Thompson's gone, now what?

[Guest Steelharp]

I know. I can hardly believe myself, but I am taking a serious look at Ron now. I know he sounds goofy sometimes when he speaks, but he seems to stand for more of what I agree with than anybody else. Yeah, that worries me, too, a bit...

[Beretta Racer]

Having met and worked with McCain and Hillary both, I'll take the guy with the balls to spit in the eye of his captors over a carpet munching liar like Hillary.

At least with McCain you pretty much know what to expect. With Hillary, she will say and do anything to get elected. She was at the core of almost every scandal of the Bill Clinton era. Yes, even Monica, referenced above.

EVERY election is the lesser of evils.

[mousegunner]

I like Ron Paul. I voted for him in our TN primary (voted early). However I know he is unelectable. Last night in the GOP debates he repeated that he would discontinue Social Security. This won't wash. His foreign policy won't work either. I like his support for the Bill of Rights. But he won't get the GOP nomination. What he will do after that, who knows? If he runs third party, that will guarantee a Dem in the White House.

At times like these, I'm glad I believe that God is ultimately in charge, and that in the end He will make everything turn out OK. After all, we can't see the future, and who knows what will happen?

[Marswolf]

I'm not big on the idea of throwing my vote away. While I agree with a lot that Ron Paul says, to suggest a lot of things he would like to do is just unrealistic and flaky.

Protest votes are seldom a good idea. Remember what happened in Florida to Al Gore when voters went for Ralph Nader.

I'm going to vote for someone who just might be able to beat a liberal Democrat.

[Beretta Racer]

I'm going to vote for someone who just might be able to beat a liberal Democrat.

I'm not on the McCain bandwagon, but he would probably be the guy to do it.

He is much more likely to pull the conservative Dem vote than Hillary or Obama being able to pull moderate Republican votes.

[saintsfanbrian]

Whether the Dems put up Hillary or Obama doesn't matter, I will vote for the Republican (whoever it may be) in order to keep from that person getting elected.

If and only if this country actually pulls its collective head from its collective rear end will I consider voting 3rd party on a national level. Locally is an entirely different issue.

[Marswolf]

Well, the deed is done.

We have absolutely the worst voting setup. You identify yourself and they figure out a secret number to mark on your sign in sheet. Then they print out an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet that you sign. You then take that sheet to another table about 3 feet away. They then print another small sheet that has your number to get the voting machine to work.

Then you go spin a dial and touch enter four times to get the machine to allow you to vote. Many spins and enter presses later, you get a summary sheet with about half the info you need to see if you actually voted the way you wanted.. Then you press vote. The guy ahead of me was half way out of the door before they grabbed him and told him how to press the red vote button.

It's ridiculously complicated. I'm sure some people give up and just leave.

[Guest Liberty Seeker]

i would probably vote for paul if he ever got the nomination although that is not going to happen.

And the problem is with attitudes like this he won't. Im glad to see he has started coming in second in places, maybe people will lose this attitude.

[Mike.357]

Mars i am with you on the ridiculousness of the voting procedure here in TN.

I posted previously how I could not vote due to computer troubles. Now what if these computer troubles happen on election day. People can't just stand around for an hour to wait, especially when they have jobs to get to, kids to pick up. Some workplaces might be lenient but I guarentee you that many would not be. I am going to go Monday and try again.

Until I moved here and they began using these ridiculous contraptions I had always voted (Ohio, Illinois and Florida) using the punchcard. Remember the hanging chads? Yes that type of ballot. It was much simpler and I think more reliable.

I do not trust this computer voting system we have. Who wrote the software? Who oversees that it actually records votes as they were cast? I do not put it past anyone that shenanigans are involved and the actual vote is scewed or maybe screwed is a better word.

I will probably vote for Paul or Obama, not sure yet. I am not sure as I do not know if they will let me have a republican ballot or not.

[Marswolf]

I posted previously how I could not vote due to computer troubles. Now what if these computer troubles happen on election day. People can't just stand around for an hour to wait, especially when they have jobs to get to, kids to pick up. Some workplaces might be lenient but I guarentee you that many would not be.

...

I will probably vote for Paul or Obama, not sure yet. I am not sure as I do not know if they will let me have a republican ballot or not.

Mike, you just tell them which primary you want to vote in when you go in. You can change at each election.

Here's a pretty good summary of how things work from the Mountain City paper.

http://www.thetomahawk.com/Detail.php?Cat=HOMEPAGE&ID=57255

Tennessee’s Presidential Primary coming up in February

By Marlana Ward

The Tennessee presidential primary will be held on February 5, 2008. Tennessee voters have the option of participating in early voting which begins on January 16.

Tennessee uses the open primary system. Under this system, a voter may participate in either party’s primary vote. This means Tennessee voters are not officially registered with a party and need to make no changes to their registration to vote in their desired party’s primary. Voters may only vote in one party’s primary.

This year’s Democratic Presidential Preference Primary ballot consists of one page. Voters will select only one candidate from those listed. The Convention of the Tennessee Democratic Party selects the party’s delegates.

The Republican Presidential Preference Primary ballot includes seven pages. The first page has the list of presidential candidates of which voters may select one. Statewide delegate candidates are found on pages two through five. Voters may choose up to 12 delegate candidates. The last two pages of the republican primary ballot have names of the First Congressional District delegates and the voter can select up to three.

Sample ballots are available so voters may become familiar with the ballot before they enter the voting booth. Voters are encouraged to become familiar with the ballot to avoid delays. The sample ballots are available in the newspaper and at the local election commission office. The Johnson County Election Commission Office is located at 158 Election Avenue behind the Johnson County Rescue Squad building.

Help is available to any voter who requests it. The person a voter chooses to assist them may be anyone except a candidate. The election commission will have voting deputies on hand to help any voter who needs assistance.

Voters are also reminded they can vote for whatever part of the ballot they choose but must view every page before the machine will allow the vote to be cast.

Early voting will be held at the Election Commission Office and will begin on Wednesday, January 16 and continue through Thursday, January 31. Voting hours will be as follows: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday; 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Saturday.

Early voting has been popular in the past in Johnson County. There will be three machines available at the election commission office. Voting early is normally quicker than voting at the traditional polls. Address changes are easier to execute at the election commission. Occasionally, an address correction requires a voter to change voting locations. Voters may vote at the election commission regardless of their address.

All registered voters are eligible to participate in early voting. Any voter more than 65 or disabled may request a ballot be provided to them and returned by mail.

Anyone with questions regarding early voting or the ballot may contact the Election Commission by calling 727-8592.

Here is a Republican sample ballot for Sullivan County.

http://www.scecweb.org/pdf/Rep_news.pdf

[Mike.357]

you just tell them which primary you want to vote in when you go in. You can change at each election.

Last time around in '04, I went to vote and asked for a Republican ballot and was denied that. I was told I was registered as a Democrat and it was vote Democrat or issues only. I was told I had to change my registration.

I do not recall registering for any specific party but 6 years ago when I first came here I considered myself a Democrat and would have chose that option when registering to vote.

Has something changed in voting procedure since '04?

[Marswolf]

As far as I can recall, you could choose your primary when you went in to vote for as long as I have been voting.

There was a time years ago when one of the parties did not have a primary but the other did.

[Guest TargetShooter84]

Its starting to look bad for the republicans since Obama gained double votes than Billary...its going to be a tough race

[Guest ACMM]

My wife's been predicting for a long long time it would be Obama and McCain, but I've been trying to ignore her as best I can.

[J Smith]

I am sick about all this.

Its going to be a vote for the lesser of 2 evils again.I too do not believe Hillery or Obama bin bomba lama or whatever his name is will not make it past 3 months if elected.

With this said I want to make it clear that I am not against either of them because they happen to be black or female,I would vote for Condoleezza Rice or Colin Powell in the blink of an eye.

[Mike.357]

I too do not believe Hillery or Obama bin bomba lama or whatever his name is will make it past 3 months if elected.

What is that supposed to mean?

[J Smith]

Well let me make it clear that I have no wish to harm or see them harmed myself.I have no doubt that there will be some nut case try to take them out.

Obama's wife has said that she is worried about it.

[Guest price g]

Where is Ross when you need him?

[The Rabbi]

I didnt know whether to start a new thread or continue this one. People have talked about a Dem in the White House banning guns etc. I dont think this will happen.

But consider this: one of the most "popular" measures is the so-called "gun show loophole". It would be relatively easy (relative to other measures)to get that passed. It would require all transactions be done through an FFL. At the same time it would take only a presidential directive to put every FFL out of business, maybe leaving one in each market. That would effectively restrict gun transfers even without legislation. And with Hillary, you are dealing with someone who has the desire to punish her enemies, namely the NRA. Scary stuff.

[saintsfanbrian]

If Obama got elected and IF some one were to "take them out" the only thing they would succeed in doing is creating extreme racism in this country. If you think it is bad now, just let some one kill the first black president. The violence that you have seen to date would be nothing. Every white person would be targeted by the faction that would be intent on doing harm.

I can imagine that the city I live in would be one of the worst affected (especially in this state) since the Martin Luther King, Jr. thing is still a hot topic here.

If Hillary were assassinated there would likely be harsh repercussions. No man would be able to sleep with both eyes closed.

[molonlabetn]

...If Hillary were assassinated there would likely be harsh repercussions. No man would be able to sleep with both eyes closed.

Bill probably could...

[saintsfanbrian]

Game set and match Molon.

[Guest jackdog]

Molon I can't stop laughing

[Guest SUNTZU]

[dralarms]

Bill probably could...

Probally first time in years. But have you noticed he keeps em shut during the day time, guess he got tired of looking at that hag.