{"id":490,"date":"2012-07-06T09:38:07","date_gmt":"2012-07-06T15:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?p=490"},"modified":"2012-07-06T09:38:07","modified_gmt":"2012-07-06T15:38:07","slug":"what-issue-drives-your-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html","title":{"rendered":"What Issue Drives Your Voting?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

For all of the splash created by the two recent high-profile Supreme Court decisions (upholding of the Affordable Care Act & striking down much of the Arizona immigration law), this election is still about the economy.<\/p>\n

I ran across an interesting blog post by Daniel Drezner, a political science professor and think-tanker who specializes in foreign policy. Based on his experiences with international business leaders, Drezner says that the rest of the world expects President Obama to win the election easily. Drezner thinks their expectations are built on four observations (from FP<\/a>, it\u2019s worth reading)<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0The U.S. economy is outperforming almost every other developed economy in the world;<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0 They assume that in times of uncertainty, Americans will prefer the devil they know rather than the devil they don\u2019t;<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0 President Obama\u2019s foreign policies seem pretty competent;<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0 Mitt Romney\u2019s policy proposals either seemed really super-vague (this will be an American Century) or, when specific (designating China as a currency manipulator) made him seem like an out-of-date\u00a0clown.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s interesting to me how tone-deaf Americans are to the rest of the planet. How had I never had the thought that the U.S. economy was outperforming the rest of the world? Republicans seem confident that they will win on the economy. But if what Drezner says is true, D\u2019s can win on that issue if they can expand the discussion to include the rest of the world. Continued slow growth in the U.S. economy over the summer plays into the administration\u2019s narrative that current economic growth is based on real economic change. D\u2019s are pounding the \u201creal change takes time\u201d narrative, and it seems to be working. As Europe continues to struggle, I think we will see the President Obama\u2019s campaign putting the U.S. economy into an international context. They don\u2019t call it a global financial crisis for nothing, and Americans can never resist the chance to feel superior to the rest of the world. It might work for them.<\/p>\n

One thing is for sure. Gay Marriage, abortion, ACA, immigration, education \u2013 they don\u2019t really matter. Even the deficit won\u2019t matter because, for the most part it\u2019s only the same 25-30% of hardened republicans who care about it.\u00a0This election, as is always the case, is about the economy. As long as the economy continues to improve \u2013 even slowly \u2013 President Obama will win. If the U.S. economy experiences a set-back this summer \u2013 especially in comparison to the rest of the world \u2013 Romney has a real shot. (although Citizen\u2019s United could be a game changer \u2013 we don\u2019t know what impact it will have).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an interesting look at polling data from a ton of different sources ranking the issues which drive our voting<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I care most deeply about economic\/social justice and the growing gap between the rich and poor. Then immigration, healthcare, the war in Afghanistan,\u00a0the deficit, jobs, and energy.<\/p>\n

What issues drive your voting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Follow Me on Twitter: @Tim_Suttle<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For all of the splash created by the two recent high-profile Supreme Court decisions (upholding of the Affordable Care Act & striking down much of the Arizona immigration law), this election is still about the economy. I ran across an interesting blog post by Daniel Drezner, a political science professor and think-tanker who specializes in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Issue Drives Your Voting?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For all of the splash created by the two recent high-profile Supreme Court decisions (upholding of the Affordable Care Act & striking down much of the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Issue Drives Your Voting?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For all of the splash created by the two recent high-profile Supreme Court decisions (upholding of the Affordable Care Act & striking down much of the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Paperback Theology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=654515438\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-07-06T15:38:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Suttle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Tim_Suttle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tim Suttle\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html\",\"name\":\"What Issue Drives Your Voting?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-07-06T15:38:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-07-06T15:38:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/63a7ffe567a014f809abae15ebfc44a6\"},\"description\":\"For all of the splash created by the two recent high-profile Supreme Court decisions (upholding of the Affordable Care Act & striking down much of the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Issue Drives Your Voting?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/\",\"name\":\"Paperback Theology\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/63a7ffe567a014f809abae15ebfc44a6\",\"name\":\"Tim Suttle\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ce6d230b7d3a7d50e5fc4b6c265691fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ce6d230b7d3a7d50e5fc4b6c265691fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tim Suttle\"},\"description\":\"Find out more about Tim at TimSuttle.com Tim Suttle is the senior pastor of RedemptionChurchkc.com. He is the author of several books including his most recent - Shrink: Faithful Ministry in a Church Growth Culture (Zondervan 2014), Public Jesus (The House Studio, 2012), & An Evangelical Social Gospel? (Cascade, 2011). Tim's work has been featured at The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, Sojourners, and other magazines and journals. Tim is also the founder and front-man of the popular Christian band Satellite Soul, with whom he toured for nearly a decade. The band's most recent album is \\\"Straight Back to Kansas.\\\" He helped to plant three thriving churches over the past 13 years and is the Senior Pastor of Redemption Church in Olathe, Kan. Tim's blog, Paperback Theology, is hosted at Patheos.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=654515438\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/@Tim_Suttle\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/author\/timsuttle\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Issue Drives Your Voting?","description":"For all of the splash created by the two recent high-profile Supreme Court decisions (upholding of the Affordable Care Act & striking down much of the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Issue Drives Your Voting?","og_description":"For all of the splash created by the two recent high-profile Supreme Court decisions (upholding of the Affordable Care Act & striking down much of the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html","og_site_name":"Paperback Theology","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=654515438","article_published_time":"2012-07-06T15:38:07+00:00","author":"Tim Suttle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Tim_Suttle","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tim Suttle","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html","name":"What Issue Drives Your Voting?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-07-06T15:38:07+00:00","dateModified":"2012-07-06T15:38:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/63a7ffe567a014f809abae15ebfc44a6"},"description":"For all of the splash created by the two recent high-profile Supreme Court decisions (upholding of the Affordable Care Act & striking down much of the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2012\/07\/what-issue-drives-your-voting.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Issue Drives Your Voting?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/","name":"Paperback Theology","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/63a7ffe567a014f809abae15ebfc44a6","name":"Tim Suttle","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ce6d230b7d3a7d50e5fc4b6c265691fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ce6d230b7d3a7d50e5fc4b6c265691fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tim Suttle"},"description":"Find out more about Tim at TimSuttle.com Tim Suttle is the senior pastor of RedemptionChurchkc.com. He is the author of several books including his most recent - Shrink: Faithful Ministry in a Church Growth Culture (Zondervan 2014), Public Jesus (The House Studio, 2012), & An Evangelical Social Gospel? (Cascade, 2011). Tim's work has been featured at The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, Sojourners, and other magazines and journals. Tim is also the founder and front-man of the popular Christian band Satellite Soul, with whom he toured for nearly a decade. The band's most recent album is \"Straight Back to Kansas.\" He helped to plant three thriving churches over the past 13 years and is the Senior Pastor of Redemption Church in Olathe, Kan. Tim's blog, Paperback Theology, is hosted at Patheos.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=654515438","https:\/\/twitter.com\/@Tim_Suttle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/author\/timsuttle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}