Play the Candidate Match Game!

[Eric]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/candidate-match-game.htm

I matched up with Ron Paul. Which is a good thing, besides the isolationist attitudes

[openSkies]

I matched with Ron Paul as well.

I'll end up voting for Giuliani, though, because he has the best chance against the Dems. And I like the guy on a personal level. He's also fairly middle-of-the-road on some issues, and I think letting the liberals have a win once in a while could be a good thing. Right now everyone is Republican-hating and the party really needs to try and unite the nation a bit more.

[Eric]

Over the last year or so, I've started shifting away from more conservative ideas but that's still pretty much where I lie. I guess I'm almost a liberitarian, but not quite. I'm not really anything right now.

I like Ron Paul save for one thing; his foreign policy. If he wants to let Iran run around with a nuke........he's probably not gonna get my support

[Eric]

I think mine went Paul, Thompson, and McCain.

[openSkies]

I'm swinging Libertarian these days, too.

Does anyone else think FairTax is a good idea?

[Spence]

I'm swinging Libertarian these days, too.

Does anyone else think FairTax is a good idea?

In regards to your first statement, I think a lot of people are, since it's never been more obvious that the GOP and the Democrats should just merge into a single party since there are no substantive differences between them, rhetoric aside.

As to the Fair Tax, absolutely! Among competing tax proposals it's the only one that passes true constitutional muster, in that it's clearly an indirect tax and thus not subject to the rule of apportionment. Its a shame the Supreme Court can't grow a pair and rule the obvious, which is that federal income taxes as applied to wages, commissions etc. are either unconstitutional or have to be distributed to the states as direct taxes.

FWIW, politically I've been basically a libertarian for years, however over the past decade or so I've become somewhat of a Buchananite as regards trade and immigration.

Good post. I agree that the two national parties are two sides of the same coin. I think that both sides work toward separating me from my money. I tend to be conservative in nature, but I don't walk lock step with the Republicans on lots of issues.

[Spence]

Thompson was first on my list. That was who I will probably support if he wins the primary.

[BYUfan1]

I found it pretty funny. I'm a registered Democrat and my top 3 were all Republicans (McCain, Giuliani, and Hunter). I guess it shows you how far left the Democrats are getting. People like to bash Zell Miller, but he was so right. The Democratic party has abandoned so much of its own base, it has left so many Democrats with no real party to support. I also have to admit I have no idea who Duncan Hunter is.

[donovan]

Not that it is relevant....I was a Republican most of my life...voted pretty much along those lines....one day.....years back, I said...no party really reflects my political, social, economic or spiritual values. I decided it was time to come out of the closet and stop defending a party that did not espouse my views. The Libertarians seemingly had a lot of the right ideas, but my problem was, they seemed to be a collection of activists that wanted something repealed so they could do it....e.g. decriminalized drugs so they could smoke pot, etc.

So I decided that affiliation was not for me. So I am a small "l" libertarian. Believe in the Austrian economists, Mises, Hyaek, Friedman, etc. Think it is reasonable to be a communitarian...that is...support local solutions to all problems and have the basic belief that if a populous is taxed for a certain project, then all those taxed should have equal access to that project...if not, then it is not a legitimate function of government.

As for the President, I think I will decide who would make the best commander in chief of the military. That is where the President truly makes decisions...all the rest is leadership and others decide....

I think we need leadership over the military that is based on sound moral philosophy or purpose and not reacting to polls as some int he past or defending past decisions to prove you were right...that cost is too high and the success is questionable.

[Derek]

I don't think this poll is very accurate.

It says my best match is:

#1 Romney
#2 Thompson
#3 Tancredo

I think the poll is trying to get more conservative people to pick Romney, when he is not the real conservative. IMO. I was supporting Thompson, but he got in to late.

I want Ronald Reagan back.

[Derek]

Huckabee first, Paul second and Romney third...probably due to the last question (I'd have answered "other" had it been a choice).

I like Huckabee too, but he was not on my top three. Which is why I suspect this poll's accuracy.

[Derek]

I found it pretty funny. I'm a registered Democrat and my top 3 were all Republicans (McCain, Giuliani, and Hunter). I guess it shows you how far left the Democrats are getting. People like to bash Zell Miller, but he was so right. The Democratic party has abandoned so much of its own base, it has left so many Democrats with no real party to support. I also have to admit I have no idea who Duncan Hunter is.

He does not stand a chance that's for sure.

I remember when Zell Miller was Gov of GA for 8 years, and then when Paul Coverdell passed away, the Gov then sent him to Washington to complete the term. We conservatives WERE HOT!!!!

Cause Zell is a Southern Democrat which means being fiscally liberal but socially conservative (in church every sunday and all that stuff, and not for political reasons)

BUT Ga has changed in the last 10 years. It's a VERY conservative state and people like him, as good of a man he is, would NOT win election again.

[Eric]

I found it pretty funny. I'm a registered Democrat and my top 3 were all Republicans (McCain, Giuliani, and Hunter). I guess it shows you how far left the Democrats are getting. People like to bash Zell Miller, but he was so right. The Democratic party has abandoned so much of its own base, it has left so many Democrats with no real party to support. I also have to admit I have no idea who Duncan Hunter is.

That's exactly the problem with a lot of Democrats. The people in far-leftville are running the party and it is not what the Democratic party used to be about.

[Spence]

Not that it is relevant....I was a Republican most of my life...voted pretty much along those lines....one day.....years back, I said...no party really reflects my political, social, economic or spiritual values. I decided it was time to come out of the closet and stop defending a party that did not espouse my views. The Libertarians seemingly had a lot of the right ideas, but my problem was, they seemed to be a collection of activists that wanted something repealed so they could do it....e.g. decriminalized drugs so they could smoke pot, etc.

So I decided that affiliation was not for me. So I am a small "l" libertarian. Believe in the Austrian economists, Mises, Hyaek, Friedman, etc. Think it is reasonable to be a communitarian...that is...support local solutions to all problems and have the basic belief that if a populous is taxed for a certain project, then all those taxed should have equal access to that project...if not, then it is not a legitimate function of government.

As for the President, I think I will decide who would make the best commander in chief of the military. That is where the President truly makes decisions...all the rest is leadership and others decide....

I think we need leadership over the military that is based on sound moral philosophy or purpose and not reacting to polls as some int he past or defending past decisions to prove you were right...that cost is too high and the success is questionable.

I came from a long line of Democrats who for the same reasons BYU stated left the party. When I was about 22 I questioned my parents along the same lines as this test does and made them realize they weren't Democrats anymore. I vote independently and I always have. Locally my vote generally splits more then it does nationally, but I refuse to vote for anyone just because they have one letter or another beside their name. I vote for individuals. If they don't do what they say, I vote for someone else - even if that person doesn't stand a chance.

[Spence]

I have looked at the Libertarian party and agree with a lot of the platform. I don't have a problem with the decriminalization of drugs and I don't use drugs. I just tend to look at people who I believe can make a difference. The problem with that is once they get to the hill even the ideologs change. They align themselves with one party or another "in order to get things done". Often times they just lose themselves and their ideals in the interest of remaining in their jobs.

IMO we need to get away from the whole "class warfare" stragedy that the two major parties engage in. I debated a guy stumping for a candidate in a local store about taxing the "big corporations" He said that his candidate wouldn't take any money from the middle class only the "rich" and "big corporations". When I asked him why those people wouldn't just pass that tax increase to us, he just said "it wouldn't work that way". This guy worked for a candidate. I said that in my knowledge of how business works, businesses have a bottom line % number that they must make in order to remain profitable and keep their doors open. When the cost of doing business goes up, no matter why it goes up, they have only a couple of choices. Either they raise the price of their goods and services or they cut expenses (meaning jobs) to meet their bottom line numbers. So in fact when government raises taxes on anyone the middle and upper middle class ends up playing the lions share of that tax. He said I was wrong and didn't know what I was talking about and left. Not one single argument to disprove what I has said, he just left.

I don't know why that when the "government" decides to pay for something that people don't realize where the money will come from. I stopped voting for any increases in taxes some years ago. Most tax issues are for good causes, but at some point we have to make them pick what is truely important with the money they have. I vowed a long time ago that the only tax issue I would ever vote for would be the "give money to Spence tax" and that issue would only get one vote.