A poll about you voting choices and homeschooling...

[Amy loves Bud]

I'm curious now that I've been lurking through all the homeschool regulation discussions.

 

How does your desire for homeschooling freedom, if you have it, affect your voting choices?

 

For me, it's wrapped up in personal freedom, so it is at the top of my list.

[Amy loves Bud]

I should add, please comment about what your top issues are in this election.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Protecting our freedoms (including the freedom to parent my own family in the way I see fit) is a biggie for me. Not having too much government involvement in our lives is part of it.

[Volty]

I like all three candidates well enough and have complete contempt for/ disgust with George W Bush and am very excited to finally be rid of him.

 

Generally I support McCain almost all the time and it would be an easy vote but this Iraq war is a huge, huge anchor around his neck. If I vote Dem it will likely be for this reason alone.

 

With the two Dems it's a lot of small nitpicky stuff and fear of them going overboard on expensive new government programs that I'm not sure I want taxpayers to pay for. I don't trust them to control both Congress and the presidency, but other than McCain, I've lost all respect for the national GOP right now.

 

At the national level HSing is not much of an issue. Nobody talks about it. HSing is important at a state level. At the state level, with a Dem governor (Jennifer Granholm who I voted for but don't like) not on the ballot, I'd be more apt to vote GOP for state legislature, I've never had a problem with the Michigan GOP only the national party makes me sick, but it depends on the candidates.

 

Also, I always vote GOP for UM board of regents because I hate Affirmative Action.

[Michelle T]

but I also consider the economy and the war in Iraq as huge issues. I also do believe in various social programs to help those in poverty, or with mental or physical illness. All important in my decision.

 

I really haven't even considered homeschooling in terms of presidential choice, because I don't think any president of either party is going to care or do anything about homeschooling. Since it is a state issue, I don't even think the pres. COULD pass any particular homeschooling law.

Michelle T

[chiguirre]

Hsing would only become an issue for me if one of the candidates actually said something negative about it specifically. Other than that, it's low down the list this year.

[Peek a Boo]

personal liberties are at the top for me.

integrity is another.

 

Whether we are in Iraq or not isn't my biggest issue.

 

I'm voting for Ron Paul even if I hafta write him in. I'd like to see him abolish the Dept of Education and send it all back to the states :-)

 

the fun part??

since McCain supposedly "has the nomination" regardless how the states vote here on out, I'd like to see the rest of the states vote for Ron Paul, lol. Nothing to lose.....

[Peek a Boo]

wait-- I was technically wrong --McCain does not have the needed pledged delegates, and not all states have the rule that pledged delegates must vote for that candidate. I need to read up more on state-by-state pledged delegate voting rules.

[Plaid Dad]

I voted for "Homeschooling freedom is important, but a secondary issue in this election," as the closest to my position. While homeschooling is very important to me and I see it as part of a larger "pro-freedom" package, it always comes in second to pro-life issues for me.

[kokotg]

Hsing would only become an issue for me if one of the candidates actually said something negative about it specifically. Other than that, it's low down the list this year.

 

this. I don't see homeschooling as a federal issue. If a candidate ever indicated that they intended to make it a federal issue (which I don't see happening) then that would, of course, be a major concern for me.

[DIY-DY]

How does your desire for homeschooling freedom, if you have it, affect your voting choices?

 

For me, it's wrapped up in personal freedom, so it is at the top of my list.

 

I'm more than a little discouraged to find so many issues taken to a Federal platform that should be (imho, obviously *grin*) State, County, or even Municipal issues. Too big, too controlling, a thumb in every pie, at this point.

 

We live in a state that is surprisingly controlling, although just to what extent very few people seem to understand. The struggle we're having here in Alabama is an uphill one on many of liberty's fronts:

 

Homebirth: you *can* legally have a child at home, but you *cannot* legally have a midwife present at the birth. It would take days of discussions to hash this one out, and we still wouldn't be able to make sense of it. Our attempts to rectify this died in the Health Committee last year. We have legislation on the floor, again, right now, to try to fix this. It won't come to a vote before this baby is born. :mad:

 

Homeschooling: not legally recognized in the state of AL. You *must* register with a "state recognized religious cover school" and operate under that school's guidelines. Fortunately, there are a few freedom-oriented covers who have followed the Letter of the Law to provide a legal barrier for those of us who a) aren't schooling for religious reasons, b) are homeschooling because we don't want to use a private school, c) think accountability should flow from the employees (the state) to the employers (the people).

 

Universal Preschool: Our governor is drinking this Kool-Aid and wants to lower the age of compulsory school attendance to 3 or 4!

 

HIPPA: Oh, my word, don't even get me started on the abuses and mis-interpretations of HIPPA and how it affects trying to get pediatric care with parental involvement for children in this state. ARGH.

 

There are at least six other issues in my state that we work regularly and ceaselessly to address. Meanwhile, the Federal platform gets bigger and more powerful, with so many people looking to the government to make-it-all-better. (The town we're closest to actually had wording in the Federal budget to pay for a sewage expansion plan!! People in KS, CA, OH are expected to pay for our municipal waste water treatment? HOW is that right?) They don't know us in DC. They cannot help us in DC. They have no resources of their own, only what they take from us, and then they squander what they take from us "to pool together for the common good".

 

As for the single-issue vote, I don't generally cast one, although I do have a litmus test as to which candidates view me as someone to represent vs. someone to watch out for. ;)

Dy

[Amy loves Bud]

Wow. It's no wonder you were hesitant to share elsewhere! I just assumed AL would be more like TX in a "let me be to do my own thing" kind of way. Though we were the first to mandate Gardasil through and Executive Order by the Gov., to maybe we're not as much that way as I'd like to think.

[Danestress]

Is any candidate anti-homeschooling? I haven't seen that, so to me, this really isn't an issue. It would be a bigger issue on the state level.

 

For me, the economy, the war, and the environment are the biggest issues.

[Mrs. H.]

Homeschooling isn't/shouldn't be a federal issue. It is a state issue, and I would never vote for a state candidate that didn't support it.

 

That being said, our highest priorities for voting in any election are:

 

Small government

Homeschooling

Firearms rights

Pro-life

Support of Israel

Privatization of health care, social security, and education

 

Not necessarily in that order.

[Peek a Boo]

Is any candidate anti-homeschooling? I haven't seen that, so to me, this really isn't an issue.

 

actually, hardly ANYone is "anti-homeschooling" --they just want to make sure that your students receive an academically rigorous and structured education taught by "qualified" individuals. As long as your homeschool meets their definition of that, they absolutely support your right to "homeschool".

 

If they support the NEA charter, then homeschooling is NOT a suitable place for children to get an education. Does your candidate support the NEA charter??

 

Besides, they are only concerned about The Children! So why should we worry?:rolleyes:

[Amy loves Bud]

Well, I didn't specify federal, though many are reading it that way.

 

And while most presidential candidates don't specifically mention hs'ing, it can definitely be impacted by policies they do support, or by lobbies to which they are beholden. At least that's how I see it.

[Danestress]

If they support the NEA charter, then homeschooling is NOT a suitable place for children to get an education. Does your candidate support the NEA charter??

 

 

Is any candidate on record saying they support the *entire* NEA agenda? If so, that would really concern me. Parts of it, I'm sure most of us would support. Parts of it, clearly I don't. But I'm not actually concerned that the NEA will successful get some kind of national "all homeschooling parents must have a teaching certificate" law passed. If I thought that was a possibility I would be very worried indeed. But for now, I honestly am much more concerned about the economy, the environment, and the war.

[Peek a Boo]

Is any candidate on record saying they support the *entire* NEA agenda? If so, that would really concern me. Parts of it, I'm sure most of us would support. Parts of it, clearly I don't. But I'm not actually concerned that the NEA will successful get some kind of national "all homeschooling parents must have a teaching certificate" law passed. If I thought that was a possibility I would be very worried indeed.

 

I don't know --the candidates I support are pretty clear in that they have problems w/ the NEA :) My only point is that IF it is a concern for certain voters, it is worth it to find out. It is a popular tactic for candidates to offer vague promises and avoid specifics. Hold their feet to the fire: "i support homeschooling" is VAGUE. The real question is HOW do they support it? What will they NOT support?

 

I'm not concerned about the NEA at the federal level [yet], but they are absolutely part of what's happening in CA --either directly involved w/ lawyers and lobbyists or indirectly thru their repeated mantra of "homeschooling is bad." The NEA's activity at the state level is already well established. Even here in TX there was a move years ago to require ALL teachers --public and private-- to be "certified" in EVERY subject they taught. that would have banned homeschooling.

 

For those whom homeschooling and personal liberties are an issue, FIND OUT SPECIFICS.

[Mama Lynx]

Dang. I've got to spread more rep around, so that I can give Dy more :)

[Peek a Boo]

The struggle we're having here in Alabama is an uphill one on many of liberty's fronts:

 

Homebirth: you *can* legally have a child at home, but you *cannot* legally have a midwife present at the birth. It would take days of discussions to hash this one out, and we still wouldn't be able to make sense of it. Our attempts to rectify this died in the Health Committee last year. We have legislation on the floor, again, right now, to try to fix this. It won't come to a vote before this baby is born. :mad:

 

[Dy

 

NY is similar: homebirths are fine, but you can not hire a lay midwife. You must either have a self-assisted birth or find a CNM that is practicing under an OB/GYN that will allow a homebirth. Those are few and far between, and NONE in our area when my 3d and 4th were born.

 

There are, however, plenty of underground midwives serving a few communituies up there. It's a tricky set up, but i had two well-assisted homebirths when i was up there :D

[KidsHappen]

especially in regards to parental care of children: home birth, immunizations, health care and home schooling among others.

 

The war in Iraq is also pretty important to me and McCain scares the bejesus out of me.

 

I have voted libertarian in the last several elections even if there was a chance in hell of the canidate winning and I will vote Ron Paul in this election even if I have to write him in. We agree on almost all issues.

[PariSarah]

. . . primarily because these things are still most affected by state and local politics.

 

If there were a candidate for something local to me--district attorney, school board, governor, something--who was making noises about greater restrictions, that might prompt me to vote, but that hasn't happened around here, that I know of.