A post about politics!

[sqbr]

I've had trouble getting engaged with the upcoming election: I know who I'm voting for, and all the outcomes are just depressing. (Oh Julia Gillard. I was cynical about your chances of being an improvement, but not cynical enough)

Still! Via various people on twitter(*), The Age Vote-a-matic poll, which asks your opinions on various issues and tells you who to vote for.

This is interesting on two levels: first, it made me a little more aware of the main parties' policies and where I stand on them (I mean I knew I tended towards Greens policies, but I didn't know I agreed with them 88%)

But also it's a bit troubling to imagine possible bias in the questions chosen for the poll or how they're worded actually affecting the election outcome! (I didn't notice any, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist) I mean I'd like to think people wouldn't base their decisions solely on an internet poll but you never know...

Is it visible to non-Australians? I imagine you guys might find it interesting too, in an abstract sort of way :)

I reeeeally don't feel like getting into a political argument, this is one reason I don't tend to talk politics much. But I feel weird never talking about it at all.

(*)Where I am also sqbr, but I only tend to add people back if I know them irl, and not always then. I tend to forget to check it for long periods so like to keep my list short.

Comments

[nixwilliams]

i kind of hope that that age quiz just tells everyone that they should vote greens! ;)

[sqbr]

Heh. That MIGHT have gotten them into trouble :)

[nixwilliams]

they should use their power for evil!

i was interested to see that i scored lower on greens than a lot of other friends (i.e. 13.somthing percent labor).

[ex_pippin880]

I would be much more okay with the Greens if they weren't so treeish, but then they wouldn't actually be the Greens I guess.

[xerxes]

I was a bit disappointed with that quiz - I'm pretty sure the selections are just cut-and-pasted from position and policy statements by the parties.

[sqbr]

I'm not sure how you'd do it any other way without vastly increasing the possibility of bias, or at least accusations of it.

[lilacsigil]

I scored 93.6% Green, which sounds about right! I liked that the answers were policy summaries rather than "agree" "disagree" type questions.

[sqbr]

Yes, me too.

[polyserena]

Tiger Beatdown is pretty much one of my favourite things on the internet ever :D

[grahame]

I got 100% Greens, but I did know which party was which for every question. So far as I'm concerned I wish I didn't have to have my preference flow to either the ALP or the Liberals. Both parties are in my opinion too old, too culturally brain damaged and too -useless- to govern. I'm not writing off all the people in either party, I'm sure some of them are fine, but the results both parties produce are pretty damn terrible.

This election is proving hugely disappointing. I guess the worst part is that the politics of fear and exploitation of ignorance works, and that both our major parties are happy to do it. I'm just hoping for a big Greens primary vote.

[sqbr]

This election is proving hugely disappointing. I guess the worst part is that the politics of fear and exploitation of ignorance works, and that both our major parties are happy to do it. I'm just hoping for a big Greens primary vote.

Yeah me too :/

[ex_peasant441]

We can see it and I did find it interesting. In several cases (for example labour relations and health) there wasn't an option that even approached my own views on the subject so I got the impression Aussie politics was generally very left wing of ours. And obviously I couldn't make an informed decision on things that are specific to Australia like the indigenous issues. For what it's worth apparently if I was Australian I would be 68.8% Liberal, 25% Labour and 6.3% Green.

[sqbr]

Haha, while I was there thinking "Man, Australian politics has gotten so rightwing!":D

[ex_peasant441]

I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that the only definition of 'right wing' is 'not left wing'. Left wingness seems to be pretty uniform between countries, right wingness can be so variable that we don't really know what it means ourselves. There is for example scant common ground between libertarians and the old socially conservative protectionist types, yet we both get called right wing.

This can be amusing when a left wing organisation like the BBC tries to canvas right wing opinion for something and is astonished by the actual responses it gets.

[sqbr]

I'm inclined to think that political compass-esque multi-dimensionality applies as much to the left as the right. My sister the anarchist environmentalist campaigner has only so much in common with communists.