Lib Dem Voice polled our members-only forum recently to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 550 party members have responded, and we’re publishing the full results.
Obama tops our poll with 91% support from Lib Dems
LDV asked: If you had a vote in the US presidential election, would you support Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
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91% – Barack Obama
1% – Mitt Romney
7% – Neither
1% – No view
Not, perhaps, the most startling discovery in our surveys to date: across Europe there is strong support for re-electing President Obama. To be honest, I was most surprised by the fact that Mitt Romney got as many as four Lib Dem members choosing him out of the 550+ who voted. In fact, there were more write-in votes for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson. Here’s a sample of your comments…
Grudgingly for Obama – he is neither a liberal nor an effective social democrat. I would rather vote for Ron Paul or Gary Johnson as they have more cohesive and coherent liberal platforms.
How can you even ask this question of a Lib-Dem audience? Obama needs all our support against Romney – and support to enable such pledges as closing Guantanamo to be achieved.
Obama because of Romney’s contempt for poor and underprivileged and fear that he would support Israeli attack on Iran
Romney is typical far right Republican. But I’d pester Obama to scrap the death penalty, change the gun law etc etc
I’d vote for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian party candidate. Obomney are awful!
There is nothing we can do, not interested. Would you ask a question of who would you vote for in the German elections next year?
Heart says Obama, brain says Romney. Obama has been a huge disappointment, particularly in his knee-jerk response to DeepWater Horizon – and at least Romney offers the long awaited tax reform that the US needs.
I would love to support a third party candidate, but the spectre of Romney has been sufficiently well-marketed to scare me to vote for Obama despite his appalling record, because Romney in charge of the USA would be unthinkably awful for the world.
* Stephen was Editor (and Co-Editor) of Liberal Democrat Voice from 2007 to 2015, and writes at The Collected Stephen Tall.
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18 Comments
I look forward to you asking the question of the German federal elections next year – and I suspect the result among members then will be more of a 5 way-split…
What is a Liberal Democrat member doing advocating a vote for Paul or Romney?
I thought we lived in a world where we were free to express our opinion.!!
Of course, if the various secrecy laws, that are being put forward in many Western countries, take effect, that will no longer be possible in a year or so.
Ron Paul – a liberal?
Rolls eyes.
Keith – being a member of the Liberal Democrats (or indeed any political party) does limit your ability to express your opinion. Under the rules of the party I can’t advocate support for a candidate or another party at election time.
I don’t see how Romney or Paul’s views are consistent with the philosophical position of the Liberal Democrats.
Hywel –
I’m not sure I understand. Are you saying that we can’t say what we like about elections in a foreign country?
American and British government are interfering in other countries every day of the week – normally with large quantities of armaments and covert forces – yet you are suggesting there is some sort of agreement that as UK citizens we can’t advocate support for OBAMA or Romney. That seems to be ridiculous.
You can say anything you want 🙂 But I don’t see how someone who subscribes the the values of the Liberal Democrats (ie those in the premable to the constitution) can support Romney or Paul.
(The other point I was making is that being a member of the Liberal Democrats does mean there are limits as to what opinions you can express)
Which Liberal Democrat wrote that Ron Paul is liberal? Ron Paul who allowed racist material to appear in his newsletter, and has consistently lied about it over the years? Shocking…
@Keith Browning: We do live in a country where we are free to express our opinions. Which is why I just criticised the Lib Dem who would vote for Paul.
@mpg
Allowing racist material and allegedly “lying” (is there any evidence that he lied?) is still better than supporting drone strikes on innocents, surely? Forgive me if you are one of those who wouldn’t vote for Obama and I’ve misunderstood. 🙂
You worry about twenty five year old newsletters, I’ll worry about you all voting for someone who, having been given the Peace Prize proceeds to open up new frontiers of war against friendly states and passes laws allowing him to order the remote execution of untried people and their minor children. VOTER: “Violence Outsources To Evade Responsibility”.
The Dempublicrats will not stop the excesses of crony capitalism: hell, even health care “progress” is stuffed full of big incentives for corporate rent-seeking. They will not retrench their 700+ overseas bases in 130+ countries. They will not close their concentration camps. They will not stop their repugnant campaign to impoverish the world through protecting their corporate friends’ intellectual property rights. They will not cut their political dependence on the Giant Vampire Squid in Wall St.
That said, I don’t *think* I was the person who mentioned Ron Paul (I might have done) for the pragmatic reason that he was at the time of asking no longer in the election. But I would certainly vote for the man left carrying the liberal torch, Gary Johnson, over the Dempublicrat clones any day of the week.
In other news, I was shocked to discover the other day that Richard Cobden’s campaign against the Corn Laws was an attempt to get the US and Germany in particular to reinvigorate their agricultural economy and reduce competition with British manufacturers 🙂
The number one reason to vote Obama is to stop Romney. Obama is not really a liberal. The drone attacks against Pakistan and Yeman are a gross violation of civil liberties, as is the failure to repeal the Patriot Act.
However Obama is the best liberals can realistically achieve in a country where only 20% indentify themselves as liberals.
Gary Johnson and Ron Paul may be more liberal in their foreign policy outlook but they will abolish what is left of the welfare state and millions of people will be left to starve or turn to crime.
That would be the welfare state that has transferred trillions into the hands of the Giant Vampire Squid and its kiddies would it? Some help it is giving to the poor at the moment.
Oh, and a “gross violation of civil liberties”. That’s a pretty euphemism. It’s murder. Sanctioned by the Commander-in-Chief. No, not sanctioned, ordered. And that’s just the attacks on foreigners, let alone the fact that he has given himself the right to murder his own citizens without charge or trial.
That alone is sufficient for all right-minded liberals to reject him and (all) his Dempublicrat running mates. How does the refrain go – those who trade a little liberty for a little security… That 91% of this party thinks that the perpetrator of that sort of thing can be supported makes me despair!
On that last point Jock, Romney will be even worse. That is why it is better Obama wins.
Would that more people understood voting to be an act of self-defence at best Geoffrey 🙂
But Romney has surely opposed the state-running of healthcare (AKA Obamacare), in favour of localism from separate companies?