Originally Posted by
excon
Hello again, tom:
It gets old, but I suppose I must again make myself clear...
We're not talking about somebody voting their conscience. Voting their conscience is what a representative is SUPPOSED to do.
Ex I hate to disillusion you but in a party system, voting your conscience is about the last thing a representative is supposed to do. You may be niaive enough to think that voting their conscience is what they are expected to do but it isn't, otherwise much more legislation would be blocked than is. No, a representative knows that first and foremost they have been elected because of the Party platform and allegiences and whether these views line up with their consciences on every issue is beside the point.
Now I know you weren't talking about such lofty ideals, nevertheless you mentioned it, some could say drew specific attention to it. What it is about is gaining advantage over your opponent, that is what politics is about, and by doing so advancing the agenda of your party. Now when you get an independent loose it is possible you will get a conscience vote but often these guys have to do a deal on one piece of legislation to get something they want, so it's a case of the devil you know...
