A friend of mine was wondering if there was a really good site that informs gay and lesbian voters of the platforms of the various candidates and propositions. Anyone know about such a thing?
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A friend of mine was wondering if there was a really good site that informs gay and lesbian voters of the platforms of the various candidates and propositions. Anyone know about such a thing?
If you are a voter in Los Angeles here is what the Stonewall Democratic Club is recommending:
http://www.stonewall-dems.org/
I've IM'd Mark Foley for the republican recommendations but he hasn't gotten back to me.
Human Rights Campaign website might have some useful info on that front.
Voting anything other than a straight Dem ticket is suicide. Sure, not all Dems are gay-friendly but it's better than the alternative.
Hrm I dunno. Party-line voters are the reason people like George W. Bush are in office.
Party Line voters are also people caught up on what other people say as fact over opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by CorbinFisher_BD
I would normally agree with you but we need to vote as a block or continue to lose to the republicans. Don't forget what Ralph Nader did to the election in 2000. We need to turn the tides of leadership in this country FIRST. And then we can vote the issues rather than just voting AGAINST the current leadership.Quote:
Originally Posted by CorbinFisher_BD
I disagree, voting for someone you think is 'cool' or voting for someone that one of your friends has told you to vote for is suicide.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xstr8guy
If you dont know who to vote for, or what the policies of the candidates running are, the simple answer is dont vote at all.
Id much rather those individuals that have no clue about politics, candidates, or what voting in this years congressional elections means for the country stay at home and stick their thumb up their ass like they have been doing all year, than actually going to the polls and ticking any old box they feel like ticking because they were told to 'go and vote' without knowing anything about anything.
Regards,
Lee
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xstr8guy
I agree. I think this is one of those times where I may have to sacrifice a few important issues for the good of "the bigger picture." That may mean I vote a Democrat who opposes gay marriage into office, but chances are that if the majority of folks in the House are Democrat, then our voices are being heard and represented anyway. I haven't decided for sure yet, but I'm leaning toward a party line vote right now.
Can you even vote in U.S. elections Lee?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
Wow! I struck a nerve, I guess. I suppose you all know exactly where EVERY single candidate on your ballot stands? REALLY?! I'm reasonably well-informed. I watch the news, read the political blogs and the papers, etc. But I couldn't tell you the first thing about the candidates for the Railroad Commission. But you can bet I'll vote Dem.
I'm just really freaking tired of Republicans controlling every single aspect of our Federal government and my State government. And if myself and others feel the same way and we all vote straight Dem, then maybe we can send a message. And THEN I can vote the issues. But right now, I'm in survival mode. I DEMAND CHANGE!
Well i have the last few elections so i guess i can LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by Xstr8guy
No i dont, but i do know which candidates ill be voting for, and where the candidates im voting for stand. Im not voting for them based on their party affiliations, im voting for them based on what their stances are on the issues that i feel are important.. To me.Quote:
I suppose you all know exactly where EVERY single candidate on your ballot stands?
What im actually pissed at, there are some ammendments locally that are important so far as zoning and building height laws go and neither Gary or I are eligable to vote on them for some reason :(
In essence, if the vote goes one way, zoning will be kept as it is now, for eternity and never be allowed to change, if it goes the other way, zoning *might* change over the course of the next 10-15 years.
Id much rather zoning laws had the ability to change than be stuck where they are now but unfortunately, we get no say on the ammendments :(
The other thing that pisses me off about these types of ammendment is the wording being used, a 'yes' vote actually becomes a 'no' vote and vice versa because of how its worded, no wonder so many people fuck their votes up :(
Regards,
Lee
Yes. I agree.... all the websites mentioned earlier are excellent resources to tell you, the monolithic, single celled creature called "gay / lesbian voter", what you are supposed to think.
Steve
I apologize, that was cheap of me. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
Just so you don't think I'm a mindless Democratic robot... I will NOT vote for Hillary if she wins the Democratic nomination in 2008. She is the WORST kind of politician... wishy-washy with no firm opinions. She just says what she thinks people want to hear. And she's usually wrong.
However, I would vote for Bill again if it were possible. :)
See, I think that in certain times it's more important to vote for the greater good than for what I'm going to get out of it. I'd gladly pay more taxes if it meant that the environment would be better looked after or if the poor had a better shot at adequate health care. Voting in a Democratic block is one way to shift the power back to the people who generally care about the issues that I feel are important to the American people--and to the survival of America as the Land of the Free--the way it was originally conceived, not the bastardized version the right-wing has forced upon us in the last 6 years. After the Dems are back in office, THEN we can work on the individual issues. But for now, I think it's important just to "take back the House."Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
Hell, I'd blow Bill, just for being Bill! Oh wait... isn't that what got him into trouble the LAST time??? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Xstr8guy
Ken, it's nice to know I'm not out here on this limb by myself.
I worry that the "vote the issues" liberals will cause this expected blow-out to again turn out poorly... or that black-box voting will fuck us again. Either way, we ALL lose. I refuse to be optimistic this time. I can't take another unjustified and illogical defeat.
This is prolly the first time in my life I have seen the parties downright hateful of one another.
If you don't know who to vote for VOTE GREEN!
The two parties with funding don't need a throw away vote. The independents however do.
Vote Green? Talk about "throw-away" votes. :huh:Quote:
Originally Posted by IdolKnights
I would gladly vote Green, Independant, Socialist, Libertarian ,etc. in just about any other election. But in this election, a vote for anything other than a Democrat is a vote for Republicans. Please don't throw away your votes this year! PLEASE!
That's a horrible way to look at things. I try to keep up on politics as I can, but I will freely admit that a lot of it is over my head. But I can tell you that I'd much rather vote Democrat right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
But if you like, vote for that candidate who's handing you a dime store trinket while his friends are busy behind your back tearing down your neighborhood. At least you got that trinket.
In a perfect world, I would vote only for candidates that I knew about in detail. And most likely, they wouldn't all be Democrats. I like to think of myself as a free-thinker and I don't follow anyone. But the religious conservative sheep will ALL be voting Republican straight ballots. So why shouldn't us liberal gay folks vote straight Dem ballots to cancel as many of their votes that we can? We must all do whatever we can to change this country's direction.
Well the sad thing is that almost all of us live in Congressional districts that are very specifically drawn to favor DEMs or REPs. California's districts were drawn in 2001 to protect all incumbants. In Texas the only seat that is really contested is Tom Delay's..... which means that the primary way to get rid of an incumbant is via scandal.... not through the democratic process.
Gerrymandering has become an extremely powerful tool honed over the past forty years.... I actually watched it with interest here in Texas in 2001. I think that since the 1970s this more than anything has made the House of Representatives more polarized and prone to corruption.
States that use appointed boards draw the Congressional lines have competitive races every two years... Washington and Iowa, for example. Today it takes one of those "every 20 year elections" for change otherwise.
Unfortunately California last time voted down such a plan in a failed ballot initiative. It would be nice if Texas created such a board, but typically the reigning party in power cannot see past the extreme short term. (Texas doesn't have ballot initiatives ... fortunately.... the legislature has to approve an amendment by 2/3s, and put it to the voters)
Steve
Don, you just made my point, 'you' would rather vote Democrat right now based on what you have heard, what about the people who havent heard anything or dont have the common sense to 'think' about who they are voting for?Quote:
Originally Posted by DonMike
These are the people that should stay home tomorrow and not vote.
For everyone that says 'id rather vote Democrat' there are more thinking 'id rather vote Republican' and then there are the dolts who are just going to vote for whatever name they see first on the ballot because they have been told to 'go and vote' without knowing WHY they should be voting or what they are actually voting for LOL
Regards,
Lee
Well, if you put it that way...Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
LOL
During this midterm election I will be voting straight Dem. just to help change things in government. I have a choice between Rick Santorum and Bob Casey. Both of them are against gay marriage but I figure there is a much greater chance of Bob Casey changing his mind in the future then Santorum. Santorum is down right hostel to any gay rights were Casey is at least on the fence about the issues.
Well, I voted. I was up studying all the propositions last night, and I hope I voted right. It seemed to me that most of the opposition to the props were of the "It's going to raise taxes" ilk. I kept thinking, "That's your only concern? That it'll raise taxes? Sheesh." Anyway, I was out of the loop on the judicial seat votes, so I kinda had to wing it there, but I felt pretty good that I voted responsibly and with purpose this year. Go me! ;)
Funny enough I used to not really care a whole helluva lot about judicial votes in the elections... they get so little publicity and you rarely ever hear anything about the candidates or even have any idea who they are...
But if the last few years have told us anything, it's that while the executive branch is running about being abusive and the legislative branch is sitting back allowing that to happen and failing in its duties to enforce any kind of balance or accountability, the judicial might very well be the only thing keeping us from total disaster.
State supreme courts, state appellate courts, and on down to even more local levels, are oftentimes the real frontline when it comes to the battle for civil liberties and rights. We can't vote for US supreme or federal judges that get appointed by the president, but we often can vote on judges at the state level.
Sometimes, what the right-wingers call "activist judges" might be the only bits of sanity and reason left within the government.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CorbinFisher_BD
Great. Thanx for making me feel bad, Brian. LOL! :)
LOL naw you might be ok. California's a pretty progressive state. You could be ok out there heheQuote:
Originally Posted by XXXWriterDude
Quote:
Originally Posted by CorbinFisher_BD
All I know is that I feel DAMNED GOOD knowing that I was a part of social and political change. Some of the Propositions I wanted to go through got shot down (I'm way pissed that the alternative energy prop didn't make it), but all in all, voting in this particular election makes me very proud. ;)