Who are you voting for and why?

With the elections coming up, there's a lot of controversy on who the next president should be. In all likelihood, it's either going to be Clinton or Trump. I know, the majority of the public is dissatisfied with these choices, so let's skip all the drama about how you hate both candidates. In reality, you will never have a perfect candidate that fits your ideologies perfectly, but you still have to make a decision ---  choose the lesser of two evils, the one that best matches your perspectives, or abstaining from voting completely.

3 caveats:

Lesser of 2 Evils - If you choose to vote for the party that you're used to, chances are that you won't be subscribing to what you prefer to the most from your candidate. You see that the other side is going to be too harmful for the country, so you feel obligated to vote against that person. This is often going to lead to the 'status quo' and lead the country at a stable pace in one direction. In the short term, it'll work for you, but will it be what you want from your country in the long term?

3rd Party - Whether it's Jill Stein or Gary Johnson or yourself, you will be more aligned to these candidates than what the majority of the country has chosen. The problem with third parties is (in my opinion) they will never succeed in taking over the general election. They might come very close to getting to the presidency, but the 2 main parties will change their ideologies to make sure that won't happen.  Example --- too many people think that libertarian principles are what many people think is correct, the Republican party will adapt to make sure they can get those votes. Same with many progressive principles, the Democratic party will reform to get those votes as well. In the end, third party votes are a 'protest vote' to address the main 2 parties that the general public wants something different.

Not Voting - If you choose this option, chances are...you've given up on the political system. Nothing wrong with taking this approach, maybe you don't care to deal with politics and just want to live your life or you've lost faith in our government. Even if that's the case, you still have influence in how our nation runs, so you're not completely free from dealing with this issue. You still have influence over the people you interact with, who will vote in certain ways depending on what you say.

My vote goes to Trump because ---

His background - I recently became a conservative, and I think Trump had the same revelation. It's also used as an attack by many conservatives that he's really a liberal because he held liberal principles before and recently became conservative. This can mean he's a moderate who can draw both sides to him. A lot of parallels can be drawn with Reagan.

He is not Hillary - This is the "Lesser of 2 Evils" vote. In my opinion, Hillary will be a 3rd term of Obama, and I don't think he did the best job of running our country in the last 8 years. I want someone different who can take us in a new direction.

Conservative Principles/Business Experience - Limited government and free market principles. This is what I'm skeptical of the most with Trump. Will he actually be a conservative when it comes to market, or will he rely on government to make sure things work? Many people say that Hillary is actually a more free market person, but I don't know enough about her ideologies (fill me in if you know more). Since Trump has spent so much time in the business world, I would think he can provide the best expertise in how our economy should run.

Trump's Personality - Many people are highly against how he acts, but I see it as a plus. I like the masculine/authoritarian approach to things. I can see how many can be thrown off by it as well. In my opinion, we've lived with too much of the feminine approach to things, so we need a masculine "fatherly" figure for our country.

Can you change my mind? - Of course! I always look for reasons to why I should think differently. I don't absorb information that fits perfectly with what I think, I prefer stuff that counters my current ideologies so I can reform my way of thinking if it's needed.

Unsafe Space Guidelines

This is a political discussion group. You will hear many points of view from people of different political, religious, and philosophical stances. Obviously this can lead to a lot of turmoil, so here are some guidelines you should follow to make sure we all try to be respectful of everyone.

Guidelines

1. You are here to learn new perspectives, convincing others of why you are right is secondary.
2. Do your research before responding to factual posts. Supply links that you have thoroughly read to defend your arguments.
3. Images with captions are strongly discouraged. If you post graphics or videos, be sure they are not intended to provoke the other side.
4. Don't let your emotions take over. If you are angry, take a few minutes off to figure out why you are upset and respond if you have to. Passive aggressive posts are strongly discouraged. Try not to call people racists, sexists or bigots unless you provide valid reasons.
5. Try to focus on the arguments, and not the individual. Your criticisms should be as productive to the discussion as possible.

Introduction post

If you are new here, feel free to make an intro post to talk about yourself and explain a few of your ideologies. It is not necessary to make a post, but it would help people who aren't aware of your background to get a sense of where you align on the political spectrum.

Leaving Comments

Do not make a new comment if you are replying to another person's comment. Press "Reply" under the comment you are talking about and address their points. If you want to make a new comment about the post in general, feel free to start a new comment thread. This is to keep things concise and easy to read so others can follow along better.