Need DU Opinion On Question Of "One Issue" Voting

[Jon8503]

Let's say you have a candidate who is of your party in a very conservative state. Overall, he is certainly the lessor of two evils and is a good congressman. However, due to his constituency, he has to compromise on issues to stay in office and he seems to consistently win his elections because he is well liked and respected. Let's say out of 12 issues, you agree with 8, 9, 10 or 11 of them but you are passionate about one and he has voted against that one issue.

My opinion is you stick with him on the belief of, first, I am not a one issue person, I look at the overall picture and what is the best way overall and second, I feel he has to do some give & take being in a very Conservative state and unfortunately has to vote not the way you want on some things. It is like being in the ACLU & I don't always agree with them but I know overall they are going to be the best in the end.

What do the DU Experts think?

[vi5]

1. I agree....

Voting out of spite is going to get you nowhere. If it's a federal representative then does he caucus or vote with his party most of the time? Harry Reid is a good example. I'm vehemently pro-choice but I'd vote for him if I lived in Nevada

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. It depends on the issues. All issues are not equal.

I can put up with some playing politics. I don't really care if they name a bridge or an airport after Ronald Reagan. I'll even put up with some slippin' and slidin' on minor issues like gun control Christmans displays (if the candidate is in a red state).

But, things like war, women's rights, supreme court justices, etc, if the candidate votes with the fascists - it's time to say goodbye. As I have done to both my Democratic Senators. One who voted for the war. The other who (suprisingly) voted for Roberts.

[HawkerHurricane]

3. Nobody agrees with me 100% of the time.

Not even me.

The only way to get someone who agrees with me all the time is to run myself. It's always a trade off: I vote for the person who matches my opinions best. This might be the difference between a right wing prick and a PNAC NeoCon... I'll go for the prick in that case. Make the best of a bad situation, and if you aren't willing to compromise, then you'd better run yourself.