As I was enjoying a hamburger and a beer, I overheard a conversation about politics from the next table. “I tend to agree with the Republicans on economics and taxes,” one young man said, “but I would never vote for a Republican because of the abortion issue.”
While I don’t advocate single-issue voting, it’s very clear that many voters do make their decisions based on a candidate’s position on just a handful of key issues. In this example, the Republican Party sacrifices untold millions of votes in its dogged opposition to a certain private medical procedure. The Democratic Party makes a similar sacrifice in its quixotic pursuit to suppress the right to arms.
I wonder what the electoral results would be if the major parties didn’t squander potential votes on pointless wedge issues.
