Full Version: #1 Voting Issue in 2006 Elections
I know that everyone here at 
is concerned about the US on many fronts, but I have found that most people tend to have that one issue that makes them vote a certain way. With so few candidate choices available to us, we only really get to decide how we'd like some things to go at the expense of others. What issue will most effect your vote this fall?
What issue will most effect your vote this fall?
I voted other. It's a combination. The deficit, lobbyists' access to legislation, and Congress' complete lack of interest in civil liberties compared with pork.
That is how the No Fly Watch List balloons to 80,000 and people less than enthusiastic about the Bush administration like James Moore siphon resources away from legitimate targets that should be investigated.
I voted other. It's a combination. The deficit, lobbyists' access to legislation, and Congress' complete lack of interest in civil liberties compared with pork.
QUOTE(Slate.com)
The government experimented with large-scale pattern-based searches under the auspices of the Defense Department's Total Information Awareness program in 2002. The aim was to sift though government intelligence data, and also privately held information, for telltale signs of the planning of a terrorist attack. TIA was ridiculed as Orwellian. But at least the program tried to create new technologies to protect personal information. Adm. John Poindexter, TIA's creator, believed in the potential intelligence benefits of data-mining broadband communications, but he was also well aware of the potential for excess. "We need a much more systematic approach" to data-mining and privacy protection, Poindexter said at a 2002 conference in Anaheim, Calif., sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Poindexter envisioned a "privacy appliance," a device that would strip any identifiers from the information—such as names or addresses—so that government miners could see only patterns. Then if there was reason to believe that the information belonged to a group that was planning an attack, the government could seek a warrant and disable the privacy control for that specific data. TIA funded research on a privacy appliance at the Palo Alto Research Center, a subsidiary of Xerox Corp. "The idea is that this device, cryptographically protected to prevent tampering, would ensure that no one could abuse private information without an immutable digital record of their misdeeds," according to a 2003 government report to Congress about TIA. "The details of the operation of the appliance would be available to the public."
The NSA's domestic eavesdropping program, however, appears to have none of these safeguards. When Congress killed TIA's funding in 2003, it effectively ended research into privacy-protection technology. According to former officials associated with TIA, after the program was canceled, elements of it were transferred into the classified intelligence budget. But these did not include research on privacy protection.
- Tinker, Tailor, Minor, Spy
Poindexter envisioned a "privacy appliance," a device that would strip any identifiers from the information—such as names or addresses—so that government miners could see only patterns. Then if there was reason to believe that the information belonged to a group that was planning an attack, the government could seek a warrant and disable the privacy control for that specific data. TIA funded research on a privacy appliance at the Palo Alto Research Center, a subsidiary of Xerox Corp. "The idea is that this device, cryptographically protected to prevent tampering, would ensure that no one could abuse private information without an immutable digital record of their misdeeds," according to a 2003 government report to Congress about TIA. "The details of the operation of the appliance would be available to the public."
The NSA's domestic eavesdropping program, however, appears to have none of these safeguards. When Congress killed TIA's funding in 2003, it effectively ended research into privacy-protection technology. According to former officials associated with TIA, after the program was canceled, elements of it were transferred into the classified intelligence budget. But these did not include research on privacy protection.
- Tinker, Tailor, Minor, Spy
That is how the No Fly Watch List balloons to 80,000 and people less than enthusiastic about the Bush administration like James Moore siphon resources away from legitimate targets that should be investigated.
What issue will most effect your vote this fall?
I said foreign policy, but by that I do not mean primarily the Iraq war, which is only one front in the larger war, namely the war between Islamic jihadists and everybody else.
Although I did not and do not think a prolonged occupation of Iraq was the best strategy in that larger war, we are now committed to it, and no one will get my vote who favors withdrawal before we can plausibly claim victory in Iraq. Nor will anyone get my vote who doesn't take the larger war seriously, and who isn't determined to win it.
I said foreign policy, but by that I do not mean primarily the Iraq war, which is only one front in the larger war, namely the war between Islamic jihadists and everybody else.
Although I did not and do not think a prolonged occupation of Iraq was the best strategy in that larger war, we are now committed to it, and no one will get my vote who favors withdrawal before we can plausibly claim victory in Iraq. Nor will anyone get my vote who doesn't take the larger war seriously, and who isn't determined to win it.
What issue will most effect your vote this fall?
The candidate that will get my vote this year will be one who is truly reform minded, one who will tackle the gross bloating of the federal government. From the traditional ineptness of the Department of Education and it's union enablers to the ever growing menage a trois of corporations/lobbyists/politicians, I will vote for anyone from any party who can convince me that they can change the status quo.
The federal government is a morbidly obese money addict which needs to go to Jenny Craig and enroll in a twelve step program.
But, I also have a vested interest in seeing responsible and rational people go to Washington who understand the nature of the conflict in Iraq and in the war on terror, and who aren't afraid to make tough decisions to ensure victory over the death cults.
So I voted other, a mixture of foreign policy, domestic issues and don't get me started on the faux excuses to filibuster Alito........
The candidate that will get my vote this year will be one who is truly reform minded, one who will tackle the gross bloating of the federal government. From the traditional ineptness of the Department of Education and it's union enablers to the ever growing menage a trois of corporations/lobbyists/politicians, I will vote for anyone from any party who can convince me that they can change the status quo.
The federal government is a morbidly obese money addict which needs to go to Jenny Craig and enroll in a twelve step program.
But, I also have a vested interest in seeing responsible and rational people go to Washington who understand the nature of the conflict in Iraq and in the war on terror, and who aren't afraid to make tough decisions to ensure victory over the death cults.
So I voted other, a mixture of foreign policy, domestic issues and don't get me started on the faux excuses to filibuster Alito........
QUOTE(Just Leave me Alone! @ Jan 8 2006, 06:58 AM)
I know that everyone here at is concerned about the US on many fronts, but I have found that most people tend to have that one issue that makes them vote a certain way. With so few candidate choices available to us, we only really get to decide how we'd like some things to go at the expense of others. What issue will most effect your vote this fall?
First, I'd like to see if JLMA's statement is correct...do most people here have one issue that sways their vote? If so, I find this fascinating. Economic voting theory does indicate this is the case, but given the huge amount of issues to be concerned about, I can't imagine deciding for a candidate based on just one issue.
For myself, the two main issues are a mix and extension of two of the issues mentioned above. Social Security/Medicare is just a subset of the inability of the government to practice fiscal responsibility. Given just the current liabilities, the time is coming when the government will simply not be able to live up to its current obligations. Everyday that goes by, this problem simply increases in magnitude. Eventually, it will reach a point where the government will have to choose between massive tax increases, massive borrowing, massive program cuts, or massive printing of money to fund obligations. Of these, the only one that wouldn't be catastrophic for the economy is massive cuts in programs, but since when has the government ever chosen that route? That leaves us facing an economic calamity within my lifetime if pretty drastic steps aren't taken soon. I can't imagine a bigger issue than this. Therefore, this would be my primary voting concern. Currently, I don't see any candidates coming remotely close to what is necessary. I have no party affiliation on this....
My secondary issue would be foreign policy, combined with addressing the terrorist problem. This is also a much, much broader issue than just the Iraq war. Border security, immigration reform, and various domestic issues (homeland security) all play in this. Relation with China is very important....China stands to become our main adversary in the future, while also probably playing a key role in our economic success and influence around the world. We will also need China's help in dealing with N. Korea, Iran, and other rogue nations. We already are competing with them for oil resources. Anyone advocating pulling out of Iraq probably loses my vote, unless they come up with a compelling argument that doing so won't adversely affect our national security down the road.
Probably my remaining issue, which wasn't mentioned in the list, is a willingness to work with members of the opposing party to arrive at solutions. Without this, it doesn't really make much difference what their platform is, since it simply will never be enacted.
I voted "cronyism" but I really just want to see this type of administration and legislators gone- to me, they are possibly the worst combination of lawmakers and executive branch this country has had in it's entire history- truly awful.
I think ideologue's make for very good opposition partys, but horrible when they are in power.
I think ideologue's make for very good opposition partys, but horrible when they are in power.
QUOTE(Just Leave me Alone! @ Jan 8 2006, 03:58 AM)
I know that everyone here at is concerned about the US on many fronts, but I have found that most people tend to have that one issue that makes them vote a certain way. With so few candidate choices available to us, we only really get to decide how we'd like some things to go at the expense of others. What issue will most effect your vote this fall?
It's mostly about economics. It appears to me that we are producing ever larger pies and that the little people are getting ever smaller slices of it. Some politicians essentially are saying that the problem with the economy is that the American worker has too much. Well I'm not buying it. Minimum wage was nearly $9 an hour in the late 1960's, if you adjust for inflation. Can someone explain to me why wages, working conditions, and living standards seem to be on the decline? When I was a kid, my dad, with just a high school education and 40 hours a week, made a better living than what I see for many college educated couples today putting in 90+ hours today.
With all the labor saving technology, we should have been on a 32 hour work week 20 years ago. I attribute this to the loss of power for organized labor. I'll vote according to the AFL-CIO's recommendations.
At this point the most pressing issue for me is which candidate has a realistic and well thought out plan for Iraq.
QUOTE
What issue will most effect your vote this fall?
A combination of the dual defecits and the immigration issue. The government is spending like a drunken liberal sailor and our boarder with Mexico resembles a cheese grater. I think the Republicans should follow up on their promise to pass a balanced budget amendment and require the federal government to spend money that it actually has. I would also like to see a candidate that would deport every single illegal alien in the country and eliminate entitlements for the ones that still remain. Foreign citizens should not be getting free education and health care [non emergency of course] here.
CP
I went with Cronyism as that seems to be tied in with most of the other issues mentioned (and many that are not mentioned). Or, as it was put in a conversation with my partner:
While I'm not a single-issue voter as a rule, I'd go for any candidate at this point that's even slightly less corrupt than the gangsters currently in power - even if they're every bit as unlawful. It's the combination of corruption and criminality that makes this administration particularly heinous - and dangerous.
QUOTE
Me: Hmmn... only two items have any substantial "single-issue" responses: Cronyism and Foreign Policy, with 18% each.
Him: And, since they're the same thing, that's 36%.
Him: And, since they're the same thing, that's 36%.
While I'm not a single-issue voter as a rule, I'd go for any candidate at this point that's even slightly less corrupt than the gangsters currently in power - even if they're every bit as unlawful. It's the combination of corruption and criminality that makes this administration particularly heinous - and dangerous.
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