Principles

See Also: Issues

Voting Principles

Here are some principles I use to guide my voting.

1. Study (As much as possible.)
   • Read the analysis, candidate statements, arguments, rebuttals, news, opinion, original text, blogs, etc.; Consume whatever you can to get a clear picture of the candidate/bill.
2. For independent candidates, and sometimes measures, review the endorsements.
   • Unions are generally indicative of liberals, whether they are unions of teachers, or police, or whatever.
   • Police organizations are not indications of conservatism. There are hundreds of them and they come in all political flavors.
3. When in doubt, vote no. (For proposition/measures.)
   • Stability is important, and I generally don't think it wise to implement changes with ambiguous effects.
   • There is good reason to be suspicious that ambiguous and obtuse legislation is hiding something sinister.
4. Assume members of liberal parties (e.g. Democratic Party, Green Party, Peace and Freedom Party) are liberal.
   • These are platforms no competent conservative would ever support.
   • The jury's still out regarding the Libertarian Party.
   • The Republican Party and American Independent Party have good conservative platforms.
5. Do not vote for undesirable candidates. Use your vote to support someone you would actually like primarily, and to help pick a winner only secondarily.
   • Voting for "the lesser of two evils" is not "practical".
     • "Practically" speaking, your vote has almost no chance of actually changing the outcome of a race, so reasoning that you should vote for the lesser of two evils to help beat the greater evil is not very "practical".
       • In our observation, even in local contests, winners and losers have been separated by at least a dozen votes. (Ties and 1 vote victories have happened, but they're a bit like being struck by lightning.)
     • Since your vote is abysmally unlikely to change who gets elected, the a more primary primary practical effect of your vote is to communicate support for an idea, a candidate, or a platform.
   • A vote for a 3rd party is not the same as a vote for the less desirable of the "major" candidates.
     • As far as winners, and losers go, basic math does not support that idea. It might be said to be equivalent to not voting, which is a very different thing. (As noted earlier, that one vote is not practically worth considering in most cases, for the purpose of deciding winners and losers.)
     • As far as promotion of ideas and principles are concerned, voting for Mr. Goodman rather than Dr. Evil or Dr. Evil Plus is likely to be much better.
   • When one can vote for multiple candidates in a listing and one can not find a good option for all the votes allowed, only vote for the good options that can be found.
     • In addition to previous rational of clearly communicating what you really support, it is also true that it would be horrible if your vote pushed a bad candidate ahead of one of the good candidates you found.
   • Your vote is your voice. Don't let it be coerced by the lesser of two evils.

Government Principles

1. Government's role is to facilitate the defense of the rights to life, liberty, and property, not to usurp our right to defend our life, liberty, and property, not to usurp our right to defend the life, liberty, and property of others, nor to prevent us from taking risks that might threaten our life, liberty, and property.
   • As such, it also follows, that government bureaucracy should be limited and that the right of the people to work to provide for themselves should not be impeded except for the most extreme causes.
   • Life is taken to begin at the moment an organism begins to grow or become animated.
2. Government's role should be limited.
   • Government's legitimate authority is that which is delegated to it by the people, as opposed to "derived from the consent of the governed".
   • The federal government of the United States of America should be confined to the powers enumerated in the Constitution of the United States of America and further by the Bill of Rights
   • State governments should be limited by their own constitution (and the Bill of Rights where applicable)
   • Local governments should also be limited.
   • As governments currently spend their citizens' money on programs which are often unconstitutional, wasteful, and/or unnecessary, no tax increase should be admitted, and reductions in tax rates should be pursued.
3. Government should not spend more money than it has.
   • As most governments in the United States of America currently spend more than they ought, spending should be reduced.
   • Borrowing (eg. issuing bonds) should be rejected for all but the most necessary reasons.

External Resources

• Apostle Extols Fundamental Principles of U.S. Constitution, LDS Newsroom, Sep 17 2010