Casting a Smarter Vote

Political Decision

So… How do you decide whom to vote for?  

When you are looking at an election do you only vote for the person with whom you agree or is your choice more complicated than that?  

The conservative author and commentator; William F. Buckley came up with an idea called the “Buckley Rule” which calls upon conservatives to vote for “rightwardmost viable candidate.” In other words, don’t waste your vote on someone who can’t win.

Rush Limbaugh recently responded to Buckley’s argument with a rule of his own. His rule states; “In an election year when voters are fed up with liberalism, you vote for the most conservative in the Republican primary—period.

–Obviously, if you happen to be a liberal you can use the same ideas by just flipping the political terminology.

Vote Smart:

However, I have a better way and I (modestly) call it the BackbenchMedia Formula. It is a bit more complicated than the rules above—but then so is the real world.

Here is how it works; pick the candidates that you are interested in. Now rank them on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the best) on the six categories listed below and pick the best person. It’s easy isn’t it! Here are the six categories–

1. –This person agrees with my political views.

2. –This person has great communication skills.

3. – This person motivates me to agree.

4. –A large number of votes for this person will be a good thing.

5. –This person has demonstrated past competence.

6. –This person has an excellent moral character.

Just rank your candidates on each of these six categories, from 1 to 10 and then add the scores. Congratulations, you just discovered your best choice!

Obviously, your rankings will be subjective and they won’t be the same as mine. Also, your rankings will change over time as events change and as you learn more about each person. But if you follow the BackbenchMedia Formula, your decisions will be logical.

Another reason to use the BackbenchMedia Formula is that it helps you organize your thoughts. Your arguments will now be in logical categories when you get into political discussions with others.

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Now let me show you how I use it. In the first case, I will compare Christine O’Donnell to Mike Castle for the Delaware Republican Senatorial primary race. I come from the viewpoint of an independent voter who tends to vote Republican; not because I like Republicans, but simply because they aren’t Democrats.

You can see that even though I have more political agreement with O’Donnell, that– given my views; Castle is the better choice.

Now, you try it. Copy the following information and paste it to a spreadsheet:

Here is a list of the candidates from the 2008 presidential election, and how I would rate them. How would you rate them, and why?

Lastly, here is a list of possible Republican candidates for 2010:

As I learn more about each candidate, my ratings will change. But I can still look at each of the candidates in a logical way rather than just vaguely approving or disapproving of them.

Related posts:

1. Vote Castle over O’Donnell in Delaware
2. Midterm Elections 4; Undecided Races
3. What isn’t in the Constitution
4. Ranking the Top Political Polls
5. Midterm Elections 1; The GOP knocks off One Liberal Senator