tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9045565.post7237442268524454986..comments2023-09-30T03:57:11.799-05:00Comments on ahistoricality: Comment Elsewhere: Texas Republican PlatformAhistoricalityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004964192885891003noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9045565.post-75241370921659082282010-06-29T10:47:55.648-05:002010-06-29T10:47:55.648-05:00I wouldn't call it naive, but there are other ...I wouldn't call it naive, but there are other factors at work: voter turnout being the biggest conflating factor. <br /><br />Some of the recent polling research I've been reading suggests that the "independent voter" is something of a myth anyway: most so-called independents actually lean hard one way or the other, and most 'undecideds' are more uninformed than conflicted.Ahistoricalityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04004964192885891003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9045565.post-38929310716219385702010-06-29T08:08:47.318-05:002010-06-29T08:08:47.318-05:00Maybe I'm naive, but I would guess that if som...Maybe I'm naive, but I would guess that if someone is already strongly party-affiliated, s/he will vote for a party candidate irrespective of the party platform. If the voter is independent, the candidate's issue positions would be the factor, not the party affiliation.<br /><br />Then again, I do days of research each election by reading candidates' policy statements, voting records, and speeches. I suspect I may be atypical.Not Importanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18307127026012212518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9045565.post-54707470402321966952010-06-26T19:21:10.913-05:002010-06-26T19:21:10.913-05:00There are very specific instructions to the party ...There are very specific instructions to the party leadership regarding their responsibility to inquire and report on the opinions of candidates in party primaries with regard to this platform. This may be boilerplate that party platform committees write and party leaders ignore, but officially, anyway, it's the position of the Texas GOP that this is the yardstick against which all would-be standard-bearers are to be measured. <br /><br />I don't think, though, that most Republican <i>voters</i> would reject a candidate who was selective about the platform (depending on the selection: the abortion and gay suppression stuff seems pretty non-negotiable, but the separation of school and doctor stuff seems more flexible, perhaps), and there's often a bit of a gap between campaign and governance, as well. <br /><br />Still, you're right: a detailed policy statement seems more likely to drive away multi-issue voters and draw in satisfied single-issue ones.Ahistoricalityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04004964192885891003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9045565.post-45439919227496965272010-06-26T17:08:06.463-05:002010-06-26T17:08:06.463-05:00I'm amazed that this thing is so detailed. Wha...I'm amazed that this thing is so detailed. What percentage of these beliefs and policies are Texas Republicans obligated to agree with? At best, members of political parties agree on a few vague principles. Getting into so many specifics is insane enough by itself. <br /><br />The only consolation that I can think of is that there are probably few Texas Republicans who read this stuff.Paul Swendsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11759790121603396564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9045565.post-90868004575255807412010-06-26T16:23:20.948-05:002010-06-26T16:23:20.948-05:00I like a challenge, but this was almost beyond Poe...I like a challenge, but this was almost beyond <a href="http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Poe%27s_Law" rel="nofollow">Poe's Law</a> limit. <br /><br />Someone could do a senior thesis on the tortured historical vision encompassed in this document. But that might constitute cruelty to students.Ahistoricalityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04004964192885891003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9045565.post-66151102758408532172010-06-26T15:55:55.009-05:002010-06-26T15:55:55.009-05:00"We call upon governmental entities to protec..."We call upon governmental entities to protect all symbols of our American heritage from being altered in any way."<br /><br />Can we make that retroactive and repeal the addition of the words "under God" to the pledge?<br /><br />You have more tolerance for the crazy than I, my friend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com