Politics

[featherynscale]

Okay. Christ, I'm just phoning it in today. Anyway. I have a burning curiosity which will not be appeased by topical creams or more cowbell. Indulge me, will you, and answer my little poll about voting and political tendencies? It's less scientific than Zogby's, but it does contain the word 'pussy' which I can almost certainly guarantee that Zogby's does not.

Really, it's just because I have a certain perception about you all and where you stand on the whole politics and government thing, and I want to see if I'm right or not. Is that okay?

Excellent.
NOTE: If you're outside of the US, I've included an option for you on everything but the parties question. I got so caught up in listing the parties... anyway, if you are outside of the US, please choose the 'other party' option (unless you're an independent, of course), and tell me about your party in the comments. Thanks!

[Poll #848695]

Comments

[beccak1961.livejournal.com]

I'm sort of curious what your perception of me is first... and then see if it agrees with my answers:)

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Ok, then :)

I'm not sure about whether you're registered or whether you'll vote. On the one hand, you seem pretty responsible and involved, but on the other, there is driving in it, which you seem to not be keen on. I'm betting you're pretty socially liberal, but centrist on fiscal stuff, so that, and your hometown, probably means you're a Democrat.

Of course, I could be wildly wrong. But that's the story I made up about you.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Yep. Wrong :)

[beccak1961.livejournal.com]

I vote and have since I was 18. I was in HS volunteer campaigning for carter, and his presidency was such a crashing dissapointment I voted republican pretty much since.On the socially liberal side, I totally believe in equal pay for equal jobs, without decreasing quality or making special exceptions for anyone. If a woman can carry a 200 lb person out of a burning building and that's the standard, she should be a fireperson. If she can't and the 200 lb person dies because they lowered standards, then no. I don't care who operates on me, man, woman, green, purple, 7 fingers, but I want them in med school because they were the best, because their scores and ability got them there and through. I believe in same sex marriage, legalizing prostitution, and pot, but as a middle class person I'm awfully tired of hands being my pocket to pay for people who don't care to work. If people can march around all day with a sign in their hand demanding their public housing, they can march around with a hammer and work and pay for their own housing. Sigh.. and I usually don't talk politics because someone always ends up getting angry.

[diermuid.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking that fiscally liberal may not mean to everyone else what it means to me.

I consider a liberal fiscal policy to mean "let the market decide", just as a liberal social policy would be to let people do what makes them happy.

However, the impression I have is that this is about Liberal fiscal policy (capital L as in "Those darned Liberals") where anything we make over poverty level should be severely taxed and redistributed to those that aren't making over poverty wages.

But then I also believe in a republican form of government, but I don't think that has much at all to do with the Republican Party, any more than the Democratic Party supports 100% true democracy.

[druidevo.livejournal.com]

When I read it, I though liberal, not Liberial when I read it for social and fisical.

[bloominglotus.livejournal.com]

I wonder if I fell in line with your impression of me.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

To clarify: damn near socialist, but registered Democrat.

[celticwhistlin.livejournal.com]

Same here.

[kittenpants.livejournal.com]

Just to mess with your poll, you left out Libertarian. Also, in Missouri, the Progressive party *is* the Green party.

[liquidfun.livejournal.com]

Seconded ... I'm a registered Libertarian, which means I miss out on the fun of primaries. We don't hold primaries, we run around neighborhoods with petitions, which is a different sort of fun.

"This is a petition to put who on the ballot?"

"What do you mean libertarian? Do mean one of those bleeding-heart liberal democrats?"

"Uh, so is he a Democrat or a Republican, then?"

I kid you not, those are real comments. Apparently if you don't have a "D" or a "R" after your name, you don't really exist.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I did leave out Libertarian. And yes, in MO they are the same thing, but other states have separate Greens and Progressives, IIRC.

[greektoomey.livejournal.com]

I tend towards libertarianism, but I have a strong conviction that the state and federal electoral systems in the United States are broken and unfixable.

I don't think it's possible for democracy to function on a scale of millions of voters; it's simply not feasible to accurately count that many votes.

And even if millions of votes could be tallied accurately, there's still the fact that political agendas are determined more by financial contributions than by votes.

Strange Things are afoot at the Circle-A

[lordkalkin.livejournal.com]

Not to be too nitpicky on the poll, but there wasn't a clear way to say "I'm a non-voting anarchist," so I did the best with what I had.

Re: Strange Things are afoot at the Circle-A

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

What you have done would be the correct way to say "I am a non-voting anarchist". :)

[akaashben.livejournal.com]

I am not currently registered to vote in KS, though I suppose I am still registered in IL. Haven't gotten around to changing that, along with the driver's license and what not.

I answered the affiliation question as "independent" mainly because my politics are changing rather quickly these days.

I was raised in a very conservative household, and voted republican up until the last presidential election. I have tended to be fairly conservative in action, though much more liberal in thought... but that is changing to be more liberal across the board.

I completely despise the current president's policy and actions, and don't think too highly of him as a person. And the fact that the current mood of many in this country is supportive of that has me worried and even a little scared.

Now that we've finished with the house-buying, we will be getting our DLs and registering to vote and all that good stuff. I know it's most likely too late for this election, but I'll definitely be prepared for the next.

[duane-kc.livejournal.com]

Just because I said I would; I'm a registered Libertarian.

[ysabel.livejournal.com]

I'm actually registered Republican, for a couple of reasons. Unfortunately, the only ones that apply any more are that I get to see some amount of the crap that the Republicans running for office aim at their constituents (know thine enemy!) and I get to vote for the least offensive party in the primaries.

I don't consider myself a member of any of the parties, though, because they're all crazy and/or thugs.

[ysabel.livejournal.com]

The problem I have with any political philosophy is that they pretty much all depend on having an educated, caring populace, which I don't believe is possible.

Personally, I tend towards little-l libertarian, anarchist, capitalist ends, but all three really do assume that people are educated and sane, which isn't true.

I strongly suspect that a benign dictatorship is the only truly sane government, given human nature. However, even the ones that truly are benign only last for the lifetime of the benign dictator at best; history says such things are almost always destroyed as soon as they change hands at all, even when the new management is well-intentioned.

And, of course, even a benign dictatorship is a great setup for a malignant one. Not that our government is faring any better at the moment...

[zianuray.livejournal.com]

I answered as "other," since I'm Libertarian.

May I ask why you didn't include the Libertarian party? Or was that the "guns and dope" choice?

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Because there were too many options, and by the time I got to the really weird ones at the bottom, I was pretty sure I had already put that one at the top, except I didn't put it at the top because I was going to put it before the weird ones at the bottom. In other words, I forgot. :-P

[matchgirl42.livejournal.com]

Well, shit. I won't be able to vote in the Nov 7th election after all, because I've already missed the deadline to register in P.C., which is where I'll be then...dammit, dammit, dammit!

But if I could, I would. I will register immediately upon setting up residence, though. :D

[triadruid.livejournal.com]

Is it possible they'll let you do a mail-in ballot for your old place of residence?

Not quite an exact science, but would at least get you some influence on the decision...

[matchgirl42.livejournal.com]

wildnsquirrelly mentioned the same thing last night, and it's the plan. ;) Now I just have to figure out if I'm still registered in Duval or if I'm registered in St. John's..I can't remember if I re-regged when I moved back...