Posted by
ilja on Sunday, October 14, 2007 9:25:19 PM
We've all read those posts from people complaining about anyone who considers abortion to be too important an issue to compromise on when it comes to voting. Hardly a thread can go by pertaining to these particular voters where someone does not use the phrase "one-issue voters". Of course, these voters they are referencing will come in and explain why they are not one-issue voters but those posts seem to go in one ear and out the other.
I am not here to rehash that particular point especially since I know I won't convince anyone anyway who already holds this view. I am here to talk about the "real" one-issue voters.
While I am not here to rehash the former, I do need to point out parts of their argument in order to clarify the latter. The main reason that abortion foes give for not being a one-issue voter is that they consider a multitude of stances that a candidate holds before deciding for whom to vote. In other words, while many of them will not cross the abortion line and vote for someone who is pro-abortion, they will study other issues as well when making their decision. So while their choice of candidate must be anti-abortion, they must also be on the right side of the other major issues that these particular voters cares about.
On the other hand, the voters who I consider "real" one-issue voters don't seem to have a problem with their candidate of choice being on the opposite side of the other major issues that they claim to care about as long as he is perceived to be on the right side of the one issue on which they make their decision.
That issue is the War against Islamic Fascists.
Before you jump down my throat and give me the usual 'but none of the rest will matter if we don't defeat the Terrorists', give me a chance to explain.
I agree that we can NOT sit back and do nothing to aggressively defeat the Terrorists. I also agree that we need to go on both the offensive and the defensive when it comes to defeating Islamic Fascism. As a matter of fact, I will not vote for a candidate who believes the way to defeat the enemy and defend our homeland is through appeasement and amnesty.
Where I part with those whom I consider the "real" one-issue voters is that while as I've implied above, this issue is one of my most important issues, it is not my only important issue. Yet, I have noticed that nearly all of the candidates running for the Republican Presidential nomination are in agreement with us on this issue.
So why are these voters so quick to throw away their concerns on all the other issues while referencing this one issue that most of the candidates on the right agree?
I can't say for sure but I suspect it has to do with one of three motives. Either they have been so convinced by what they saw on video that their one candidate who is definitely not very conservative on the other major issues is superior above all the other candidates to such a degree on this one issue that the other candidates could not possibly do as good of a job as him. Or, the other issues never really mattered that much to them anyway and this is one way of supporting someone who is not strong on the other issues with the excuse that it won't matter what we do about the other issues if we are all dead. Or last but most defintely not least, they are really on the other side of these issues that they so easily dismiss.
The War against Islamic Fascism is likely going to last a long time, including past the next President's administration and even past many of our lifetimes. Are we suppose to not care about any of the other issues for decades to come or in some of our cases, the rest of our lives?
Elusively yours,
ilja