What Would It Take For You To Vote For The Other Political Party?

Every year, a large percentage of voters vote via their personal party line. Liberals vote party line Democrat. Conservatives vote party line Republican. What would it take for a candidate from the other party to earn your vote? Ronnie R:

As a staunch conservative, I firmly believe in fighting for your principles and standing by what you think is right. This is after all the battlefield of ideas. That however, is the issue at hand here. Voting for a political candidate used to be about who you thought would be the best person to faithfully execute the duties of the office. It has now become an over glamorized, self indulgent exercise in narcissism. To those of us in the real world, it’s simply a matter of the elites fighting over the checkbook. Each of the two main political parties have become so established that they can squabble all day long with no fear of consequence. For me to vote for someone of the opposite party they would have to be someone I know personally very well. I would have to know their character so that I could trust them to have the best interests of the country at heart. I don’t trust my own party to do that half the time, let alone a Democrat. As the saying goes, all politics is local. I think that is where a real difference can be made here from a ‘party line’ standpoint. I have voted for several Democrats in my local elections because I know them and I trust that they are good people. In the national system that is so filled with dirtbags in DC from both sides of the aisle; local politics is where Americans should look to make their voice heard loudest. Jimmy D: W hen it comes to voting, I just about always side with the social side over the fiscal side. I want to vote for someone I agree with on most issues. So I guess you could say that when I listen to the Republican Debates, I hear them 10% of the time but I’m turned off 90% of the time. For a Republican Candidate to earn my vote, it’d be a minor miracle. Firstly, the biggest turn-off for me is when a candidate is extremely religious. I know I’m in somewhat of a minority on that. Many people care about the religion of whom they vote for because they need to relate with that person. In other words, your religion can be your moral compass, but it isn’t mine. Secondly, they’d have to be socially conscious (pro-gay marriage & anti-bulk data collection) and believers of prevailing scientific theories (evolution & climate change). A science-denier will never have my vote. Fiscally, there are many theories on what we can do to ‘better’ the country. I do believe the Federal Government is too big and could be brought down a little. States are in a bind. They can’t raise necessary taxes for local projects because it’s hard for their citizens to separate local and federal. All they see is ‘taxes.’ So I can relate with some conservatives on that front. My honest opinion is that there is no ‘right’ answer. Conservatives believe one thing. Liberals believe another. But the liberal and conservative theories aren’t as far off as one is led to believe. I mean even President Reagan raised taxes to meet budget shortfalls. So could I see myself voting ‘Republican?’ Yes…If they were socially conscious, non-religious, and pro-science.