Tale of two candidates

[maryheather]

Let me start this by stating, for the record, that I have not partaken of the kool-aid that both parties are pimping. I've always voted independent. That being said... I still haven't decided who to vote for. Here are my basic beliefs

Comments

[reedrover]

I'm with you on a lot of this. (I'm quite "pro-death" in many ways.) If you figure it out, would you let me know?

[maryheather]

I don't favor the death penalty. It doesn't work. Unequal application, lengthy delays between trial and execution, the cost to execute someone (30% higher than incarcerating them for life- no parole)... but I agree that there are some crimes so heinous, and criminals so deranged that they need to be permanently removed from society. No parole, no probation, no points for good behavior or time served.

My whole attitude is either shoot them while they're committing the crime; or take them out behind the courthouse after they're convicted and shoot them. If you can't do either of those, lock them up permanently.

[reedrover]

Yeah, I have much the same problem with the death penalty. It sounds good as a concept, but the application of it is so terribly flawed that not only is it applied in wildly capricious manners, but also, the few people it does eventually remove are not worth the expense and hassle and delay.

[jp7]

I guess you have to decide which issue is more important to you.

Gun control...McCain

Health care... Neither if you think that extending the government health care to all citizens amounts to socialism or if you don't like McCain's plan to deregulate the health care industry further to allow one to purchase health care from any state thereby bypassing state regulations.

Separation of Church and State Obama

Rights of Gays Obama

That is kind of how I did it. I went down a mental check list, figured who had the most checks, and I watched the debates.

and then I just said fuck it and voted for the guy that seemed the coolest. :P

[badmagic]

Obama's ideas of growing government in the face of a recession don't make sense.

No, they do. For the past fifty years, the standard theory says that the government should cut taxes or pay down the deficit in good times, and spend money in bad.

Up until two-three years ago, it was accepted by just about all economists that gov't spending during WWII ended the Depression. Even now, that's accepted by more economists than not.

[madbodger]

To sum up, Biden, Palin, and McCain are presumed non compos mentis, Obama talks scary, and all the plans they're floating look like houses of cards. This doesn't surprise me, as I've always thought you'd have to be crazy to want to run the country.

I don't have a lot of advice, other than "stymie". That is, put a donkey in the white house (for a change) and a bunch of elephants, weasels, horses, and sunflowers in congress, so they'll be at loggerheads and have to reach some sort of sane compromise in order to accomplish anything. Use the bicameral system (or what's left of it) to your benefit!

[yesthattom]

You could base your decision on who the person surrounds himself with (i.e. the campaign staff) since they're most likely to be running the Whitehouse.