Single issue voters

The race heated up in the past few weeks as we grew closer to Election Day. Both sides are guilty of producing negative propaganda, paying hundreds of thousands to produce a continuous loop of opponent bashing ads. The President’s campaign will reiterate its litany of policies and will plea for 4 more years citing the progress that’s been made and the need to finish what was started. The challenger, Mr. Romney, will attack all failures (real or imagined) of the incumbent and will likely play up his experience as a chief executive in private and public sectors.

At the crux of any election, the decision will ultimately fall on the citizens ability or inability to make a choice. It’s obvious that there are a lot of issues at stake, but where do single issue voters stand in this debacle?

A few months ago, at an event to advocate women’s rights that was packed with feminists of different backgrounds, I met a woman who worked as an international policy consultant. She reminded me of the impact of single issue voters. Soon after I realized that I may very well be one of them. She asserted that women are attached to policies that directly affect themselves and their families’ health, education, and quality of life. She stated that although it may just be one issue (reproductive rights in that particular instance), it’s a big issue!

In the case of reproductive health, it makes sense to me that a woman should be able to make a decision for herself and what is best for her body. Imposing policies on women’s bodies suggests that women are incapable of making an individual and sound decision for themselves. It advocates the idea that the government should make a choice on behalf of women concerning their health.

I generally don’t want to think of myself as a single issue voter, but if I have to vote based only on a single policy, I know where I stand. If you had to vote solely based on one issue, what would your single issue be? Would it be worth it, even if it meant crossing party lines?