Get out, The Vote!
A fun hypothetical question, on this, our Day Of Civic Duty...
Is it better to vote for someone who you have reason to believe is a "decent person", even though you know they disagree with you on some of your hot-button issues... or to vote for someone who's voting record lines up with your issues 100%, but you think they are probably scum?
I have been seriously considering making myself a little sticker that says, "I stayed home and prayed." Mostly so that, if people ask about it, I can say, "The mess we've made of it already, only God could save us from now."
But I'll probably just go and make a mess of it again, as per usual.
And then I'll go home and pray.
Happy November 7th, everybody!
posted by caparoon @ 6:14 AM
9 Comments:
"Is it better to vote for someone who you have reason to believe is a 'decent person', even though you know they disagree with you on some of your hot-button issues... or to vote for someone who's voting record lines up with your issues 100%, but you think they are probably scum?"
reminds me of the obama/keyes race of 04. My conservative family was lining up with keyes because of his stance on issues. i leaned toward obama for the reasons outlined in your paradox. BTW, i think keyes did take hancock county (one of the few he captured).
I can't don't see such a quandary in this year's offering. can't say i've ever been so turned off or confused by the negative campaigning.
No, I don't really see one of these this year, either. More of a rhetorical question. This year has quandries of it's own. : ]
I went and took a shot at it. Can't say I'm pleased with my own performance, but I did try. Next time around, I'm going to be ready.
Our faith gives us the freedom to be wrong, and the responsibility to try not to be. I think I kinda blew the second part this go 'round. Guess I'll have to do extra praying to make up for it. ; ]
there is little hope of discerning through this muck. don't beat yourself up to hard.
Don't I know it! I am only beating myself up in inverse proportion to the amount that I didn't bother to try.
; ]
How would you know someone is scum? How would you know someone is decent? Do you know these people?
Seriously curious how we'd make that call. Pretty rare to get that kind of insight, I would think.
Brant
You'd be right, Brant. It would be a rare insight. (and, for what it's worth, the "scum vs decent" thing is a vast oversimplification)
Part of what makes the whole thing difficult is that you only get a view of the person (unless you're lucky enough to know them) that is either how they want you to see them or how their opponents want you to see them.
So what are you left with? The spirit of their campaign, I think, is at least some kind of indicator. Not much of one, but you don't have much to go on. But if a guy comes on my TV and is all snarky.. that doesn't sit well. "Word of mouth".. which is mostly just a pretty way of saying "gossip". Um.. you can take into consideration the opinions of people who you know/respect, who actually know the candidate.
You seem kind of annoyed, man. Is that the case? If so, is it in response to this post, or just to life in general?
Or are you just trying to say, indirectly, that there's no way "decent/scum" can be a basis for choosing a candidate, so the only thing we're left with is voting record? As someone else said today (roughly), "Go with the guy who votes for your issues. Politics isn't about making friends."
I assumed john was exaggerating and referring to an instinctual distrust, but there is something to it. For me, there is a knee jerk reaction to the capped-teeth facade. I just don't believe them anymore.
Voted yesterday for sure, but it felt pretty empty. Didn't make it out till after supper and they were already announcing results as I drove home. LOL.
No, not annoyed at all. Sorry to seem that way. I totally agree with you, and am just kinda thinking aloud.
I'm sympathetic on the seeming-snarky thing in the media, since just yesterday, I seemed snarky in the media. (Couple people called me on it, and I apologized on-air a few minutes later. "Oops -- didn't mean it that way...")
Some of the best people don't fare well on TV, as you know. And some of the most thoughtful people are off-putting at first. So I don't know, I'm just agreeing that it's actually pretty rare to know the person, so I tend to go with positions on issues.
Brant
Isn't Kinky missing part of his trademark moniker?
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