Nov. 2, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Posted by hsmomof2

What happens in my house: We sit down and read the ballot, then read the accompanying materials. If I am not sure about something, I ask my husband for his opinion. Sometimes he will ask me for my opinion - imagine that! If I don't understand a ballot measure, and can't come to a conclusion how to vote on it, I usually vote no because if it's that badly written, and hard to understand, it's going to be contested if it wins. That happens rarely. It's pretty simple, really. Oh, in the materials there are usually pro and con arguments about the ballot measures. These are very instructive as seeing who is supporting a measure can help me determine how I want to vote on it. For example, if Planned Parenthood or NARAL supports a measure or a candidate, I am pretty sure I'm not going to.

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Nov. 2, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Posted by MrsNehemiah

interestingly enough, since my DH works hard from dawn to dusk and ALL I do is sit home and eat bon-bons (oh yeah and teach some kids) I'm usually the one to do most of the research on Initiatives, bonds, levys, and candidates. then throughout the political "sign season" as we are driving I'll bring up an initiative/candidate and we'll discuss it. I often read the "full text" of the initiatives, not just the portion the auditor writes to describe it. we'll talk about the possible outcomes and the way we are leaning then .... we pray. we expect God gave us minds for a reason, so we use them on the information we have, then ask for His leading in case there is information we do not have. Dh has been an elected official in the fire dept for 7 years now so he has educated me on bonds, and levy's (although I sometimes need a refresher course, little fluff-head that I am) and since we're Wackos who beleive that public education is Harming the children who attend, and will NEVER get better and that the nation would be better off without it, we ALWAYS vote NO on school bond levy's and any other tax that would go toward the great indoctrination machine. as for candidates, I get my reasearch from many places, including voting records, and voter's guides of all "world views". Sometimes we vote against a candidate based on who supports him. for the most part I don't vote for women unless the other choice is real left wing. or I can see by her profile that she's single/widowed and her children are grown. I can't imagine anyone who could work in politics and still take care of her family whole heartedly, and I'm sure I don't want someone who could "put her family out of her mind" all day/week/year long. as for what husbands should do, when I read your list above my first thought was "far as I know the legal voting age is still 18, and in most states thats the age women are allowed to marry without special permission. so why not try treating your wife as if she's an adult person with a brain of her own, instead of as if she's a young child who's unable to understand the process. really if she's that far down the IQ scale, why is she teaching your children? maybe some of your personal issues with your wife would dissolve if you stopped treating her like someone who is stupid when/because she disagrees with you. (now I have no personal knowledge here, I'm just picking up on several of your comments throughout the months) Mrs. Nehemiah

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Nov. 2, 2006 - Hmmmm....

Posted by Confessor

So, what you're saying is that women have brains of their own? That work just fine? Huh...who knew? And I'm glad to see that you're making good use of your bon-bon time. That is a commendable system that you've got worked out there. My real question is why more women don't do that. It's not secret information or anything, is it? Speaking of IQs, I can only assume that they are generally higher here in Texas because everything's bigger. And yet, we're only slightly above the state of Moronia in female voting participation percentages. So, I can only conclude that it isn't an IQ thing. As to my wife, she is, by far, the best woman I have ever met. She is certainly the best wife I've ever seen. She is, like many of the aforementioned high-IQ women here in Texas, "just not into" politics, regardless of how it affects her life. I have never been able to get a reason as to why civic participation is anathema to her and have accepted her participation at my prodding as the best current solution to that problem. And, lastly, just to clarify (as I didn't very well in the post), the question I am posing is in regards to the low female turnout at the polls. Is there a resultant husbandly duty? I'm glad I got a chance to clear all of that up.

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Nov. 3, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Posted by CommunicationFUNdamentals

First, I do agree that many women do tend to vote based on emotion. I have read research that shows that many women voted for Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton (though this last one boggles my mind!) based on their looks and charisma. Research also shows that more men than women take an interest in voting and politics. If your post had concentrated on these issues, I think it would have gone over better with the population of HSB being mostly women. (Many of whom I think were turned off immediately by the subject of your first blogpost.) Your response to one of your readers was that you didn't mean that women shouldn't vote, but that they don't. However, this is not what your original post said nor is it what this post implies. As for how my dh and I vote, we have always discussed the issues all year long with each other as well as our dd who is now 16. At voting time, we take out the ballots and go over each issue to be voted upon and discuss how we feel about them. We agree on almost every issue. I think many wives, whether or not they follow politics, would agree with their dhs on most issues or they wouldn't have married them. My dh and I usually vote the same way with the exception of the times where we may agree on the issue but not the way in which a particular bill will be handled in reality. Sometimes we vote for different candidates! I remember once I voted for the candidate I felt SHOULD win and my dh voted for the one would had a CHANCE of beating the one who SHOULDN'T win! LOL Not everyone is "into" politics, men included! I know several men in California who don't follow politics and vote for who I think is an awful representative for our state! Just because some women don't vote, don't follow politics or don't "vote well" doesn't mean all women shouldn't have the right to vote. For if it does, then there are a bunch of men voting in California who need to have their right to vote taken away too! JoJo

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Nov. 4, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Posted by hsmomof2

Re: husband's duty when the wife doesn't vote (that was the question, right?). It's not against the law not to vote though I cannot imagine not voting. What a privilege and responsibility to walk away from! I turned 50 this year and have voted in every election, including minor local ones, since age 18. I suspect that if I was a nonvoting woman, my husband might not have married me. I don't think I would have married a nonvoting man. Anyway, women have the right to sit out an election. Likewise for men (I know plenty of men who don't vote, or vote ignorantly). I suppose a man could command his wife to vote, and tell her how, and I suppose a submissive woman would do as he says. But it is incomprehensible to me why a person would not vote. For those who believe women should never have been given the right to vote, I say - educate yourselves and vote. The women on "the other side" do not agree with you, they will vote, and their voices will be heard - and you might not like the result of that.

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