Last week, when Fred Thompson dropped out of the race for the presidency, I was left with a very difficult decision.
You see, no matter how many times Fred’s team tried to disillusion me with their excessive amounts of email, I still had a real conservative to vote for in the upcoming primaries. Hundreds of emails later, it didn’t matter how I felt about his campaign team, their endless attempts to push the ‘grassroots’ effort down my throat, or their misaligned attempts to get a specific amount of money by a specific time of the day. I knew their efforts were all in the name of helping Fred get into that chair in the Oval Office and I knew I was going to walk into that voting booth on February 5th, regardless of their actions, and cast my vote for Fred because he was the last real conservative in the race.
Now, with just eleven days until ‘Super Tuesday’, I am facing a quandry I have never faced before in my life.
Who the hell do I vote for?
I have been voting in presidential elections since 1984, which means I have voted in six previous presidential elections. Each election cycle I would take a look at the candidates and choose the best one for the job. That’s the way it should be, isn’t it? Shouldn’t we always vote for the person who best represents our own views, and who we trust to lead our nation? This process has always worked well for me, and it worked again this time, right up until the time that Fred dropped out of the race.
So now what? While I can name several reasons why I would not vote for any of the remaining candidates, I found that I could not name one single reason to support any of them. Fred was my only choice. Off the top of my head I had no idea which candidate I would support because I had no idea which candidate best represented my views. I began searching each of their platforms and reading the hyperbole on their official campaign websites. What a headache that was. That idea just wasn’t going to work.
Then I decided to take some time out of my day and list a few of the issues that I thought might be important to most Americans, you know, like the war in Iraq, immigration, abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, and a few others. I listed them all on a sheet of paper and started researching each candidates position on those topics. While researching their positions I stayed away from their official websites as I did not want their campaign rhetoric to get in the way of how they truly stand on an issue. I spent hours on Google, Yahoo, congressional record & political action sites, as well as blogs searching for quotes and voting records from each of the candidates to compile my list.
I sat at the computer for over 6 hours working on the list and what I came up with was a concise, easy to read, spreadsheet that told me at a glance how each candidate compared to the others. When I finished the spreadsheet I printed a copy for my wife, because she too is having difficulty deciding who should get her vote. Then she suggested that I post the spreadsheet on my website, in order to help any other people that might be having the same problem. And here it is.
(click image to download pdf file)
After all that work creating the spreadsheet I wondered how it would help me decide where to place my vote. It seemed pretty obvious, at first glance, that it would only solidify my reasons for not voting for specific candidates, but then I figured out how to make it work for me. I sat down with the list and rated each issue from 1 to 5, based on importance to me. I then wrote in my own positions on each topic. If a candidate agreed with me on the issue, they received the score I had given for that item, if they have been known to flip flop on the issue, I subtracted that score from their total. When I was done, I had a nice breakdown of which candidate best represents the positions I hold, and I can confidently say I know who I am going to vote for on election day.
Call me crazy, but it worked. It may or may not work for you, but you are welcome to try it yourself and see if it helps. I double checked the list earlier today to make sure it was accurate, but I make no claims that it is 100% correct, as some candidates have a way of double-speaking the issues and some are very good at hiding the art of flip-flopping. I also gave a few candidates a little leeway on their position, all in the name of partisanship.
I am pretty shocked that I had to devote so much time into researching each candidate just so I could choose the “best of the worst”. You would think, with millions of dollars spent, that it would be quite easy to find their position on any given topic, but it wasn’t. I miss the good old days when you knew whether a candidate was liberal or conservative based on their consistent voting record and the words coming out of their mouths. So much for track records. Then again, I guess it’s difficult to keep a track record when you keep running around in circles.
UPDATE [01/26 @ 12:15] : I have updated the chart to reflect that Mike Huckabee signed the NumbersUSA ‘No Amnesty’ pledge on January 16th.
UPDATE [01/31 @ 20:15] : I have modified the original spreadsheet to reflect those who have dropped out and those who have “restated” their postions. Download it here.
Note:
Here is a list of some of the sites I used to help gather information, that I feel are valuable to anyone trying to make a decision this election cycle:
SelectSmart
Americans For Better Immigration
HR 810 (embryonic stem cell research)
On The Issues
That’s the best chart I’ve seen yet. It’s amazing that with all the media coverage so early in the campaign that the major news organizations don’t have anything nearly as good as this. A friend of mine found one on MSNBC’s website that only tells their positions on Iraq, the Economy, Energy, Health Care and Immigration, but it’s not broken down any further like you did.
It’s also good that you didn’t go to campaign websites or major supporters’ websites. If I’ve learned anything from listening to callers to Rush over the past few months, it’s that every one of these candidates have incredibly vocal supporters who literally wouldn’t back down if it was revealed that their candidate sacrificed an orphan’s puppy to Satan.
By the way, are you making a distinction between “anti-abortion” and “pro-life”?
Comment by Joe on Jan 25th, 2008 @ 20:04
I made the distinction where John McCain is concerned because, while his voting record shows a pro-life record, some of his comments in the past indicate he would not overturn Roe v Wade, and he would allow an abortion for someone if they were raped, but you could not test for rape in the case. Which was confusing to say the least. So rather than “Pro-Life” I put him down as “Anti-Abortion”. I know, I am weird.
The link for the info is at On The Issues.
Comment by Slobokan on Jan 25th, 2008 @ 20:38
[...] a quick post to let you know about Slobakan’s Presidential chart which shows each candidate and their positions on one page. Great resource for those having a tough [...]
Pingback by Flopping Aces » Blog Archive » » Presidential Candidates At A Glance on Jan 25th, 2008 @ 21:59
[...] put together a comparison chart on the remaining 2008 presidential [...]
Pingback by Information Salad #74: The Internal Mic Edition : ISPN Media on Jan 26th, 2008 @ 01:15
Great job sir. I would submit that Mike Huckabee signed the Numbers USA No Amnesty Pledge Jan 16.
I hope you will consider that info.
Thank you.
Comment by Duncan Hunter Fan on Jan 26th, 2008 @ 02:45
Thank you for that update on Huckabee, I just read the report from Roy Beck at NumbersUSA, and I have updated the chart because of it.
Comment by Slobokan on Jan 26th, 2008 @ 12:15
one of the most critical issues in the new adiministratin will be appointment of judges in the federal judiciary…is there comparative information on judical philosophy?
Also, I wonder what is meant on the immigration lines in your chart regarding the difference between Amesty and citizenship for those already here?
Thanks for providing a really great service!
Comment by B Quad on Jan 26th, 2008 @ 12:31
The distinction between ‘amnesty’ and ‘citizenship for those already here’, is quite simple.
Amnesty means they can stay with no penalty, and ‘citizenship for those already here’ means those that are here, if granted amnesty will be given citizenship without forcing them to return home, etc.
Comment by Slobokan on Jan 26th, 2008 @ 12:41
[...] « Your 2008 Presidential Candidates At A Glance · Main · ‘Candidates At A Glance’: An Update January 26, 2008 @ 5:47 pm [...]
Pingback by Slobokan’s Site O’ Schtuff : ‘Candidates At A Glance’: An Update on Jan 26th, 2008 @ 17:47
It was brought to my attention on another blog that I forgot to include civil liberties views, such as Guantanamo, the Patriot Act, and wiretaps, so I have updated the chart to include those views.
Comment by Slobokan on Jan 26th, 2008 @ 17:50
Thanks, that chart is a beast!
Comment by Paul on Jan 27th, 2008 @ 22:26
You’re welcome Paul. I’m glad I waited a bit to put it together, it was a nightmare finding all that information.
Comment by Slobokan on Jan 27th, 2008 @ 22:33
This is great! Best information I’ve found yet, while I was conducting my own research. I’d like to offer this information to our readers of a local a&e mag (seveneightfive.com). Please contact me and maybe we can collobrate! Better to have more folks informed…
Thanks
Comment by kerrice on Jan 28th, 2008 @ 18:06
[...] And then there were 6. In light of the fact that Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards are dropping out of the race, I thought I would eliminate them from the 2008 Presidential Candidate ‘At A Glance’ Chart. [...]
Pingback by Slobokan’s Site O’ Schtuff : Six Remain: Your 2008 Presidential Candidates on Jan 30th, 2008 @ 12:49
[...] marijuana” even though he has said otherwise at various times, I have updated the 2008 Presidential Candidates [...]
Pingback by Slobokan’s Site O’ Schtuff : Barack Obama Supports Legalized Marijuana on Jan 31st, 2008 @ 20:14
I’d also like to thank you for this. I’m a failure with internet searches, so this is a life-saver. I had been considering abstaining from the election because I didn’t have the information to vote intelligently. Now I can vote, albeit with half a heart, since I’m also disappointed with all candidates.
Anyway, you have my sincerest thanks for doing the mouse-work for me.
(I don’t suppose you plan on making such a chart for each election, do you?) ;)
Comment by Aaron on Feb 13th, 2008 @ 19:32
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Pingback by Slobokan’s Site O’ Schtuff : Checkin The Stats - February 2008 on Mar 3rd, 2008 @ 13:27