My Facebook feed is filled with commentary from people who share my leftist ideals. It's terrifying that I simply don't see the comments from the *millions* who disagree.
My Facebook feed is filled with commentary from people who share my leftist ideals. It's terrifying that I simply don't see the comments from the *millions* who disagree.
I live in a CRAZY Trump neighborhood. Like Grandparents on my street have "HILARY IS A LIAR" stickers on their cars. I'm SUPER curious to know how they feel like that debate went, because to me Trump did TERRIBLY. I know there are going to be people who think he did great and I want to know during what parts they thought he did great.
I know some of the people here have to be supporting him.. tell me why you think he did a good job, or do you think he did terribly but just support the platform so vote party anyway?
The entire city I live in is for Trump. I've never lived anywhere like this before. It can be very disconcerting. My husbands family is all for Trump. Politics are an extremely frustrating conversation to have with them.
My Facebook feed is filled with commentary from people who share my leftist ideals. It's terrifying that I simply don't see the comments from the *millions* who disagree.
^ This! I have yet to come across a single person who is a Trump supporter. Neither FB or IRL.
My Facebook feed is filled with commentary from people who share my leftist ideals. It's terrifying that I simply don't see the comments from the *millions* who disagree.
^ This! I have yet to come across a single person who is a Trump supporter. Neither FB or IRL.
I got into it a little bit on FB with MIL's best friend. It was just like the debate! She presents misinformation, I respond with facts and cite sources, she answers off topic and incorrect, wash and repeat.
My Facebook feed is filled with commentary from people who share my leftist ideals. It's terrifying that I simply don't see the comments from the *millions* who disagree.
^ This! I have yet to come across a single person who is a Trump supporter. Neither FB or IRL.
Come to western NC. Every other house has a "Trump for President" sign in their front yard or a bumper sticker plastered on the back of their pickup truck...
On my facebook feed it is mostly moderates (both rep and dems) to leftist. Most of my moderates are going Hilary or Third party that includes my moderate republican friends. And my leftist are going for Hillary or Green Party depending on if they are Bernie or Bust people. I have one "friend" who is Trump and die hard crazy Trump. He repeats all the lies even after I prove him wrong with actually cite my sources and resorts to name calling. I had to put him on restricted access because of how mean he was being to anyone who did not like Trump. This friend is in the military, a man, white, with only high school degree, so technically he fits Trumps demographic.
Also on facebook I have my DH's extended family that is very conservative, but they have remained really quite this time on facebook. I know they hate Hillary but I do not know if they are voting for Trump.
I know a few people voting for Trump, but only because they hate Hillary so much. My passionate conservative friends aren't going to vote at all, but they all live in MA or RI where no GOP candidate has a chance.
I watched last night with a group of people from all over the country, all of which claimed to hate both candidates. At the end, they all admitted she crushed him but still hate her/aren't planning to vote/are voting third party. It was enlightening. She's got a tough road. The ingrained hatred is just so strong despite what I see as a very high level of qualification.
NPR had a great piece this morning, where they interviewed regular voters and they found an african american man who is voting for Trump. I thought it was super cool to get that perspective. But also strange how he does not view Trump as being racists.
I know a few people voting for Trump, but only because they hate Hillary so much. My passionate conservative friends aren't going to vote at all, but they all live in MA or RI where no GOP candidate has a chance.
I watched last night with a group of people from all over the country, all of which claimed to hate both candidates. At the end, they all admitted she crushed him but still hate her/aren't planning to vote/are voting third party. It was enlightening. She's got a tough road. The ingrained hatred is just so strong despite what I see as a very high level of qualification.
People really do hate her and when I try to ask why, it never really clicks with me, maybe because I know to much info, but when they talk about her emails I am like you mean what Sec Colin Powell did or how Bush erased even more emails and they do not have that same kind of hatred. I just do not get the disconnect....
To continue my thought, I understand people not liking her but the outright hatred just blows my mind.
I'm not left-ish, but I think the government has no part in most social issues. So, I don't fit as angry right-wing conservative. I'm just fiscally a tightwad. I don't mind taxing the wealthy more, but I do mind government spending money on things period. Are these villainous Trump supporters fiscally conservative? Hillary is not an option for that.
To me, Democratic politicians seem overly motivated to throw money at things that I consider out-of-scope. Ask me to donate to charity, don't tell me. Republican politicians seem overly motivated to throw regulation at things I consider out of-scope. I don't care what gender my neighbors are. Chill. So... I can chose a party that over-regulates or overspends. I mean, they both overspend. Republicans budget 300% my preference, and democrats budget 500% my preference.
Caption: Wheeee!!!!
With a Hillary term, I think we'll have 4-8 years of the usual government spending machine.
With a Trump term, I think we'll have 4 years of a government that will fight amongst themselves and won't do much. A stall in government growth might count as a plus.
I'll waste my vote on Gary Johnson, knowing that no matter; we'll end up increasing our federal deficit for another decade while we watch politicians squabble about some social issue that the majority of citizens are basically indifferent about. Maybe by 2028 candidates will be forced to discuss social security and it'll become interesting.
There's a quiz that shows how you match up on issues @ Isidewith.com. It looks at things besides personality and guns if anyone cares.
there are like one zillion propositions on my ballot so even if i wasn't voting for a president i can't imagine not saying something on everything else.
I will admit I'm not the biggest fan of Hillary. I consider myself to be an independent and was definitely behind Bernie during the primary. However, just because she's not my favorite person doesn't make her unqualified for the job. I hope more people can put their dislike for her aside and focus on experience, proposed policies and who could actually run this country. Personally, I think not voting at all is essentially voting for Trump.
Aw, I was hoping we would have some Trump supporters pipe up. I think we could have a rational, respectful conversation.
My aunt is pro-Trump and we have had some respectful text messaging conversations. Though I am starting to worry and think we should stop because I don't want it to affect our relationship.
Me: 1979 * Husband: 1976 * Little girl: 2010 * Little guy: 2013 * MMC: 2016 * Last baby: EDD 2/11/17!
I will admit I'm not the biggest fan of Hillary. I consider myself to be an independent and was definitely behind Bernie during the primary. However, just because she's not my favorite person doesn't make her unqualified for the job. I hope more people can put their dislike for her aside and focus on experience, proposed policies and who could actually run this country. Personally, I think not voting at all is essentially voting for Trump.
My FB feed is greatly polarized. But I've noticed this election cycle that the far left wingers are much more vocal and fiesty, and the extreme conservatives are eerily silent. The conspiracy theories have also been flying much more from my leftist friends and theres far less tin foil hatting than I'm used to seeing publicly from my conservarive friends. I don't know what any of that means, but being more of a moderate I kind of sit back and observe a lot more than I actually participate. Especially since there isn't a candidate I fall in line with this time around.
ETA I have a fear that Trump supporters stay silent even though there has to be a ton of them around. Idk why. But I'm seeing a silent minority/majority thing going on and I honestly can't tell which direction this election will take because of it
I'm pretty anti-Hilary (and not for vagina reasons as said above) and this election is throwing me for a loop. However, I'm really socially liberal and can't vote republican most times because of that. I tend to believe 4 (or 8) years of Hilary will be status quo. Nothing will really get better but I don't see it getting worse. Trump is such a hateful scary person, and what I feel like he would do to this country means I can NOT vote for him. Still I'm having a hard time saying I will vote Hilary. Ive never had a hard time like this.
@yogadevil I think there are people on both sides who are staying silent about who they will vote for. I have a few mainstream fiscal conservative-type friends who I think are strongly considering voting for Hillary but I doubt they'll go singing it from the rafters or anything.
My dad teaches at a decently ranked business school with lots of fiscal conservative colleagues, and he has been saying from the start that the business community will get behind Hillary over Trump, even those who usually vote Republican. We had quite a few debates about the relative importance of this back when I was supporting Bernie in the primary. I know Trump's platform as stated initially seems more pro-big business but there's a lot of anxiety about the general chaos his election could create in world markets. This opinion is heresy from my dad of course, and I'd love to hear any other thoughts from those who travel in business or economic circles. I'm sure there's a wide spectrum of views within that community.
Agree 100% that the business community supports Hillary. I work in a large investment firm, and although you would typically think that private equity or hedge funds would lean Republican, in this election all of my colleagues that I've spoken with are for Hillary. Hillary is actually a fiscal moderate and is somewhat friendly to wall street and business. Trump specifically is known to be a total fraud in the business world and is not well respected (as an aside, I previously worked in real estate development and worked on 2 Trump projects so I have personal experience there as well). Both Trump and Bernie were looked at as being out of touch with economic reality based on their various economic policies - or should I say economic one liners - since neither had a fleshed out policy of how they would achieve any of what they said. We live in a globalized world, and unfortunately you can't put that genie back in the bottle. It sounds nice to want to bring back the jobs, specifically manufacturing related jobs, but I don't think the voters actually understand what that would do to their cost of living.
Separately - I am really disheartened by anyone who is casting a vote for a third party in the presidential race. Why don't the Green Party or the Libertarian Party trot out some candidates for anything other than presidential elections? If you want a movement, you need to build a platform at the local and state levels and then maybe you would have some validity in the elections for higher office. I also think the libertarians are cuckoo, and that is a shame because there are so so many socially liberal but fiscally conservative voters who just don't have a great option in our current system.
Finally - I am also really tired of the comparisons of Hillary and Trump being equally awful. If that is really your opinion then I don't think you have been paying attention. End rant.
Just because this is a funny way to say it but a conversation I had with my seven-year-old last spring when I guess they talked at school about the political parties being donkeys and elephants. He had asked me if we were going to vote for the donkey or the elephant. This was before anybody actually had a nomination so I told him that while Daddy and I usually voted for the elephants that this year it was really going to depend on the elephant. I told him that I like to try to pick a candidate not just using their party lines and that there were certain elephants I really didn't want to vote for. As you can probably imagine the craziest elephant of them all is the one that got the nomination that we do not want to vote for.
I didn't watch the debate last night but I think I heard a recap this morning where they basically started off with saying these are two of the most disliked candidates in history and I think it's really sad that are two options to pick from are ones that so many people dislike on both sides. So picking the lesser of two evils does not seem like a promising start to the next four years but I can't bring myself to vote third party and possibly have that crazy elephant win. We are not the only elephant family that I know who is pro donkey this year, LOL.
Now the little boy across the street told me his parents are voting for The Elephant but it was because he was going to build a wall to keep all the bad guys out. And looking at it that way, I think you have some of the reason why people are still behind Trump despite everything else because they want to think he's going to make things safer.
Married - 7/29/06 Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09 Mia - 6/16/11 Surprise! due 2/23/17
My FB feed is greatly polarized. But I've noticed this election cycle that the far left wingers are much more vocal and fiesty, and the extreme conservatives are eerily silent. The conspiracy theories have also been flying much more from my leftist friends and theres far less tin foil hatting than I'm used to seeing publicly from my conservarive friends. I don't know what any of that means, but being more of a moderate I kind of sit back and observe a lot more than I actually participate. Especially since there isn't a candidate I fall in line with this time around.
ETA I have a fear that Trump supporters stay silent even though there has to be a ton of them around. Idk why. But I'm seeing a silent minority/majority thing going on and I honestly can't tell which direction this election will take because of it
This. I have seen so many leftists speaking out and based on my personal fb newsfeed, I've seen more hostility and name-calling from those who tended to be more liberal than the conservatives. And I hope it isn't that way everywhere, but from what I've been seeing, the leftists on my social media obsess over/post incessantly about Trump more than his supporters. I'm not a fan of either and loosely consider myself a libertarian, but I don't post about politics on fb either. I'm not going to let a silly joke of an election interfere with my relationships.
I think the FB reaction really varies by circumstance. I probably have more liberal friends, so I tend to see more liberal stuff. I don't mind seeing other well thought out opinions, but most of my Republican friends haven't posted much, presumably because they don't like Trump. Of the Trump fans I know, most have been blocked or unfriended at this point for posting anti-Muslim or anti-refugee stuff. I can't deal with that. The one left mostly posts anti-Hillary memes.
I try to avoid posting much myself, but occasionally post an article that I think is either really well written or hilarious.
@LivingLaVidaGinger I think the reason that you see such vocal opposition to Trump from the left is that we can't believe that someone who says and does the things he does would be acceptable to such a large swath of the country. Let alone the fact that he is patently unqualified for the job, the things he has said during the campaign should have further disqualified him. I don't understand how people can be ok with his racist and zenophobic comments, his clear disdain for women, his mockery of the disabled and overweight, his disrespect of a war hero, the list goes on. It just feels like the stakes in this election are really high and he, and the people he inspires, scare me. But I'm in solid blue CA, so that is where I'm coming from.
I am a little afraid to even dip my toe into the water, because I generally do not get into political debates, and quite frankly the circus in general this year makes me sick. I have barely kept abreast of the coverage this year, and I don't watch the debates once I've decided, because why get my blood pressure up?
However, several of you mentioned wanting to hear from someone planning to vote for Trump, so I will join in. Just try not to throw large rocks at me.
First of all, I was genuinely hoping he would not win the primary. I knew if he won, it would be a bigger zoo than usual. I do think some of his major tenets are stupid (A wall? Really?). My method of voting is to go with one or two primary concerns, and pick the candidate who I think is closest to my beliefs on the majority of them.
For me, I care very much about stances on financial policy, abortion, and gun control.
When it comes to the hot button social issues, I am pretty middle of the road usually - I feel that a safety net is important, but most of the candidates don't really campaign on those issues - they try to make big flashy promises that usually don't amount to anything.
My main issue with Hillary is that I feel 4-8 years under her will not benefit this country's financial situation. I want a candidate who at least is going to try to stop the bleeding, and in recent years the democratic party seems to have too many "sacred" things they will not cut in the budget. We cannot ignore our financial issues and hope they go away. Secondarily, she does not support my personal beliefs on abortion or gun control (I know that I'm in the way minority here on these, but that's ok).
If I had to guess why so many are silent on Trump, I can only tell you that personally I'm not thrilled that he is my "conservative" option, I just feel he is the lesser of two evils. So, I'm not shouting his praises from the rooftop.
Like PP, I am so tired of the suggestion that the choice between Clinton & Trump is a choice between two evils. Clinton is qualified and prepared but not perfect. Trump is a salesman turned reality tv star who incites violence & hatred.
As a white, middle class, educated person, who is getting their tubes tied after this pregnancy and in a heterosexual marriage living in California I'm personally effected VERY little by who wins.
That being said i think it's a pretty selfish thing to do to the people who are super effected to vote third party.
@WinchesterGirl thanks for speaking up. Out of respect for your bravery, I'll keep my rocks small
Hillary may not benefit us much in 4-8 as she's not a radical departure from politics as usual, but she also won't fast track our demise. I really don't think Trump has a clue what he's talking about or what he's about to get himself into as was evidenced last night by his inability to answer simple questions or maintain composure. And then he turned around and denied saying things he just said on live TV. I just can't even with him.
@WinchesterGirl I understand that if you are voting on gun control and abortion, there is only one party to choose - and I won't try to change your mind on those (while I wish I could ). But I disagree with you on the financial situation, and would be very worried about the state of our economy, stock market, etc etc if Trump won. Lots of folks in my industry are already hedging against a possible Trump presidency in their portfolios just in case.
I totally get what pps are saying. I competely understand and agree. But what I mean is that those on my social media seem to just be either blatantly uneducated or misinformed. As a result, their statuses aren't backed, mature, or even remotely insightful. I'm referring more to those on my friends list who post things like "f*ck trump." And then nothing else. Or calling him the next hitter without elaborating on why they think he's going to cause the next mass genocide. I get the hate for him, I truly do. But when people post on him without knowing why they hate him first or examining his campaign more closely (not just what is on their fb newsfeed) is when I kinda start to side eye them. I just don't like uneducated opinions, in every aspect of life. Not just politics. Lol
*please tell me if I sound like an idiot. My doctor gave me some migraine meds with muscle relaxants and codiene so I may just be talking jibberish at this point.
@WinchesterGirl the first thing we don't agree on is a big one, but I also admire your bravery for calmly stating your opinion to a potentially hostile crowd. I have many friends who will always vote for the most pro-life candidate for religious reasons, and I get that. I have some key issues I can never deviate from too (climate change is the most prominent). They usually just tend to all line up.
@MissMerciBeaucoup thanks so much for sharing your perspective from your field as well. It is fascinating that many people in the 1% may stand to lose more from Trump's instability than they could gain from his tax cuts.
I will continue the props to you @WinchesterGirl for bravely and succinctly laying out your positions.
I will not try to change your mind on your hot-button issues either (although i also wish i could )
I will however urge you to consider to not cast a vote for Trump. Most of the work on issues you care about can be handled on a local level with your governor and congressional elected officials.
Trump has so many other potentially damning policies and could potentially be a disaster for this country with foreign relations. The man keeps praising Putin for God's sake.
You can still vote and have a vote that counts and is important to your issues without voting for a President who wants to try and implement something as racist and ridiculous as stop and frisk, building a wall to keep rapist Mexicans out and denying Muslims the right to live in this country.
Me: 36, H: 37 FTM, 2 Furbabies married 03/17/07 lived in Houston, Austin, Los Angeles and NYC due: 2/15/17
@WinchesterGirl while I disagree with your decision to vote for Trump, I think your post was rational and not rock-throwing-worthy at all. I appreciated hearing from you, so thanks for chiming in.
Me: 1979 * Husband: 1976 * Little girl: 2010 * Little guy: 2013 * MMC: 2016 * Last baby: EDD 2/11/17!
@PerraSucia why is voting 3rd party selfish? We'll never have a socially liberal, fiscally conservative option if more people don't stray out of the two parties.
I'm reading that you suggest I should vote for a major party because other people will be impacted by the outcome more than I will be, and so I should vote the way I think they would vote, to support them? That seems alien to me, but I suppose that's a normal reasoning for voting left? Sort of like helping people indirectly by focusing the government on them. I'd rather stick with united way and habitat for humanity and such; I know where my resources went, I helped directly, and I'm not dictating to anyone else where their tax money has to go.
@PerraSucia why is voting 3rd party selfish? We'll never have a socially liberal, fiscally conservative option if more people don't stray out of the two parties.
I'm reading that you suggest I should vote for a major party because other people will be impacted by the outcome more than I will be, and so I should vote the way I think they would vote, to support them? That seems alien to me, but I suppose that's a normal reasoning for voting left? Sort of like helping people indirectly by focusing the government on them. I'd rather stick with united way and habitat for humanity and such; I know where my resources went, I helped directly, and I'm not dictating to anyone else where their tax money has to go.
I can't speak for @PerraSucia but I thing Dan Savage said it rather well, when he was getting flack for backing Bernie and Hillary equally but not mentioning Jill Stein/Gary Johnson. He said that to effect REAL change, you need to start at the community level. Get Green Party mayors, judges, elected officials in office in municipalities, counties, states, where they can DO stuff. Having a Green Party mayor in a 200K town implementing policies for recycling/renewable energy/whatnot and showing that it works is so much more effective than setting up a candidate every four years who says "I'm not like the others" but who has a very slim chance of going past, say, 5%. And those votes could have been cast to tip the scales for the more realistic presidential candidates.
I grew up in Kansas. Not in one of the liberal pockets, either. So moving to Boston 3 years ago was, well....a change. Most of my friends from High School I still have on my FB feed are pinko lefties like me (and left the state to go to Minnesota...), so my feed is definitely skewed. I think I have 2 moms from DDs BMB who are Trump supporters and I unfollowed them. There's only so many Hillary memes I can stomach.
@PerraSucia why is voting 3rd party selfish? We'll never have a socially liberal, fiscally conservative option if more people don't stray out of the two parties.
I'm reading that you suggest I should vote for a major party because other people will be impacted by the outcome more than I will be, and so I should vote the way I think they would vote, to support them? That seems alien to me, but I suppose that's a normal reasoning for voting left? Sort of like helping people indirectly by focusing the government on them. I'd rather stick with united way and habitat for humanity and such; I know where my resources went, I helped directly, and I'm not dictating to anyone else where their tax money has to go.
I can't speak for @PerraSucia but I thing Dan Savage said it rather well, when he was getting flack for backing Bernie and Hillary equally but not mentioning Jill Stein/Gary Johnson. He said that to effect REAL change, you need to start at the community level. Get Green Party mayors, judges, elected officials in office in municipalities, counties, states, where they can DO stuff. Having a Green Party mayor in a 200K town implementing policies for recycling/renewable energy/whatnot and showing that it works is so much more effective than setting up a candidate every four years who says "I'm not like the others" but who has a very slim chance of going past, say, 5%. And those votes could have been cast to tip the scales for the more realistic presidential candidates.
To add in some historical perspective the last time we had a real third party presidential election was during Abraham Lincoln's election. Before the third party got in to a position of taking presidential seat they already built up a local base. They had governs, congressmen etc... That is the only way a third party has ever succeeded in USA. Then what ends up happening the third party normally eats up one of the main parties and then we have just two parties again. Because of our electoral winner take all system,(only a couple of states do not do this) it is set up for only 2 parties. If we really want to have third parties we have to do a different system.
This is why when I say if you vote third party you are wasting your vote, I am doing with a historical and informative perspective (not just saying it). Other third parties that have come up just take away votes from Dems or Rep and then help the other side to win, sadly that is what has always happened in USA history if the third party did not build up their local base first before trying for the presidential seat.
MommaBean
member
Re: The Politics Post
ME: 25, DH: 27
TTC #1 since 09/2015
Miscarriage @ 10 wks 02/28/2016
BFP 05/28/2016!
I know some of the people here have to be supporting him.. tell me why you think he did a good job, or do you think he did terribly but just support the platform so vote party anyway?
BFP #1 8/4/2015, MMC 9/24/2015
BFP #3 8/24/2017, MC 9/20/2017
BFP #4 11/14/2017, CP
BFP #5 1/5/2018, MC/BO 2/17/2018
BFP #6 7/15/2018, CP
BFP #7 12/15/2018, EDD 8/28/2019
Also on facebook I have my DH's extended family that is very conservative, but they have remained really quite this time on facebook. I know they hate Hillary but I do not know if they are voting for Trump.
Married to my Soul Mate since 09/06/09
I watched last night with a group of people from all over the country, all of which claimed to hate both candidates. At the end, they all admitted she crushed him but still hate her/aren't planning to vote/are voting third party. It was enlightening. She's got a tough road. The ingrained hatred is just so strong despite what I see as a very high level of qualification.
https://www.npr.org/2016/09/27/495595122/georgia-voter-reaction-race-and-policing
Married to my Soul Mate since 09/06/09
To continue my thought, I understand people not liking her but the outright hatred just blows my mind.
Married to my Soul Mate since 09/06/09
ME: 25, DH: 27
TTC #1 since 09/2015
Miscarriage @ 10 wks 02/28/2016
BFP 05/28/2016!
To me, Democratic politicians seem overly motivated to throw money at things that I consider out-of-scope. Ask me to donate to charity, don't tell me. Republican politicians seem overly motivated to throw regulation at things I consider out of-scope. I don't care what gender my neighbors are. Chill. So... I can chose a party that over-regulates or overspends. I mean, they both overspend. Republicans budget 300% my preference, and democrats budget 500% my preference.
Caption: Wheeee!!!!
With a Hillary term, I think we'll have 4-8 years of the usual government spending machine.
With a Trump term, I think we'll have 4 years of a government that will fight amongst themselves and won't do much. A stall in government growth might count as a plus.
I'll waste my vote on Gary Johnson, knowing that no matter; we'll end up increasing our federal deficit for another decade while we watch politicians squabble about some social issue that the majority of citizens are basically indifferent about. Maybe by 2028 candidates will be forced to discuss social security and it'll become interesting.
There's a quiz that shows how you match up on issues @ Isidewith.com. It looks at things besides personality and guns if anyone cares.
Married: 10/10
EDD: 8/27/16 MMC 1/16
Rainbow Boy: 2/04/17
TTC: 4/18 BFP: 1/2/19
EDD: 9/6/19
I wish those abstainers would vote 3rd party instead; say SOMETHING with your vote.
Aw, I was hoping we would have some Trump supporters pipe up. I think we could have a rational, respectful conversation.
My aunt is pro-Trump and we have had some respectful text messaging conversations. Though I am starting to worry and think we should stop because I don't want it to affect our relationship.
ETA I have a fear that Trump supporters stay silent even though there has to be a ton of them around. Idk why. But I'm seeing a silent minority/majority thing going on and I honestly can't tell which direction this election will take because of it
I tend to believe 4 (or 8) years of Hilary will be status quo. Nothing will really get better but I don't see it getting worse.
Trump is such a hateful scary person, and what I feel like he would do to this country means I can NOT vote for him. Still I'm having a hard time saying I will vote Hilary. Ive never had a hard time like this.
My dad teaches at a decently ranked business school with lots of fiscal conservative colleagues, and he has been saying from the start that the business community will get behind Hillary over Trump, even those who usually vote Republican. We had quite a few debates about the relative importance of this back when I was supporting Bernie in the primary. I know Trump's platform as stated initially seems more pro-big business but there's a lot of anxiety about the general chaos his election could create in world markets. This opinion is heresy from my dad of course, and I'd love to hear any other thoughts from those who travel in business or economic circles. I'm sure there's a wide spectrum of views within that community.
Separately - I am really disheartened by anyone who is casting a vote for a third party in the presidential race. Why don't the Green Party or the Libertarian Party trot out some candidates for anything other than presidential elections? If you want a movement, you need to build a platform at the local and state levels and then maybe you would have some validity in the elections for higher office. I also think the libertarians are cuckoo, and that is a shame because there are so so many socially liberal but fiscally conservative voters who just don't have a great option in our current system.
Finally - I am also really tired of the comparisons of Hillary and Trump being equally awful. If that is really your opinion then I don't think you have been paying attention. End rant.
I didn't watch the debate last night but I think I heard a recap this morning where they basically started off with saying these are two of the most disliked candidates in history and I think it's really sad that are two options to pick from are ones that so many people dislike on both sides. So picking the lesser of two evils does not seem like a promising start to the next four years but I can't bring myself to vote third party and possibly have that crazy elephant win. We are not the only elephant family that I know who is pro donkey this year, LOL.
Now the little boy across the street told me his parents are voting for The Elephant but it was because he was going to build a wall to keep all the bad guys out. And looking at it that way, I think you have some of the reason why people are still behind Trump despite everything else because they want to think he's going to make things safer.
Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09
Mia - 6/16/11
Surprise! due 2/23/17
I try to avoid posting much myself, but occasionally post an article that I think is either really well written or hilarious.
However, several of you mentioned wanting to hear from someone planning to vote for Trump, so I will join in. Just try not to throw large rocks at me.
First of all, I was genuinely hoping he would not win the primary. I knew if he won, it would be a bigger zoo than usual. I do think some of his major tenets are stupid (A wall? Really?). My method of voting is to go with one or two primary concerns, and pick the candidate who I think is closest to my beliefs on the majority of them.
For me, I care very much about stances on financial policy, abortion, and gun control.
When it comes to the hot button social issues, I am pretty middle of the road usually - I feel that a safety net is important, but most of the candidates don't really campaign on those issues - they try to make big flashy promises that usually don't amount to anything.
My main issue with Hillary is that I feel 4-8 years under her will not benefit this country's financial situation. I want a candidate who at least is going to try to stop the bleeding, and in recent years the democratic party seems to have too many "sacred" things they will not cut in the budget. We cannot ignore our financial issues and hope they go away. Secondarily, she does not support my personal beliefs on abortion or gun control (I know that I'm in the way minority here on these, but that's ok).
If I had to guess why so many are silent on Trump, I can only tell you that personally I'm not thrilled that he is my "conservative" option, I just feel he is the lesser of two evils. So, I'm not shouting his praises from the rooftop.
This tweet sums that up nicely...
That being said i think it's a pretty selfish thing to do to the people who are super effected to vote third party.
Also i probably just messed up affect effect.
Hillary may not benefit us much in 4-8 as she's not a radical departure from politics as usual, but she also won't fast track our demise. I really don't think Trump has a clue what he's talking about or what he's about to get himself into as was evidenced last night by his inability to answer simple questions or maintain composure. And then he turned around and denied saying things he just said on live TV. I just can't even with him.
*please tell me if I sound like an idiot. My doctor gave me some migraine meds with muscle relaxants and codiene so I may just be talking jibberish at this point.
@MissMerciBeaucoup thanks so much for sharing your perspective from your field as well. It is fascinating that many people in the 1% may stand to lose more from Trump's instability than they could gain from his tax cuts.
I will not try to change your mind on your hot-button issues either (although i also wish i could
I will however urge you to consider to not cast a vote for Trump. Most of the work on issues you care about can be handled on a local level with your governor and congressional elected officials.
Trump has so many other potentially damning policies and could potentially be a disaster for this country with foreign relations. The man keeps praising Putin for God's sake.
You can still vote and have a vote that counts and is important to your issues without voting for a President who wants to try and implement something as racist and ridiculous as stop and frisk, building a wall to keep rapist Mexicans out and denying Muslims the right to live in this country.
FTM, 2 Furbabies
married 03/17/07
lived in Houston, Austin, Los Angeles and NYC
due: 2/15/17
I'm reading that you suggest I should vote for a major party because other people will be impacted by the outcome more than I will be, and so I should vote the way I think they would vote, to support them? That seems alien to me, but I suppose that's a normal reasoning for voting left? Sort of like helping people indirectly by focusing the government on them. I'd rather stick with united way and habitat for humanity and such; I know where my resources went, I helped directly, and I'm not dictating to anyone else where their tax money has to go.
Married: 10/10
EDD: 8/27/16 MMC 1/16
Rainbow Boy: 2/04/17
TTC: 4/18 BFP: 1/2/19
EDD: 9/6/19
I can't speak for @PerraSucia but I thing Dan Savage said it rather well, when he was getting flack for backing Bernie and Hillary equally but not mentioning Jill Stein/Gary Johnson.
He said that to effect REAL change, you need to start at the community level. Get Green Party mayors, judges, elected officials in office in municipalities, counties, states, where they can DO stuff. Having a Green Party mayor in a 200K town implementing policies for recycling/renewable energy/whatnot and showing that it works is so much more effective than setting up a candidate every four years who says "I'm not like the others" but who has a very slim chance of going past, say, 5%. And those votes could have been cast to tip the scales for the more realistic presidential candidates.
This is why when I say if you vote third party you are wasting your vote, I am doing with a historical and informative perspective (not just saying it). Other third parties that have come up just take away votes from Dems or Rep and then help the other side to win, sadly that is what has always happened in USA history if the third party did not build up their local base first before trying for the presidential seat.
(sorry you guys got my history/political lesson)
Married to my Soul Mate since 09/06/09