Personally, I have decided who my vote is going to. The question here is, what would you say to convince an undecided voter? I wanted to see what people from each side would say to do so. Here's the experiment: I have two acquaintances who are undecided. One male and one female. This is all the information I will give about them, other than to say that they are both rational, reasonable people. They are both undecided as to who they will vote for. I am going to show them this thread (unedited) periodically, until the thread dies a horrible death (which I realize could be later today), or until the election. Then I will let everyone know who they voted for. (If anyone is interested). Obviously, this won't be the only factor they use in making a decision, but I think they will consider it, if there are any replies. What would you say to try to convince them that you're voting for the right candidate, and they should, too? Anything you think would convince them is fair game. You can assume that they are informed to the point where they get news from "mainstream" (i.e. widespread) sources (cable news stations, local news channels, newspapers, newsweek, etc.)
They should watch the debates and decide for themselves. If they like neither candidate, they should vote for Nader
ok so i just turned 18 in june, i havnt registered to vote and i want to, so how do i do that thing... registration i think? thx
I was trying to keep my own feelings out of the discussion here, because I didn't want it to turn into people talking to me about my decision, and me defending my choice. and to No Worries: they will be watching the debates. I just wanted to see what people on here would say. Like I said, this isn't going to be their sole source of info. (obviously that would be bad) and it's a good point to bring up Nader, because we don't have to restrict things to the two big guys.
They should ignore the debates and the conventions and other sound-bite farms and critically read each candidates web page for their takes on the issues that are important for them. Domestic policy? Foreign policy? Civil Rights? Health care? Other? Try to avoid the hyperbole, recognize that neither candidate is evil or deliberately undermining America, and understand the differences that each represents. EDIT... oh...and then they should vote against Bush .
check this site out. I didn't use it personally (already registered) but it looks like it could be a good source of info. Congrats in advance on your first voting experience. This is an important election.
Fro me, it is the War on Terror primarily. I like Kerry's plan to fund the intelligence services to the point that they can give us actionable intelligence and, once we know where the terrorists are, take them out or arrest them using covert special operations forces. He also plans to rebuild our relationships with the rest of the world so that hopefully, we can get somewhere near the kind of worldwide support we had immediately after 9/11. I like that his administration will actually enforce the environmental regulations on the books. I like that Kerry will create tax breaks for companies that hire Americans rather than outsourcing. But for me, the biggest is the plan for the war on terror.
I'm not voting for Kerry but it has nothing to do with what did or didn't happen 30 years ago. For me, it's the war on terror. I don't think we need to go to the UN for permission to defend ourselves. I don't think the UN really has our best interest at heart. Way too much corruption. I'm not really concerned with so called "world opinion" of us. It would be nice to have but not at the expense of our well being. We're the only "superpower" left, so of course many countries are going to dislike us no matter what. We have to do what's right for us first and foremost, not France, Germany or Russia. I don't think they have our best interest at heart either. IMO we are doing the right thing with the "WOT." I think taking out sadaam was the right thing to do regardless of whether he had nuclear bombs under his welcome mat or not. I do wish the administration would have presented the case for war better. I think if Bush would have just said saddam is a madman and we need to take him out for the good of the people of Iraq, more people would have been behind him. I never felt fomfotable with the whole WMD argument, but I still think it was the right thing to do. Just presented all wrong. Just my flea bitten opinion... Of course, if none of the issues strike a chord for either candidate, you could always just vote for the candidate with the hottest daughters.
This election affect in different ways. Some of us are busness-men/women, mothers, fathers, students, etc. Lets say your co-workers are parents: 1. Are they better off today than they were 5 years ago? 2. How do they feel about the deficit and the burden it is going to put on our children and seniors in a decade or two. 3. What about their civil liberties? Are they concerned the direction it is going. 4. Healthcare. School Tution as well. All in on the constant rize. 5. Poverty rate is on the all time high. People are being forced to live marginal lives in spite of the extra work and effort they are putting into making ends meet. Premiums keep going up. Over 40 million American children without healthcare. 6. Partisanship is at all time high (post "the great depression"). The politics of today and those in power has failed us. 7. As a devout Christian (see "Born Again"), I suscribe to the view of God as a God of choice and personal responsibility. That is why I will preach to people to desist from Abortion and homosexual ways but I WILL NOT support legislating them. We are all supposed to make our beds and lie in it. If one chooses to marry someone from his similar sex, so be it. If one chooses to abort her fetus, so be it. We are and should be answerable to God and God alone. 8. Immigration. This is an area of concern because of its vast implications. The GOP have good intentions but are not intelligent enough to know how to tackle it. The left are intelligent enough but have not united on one course. Intelliegnce is hard to get in this case but unity can easily be achieved by the left in order to put something worth implementing on this issue. 9. John Kerry is a nuance and savvy war hero with extensive diplomatic and demostic experience. He has had his bad times and good. No other man save for Collin Powell, Bill Clinton or Senator McCain has what is takes to us to the next level through these trying times. Anything less is uncivilized. He is intelligent and properly wired to listen to criticisims and handle praises with aplomb. 10. GWB is not intelligent. How he managed to go through those ivy league and high-end schools still baffle me. 4 more years of him and his cronies will be a catastrophic disaster. Thank you and have a great week.
1. Who do you think can best use your money, the gvt. or you? If you can better utilize the money vote republican. If you would rather the govt. have your money vote democrat. 2. Do you want a large military led by US Generals or a smaller one led by UN leaders? If you want a large military led by our generals vote republican. If you want our troops led by UN generals vote democrat. 3. Do you want a large government or small? If you want a large gvt vote democrat. Small then vote republican. 4. What is your feelings on the enviroment? Save the trees I don't care if you have to walk to work: vote democrat. Screw teh trees I gots to drive: Vote republican. In my mind those are teh 4 biggest differences in the parties. It doesn't get into the persons running for president but it's what (in my mind) the parties have historically stood for.
How can you say this with a straight face? Have you lived in the United States of America for the last 12 years? If you favor massive spending increases and the largest deficit in history, vote Republican. If you want the government to use your future money to pay for the deficits it runs up now, vote Republican.
It's simply about taxation. Democrats historically tax and spend. Republicans tax less and spend less. Yes Bush's administration spent more than most republicans but no other President had to recover/rebuild from 9/11. Take out those numbers and the proceeding debt to the war and I believe his spending numbers were going to be ok (note: I'm not saying he wouldn't have run a deficit just not to this extreme).
