5 ms·

OK, I'm now a fan. I was up in Oregon for grad school during the Senate campaign between Wyden and Smith. I lean libertarian/fiscal-conservative, so was rooti

OK, I'm now a fan. I was up in Oregon for grad school during the Senate campaign between Wyden and Smith. I lean libertarian/fiscal-conservative, so was rooting for Smith against the awkward, liberal Wyden. Funny to think about the consequences had my wishes come true: Wyden is taking a well-thought-out, brave and effective position here and I'm reasonably sure that, had my wishes come true, Smith would not have done the same. Go Wyden! Separately and ironically, after bitching about "single-issue voters" and "litmus tests" involving abortion, it seems I'm now exhibiting the same traits with respect to the intarwebs.

deleted 15y ago
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SoftwareMaven 15y ago
I find myself in a situation where my political-economic philosophies and my individual/corporate rights philosophies have put me in a situation where I feel like my candidate pool is an empty set. If I favor the first, I'm more beholden to my corporate overlords. If I favor the second, the country's spiral towards bankruptcy will speed up. If I find an independent who feels as I do, my vote will be effectively wasted. Nothing quite like feeling completely disenfranchised.
- muhfuhkuh 15y ago
  "If I favor the first, I'm more beholden to my corporate overlords. If I favor the second, the country's spiral towards bankruptcy will speed up." Didn't the "spiral towards bankruptcy" really put the pedal to the metal when Reagan doubled-down on nukes, pushed lower top-line tax rates, and doubled the national debt and deficit at once? And, for the record, both parties are beholden to corporate overlords. Just a matter of degree. I fall in the "commerce with regulations and literally promote the general welfare" side of the fence, and so I fall in the democratic camp.
  - SoftwareMaven 15y ago
    You are, of course, correct. When I ponder these things holistically, I do tend to think about the parties in terms of what they say their goals are (which, even if everything else about them turns my stomach, the Tea Party has at least raised dichotomy to a level of real discussion). When it actually comes time to vote, those holistic views are chucked in favor of what the candidates are actually saying. In that context, there has rarely been a group not in the second category. It also explains why my voting for the last few elections has tended to lean more towards Democrats, even though I have so many philosophical issues with the party.
- wnoise 15y ago
  Primaries matter. They often have more than two who could conceivably win, so your vote has more than one bit of information.
SkyMarshal 15y ago
>Separately and ironically, after bitching about "single-issue voters" and "litmus tests" involving abortion, it seems I'm now exhibiting the same traits with respect to the intarwebs. Same here. The more I understand about our government, political, and financial/economic system, the fewer issues I think are really crucial. Most are wedge/noise/dog-whistle type stuff by comparison.
nhebb 15y ago
NB: It was Wyden v. Huffman in 2010 and Smith v. Merkeley in 2008.

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SoftwareMaven 15y ago

I find myself in a situation where my political-economic philosophies and my individual/corporate rights philosophies have put me in a situation where I feel like my candidate pool is an empty set. If I favor the first, I'm more beholden to my corporate overlords. If I favor the second, the country's spiral towards bankruptcy will speed up. If I find an independent who feels as I do, my vote will be effectively wasted. Nothing quite like feeling completely disenfranchised.

muhfuhkuh 15y ago
"If I favor the first, I'm more beholden to my corporate overlords. If I favor the second, the country's spiral towards bankruptcy will speed up." Didn't the "spiral towards bankruptcy" really put the pedal to the metal when Reagan doubled-down on nukes, pushed lower top-line tax rates, and doubled the national debt and deficit at once? And, for the record, both parties are beholden to corporate overlords. Just a matter of degree. I fall in the "commerce with regulations and literally promote the general welfare" side of the fence, and so I fall in the democratic camp.
- SoftwareMaven 15y ago
  You are, of course, correct. When I ponder these things holistically, I do tend to think about the parties in terms of what they say their goals are (which, even if everything else about them turns my stomach, the Tea Party has at least raised dichotomy to a level of real discussion). When it actually comes time to vote, those holistic views are chucked in favor of what the candidates are actually saying. In that context, there has rarely been a group not in the second category. It also explains why my voting for the last few elections has tended to lean more towards Democrats, even though I have so many philosophical issues with the party.
wnoise 15y ago
Primaries matter. They often have more than two who could conceivably win, so your vote has more than one bit of information.

SkyMarshal 15y ago

>Separately and ironically, after bitching about "single-issue voters" and "litmus tests" involving abortion, it seems I'm now exhibiting the same traits with respect to the intarwebs. Same here. The more I understand about our government, political, and financial/economic system, the fewer issues I think are really crucial. Most are wedge/noise/dog-whistle type stuff by comparison.

nhebb 15y ago

NB: It was Wyden v. Huffman in 2010 and Smith v. Merkeley in 2008.