Voting across party lines...
 

How many of you, when you get to the polls, simply vote across a line?
How many of you are so set in your "republicans are bad, Democrats are good" (or vice versa) that you never even consider the other candidate?

You realize that there are moderatly Liberal Rep., and moderatly Conservative Dem, Right?

Also, any given person/candidate can have liberal views on some issues, and conservative views on others...AT THE SAME TIME!

Sorry, I have just read one to many "Republicans are bad, I would take a democrat over a Rep any day, no matter who it was"
comments today...

studies have shown that dem's vote across party lines much more than repub's.

but i'm a yellow dog most of the time, unless a real bad dem comes along.

I never vote straight party. I really do look at each candidate individually.

Personally, I vote for Green party candidates first, then democrats, then republicans. However, for instance, I wouldn't vote for Lieberman (just as an example). I would, however, vote for McCain, simply because he is a great representative.

Fair enough. I would never tell someone they were wrong for going Dem, even though I am a very right rep. I disagree, but they have a right to their opinion. Like I said, its just the ones who generalize like that, that bother me.

Here in Canada unfortunately it's a bit of a different situation. We vote for a local representative to the federal government (MP), if that MP wins, they get a seat in the House of Commons Parliament for their party. Whoever's party has the most seats at the end of the election becomes Prime Minister - so we don't actually directly vote for our candidate, rather we have to vote for a local person.

The problem with this is sometimes - for example - I like the conservatives in the Federal Government and would prefer to see them leading the country, but, my local liberal MP seems to be the best person for my particular region - has a lot better ideas than the PC candidate - so I have to then make a decision. Do I vote for the party, or vote for the candidate - and depending on the issues sometimes it changes although I usually go for party since I look at the wider view.

I vote according to whom I think is the best candidate. My parents and grandparents are straight republican..bah. I usually end up with the republican but I will vote for a dem if he/she is a better candidate.

Same here. I vote based on who best fits to what I feel is best. I don't like voting for any one party because there are people in both parties that should not be elected, let alone run for office.

I vote the issues, NEVER the party! I rarely vote for either republican or democrat in presidential elections. It is my belief that if people would actually vote for who they felt was best suited for the job, rather than voting for who they felt was the lesser of two evils, that we would see some real progress in this country.

I never vote by party, I vote by candidate/issues.

I always vote republican, but I do so after looking at the candidates. I guess I just look at the issues I feel are the most important (usually tax policy and size of government) and cast my vote for the candidate that has the stance I want. Since democrats typically want bigger government (tax and spend), I vote republican. I've yet to meet a democrat that isn't a tax and spend kinda person.

I likewise tell others (and myself) that I vote by candidate and not by party. However, I have yet to vote for a Republican candidate because I usually agree with the Democratic candidate more. This is perfectly reasonable as it is probably the reason we associate with a party anyways. To be fair, I've only been old enough to vote for two elections so we'll see how really open minded I am.

Not all Democrats are bad, there's Zell Miller of Georgia. Just like not all republicians are good, such as John McCain of Arizona.

I have in the past voted on the party line (Republician), but that could change in 2004 as John McCain is up for reelection and so far he hasn't done anything to get my vote.

I vote for the best person for the job. I educate myself pretty well on the candidates. Having said that I usually vote Republican. After all, the USA is a Republic.

Yes, The US is a republic, but, that really has nothing to do with the Republican Party's name. The Democratic party can trace its history back to Jefferson and the Democratic Republican Party. The modern day Republican Party only goes back to 1856 and John C. Fremont.
I apoligize, that last statement has nothing to do with the topic of the thread.
I vote across the board. It is the candidate that matters, not the party. I am a registered Democrat, but I have voted and will vote for Republicans in the future, if I am more closely aligned with their views.
I can't stand people who actually take the time to go to the polls and only pull the lever at the top. I appreciate the fact that they take the time to do their civic duty, but to me they show a lack of attention to the world around them.

I vote for whoever I think will be best for the job. I look at issues, not parties. It jjust happens to be that I rarely vote republican, and most of my votes go non Dem. or Rep. parties.