After sitting back and observing the presidential election debate and dialogue on here since, it seems, Alexander was conquering Persia, I'd like to know whether this site influenced any one's presidential vote. Did any particular posters influence your vote? How did they influence your vote? Did negative things posted influence your vote? Did the seemingly endless attacks on Obama turn people so off that they voted for Obama in spite? Same is true about the attacks on Palin? If you care to tell us who you voted for by all means do so, but its not necessary. Did BGP influence your vote and how? Come on now, don't be shy, speak up, just remember the BGP rules about being nice (as if being nice mattered in this forum over the last several months).

 

 

Hemlock anyone?

Absolutely not.

Not a chance.

Not a chance, just a means to have some meaningful discussion and allow me the chance to get a few bgp'ers worked up.

Actually, yes, it did.

 

I originally supported the $810 billion dollar bailout as a necessary evil. Then, through some of Hearsay's posts about it, and encouraging us to email our Representatives and Senators, I decided that I could not support anyone who supported or would support such an earmark-filled bill. I don't know if his intention was to lose a vote for McCain, but, coupled with FKY's insistence on ballot access and such, as well as the constant reminders from Habib and H that the GOP needs a wake up call, I was going to vote for McCain but today I cast my vote for Bob Barr.

 

Call me weak-minded for allowing others to influence my decision. I can handle it.

Not at all... Too much negative crap in the P&R.

If anything, this forum made me want to vote for Obama even more.

Not at all... Too much negative crap in the P&R.

 

If anything, this forum made me want to vote for Obama even more.

 

Ignore the fluff, and read the substance posts. It is worth the trouble. You may learn a thing or three- I have.

Sort of. I had already decided not to vote for McCain and/or Obama on my own. I didn't really like either candidate. I wasn't going to vote at all, but after a little deliberating and reading some posts on here, I decided to vote for someone besides McCain or Obama.

Actually, yes, it did.

 

I originally supported the $810 billion dollar bailout as a necessary evil. Then, through some of Hearsay's posts about it, and encouraging us to email our Representatives and Senators, I decided that I could not support anyone who supported or would support such an earmark-filled bill. I don't know if his intention was to lose a vote for McCain, but, coupled with FKY's insistence on ballot access and such, as well as the constant reminders from Habib and H that the GOP needs a wake up call, I was going to vote for McCain but today I cast my vote for Bob Barr.

 

Call me weak-minded for allowing others to influence my decision. I can handle it.

 

What you are describing is the opposite of weak-minded...it's open-minded. :thumb:

 

Some will not believe this, but I moved back and forth from Obama to McCain and back several times in the last several months. At one point, formerkywrestler had me looking VERY hard at Barr.

 

Many of my beliefs have been influenced by discussion on this bored. I think to have an opinion that never waivers (not saying that it has to change) when presented with compelling facts and other points of view is dangerous. The hard part is filtering out the substance from the rhetoric (to put it nicely;)). I have learned that some that argue on here do not want to change someone's mind...they, for whatever reason, enjoy the discord. All in all, my decision would have been a little easier had I NOT been a BGP member...but I also don't think that it would have been as informed.

Although I once intended to cast a protest vote, I would have ended up voting for McCain after he selected Palin as his running mate, regardless of anything that I read on BGP. Nothing anybody could have said would have caused me to consider voting for Obama even if I cast the lone dissident vote against him.

What you are describing is the opposite of weak-minded...it's open-minded. :thumb:

 

Some will not believe this, but I moved back and forth from Obama to McCain and back several times in the last several months. At one point, formerkywrestler had me looking VERY hard at Barr.

 

Many of my beliefs have been influenced by discussion on this bored. I think to have an opinion that never waivers (not saying that it has to change) when presented with compelling facts and other points of view is dangerous. The hard part is filtering out the substance from the rhetoric (to put it nicely;)). I have learned that some that argue on here do not want to change someone's mind...they, for whatever reason, enjoy the discord. All in all, my decision would have been a little easier had I NOT been a BGP member...but I also don't think that it would have been as informed.

 

 

That's what some SAY. But I tend to take that with a spoonful of salt when close to if not 100% of the "discord-inciting threads" come from one side of the fence.

That's what some SAY. But I tend to take that with a spoonful of salt when close to if not 100% of the "discord-inciting threads" come from one side of the fence.

If the aim was simply to stir the pot, there would be an "Obama is a Muslim terrorist" thread followed by a "Palin's end of days are upon us" thread followed by a "Biden suffers from incurable foot-in-mouth disease" thread followed by a "McCain crashed too many planes to count" thread.

 

But it doesn't seem to work out that way.

That's what some SAY. But I tend to take that with a spoonful of salt when close to if not 100% of the "discord-inciting threads" come from one side of the fence.

You can't be serious. Did you simply skip all of the unfounded rumors that were the basis of a long string of Palin-bashing threads within the first two weeks of her joining the McCain ticket?

You can't be serious. Did you simply skip all of the unfounded rumors that were the basis of a long string of Palin-bashing threads within the first two weeks of her joining the McCain ticket?

 

Not my point at all. We have BGP members who say that they often just try to stir the pot, and that they're not trying to influence anyone at all. Yet all the threads seem to have a common theme. If the aim were to simply stir the pot, it seems logical to me (and maybe that's the problem) that one would be an "equal-opportunity pot-stirrer."

 

And you may notice that I'm not pointing to one side or the other, or one particular member.