Voting One's Conscience

[malthaussen]

56. Still doesn't answer the question.

(Not of course, that you are under any obligation to do so)

As put, "Some will vote their conscience, others will fall in line" is freighted with judgement. Is it intended as a binary and exclusive statement? That would imply that those who "fall in line" are betraying their consciences. Or is it intended to cover two possibilities: some will vote in a given manner because it accords with their consciences, while others will cast the same vote out of a desire to conform or cooperate, or because they are realists, or for any of innumerable reasons not related to conscience at all? In the latter case, it doesn't speak to the question; in the former, it implies that conscience can dictate only one choice. But still does not speak to the question of why, if conscience dictates one path, it does not dictate another.

-- Mal