Another Web Political Quiz: Good One

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Here's another political quiz to take! This one has a lot more questions, and gives you candidates positions matching or not matching your choices. It's a good one, so check it out if you have a minute:

http://www.speakout.com/votematch/start.asp

Have fun!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), August 18, 2000

Answers

That was interesting -- I turned out to be a hard-core conservative, which isn't too surprising! They had me matched most closely with the Constitution party candidate, but Bush and Cheney aren't too far off. Amazes me how little real life experience some of these people have, though -- some of them have really not done anything but politics since they got out of school.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 18, 2000.

What's a "moderate populist conservative"?

-- Joe Cole (jcole@apha.com), August 18, 2000.

Kathleen, We have a Governor who is also a career politician. This is his last term so it will be interesting to see what he's going to do now that George Dubbya doesn't want him as a running mate because he lost the state in the primaries which the guv guaranteed him. I think they all need to get a REAL job and a reality check. They're all alike--just well-paid bureocrats! Easy money for them, but it's MY money and that doesn't come easy.

-- Sandy (smd@netzero.net), August 18, 2000.

Well, this is what I look like according to them (see *note after...)

___________________________________________________________________

Total 136%...Personal 120%...Economic 164%...Howard Phillips...Const.

Total 118%...Personal 66%...Economic 153%...Pat Buchanan......Reform

Total 114%...Personal 109%...Economic 120%...Alan Keyes........Repub

Total 92%....Personal 87%...Economic 55%...George W. Bush....Repub

Total 92%....Personal 66%...Economic 109%...Harry Browne......Lib

Total 79%....Personal 55%...Economic 55%...John McCain.......Repub

Total 70%....Personal 77%...Economic 44%...Dick Cheney.......Repub

Total 44%....Personal 44%...Economic 55%...John Hagelin......Nat Law

Total 35%....Personal 55%...Economic 11%...Joseph Lieberman..Dem

Total 31%....Personal 66%...Economic 0%...Al Gore...........Dem

Total 18%....Personal 44%...Economic 0%...Bill Bradley......Dem

Total 18%....Personal 22%...Economic 22%...Ralph Nader.......Green ___________________________________________________________________

*Im not sure where they received some of their information but a number of these candidates positions are misrepresented at that site so you may not actually wind up with the best match. They left out some other critical issues and worded various questions in ways that began with a false premise therefor a valid answer cant be given causing some variance in best match possibility.

-- William in WI (thetoebes@webtv.net), August 18, 2000.


William, I suggest if you have a problem with the site, that you email them and let them know! Mine seemed okay although it was more conservative than other "tests" I have taken. What do you other folks think? Sometimes, I think we have our "definitions" a little skewed...for example, those folks who think "liberal" is the same as "communist". We may know what we are, but we may think we are called something else? Just an idea....

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), August 18, 2000.


Hey William, based on your observation, I went back and took the quiz again just to see the analysis part.

So...it looks like from your post, if I get this right, that you agree with Howard Phillips...Consts the most; then Pat Buchanan......Reform next; then Alan Keyes........Repub; George W. Bush....Repub; then Harry Browne......Lib; then John McCain.......Repub; then Dick Cheney.......Repub; then John Hagelin......Nat Law; then Joseph Lieberman..Dem; then Al Gore...........Dem; then Bill Bradley......Dem; then Ralph Nader.......Green.

Is that how you interpret it? Doesn't that sound like how you would rank them? Or am I misinterpreting something (quite possible!)

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), August 18, 2000.


Sheepish, even if it isn't perfect it was fun! I am a moderate libertarian conservative....Alan Keyes was supposedly my best match followed by Harry Browne then Howard Phillips. Alan Keyes isn't in the race anymore though, is he?

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), August 20, 2000.

Sheepish, that was fun! Mine in order - Howard Phillips, Alan Keys, Pat Buchanan, Dick Cheney then Bush. No suprises here. Thanks for the heads up! God Bless! Wendy

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), August 20, 2000.

Oops, meant to answer you Doreen - No, Alan Keyes withdrew from the race. I think about the time Dick Cheney was announced for V.P. God Bless Wendy

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), August 20, 2000.

-- sheepish,

You are interpreting the matches correctly. No, I wouldnt necessarily arrange them in that order but not because of a misunderstanding of their positions but rather because of an in depth study of the positions of these individuals. I have contacted these folks through a connection of mine and they have changed this poll numerous times since it was posted on the net, I still dont think they have it quite right.

Ill give you an example of one mis-weighing of one of the candidates. Howard Phillips is who they have chosen as my best match. While I do agree with the vast majority of his positions, Howard Phillips has a fatal flaw as a candidate. C. S. Lewis in God in the Dock wrote, "Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." Interestingly enough this quote not only applies to the ant farm group-think of the liberals but in this case applies to Howard Phillips as well because of the Constitutions parties position that this nation was set up as a Christian nation and should be controlled according to the teachings of the Christian God. Phillips party intends to attempt to legislate their morality upon the nation "for our own good". They have misnamed themselves as the Constitution party since their name change from the US Taxpayers Party. Anyone as educated on the subject of the Constitution as they claim to be could not possibly miss the fact that a particular religion was not sanctioned as being correct. The Founding Fathers wrote quite extensively on the subject and stated unequivocally that this is not a "Christian nation", founded on what are referred to as Judeo-Christian beliefs, yes, but a Christian nation, no. The Framers were well educated in history and were aware of the type of oppression that occurs when any one religion is sanctioned by the government as being superior to others and specifically avoided that trap by insuring that they defined our freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.

When I comment on this, someone inevitably will accuse me of being anti-religion. That couldnt be farther from the truth. I believe we would be better off as a nation if we were all more religious. I just dont believe that the government has any appropriate role in religion and I know that no one else has the right to enforce their religion on me.

James Monroe said, "... of the liberty of conscience in matters of religious faith, of speech and of the press; of the trail by jury of the vicinage in civil and criminal cases; of the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus; of the right to keep and bear arms.... If these rights are well defined, and secured against encroachment, it is impossible that government should ever degenerate into tyranny." All have been encroached upon. The last few generations have been asleep at the switch. If Howard Phillips wishes to add his weight on to this toboggan ride to tyranny that the majority of Americans are on, thats fine with me, but Ive jumped off.

I could continue on about some of the shortcomings of some of these other candidates and false positions attributed to them but I think you have the point...

-- William in WI (thetoebes@webtv.net), August 21, 2000.



William, please do continue with whatever information you have about the candidates! It is very hard to make wise decisions without accurate information, and I doubt that accurate information is what we are getting from the press OR the candidates web sites. Thank you in acvance.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 21, 2000.

Kathleen,

In my previous post I was trying to point out a specific but important failure in this quiz to consider the candidate as a whole. I dont know that I can write a fair commentary on all positions for all 11+ candidates on this forum nor wether it is appropriate for me to attempt such on this forum. If you (or any other readers) wish a commentary on a specific position if a specific candidate, I will be happy to share what I have learned. Can you target your interests for me a bit?

-- William in WI (thetoebes@webtv.net), August 22, 2000.


I'm only interested in the conservative candidates -- Bush and Cheney, Phillips, and whoever on that end of the spectrum is still in the race. I really liked Keyes, and was hoping that Bush would choose him for a running mate, but no such luck. Thank you, William.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), August 22, 2000.

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