What candidates would the Daily Planet staff vote for to be President in 2020

[Flash Gordon]

We've seen Clark use guns in a number of instances (Return, Hunter/Prey, All-Star, etc). He also has a vast collection of them in the Fortress, and I'm somewhat sure I recall seeing a rifle or shotgun at the Kent household (though I could be remembering wrong), which would make sense given the farm's rural location. Lois has also been shown to have a number of weapons stashed around the house/apartment (in Identity Crisis she pulls a New Genesis mega rod out from under the sink or something) and I *think* she's been shown to have her concealed carry permit, which again, would make sense given the situations she gets into.

Since Clark didn't destroy the guns in the Fortress, no one mentioned his anti-gun views while he was actively using them, and he grew up around them, I doubt Clark is anti-gun. As I already said, he's probably not on the extreme NRA end of the spectrum but I have never seen Clark express any problem with firearms, merely the way some people use them. Batman is the guy who would abolish the 2nd if he could, but while Clark must have certain opinions on the regulation of firearms I've never seen anything on the page to make me think he's against them. Unless you have examples from the page it seems you're just projecting here. Which, I mean, we all are to one degree or another; there's not enough exploration of Clark's politics for us to have clear-cut answers. But as my literary analysis professor said, the evidence is whatever's on the page. If there are examples that support your view, I'm either forgetting them or never saw them. Certainly haven't read every single issue yknow?



I think the libertarian thing largely comes in from Clark's strong belief in personal privacy, which isn't really a talking point for either the democrats or republicans anymore. Clark goes through a lot of trouble to ensure his identity remains a secret, especially from any government/military force, which strikes me as being very libertarian. And this has less to do with evidence on the page so I'm breaking a basic analysis rule here, but I've always had the impression he's for small government, which again, is more libertarian (formerly more republican) than anything else these days, it seems.

As for the right-leaning opinions, this example is a bit of a stretch because to my knowledge no comic has ever tackled the subject, but given how Clark feels about the sanctity of life and his no-kill rule (not that he keeps that rule all the time, but I digress) he's *probably* pro-life. I'd assume that he's not Alabama levels of crazy about it, of course.

Clark also seems to be a big supporter of first responders (including cops) and soldiers. He definitely takes issue with corruption within those institutions, but he's always friendly with the guys in uniform (autographing helmets during OW@W, for example). Clark's no supporter of people in authority abusing that power whether they're generals or businessmen or husbands, but he seems to have a lot of respect for the guys on the ground. Pa Kent (in several continuities) was a soldier as well, which helps provide some context for Clark's opinion, and while it's a one-off outlier Year One has him joining the Navy. But it *is* important to point out (again) that supporting cops and soldiers is not the same thing as supporting the decisions their bosses make. Clark's anti-corruption, but doesn't appear to be anti-cop or anti-military, unless he expressed those opinions in issues I didnt read. And the left is pushing further in that direction, so I think this is another case where Clark's ended up in the middle mostly because, as the parties keep pushing further to the extreme, the goal posts have shifted.

Golden Age Superman (and the New52) was very much a hardcore leftist, probably some flavor of Bernie-style democratic socialist. Outside of those eras, his politics have been far more muted, and while that's a corporate mandate to ensure Superman appeals to everyone, it's ended up skewing his politics into centrist middle ground.

I myself would rather see the guy go all-in on his classic politics and start throwing his weight around the political arena. But what I want to see isn't what's on the page.

Are libertarians pro-privacy? Arent they almost entirely the opposite of that? They mostly believe that corporations should be able to do as they please with information and that the government shouldn't be able to limit the corporate spying? Genuinely asking!

There is next to nothing showing Superman to be anti-abortion. If anything he and Lois would both believe in a person's personal sovereignty.

I guess I agree with you that he would vaguely agree with the 2nd amendment, though that wouldnt make him "right".

Clark has been friends with specific police officials. Bill Henderson, Maggie Swayer, Dan Turpin. He's anti corruption, like ya said, but he knows that a police force is necessary in society.

Superman would largely be pro-worker, anti-big business. I mean he spends most of his time in battle with billionaires. He's an investigative journalist so I'm sure he'd find corruption interesting and be all over it. I don't imagine him being moderate, though I do believe he would be very careful where he says what and who he backs- thus creating an illusion of moderacy.