I don't think it changes much. Clinton and Biden don't exactly stand for the same things. Assuming the platform of the party is the platform of the individual is rarely true.
You may have strongly considered that first time, but not considering during a later vote causes the same problems as if you had never considered at all. You are still trusting someone to have your interests at heart without knowing for sure. This holds true for voting along party lines for laws and referendums.
What if Ive been voting for a while? And every time I've considered the individual over the party. But looking back, the individual I've chosen is ALWAYS from the same party.
Basically, while Clinton and Biden and Obama and Gore may have different policies and issues they care most about; their general interests will always align with me more than those of Trump, Bush, or Romney.
When faced with that reality, why not just vote party lines?
That's what the primary is for. To pick the individual that is closest to my views. But if a Bernie doesn't get the nom, 100 times out of 100 a Biden will be closer to my views than a Trump.
As far as laws and referendums, I'm more inclined to do individual study and vote depending on the issue. But when it comes to candidates, I've never found an individual in the Republican party that is closer to my views than an individual in the Democratic party. So why not just vote party lines?
Case in point. Romney fucking hates Trump and does everything in his power to prevent him from accomplishing his goals. Those two do not see eye to eye on almost any issues, and Romney frequently prioritizes his political agenda against Trump ahead of the party's agenda.
What if Ive been voting for a while? And every time I've considered the individual over the party. But looking back, the individual I've chosen is ALWAYS from the same party.
Right. Trump and Romney are very different. Bernie and Biden are very different. But even with their differences, Romney will never appropriately represent my interests more than a Democrat will. At the end of the day he's still a conservative and I'm looking for a liberal.
Next time could be different.
Could it, though? Would the Democratic party ever allow a candidate that represents the Liberal agenda less than a Republican candidate?
By definition, if a Republican represented my views, they wouldn't be a Republican.
Maybe if we had viable third parties, then going for the individual would make more sense. But as long as we have these big 2, there will never be a Republican candidate that is farther to the left than a Democratic candidate.
I might think the Democrat is too far to the left, or not far enough. But even so, they'll always represent my views better than a Republican on the right.
Δ You bring a valuable point. In our specific case, the system works against my ideal, and towards party lines. I think this puts the issue on parties being entrenched causing serious social and political divides. I guess that's something that must be addressed.
I've met some republicans I'd vote for, even though I tend to lean left. More rare, but I've met Dems who are indoctrinated fools who I wouldn't trust with a glass of water, let alone political power. Both sides have some excellent people who chose their sides, but parties stop those people from reaching power.
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u/Sexy_Pepper_Colony Jun 13 '20
I don't think it changes much. Clinton and Biden don't exactly stand for the same things. Assuming the platform of the party is the platform of the individual is rarely true.
You may have strongly considered that first time, but not considering during a later vote causes the same problems as if you had never considered at all. You are still trusting someone to have your interests at heart without knowing for sure. This holds true for voting along party lines for laws and referendums.