Why would anyone vote republican anymore?

It used to be that Republicans stood for fiscal conservatism, less big brotherism, and social conservatism. But that's no longer true. George-how-to-destroy-an-economy-by-massive-spending-increases-and-lower-taxes-Bush has proven the Republicans no...

longer value fiscal conservatism, and other than pandering to religious leaders, McCain is typical philandering social liberal as well.

So, the Libertarians and Constitution party are taking up the slack; the Libertarians appeal to fiscal conseravtives/social liberals, and the Constitution party resembles the old-guard Republican party; fiscal conservatism/social conservatism.

If you are planning to vote for McCain, but you felt like the Libertarians and Constitution parties had a real chance of winning, would you vote for one of them instead?

as far as I understand it republicans are favored by business owners and those with lots of money, and also those who have no brain.

now now heyjay. You don't want to stoop to Ann Coulter's level.

I suppose I can understand why corporations likely to end up with Republican (or Democratic) favored contracts would support their gravy train, but I'm really referring to the average voter, and not so much the Republicrat slush money machine.

Myself, since you posted on my question a few days ago I have been reading up on Barr a lot. I am very interested in some of the things he has said and done. I like a lot of the things he voted for. I worry about the way the election is going to go, and sometimes wonder about having democrats or republicans in office. I do know that we went from having the national debt paid off and having a huge surpluss, to a huge national debt in the matter of a few years, mostly because of the war. I am very confused right now about making any decision when it comes to voting.

tori, don't sweat it too much. Your vote counts, but it isn't going to swing the election anyway. The purpose of voting is to voice your opinion. You only need to be educated enough to know who best represents your opinions of those running. When choosing representatives, you can never really know what you're getting unless you're the one running. All you can do is give it your best guess.

Personally, I like Barr, but I can understand why a lot of religious people wouldn't, since he's definitely a social liberal (end the drug war, keep abortion legal, legalize prostitution and gambling, etc.) .

For those who are both fiscal and social conservatives (the old guard Republican party types), they are best represented these days by the Constitution party.

this is an old question, so chances are nobody will read my response. good question though. I laughed as I read this, because it's exactly how I feel. if libertarians OR constitutionalists had a chance at winning, I'd pick either of them over republicans. unfortunately, my only 2 real options are republicans or democrats...and I think both parties suck. but such is life. anyways, nicely played.

hungryhungry, your vote is not going to decide the election. You might as well cast it for who you actually want to win.

If that's McCain, then fine. But if you're just hoping to have a 50% chance of having guessed right at the winner, it seems silly to even go to the polls.

You do not have 2 choices, because you are not deciding the election. You have zero choices. The outcome of the election will be the same regardless of what you do. Because of that, what you have is the opportunity to voice your opinion, and nothing more.

Why would you voice your opinion for someone you don't actually support?

I suppose I look at it as one of the two people I don't like is going to win. -I might as well pick the one I hate less, or more realistically, the one I think will screw up our country less. I realize my vote isn't going to win the election, but voting on someone I know ISN'T going to win is like not voting at all. and not voting at all is a poor way of picking a leader for our country. so I will continue as is; hoping that more people will read your post, and realize you are right, and republicans are not what they used to be. maybe libertarians will become a big enough party to have a fighting chance at the polls. then, we'll be living the dream.

Keep in mind, that by voting for someone you don't actually want to win, you are promoting the very problem you are complaining about.

well...yes and no. I absolutely promise you that either mccain or obama will win. -and I'm confident that of the two, obama will win. nevertheless, it will surely be one of those two. I may want my dad to win, or mickey mouse, or the pope, but that's not going to happen. it'll be one of those two men. -so the question is, which would I rather have in office? that's the problem with the elections; it's not who is best, it's who is best represented, and who is best funded. and there's not too much that can be done about it.

Since you admit that one of the two of them will win, and you recognize that your vote is not going to make a difference, surely you must also realize that your vote is effectively nothing more than a 'message'.

Do you send a louder message by voting for 'the lesser of two evils', or by voting for a third party candidate that better represents your desires? You could vote for your dad, but that would fail to send any message other than general dissatisfaction, since those analyzing the election will not know anything about your dad.

But they will know something about all the registered 3rd party candidates.

touché, salesman. touché.