Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Ahhh! He changed his mind!!
Why is it such an incredibly big deal when a politician changes his stance on something? There are a couple major reasons why they might change a stance:
1. They are pandering to voters/lobbyists
2. They have new information or life experiences that give them a different view on an issue
Now it could well be true that the first reason is the usual reason for stance changes, but honestly, I hate to discount the second reason. If you take a stance on a complex issue (as politicians are forced to do) and you close your ears and eyes to anything that might challenge the validity of your stance, then you are a fool. I would much rather think that at least SOME of our politicians are actually doing what they can to learn about the things they have to vote on.
So it's possible they are just pandering, but it's also possible that they are smart.
1. They are pandering to voters/lobbyists
2. They have new information or life experiences that give them a different view on an issue
Now it could well be true that the first reason is the usual reason for stance changes, but honestly, I hate to discount the second reason. If you take a stance on a complex issue (as politicians are forced to do) and you close your ears and eyes to anything that might challenge the validity of your stance, then you are a fool. I would much rather think that at least SOME of our politicians are actually doing what they can to learn about the things they have to vote on.
So it's possible they are just pandering, but it's also possible that they are smart.
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If you count a "life experience" of getting gobs of cash from people wanting you to endorse specific ideas/policies, then I would buy into reason #2 also :). The completely jaded voter I am, it does not matter what issues a politician takes a stand on, since if he/she gets elected often all those promises pre-election are quickly forgotten/ignored.
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: 7:51 PM
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