The TRUTH about Political Positions
Everyone has a political position on one issue or another. But most people have one or two issues about which they really care. Politicians are hard to pin down on their philosophies for two reasons. One is that they have contributors that they have to placate. Not a good reason, but a political reality. If a Congressman is going to vote for a patients Bill of Rights ONLY because he has received contributions from the Trial Lawyers Association, it usually is not wise to admit it.The second reason is that every time you take a stand on an issue (assuming it is not a wildly popular issue - like tax cuts) you are going to have 50% of people who do not care about that issue, 25% who agree with you, and you lose 25% who disagree - because it is their one REALLY important issue.
So, you take one hard stand, and lose 25% of the electorate. You take a second stand, and you have another 50% who do not care, 25% who have agreed with you twice, and lose another 25% who adamantly disagree.
You can probably see where this is heading. The more stands you take, the more people you lose. This is why successful politicians are hard to pin down on issues. The fewer stands they take, the fewer voters they lose. I believe the American voting population can correct this by simply getting educated, and DEMANDING to know ALL of a politicians positions. Then weighing ALL of a candidates positions against their own beliefs.
People who do not bother to review all positions of all candidates, who derive knee-jerk reactions to individual issues, will help perpetuate the problem we have in our political system.