Can politicians change their mind?

Can politicians change their mind?

Sounds like an absurd question, I know, because a lot of people will say, "Of course they can.", but the way some people react when a politician does change their mind you'd swear they committed a capital offense, or something. Hence, I believe the question is legit.

I see nothing wrong with changing a position on something. People and their points-of-view evolve. Mine do on occasion. As an example, I used to be a hardcore death penalty advocate, and now I strongly oppose the death penalty.

I do have a couple caveats when it comes politicians changing their mind, though...

1) I have no respect for the politician whose opinion seems to change back and forth depending on the latest poll numbers or survey. You need to have a backbone and stand for something.

2) I would like to see some kind of reasonable evolution when it comes to big issues. I.e.:, I wasn't comfortable with President Obama's change on SSM a few years ago. It struck me as too quick for something so important. Sure, he seemed to be going that way prior, but I felt his final declaration was more for political expediency and less an honest change of mind. Going back to my death penalty transformation, that took me roughly 12 years to fully evolve from one direction to the opposite.

They can change their minds but if it looks like they do so constantly then it tends to send up red flags (and probably should). Where then is the stability in this candidate?
Edit: I pretty much agree with your reasonable evolution and that there should be some good reasons for the changing of their views/minds.

Ntharotep said:

They can change their minds but if it looks like they do so constantly then it tends to send up red flags (and probably should). Where then is the stability in this candidate?

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Completely agree on that point.

radcen said:

Can politicians change their mind?

Sounds like an absurd question, I know, because a lot of people will say, "Of course they can.", but the way some people react when a politicians does change their mind you'd swear they committed a capital offense, or something. Hence, I believe the question is legit.

I see nothing wrong with changing a position on something. People and their points-of-view evolve. Mine do on occasion. As an example, I used to be a hardcore death penalty advocate, and now I strongly oppose the death penalty.

I do have a couple caveats when it comes politicians changing their mind, though...

1) I have no respect for the politician whose opinion seems to change back and forth depending on the latest poll numbers or survey. You need to have a backbone and stand for something.

2) I would like to see some kind of reasonable evolution when it comes to big issues. I.e.:, I wasn't comfortable with President Obama's change on SSM a few years ago. It struck me as too quick for something so important. Sure, he seemed to be going that way prior, but I felt his final declaration was more for political expediency and less an honest change of mind. Going back to my death penalty transformation, that took me roughly 12 years to fully evolve from one direction to the opposite.

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Sure they can, just like everyone else. Where one should get suspicious is when a Politician changes their mind on a whole lot of things and morphs something they have never been or believed in.

Depends on the amount of money offered to them.

Voted "other." Depends on the conditions for the change, how frequently they do so, and who benefits from the change.

radcen said:

Can politicians change their mind?

Sounds like an absurd question, I know, because a lot of people will say, "Of course they can.", but the way some people react when a politician does change their mind you'd swear they committed a capital offense, or something. Hence, I believe the question is legit.

I see nothing wrong with changing a position on something. People and their points-of-view evolve. Mine do on occasion. As an example, I used to be a hardcore death penalty advocate, and now I strongly oppose the death penalty.

I do have a couple caveats when it comes politicians changing their mind, though...

1) I have no respect for the politician whose opinion seems to change back and forth depending on the latest poll numbers or survey. You need to have a backbone and stand for something.

2) I would like to see some kind of reasonable evolution when it comes to big issues. I.e.:, I wasn't comfortable with President Obama's change on SSM a few years ago. It struck me as too quick for something so important. Sure, he seemed to be going that way prior, but I felt his final declaration was more for political expediency and less an honest change of mind. Going back to my death penalty transformation, that took me roughly 12 years to fully evolve from one direction to the opposite.

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Pretty much the same as you. I answered "Yes, but it better be good."

I'll compare 2 politicians, neither of whom I agree with enough of the time to vote for them, but one of whom I respect and one of whom I don't.

Romney is a perfect example of someone who just panders to whatever they think will get them granted into power. I have no time for that nonsense. Just empty suits.

Ron Paul is someone who occasionally changes his mind about something, and when that occurs, usually gives a cogent explanation for doing so, and sticks to it for the foreseeable future, because changing his mind about something takes time. I respect that. Even if I think he's wrong, as I often do.

And I agree with you about Obama. I reckon he probably always believed in SSM, but shied away from it early on for fear of hurting his poll numbers. It was the typical cowardly thing the Democrats did with SSM, skirting around it and avoiding the question. And that's why I honestly felt a little offended when they all "celebrated" after it was legalized. They weren't willing to take the risk of publicly supporting the SSM movement when it actually mattered, just take all the credit after the fact. But anyway...

There is absolutely nothing wrong with changing your mind. Changing your mind, after evaluating the evidence you've been presented, is a sign of intellectual maturity. It shows you have the ability to assess information critically, and to admit that you can be wrong like any other human being on earth.

I don't think a change of mind necessarily needs to take 12 years to be legitimate. I've had my mind changed in a split second, when the perfect piece of evidence or argument was presented to me. It's not common, but it can happen.

But most changes should take at least a bit of time, simply to be thorough in doing your homework, and regardless of how long it takes, there should be some kind of reason for it.

What politicians like Romney do is, in reality, not "changing their mind." Their only belief is that they should hold power, and that is something they never change their mind about.

There's a difference between legitimately changing your mind and just saying that you did because the political winds are blowing the other way. If they change their minds, they should explain why they changed their minds and their entire attitudes should reflect that change. It shouldn't be a talking point, couched a certain way because they want to get elected and said something really stupid once.

I certainly hope that they can change their minds and that they do periodically. We have limited information and when we get more, perhaps a change is in order.

The 2008 Presidential campaign was terrible. Obama seemed to be under the impression that we were debating whether or not to invade Iraq. That issue was settled 5 years or so prior and we should have been talking about what to do NOW (2008), given the current situation. Obama never seemed to be able to get beyond his belief that the war was wrong. That is an extreme case of someone being so intent on not changing his mind that he could not even consider updated information. And I guess his support of Afghanistan was based on a belief that Osama was in Afghanistan or that Afghanistan had something important to do with 9/11, both wrong information.

If it's a recent change; it's suspect.

I think perspectives change as we move through life,
and we see the same things but from a different angle.
Sometimes the new angle, and experience changes how we feel.
A Person looks at things in their 50's much different than in their 20's.

Of course they can change their minds, and should as new facts come to light.
The politician that has more positions than the Kamasutra on any given issue is not to be trusted, however.

radcen said:

Can politicians change their mind?

Sounds like an absurd question, I know, because a lot of people will say, "Of course they can.", but the way some people react when a politician does change their mind you'd swear they committed a capital offense, or something. Hence, I believe the question is legit.

I see nothing wrong with changing a position on something. People and their points-of-view evolve. Mine do on occasion. As an example, I used to be a hardcore death penalty advocate, and now I strongly oppose the death penalty.

I do have a couple caveats when it comes politicians changing their mind, though...

1) I have no respect for the politician whose opinion seems to change back and forth depending on the latest poll numbers or survey. You need to have a backbone and stand for something.

2) I would like to see some kind of reasonable evolution when it comes to big issues. I.e.:, I wasn't comfortable with President Obama's change on SSM a few years ago. It struck me as too quick for something so important. Sure, he seemed to be going that way prior, but I felt his final declaration was more for political expediency and less an honest change of mind. Going back to my death penalty transformation, that took me roughly 12 years to fully evolve from one direction to the opposite.

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It depends on the why and the when.

Obama and Hillary changing their stances on Gay marriage had nothing to do with principles and everything to do with political opportunism. Hillary's change in stance on the TPP had nothing to do with principles and everything to do with seeing which way the winds were blowing. That flip is particularly disengenuous because she helped write the damn thing. Same with Mitt Romney and most of his stances.

radcen said:

Can politicians change their mind?

Sounds like an absurd question, I know, because a lot of people will say, "Of course they can.", but the way some people react when a politician does change their mind you'd swear they committed a capital offense, or something. Hence, I believe the question is legit.

I see nothing wrong with changing a position on something. People and their points-of-view evolve. Mine do on occasion. As an example, I used to be a hardcore death penalty advocate, and now I strongly oppose the death penalty.

I do have a couple caveats when it comes politicians changing their mind, though...

1) I have no respect for the politician whose opinion seems to change back and forth depending on the latest poll numbers or survey. You need to have a backbone and stand for something.

2) I would like to see some kind of reasonable evolution when it comes to big issues. I.e.:, I wasn't comfortable with President Obama's change on SSM a few years ago. It struck me as too quick for something so important. Sure, he seemed to be going that way prior, but I felt his final declaration was more for political expediency and less an honest change of mind. Going back to my death penalty transformation, that took me roughly 12 years to fully evolve from one direction to the opposite.

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I agree.People do change.However it is suspicious what that change occurs right at the moment it seems beneficial to their political career. For example Mitt Romney governed Massachusetts as a liberal and held some liberal beliefs a lot longer, then all of sudden he wants to run for president he is suddenly a conservative.

Other: Yes, but the context and timing matter.

For example, take a politician who changes their opinion/position on something back and forth, depending on where and to whom they are speaking.
That is unacceptable.

But if you consider a politician who changes their opinion/position more gradually, sticks to the new position, and has a reasonable and/or logical explanation for why they changed their mind...
That's not only acceptable, it's a laudable thing for a politician to do.


IMO, the latter example shows that the politician in question is actually thinking about the issues they were elected to deal with - IOW, doing their job.

radcen said:

Can politicians change their mind?

Sounds like an absurd question, I know, because a lot of people will say, "Of course they can.", but the way some people react when a politician does change their mind you'd swear they committed a capital offense, or something. Hence, I believe the question is legit.

I see nothing wrong with changing a position on something. People and their points-of-view evolve. Mine do on occasion. As an example, I used to be a hardcore death penalty advocate, and now I strongly oppose the death penalty.

I do have a couple caveats when it comes politicians changing their mind, though...

1) I have no respect for the politician whose opinion seems to change back and forth depending on the latest poll numbers or survey. You need to have a backbone and stand for something.

2) I would like to see some kind of reasonable evolution when it comes to big issues. I.e.:, I wasn't comfortable with President Obama's change on SSM a few years ago. It struck me as too quick for something so important. Sure, he seemed to be going that way prior, but I felt his final declaration was more for political expediency and less an honest change of mind. Going back to my death penalty transformation, that took me roughly 12 years to fully evolve from one direction to the opposite.

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Politicians changing their minds is perfectly fine. The problem arises when they change their minds to fit current polling sentiments (Clinton), or when they change their minds so frequently and rapidly that the dawn of a new day brings an equally new belief (Trump).

why do you think they are politicians ??

radcen said:

Can politicians change their mind?

Sounds like an absurd question, I know, because a lot of people will say, "Of course they can.", but the way some people react when a politician does change their mind you'd swear they committed a capital offense, or something. Hence, I believe the question is legit.

I see nothing wrong with changing a position on something. People and their points-of-view evolve. Mine do on occasion. As an example, I used to be a hardcore death penalty advocate, and now I strongly oppose the death penalty.

I do have a couple caveats when it comes politicians changing their mind, though...

1) I have no respect for the politician whose opinion seems to change back and forth depending on the latest poll numbers or survey. You need to have a backbone and stand for something.

2) I would like to see some kind of reasonable evolution when it comes to big issues. I.e.:, I wasn't comfortable with President Obama's change on SSM a few years ago. It struck me as too quick for something so important. Sure, he seemed to be going that way prior, but I felt his final declaration was more for political expediency and less an honest change of mind. Going back to my death penalty transformation, that took me roughly 12 years to fully evolve from one direction to the opposite.

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1. Politicians can and should change their minds when the situation warrants.

2. They need to have an identifiable pivot point, and be able to explain their change in coherent terms.

3. If the change they have made coincides with their interests, significant time and testing is required to make sure the change was actual, rather than tactical.

As any person grows and learns their views and opinions should change.

I think all politicians at the age of 50 should be carbon copies of themselves at the age of 18 and if they aren't, they're racist.

Yes they can. Just like all of us, our views have been and continue to be shaped over time. However, the "evolving of views" is often time used as a cover for hypocrisy.

Today politicians enter the arena with a belief, philosophy, and strategy that determines their mind on the issues.

But what I would prefer is that we separate elected officials from that connection, that we the people determine the belief, philosophy, and strategies, and that the elected officials carry out the tactics and mechanics for accomplishing this.

So I'm all for politicians changing their minds in this manner, to let go of their preconceived belief, philosophy, and strategy on the issues and utilize the vast majority will of the people for this.

Of course, that means that the people have to be significantly majority united and aligned in presentation.

This unification alignment needs to be accomplished external to candidates running for office, and, of course, external to their irrelevant political party's arcane pandering approach.

Candidates simply affirm their support for the will of the people, and then their job is to execute the tactics and mechanics of doing so.

A number of such citizens organizations exist, but none are yet sufficiently dominant to have a mind-changing effect on politicians.

My choice of such an organization to become dominant is rather evident.

There's a quote I like that I cant find right now but it's something like this:

Admitting you were wrong shows that you are wiser today than you were yesterday.

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So yes. IMO it's the height of stupidity to cling to something you know isnt correct (factually) or right (ethically) and almost as stupid to close yourself off to new information that may influence your current understanding of things and beliefs.

Is a "biological" behaviour, changing mind makes you survive to threats, and when we talk about society the better, because it's not an individual choice...

GreekDebate said:

Is a "biological" behaviour, changing mind makes you survive to threats, and when we talk about society the better, because it's not an individual choice...

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Welcome to the forum. May I ask....are you Greek? And is that where you live?

Other national perspectives are always welcome in my opinion.