's party agenda.

You are picking the party agenda, even if you don't know you are and think you're voting for the guy you would like a beer with.

You should be proud to say you understand the party agendas and prefer one (coughdemocratcough) over the other in your voting. That makes you more informed, not more 'blindly partisan'. Pretending that each politician is 'just a person' who will vote independantly of the party agenda is going to happen the way a Ford car salesman is going to suggest going to Honda if their car is better for your needs.
 
Jun 26, 2007
11,925
2
0
There are 4 types of voters:

1.) Those who always vote for the Democratic candidate
2.) Those who always vote for the Republican candidate
3.) Those who vote for both Democratic and Republican candidates on the same ballot
4.) Those who vote for candidates from other parties

These votes cover a variety of races, local, state, and federal.

Which type are you?

I've never voted for either party exclusively. I'm not a registered member of any party, and I never will be. Doing so implies an obligation to believe and vote a certain way in perpetuity, and I refuse to do that in the name of a political party.

I'm also of the opinion that voting for a party instead of a candidate is very dangerous and a detriment to this country. If you believe that either the Democratic or Republican parties are the only party that has all the right answers and that they're on your side, you're a damned fool.

NOTE: Your vote on this poll is public.

I'm not from the US, but the way i do it is that i take my time to go over the issues that are directly affecting me and what i do for a living (this is foreign policy mostly) and then everything else and pretty much make up my mind from the proposals stated.

I voted for the liberal democrats last time around and i think they have been able to get their will through in the matters that matter the most.

And i voted for the ideas of the party, not for a person per se (personal ideas never see the light of day, look at the party and you'll find what ideas will).
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,679
11,022
136
Craig, the problem with your "Consumer Reports vs. Advertisers" comparison is that you fail to factor in the fact that (in this instance) Consumer Reports has been completely and totally bought off by competing advertisers.

In essence, regardless of how you vote, you're still voting for the advertisers...

American politics has gotten to the same point. Regardless of which party you support, you're still supporting crooks who are bought and paid for by the corporations who control the money.
 

werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
29,873
463
126
Craig, the problem with your "Consumer Reports vs. Advertisers" comparison is that you fail to factor in the fact that (in this instance) Consumer Reports has been completely and totally bought off by competing advertisers.

In essence, regardless of how you vote, you're still voting for the advertisers...

American politics has gotten to the same point. Regardless of which party you support, you're still supporting crooks who are bought and paid for by the corporations who control the money.

It was a brilliant analogy considering that Consumer Reports recently had to recall its own request for a federal recall of a very popular Evenflo baby car seat manufacturer's product when it became known that the tests shown in the video Consumer Reports was showing were (like the video) manufactured in a competitor's lab, were performed on a seat not properly attached, were not produced by any Consumer Reports personnel, and in fact were not even witnessed by any Consumer Reports personnel. I can't think of a better analogy to the Democrat Party, who always know better than the individual even while being totally dishonest.
 

PJABBER

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2001
4,822
0
0
While I have voted for both Democrats and Republicans in the past (and have so indicated in this poll,) in this election I am going to vote a straight Republican ticket.

I have no particular love for either Party as both have proved inadequate over time. But the Democrat agenda is so antithetical to the good of this nation, and the cases of corruption that have not been addressed by their party leadership are so rife, that I cannot stomach their remaining in power at any level as enablers.

Perhaps after the November election, and with the passage of another year, I may go back to picking individual candidates. But the job of voting out/impeaching/recalling the bunch that will remain in office, just because it is not yet their turn, will not be done until 2012.
 

classy

Lifer
Oct 12, 1999
15,219
1
81
candidate

I have never voted republican for president, but every other office. I voted for Christie for governor. We are in a state of emergency lol and need good people, regardless of their party.
 

PJABBER

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2001
4,822
0
0
candidate

I have never voted republican for president, but every other office. I voted for Christie for governor. We are in a state of emergency lol and need good people, regardless of their party.

QFT. Christie should be the poster child for every Republican candidate out there.
 

iamfratty

Junior Member
Sep 16, 2010
4
0
0
You should always vote for your party and not for the candidate. Voting across party lines is a waste, and is wishy washy. You should choose which party matches your ideals and ethics the closest. Candidates are representatives for that party (which is closest to your personal ethics and ideals), so in turn you should always want your party (your ideals and ethics) to win. If we lived in a different time where there were no parties, then you would vote for the candidate; but that is not the time we live in. I will never ever vote for the opposing party...UNLESS my ethics and ideal change and are closer to that party.

Why would I ever want the opposing party (democrats) to win? They stand for everything I deeply and greatly despise......regardless of the individual candidate. I will never want to give more power to them.
 
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Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
35,052
30
86
You should always vote for your party and not for the candidate. Voting across party lines is a waste, and is wishy washy. You should choose which party matches your ideals and ethics the closest. Candidates are representatives for that party (which is closest to your personal ethics and ideals), so in turn you should always want your party (your ideals and ethics) to win. If we lived in a different time where there were no parties, then you would vote for the candidate; but that is not the time we live in. I will never ever vote for the opposing party...UNLESS my ethics and ideal change and are closer to that party.

Guess you never noticed that there are plenty of examples of candidates from both major parties, as well as fringoids and wannabes, who run for office despite having documented legal and ethical shortcomings. There are also examples of really good people from both parties and independents who outshine any opposing candidate in a given race, regardless of party affiliation.

Your post is the position of someone with no ethics whatsoever. I hope you know better than that. :rolleyes:
 

iamfratty

Junior Member
Sep 16, 2010
4
0
0
Let me go back to the fact that I said I would never want to give democrats power, because I have nothing in common with them! Even if a specific democrat is a good person, they still represent a party that I despise and is full of kool-aid.

Back up your opinion that I have no ethics, or else your post has absolutely no merit.
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
35,052
30
86
Let me go back to the fact that I said I would never want to give democrats power, because I have nothing in common with them! Even if a specific democrat is a good person, they still represent a party that I despise and is full of kool-aid.

Back up your opinion that I have no ethics, or else your post has absolutely no merit.

Your own words make the point far better than anything I could say. Thanks making it so easy. :thumbsup:
 

irishScott

Lifer
Oct 10, 2006
21,568
3
0
While I'm technically registered as a Republican, I've voted for moderate Dems in the past (notably Mark Warner and Tim Kain). As far as my congressman is concerned though, Frank Wolf all the way. I also voted for McCain and Bush, namely because Kerry would have been worse and I correctly predicted Obama being nothing more than a pussy with a nice smile; his whoring himself out to the left. McCain at least had integrity at one point, and I thought if he had the big chair maybe he'd bring some of that back. *shrug*

So getting back on topic, I vote for whatever candidate I feel will best represent me and my values. Party is irrelevant.
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
35,052
30
86
Funny. You obviously have nothing to back your point up, so we're done here.

Nothing funny, at all. We have your own posts to back it up. You said you'd vote for your party's candidate over any other, regardless of whether that candidate was proven to be ethically challenged or whether the other candidate was demonstrably a better choice.

That's the position of a mindless dogmatic bot, not a thinking, ethical person.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
If you're voting for someone who is part of a major party (not indie), it's best to vote along party lines.

The reason for this is that your guy is not allowed to disobey the party, so it really doesn't matter what his opinions are. If your republican candidate wants to cut spending while the rest of the republicans are trying to increase spending on things like the military, then he's forced to choose between his own believes and being part of the republican party. If he goes against them, they'll stop supporting him and he'll be fucked when the next election comes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_(politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are party 'enforcers', who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy. A whip's role is also to ensure that the elected representatives of their party are in attendance when important votes are taken. The usage comes from the hunting term whipping in, i.e. preventing hounds from wandering away from the pack.

Official party whips are almost exclusively found in legislatures based on first-past-the-post electoral systems, as FPTP discourages the formation of small parties and therefore tends to create a few larger "big church" parties where the distance between members on the parties' right and left wings may be significant, which in turn can easily lead to internal rebellion against the official party view when certain issues are voted on.


It's important to keep in mind that each level of government has its own parties. State democrats might be wildly different from federal democrats. It's not hypocritical in any way to vote along democrat party lines in state elections then vote along republican lines in federal elections.
 
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iamfratty

Junior Member
Sep 16, 2010
4
0
0
Nothing funny, at all. We have your own posts to back it up. You said you'd vote for your party's candidate over any other, regardless of whether that candidate was proven to be ethically challenged or whether the other candidate was demonstrably a better choice.

That's the position of a mindless dogmatic bot, not a thinking, ethical person.

You are not providing any reasoning to how or why I don't have ethics. You are purely going on emotion and emotional tactics.

I vote for the good of my party, not for an individual person. You should back your party, and not wish wash. Going back and forth is not going to push your party agenda for the win.

I have strong conservative ethics in the nuclear family, honesty, working hard, very limited government, capitalism, and not depending the government to give me anything for free. So you are quite wrong my friend.
 

Harvey

Administrator<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
35,052
30
86
You are not providing any reasoning to how or why I don't have ethics. You are purely going on emotion and emotional tactics.

If you're too reading challenged to understand the words you wrote, wasting anymore time trying to explain them to you would be useless as tits on a boar.

I give up on you. Enjoy yourself in your own uncomprehending world. :rolleyes: