An inquiry (primarily) for still independent/undecided voters

[airiefairie]

With less than a week remaining until the voting stations are opened, and America picks up the lesser among two evils ... the next Antichrist ... the guy who will shortly preside until the impending Mayan apocalypse, here is a question that has been torturing this blonde head recently... not letting me sleep at night, constantly wondering. So far I

Comments

[a_new_machine]

Man, I thought I was undecided/independent, but after reviewing all the local races, I think I should just register as a Democrat and call it a day. I just do not understand the modern Republican party.

[nairiporter]

Why, what is going on over there?

[a_new_machine]

Priorities are screwed up, nobody understands investment. Basically the Republicans in my state want to drastically cut spending on everything, despite my state's terrible infrastructure. We're living on things that our grandparents build in the '50s and hoping they keep up for another decade. There's also the "tax pledge" that promises not to institute a sales or income tax. Not that they won't raise taxes - just that they'll avoid broad-based taxes that are more resilient to economic swings. Instead, we have a state-wide property tax, high business taxes (which defeats the claim that our tax structure is better for business), and high hospitality taxes, despite hospitality being a big service in the state, and heavy competition from surrounding states (we basically remove our hospitality advantage by having that tax instead of a general sales tax

[nairiporter]

This all sounds so terribly messed up. Three questions. Which state is that? Why do you think they are doing all this? And has the situation passed a point beyond which there is no repair?

[luzribeiro]

We wimminz were recently told around here that we should be voting with our woman parts, so, in order to comply with that instruction, I'm just gonna say this:

HE SHOULD LOOK SEXY, IS ALL I'M SAYIN'!

[dexeron]

WHICH President brought us not just one Hobbit movie, but the promise of three?

Just sayin'.

[dwer]

Which President would you trust to take us on an Unexpected Journey? Which President would be more likely to extend disaster services to the town of Dale after it was burned by the dragon Smaug? And once Dale was rebuilt, which President would you trust to pull the trigger on Smaug the way he pulled the trigger on Osama Bin Laden?

The answer is clear.

[dexeron]

[airiefairie]

Did I hear Unexpected Journey? Are there dwaggins involved? Will there be dogs tied on the roof?

[mahnmut]

The coin flip seems like the most lullzy of all options. Because whichever of them is (se)lected*, there won't be a very big difference in America's stature overall, especially as far as its attitude to other countries is concerned.

* I doubt anyone believes that the political establishment would just let anyone run for president, do they?

[allhatnocattle]

That's not true. Democrats tend to be very protectionist regarding trade (invoking tariffs and other barriers to trade), while Republicans have initiated nearly all the Free Trade agreements.

[sandwichwarrior]

The biggest thing to me is the "who they surround themselves with" issue, and what sort of behavior they reward in their subordinates. I've found that this a much more reliable indicator of future behavior than pretty speeches or even past behavior.

That said I do put a lot of wheight on the debates but I tend to put a far greater emphasis on the overall gamesmanship of a candidate than the typical "Rah-Rah Go team". I'm less interested in the specific issues than in how well the canditdate presents them. How quick are they on they on thier feet, and How prone to misteps? Can they smell rhetorical blood in the water?

I almost clicked, "Do they look presidential?" but to me the real question is more "Is this a guy I'd want negotiating with the Russians on my behalf?"

I can tolerate intellectual drivel from my politicians but I demand that it beHigh Quality drivel.

[airiefairie]

But what happens when a candidate encircles themselves with people from different, sometimes even competing factions? What if they send a confused mixture of signals with their appointments that are hard to read?

[sandwichwarrior]

Even in case's of apperant ideological conflict, certain trends may emerge.

For instance, say a candidate preaches "post-partisan" politics and surrounds himself with political pit-fighters and urban ward-bosses. If those political pit-fighters and urban ward-bosses have differing ideological backgrounds that would technically make the claim of being non-partisan correct, it still reveals something of the candidate's approach to the taking and holding of power.

Of course confusion can and does happen and in those cases you have no choice but to make a "best guess" while preparing for the worst and praying for the best.

[htpcl]

I'll never tire of citing this comment.