Can a well informed voter, who still votes for the GOP, be a moral person?

[BrentWil]

We all know that the GOP gets the vast majority of its votes from ignorant fools. However, it does have voters that are well informed and vote for the GOP. Is it possible for them to be moral people? Define morality however you want and if it is totally subjective, then so be it. But if that the case, perhaps a post on rather a Nazi at a death camp is moral will follow this.

[NeedleCast]

Yes

Morality is subjective.

[Richardo]

6. "Subjectivity is objective."

"Moral notions imply attributes to substances which exist only in relational duality."

"Not as an essential extension of ontological existence."

"Can we not talk about sex so much?"

:D

[brendan120678]

1. What's your definition of moral?

[BrentWil]

3. Define it how ever you want... just state how you define it and go from there NT

[Richardo]

2. Of course.

I personally know a few. In fact, depending on what your yardstick is for 'morality' is, one of my brothers is a lot more moral than most people I know, including me.

[Swede]

4. Politics is not the be all and end all.

So,sure,why not?

[BrentWil]

9. THey help empower something that is responsible for great human suffering and death

and they do it with full knowledge of what they are doing.

[Swede]

13. I'd have to disagree.

I have decent friends and relatives that I cannot discuss politics with.

[el_bryanto]

5. Those who disagree with me are either ignorent, crazy, or immoral

Because I am right and anybody who takes the time to study the issues will come the same conclusions as me. So if you disagree with me, you either haven't gathered enough information to make the right decision (ignorant), your brain hasn't processed that information correctly (crazy or stupid), or you choose not to interpret the information correctly (corrupt or immoral).

Bryant

[DailyGrind51]

7. "Well informed" and "votes for the GOP" are mutually exclusive!

[BrentWil]

12. Not true. You can dislike someone like Sen Mcconnell. However, he is well informed. Moral?

Maybe not. But well informed? Absolutely.

[Lerkfish]

8. if they are well-informed, and vote GOP, there are only two possibilities

1. they reject their own information and vote against their interests for emotional or primal reasons, be it racism, xenophobia, whatever.
2. they are the 2% of the Uber riche who benefit from voting for the GOP

[BrentWil]

10. THen is it moral to vote for the GOP for hate or selfishness? Can that person still be moral?

[Lerkfish]

16. depends on whether you consider self-interest moral

Ayn Rand would, of course.

IMHO, its immoral if your reason is racism, xenophobia, etc.,,, that is simply hatred,
It is also Immoral if its to protect your own ivory tower riches... that is simply greed.

I would have allowed it was ok to vote GOP if you were fiscally conservative, but that ship sailed back when Reagan was president. The GOP has been the opposite of fiscally conservative ever since, no matter what their rhetoric implies.


however, the one caveat I will state is that sometimes, you can fool yourself into thinking the immoral choice is a moral one. For example, right wing christians who hate Gays think they are doing because they hate sin. On some level, they have fooled themselves into thinking they are doing the right thing for the right reasons.

Is that immoral or simply confused or delusional? I don't know.

[BrentWil]

20. Hitler thought he was a moral person. He thought he was freeing his people. Simple confusion

doesn't give someone a way out.

[Lerkfish]

21. Um, I wasn't excusing anyone

the question was WHY WOULD someone vote GOP (or at least that was my take on it)
I was approaching it from what would be going on inside their heads. From the outside, I could still consider something immoral, but if they've deluded themselves, they might not.

[UTUSN]

11. Nope. I've asked this question of my local radio ex-talkshow wingnut many times:

"I'm crediting you with being a decent human, so how can a decent human twist himself into pretzels to rationalize Shrub-CHEENEE, not to mention every previous wingnut disgust-o who came down the pike before them?!1"

He has never answered, lets the question slide by. Back in the run-up to the Iraq Cartel Attack he BOUGHT every single one (of the many) of ShrubCo's "reasons" for doing it. But his favorite was that "Arab butt needs kicking, as an example." He's a believer.

As for "informed", he's a reporter, a journalist, a news dude, and (now retired) is always turning up items from international sources besides the nationally local stuff, yet he NEVER SEEMS TO HAVE HEARD the stuff we here at DU grind on daily, just has not read the latest book about Shrub or whomever, the ones that started with Shrub's own office holders back when he was still there--the first Treasury dude, et al. He just hasn't "heard that."

[HughMoran]

14. Yes, but willfully ignorant and/or lazy

I know a lot of people in this category. Born into a Republican family, not interested in changing/conformist.

[BrentWil]

18. THe question excludes ignorant people NT

[HughMoran]

25. WILLFULLY ignorant

They choose not to see what is right in front of them. They are aware, they just 'push it aside'.

[Karmadillo]

15. Can a well-informed voter, who still supports criminal wars of empire, be a moral person?

nt

[ComtesseDeSpair]

17. No

That makes them a sociopath.

[KharmaTrain]

19. Well Informed Vs. Self Interest

I know of plenty of wealthy rushpublicans...very informed and, for the most part, "moral" people. Some have worked hard for what they have and have long felt that government regulations (paperwork) and taxes are unfair. Some donate money and time to worthy causes, but when it comes to politics, they see the government as a negative; always have.

It's not really fair to broadbrush those on the right just like many find it offensive to say all liberals and progressives are pot smoking, long haired hippies (most are lucky to have any hair at all). There are those who have found "security" in the many right wing memes...a world of absolutes.

Even the most informed person has biases and filters what they feel is both moral and relevant through their own situation and perspective. In some cases that means voting against their best interests.

[Stevenmarc]

22. Mmmmmm, in a word, No.

Not the GOP of today. I'm sure there are some very moral, and I don't mean Fundamentalist moral, people out there that vote GOP, unfortunately they are voting out of a sense of nostalgia for a GOP that doesn't exist anymore.

[AnArmyVeteran]

23. NO! It is impossible to be moral if you are incapable of helping your fellow man.

If a person blindly supports war that kills hundreds of thousands of human beings and costs a trillion dollars that person ISN'T MORAL.

If a person loves to see other's suffering from illness without wanting to help, then that person ISN'T MORAL.

If a person hates the poor and calls them deadbeats (even though they built this country) that person CANNOT BE MORAL.

If a political party rejects all of the teachings of the person they say they worship, they CAN'T BE MORAL.

If Jesus appeared today conservatives would call him a socialist, communist and Marxist. They would attack him for healing the sick if they were 'uninsured'. Conservatives would attack Jesus for feeding all of those 'deadbeat' hungry people. And even if Jesus was pulled off the cross before dying, conservatives would just watch him bleed to death because they don't believe in anyone getting health care if they are not employed with insurance. To them, Jesus would be a deatbeat who didn't have a job and was sponging off of others. They would also attack him because he hung around with 'terrorists, murderers, prostitutes and thieves'.

If Jesus reappeared, conservatives would most certainly crucify him all over again. And yet they profess to be the part of 'god' and claim to be 'Christians'.

Conservatives are motivated by greed, hatred, anger, rage and racism, all traits which would be condemned by Jesus or any true religious leader. I have always said, no one can be a conservative extremist and a Christian at the same time, they are exact opposites.

[AnArmyVeteran]

24. NO! It is impossible to be moral if you are incapable of helping your fellow man.

If a person blindly supports war that kills hundreds of thousands of human beings and costs a trillion dollars that person ISN'T MORAL.

If a person loves to see other's suffering from illness without wanting to help, then that person ISN'T MORAL.

If a person hates the poor and calls them deadbeats (even though they built this country) that person CANNOT BE MORAL.

If a political party rejects all of the teachings of the person they say they worship, they CAN'T BE MORAL.

If Jesus appeared today conservatives would call him a socialist, communist and Marxist. They would attack him for healing the sick if they were 'uninsured'. Conservatives would attack Jesus for feeding all of those 'deadbeat' hungry people. And even if Jesus was pulled off the cross before dying, conservatives would just watch him bleed to death because they don't believe in anyone getting health care if they are not employed with insurance. To them, Jesus would be a deatbeat who didn't have a job and was sponging off of others. They would also attack him because he hung around with 'terrorists, murderers, prostitutes and thieves'.

If Jesus reappeared, conservatives would most certainly crucify him all over again. And yet they profess to be the party of 'god' and claim to be 'Christians'.

Conservatives are motivated by greed, hatred, anger, rage and racism, all traits which would be condemned by Jesus or any true religious leader. I have always said, no one can be a conservative extremist and a Christian at the same time, they are exact opposites.

[Johonny]

26. If all politics are local, then yes

On the local level there is probably a moral conservative running for office in the GOP somewhere in the US.

[depakid]

27. Nope.

At this point it's well beyond being a character issue.

[WeDidIt]

28. No. Voting for Republicans is the height of immorality.

One cannot vote for Republicans and be moral. The two are mutually exclusive.

[Richardo]

30. "The *height* of immorality"?

[BrentWil]

32. I would think that would be genocide NT

[old mark]

29. "Moral", ok, but delusional and maybe nieve...I have some republican relatives who are not immoral

but just not....very well connected, although they think they are - they think Newt Gingrich was a great man and very smart...One still LIKES GW Bush...
I can't understand them at all..

mark

[pscot]

31. Not really

Not if morality includes an occasional examination of conscience, as the catholics put it.