Do US voters actually care about the issues?

Question

..or are they all in lock-step with their party?
I have found this great website which outlines the voting records and political stands on any imaginable issue by politicians form every party and every state with tools to make side by side comparisons of the candidates on these issues. This could be the single most important candidate research tool available to voters who actually care about the candidates and the issues.
Every voter should use this tool before picking whom they will give their votes.
http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

Answer 1

I don't know about other voters, but I do care. I appreciate this link and will use it and forward it to my friends. Thanks!

Answer 2

Yes and no. In the last election, I saw one person interviewed who was voting for John Kerry. She didn't know his wife's name. Didn't know what state he was a Senator in, didn't know how long he had been a Senator, was pretty sure he was a Senator. Had not a clue to his stance on any issue. All she knew is she was voting against Bush. That is what the Democrats got for spending, what, almost 100 million dollars? Talk about not getting the message out. On the other hand, many are laser focused on one single issue. Abortion/Women's Choice, Gay Marriage/No Gay Marriage, Environment, Gun Control. Only the one issue is important. Then there are others who take a wider view. Every election finds the candidates searching for the fewest issues that will garner the most votes. To many issues, too many promises. The fewer issues you have to commit too, the better off you will be. Also, the less said the better. But you have to do better than John Kerry's "I'll do it better and smarter" but be careful not to toss out too much too early as Hillary may have done with her Health Care plan. You can not neatly pigeon hole the voters into one group. If you could, the campaign season would only last a week with one debate and then the vote.

Answer 3

I believe that most US "voters" care about the issues, but it would appear tot he ignorant that they are in lock step with their party. It is important to understand that the Democratic and Republican parties have completely different approaches to dealing with the issues. Conservatives tend to vote Republican because they tend to (not always) espouse the same values and approach to problem solving. Liberals tend to vote Democrat for the same reasons. It is naive to try to be a free thinker and support a third party candidate because the reality is that they just won't win and will only serve as a spoiler for one side or the other.

Answer 4

on the issues is a very good website. But also checking out the candidates websites are good as well, and googling lol. I've learned to care about the issues more and more... I'm actually doing a presentation about the candidates and issues on Thursday for a social inequality class.

Answer 5

I think many voters base their votes on two things:

- A belief that the candidate believes what they believe, even if faced with evidence to the contrary. This is where the party hardliners live.

- Base on a single issue, such as taxes, abortion, or something similar. Even if they differ with the candidate on many other issues, they feel this one issue is important enough to overcome other doubts.

Answer 6

We do care very much about the issues, but no one can pin down any candidate about their real views on any issue. They are too busy trying to tiptoe through all the pc goobly goo, and are too afraid of offending one group or another to give anyone a straight answer. I would vote for someone who would deport every illegal alien within our borders, secure our borders, get our troops out of Iraq in one of two ways...disarm everybody, then only the bad guys have guns, then you blow the hell out of them, or you say "suck it up" to the Iraqi government and leave. I would vote for someone who would quit paying for babies 2,3,4, and 5 for unmarried women. I would vote for someone who would stop the unearned income tax credit...if you didn't earn the income, why should you get the credit? I could go on and on. But the thing is, no candidate is going to stand there and say flat out what they think is the thing to do because they are afraid it might cost them votes.

Answer 7

I appreciate what you are saying... and we ALL must be more active in the political process.

However, there is a growing segment of American Society that doesn't want to try anymore. When the "majority" of Americans voted for Al Gore, the election was stolen anyhow! Then 4 years later and a bunch of "questionable" vote counts especially in Ohio... People are thinking... why bother... the Corporate Elite and Rich will still put their people in anyway!

I personally will ALWAYS vote and try to be informed and make the best choice.

Answer 8

Not really. They think they do because they know all the sound bites and the slogans.

Then again, why should they care when you consider how little difference there is between democrats and republicans? There is only one person I would for right now and he doesn't stand a chance as long as he doesn't drop the democratic party to run as either a green or an independent.

Do you know who I'm talking about? He's a neighbor of yours. Dennis Kucinich.

Answer 9

That is a really great site, everyone who is voting (which should be EVERYONE) should check it out. Too often politicians say one thing just to get elected but at least here you can see their past voting records. You may not agree with every single thing that one person has voted on but if there is one that most closely parallels your views you've got your guy (or woman).

Answer 10

It depends on what you mean by "issues".
If you mean the cost of Edwards' haircuts, Burak Obama's religion, who clapped for the Iranian president at Columbia, Chavez being a mean, Communist dictator in Venezuela, or the fact that Hillary is the anti-Christ, then, "yes"; US voters care about the issues.
If you mean the American infrastructure falling apart, an out-of-control budget and trade defecit, illegal immigration, soaring costs of energy, health care that is increasingly becoming unaffordable, then, "no"; US voters don't care about the issues.

Answer 11

10% of voters care. They're knowledgeable on the issues and where each candidate stands on them.

80% of the voters think they care, but would fail even the most simple test of the issues and where each candidate stands on them.

10% of the voters just vote the party with which they're affiliated.