Obama 08 - Something to think about?

[Guest tanker179]

I'm giving McCain my vote..

[Guest canynracer]

I dont know that Obama will have time to get much done if he does win...4yrs is not long when you take it into perspective....

Still, I am voting McCain

[Beretta Racer]

Ill feel guilty voting Dem or Rep so Im probably gonna vote third party which I think alot of people will do this year. I know Im throwing my vote away but maybe it will help these two parties realize how many Americans are pissed off at both of them.

If your info is correct, this is probably your first time voting in a Presidential election.

Go ahead and "throw away" your vote kid. All you will be doing is throwing it to the Obama camp.

Get over your hissy fit and realize that politics is ALWAYS the lesser of evils.

In this case John McCain is by far the lesser of two evils.

[Guest bkelm18]

If your info is correct, this is probably your first time voting in a Presidential election.

Go ahead and "throw away" your vote kid. All you will be doing is throwing it to the Obama camp.

Get over your hissy fit and realize that politics is ALWAYS the lesser of evils.

In this case John McCain is by far the lesser of two evils.

Why does everyone freak out when someone says they are going to vote third party? I don't get it. Quit complaining and let them vote however they want, because, guess what, Osama is getting elected no matter what. This country wants change and McCain ain't it. Unfortunately most dems don't realize that Obama is going to be terrible for this country. But oh well. It's going to happen, and it's going to be sh*tty.

[Mike.357]

guess what, Osama is getting elected no matter what

Gee, why even have an election. Nothing is for sure and I still believe there is something in Obamas closet that is not out in play yet.

This thing is a long way from over.

[Guest Boomhower]

Unfortunately most dems don't realize that Obama is going to be terrible for this country.

No, for most dems he would be a welcomed change. They don't see it such as others do.

[Beretta Racer]

Why does everyone freak out when someone says they are going to vote third party? I don't get it. Quit complaining and let them vote however they want, because, guess what, Osama is getting elected no matter what. This country wants change and McCain ain't it. Unfortunately most dems don't realize that Obama is going to be terrible for this country. But oh well. It's going to happen, and it's going to be sh*tty.

Who's freaking out? Not me sonny. I've been shot at and missed, s**t on and hit. In other words, this ain't my first rodeo.

Go ahead and vote however you wish.

[The Rabbi]

People are obviously free to vote for Mickey Mouse if they want. But FL (and a few other elections beyond that) proved that each vote can be crucial.

I don't know who will get elected in Nov. At this time in 1990 George Bush looked unbeatable. But voting for a 3rd party is a vote that McCain will not have. Since the 3rd party has no chance of winning and McCain has a chance of winning it seems obvious that someone interested in not having Obama as president would vote for McCain instead.

[Guest Len]

First off, Mike, excellent Harvey Korman homage! A funny guy who left us too soon.

I also have to agree with the sentiment here. Nothing is for sure. While the GOP has royally screwed things up recently (if a Dem can win in the Mississippi 2nd, that's saying LOTS about how screwed up Republicans are), no party is better at making lemons out of lemonade than Democrats. I see a scenario that eases McCain into the White House going like this:

1) Clinton fights yesterday's decision by the DNC all the way to the convention.

2) Clinton wins Puerto Rico, shifting momentum just a tad and making some superdelegates keep their inner Obama to themselves.

3) The DNC in Denver becomes a bloody mess. Democrats have more of a history of riotous conventions than the GOP, who script everything down to the last detail. The last several times a convention has been contentious, the other side won.

4) As a result of what will be called "Bloody Denver," party unity takes a hit and McCain's people jump all over it.

5) Lies about Obama ("He's Muslim!" "He swore his oath on the Koran!") get spread and believed and McCain crusies.

Anyone willing to bet this scenario is not at least possible? My only comfort is that it is likely the Dems will build their majority in both houses of congress, making it harder for McCain to be McCain. I don't see 60 votes in the Senate though, leading to a stalemate.

I agree Americans want change. I also agree it is necessary. But to many people, Obama is not the change they want. I know hard-core, true-blue, yellow dog Democrats who will simply not vote for Obama. True, they mostly reside in states McCain would carry anyway, but it is a telling sign. If any of them live in Florida or Ohio or Pennsylvania, then McCain wins.

Possible fly in McCain's ointment: If Bob Barr raises any money and people on the far right find out he's running 3rd party.

Gee, why even have an election. Nothing is for sure and I still believe there is something in Obamas closet that is not out in play yet.

This thing is a long way from over.

[Guest Boomhower]

("He's Muslim!" "He swore his oath on the Koran!")

Too late! I've already forwarded that email.....for the forth time...

[The Rabbi]

I largely agree with Len, except for #5. The media is firmly on Obama's side and won't allow lies (or truth for that matter) to impede. They already have given him a pass on his repeated flubs.

In any case McCain is the Republican most Democrats would vote for anyway. Republicans sure can't stand him.

[Guest jth_3s]

If your info is correct, this is probably your first time voting in a Presidential election.

Go ahead and "throw away" your vote kid. All you will be doing is throwing it to the Obama camp.

Get over your hissy fit and realize that politics is ALWAYS the lesser of evils.

In this case John McCain is by far the lesser of two evils.

Im just as upset with the republicans as I am the democrats. Most people have your mentality of the lesser of 2 evils and thats why nothing will ever change in this country old man. If nobody ever threw a "Hissy Fit" why would either party want to change anything. Ill throw a "Hissy Fit" every time a politician is does something I disagree with. THis isnt a communist country.

Edited June 1, 2008 by jth_3s

[The Rabbi]

Temper tantrums didnt get my kids what they wanted. I doubt one by a voter will change things much. Politics means working within the political system for change. And 3rd parties at the presidential level arent the place to do that.

[Guest Boomhower]

....Go ahead and "throw away" your vote kid.....

He called you a kid!

.....and thats why nothing will ever change in this country old man......

He called you an old man!!

I love politics on an internet forum.

[Beretta Racer]

Im just as upset with the republicans as I am the democrats. Most people have your mentality of the lesser of 2 evils and thats why nothing will ever change in this country old man. If nobody ever threw a "Hissy Fit" why would either party want to change anything. Ill throw a "Hissy Fit" every time a politician is does something I disagree with. THis isnt a communist country.

Grow up! Neither party will change anything! They say they are about change, only to get your vote. Then go back doing the same old crap. Oh, and that third party, forget it. The old guard is too well entrenched.

Your "hissy fit" isn't going to change anything.

Old age and experience beats youth and exuberance.

[Beretta Racer]

He called you a kid!

He called you an old man!!

I love politics on an internet forum.

Me too!

[Guest GUTTERbOY]

It always baffles me that people continue asserting that a third party candidate will only take votes away from one of the big two. But Libertarian Party principles encompass portions encompass viewpoints from both parties. A lot of folks think that the LP is just an extreme-right party when in truth it's not really on the "line" from conservative to liberal. Of course, in reality there is no such line, it's just a serious oversimplification of things...

That said, as I've opined before on this subject, I face a difficult decision every four years... while I'd like to vote my conscience for a third-party candidate, what I really want to do with my vote is to make sure I help put the best candidate in office. Under the current system, and unfortunately probably for the foreseeable future, that means a candidate from the Big Two.

In some ways I think I'm compromising my principles. In other ways, I think I'm just being a realist. But in the end, I don't fault anyone for voting third party, even if I don't follow their lead.

At the end of the day, I feel that the LP is going to have to establish viability from the local level on up, so that's where I work and support the LP. Maybe in my lifetime I'll be able to convince myself to vote for an LP candidate at the national level. I hope so.

[The Rabbi]

People continue to assert that because it is true. Figure that your vote for a 3rd party candidate will not result in that candidate getting elected. There is no practical difference between voting 3rd party and sitting home election day. The end result is the same. It is merely a feel-good move on some people's part.

The way to get a Libertarian agenda passed is to work within the existing party system. This is how the Progressives managed to pass most of their agenda in the 1890s.

[Beretta Racer]

At the end of the day, I feel that the LP is going to have to establish viability from the local level on up, so that's where I work and support the LP. Maybe in my lifetime I'll be able to convince myself to vote for an LP candidate at the national level. I hope so.

That's the way it works. I think the LP has great potential, it just hasn't resonated with enough of the American electorate.

Perhaps with the Dems moving farther to the left and the Repubs moving more to the right, albeit to a lesser degree, the LP could find itself being the party for those who shun politics of the extreme.

[Guest GUTTERbOY]

People continue to assert that because it is true. Figure that your vote for a 3rd party candidate will not result in that candidate getting elected. There is no practical difference between voting 3rd party and sitting home election day. The end result is the same. It is merely a feel-good move on some people's part.

I may have been unclear. I understand, of course, that voting third party by definition means not voting Repub or Dem. What I'm getting at is this: I think we can safely say that in this forum, the vast majority are right-leaning folk. So when someone comes in here and says they intend to vote third party, they get some version of "You're just going to help elect Obama!" The assertion, which I think is debatable, is that anyone considering voting third party would otherwise vote Republican.

But I believe that the LP courts voters from both sides of the fence. And thus, I feel that it's not a foregone conclusion that anyone considering voting LP is a Republican vote gone astray. I'm willing to bet that there are a plenty of historical Democrats getting this same treatment elsewhere, except someone is telling them that they're going to help elect McCain.

So I'm not disputing the fact that a third-party vote at the national level is essentially a vote in the trash can. I am disputing the assertion that any third-party vote is automatically a vote taken away from John McCain.

[Guest jth_3s]

I dont see anything wrong with voting 3rd party. If you disagree with both of the dominant parties candidates why vote for them. Im not throwing a temper for refusing to vote for the 2 parties that get the most meida attention. I dont care who you vote for Rabbi, but dont act like Im out of line for not wanting to vote for these two candidates when I disagree with both of them. It wouldve been different if Huckabee had gotten the nomination, Id know who I was voting for and Obama wouldnt have a chance.

[Guest canynracer]

Vote who you want to vote for, carry what gun you want, practice the religion you choose....wear the underwear you choose (boxers, briefs or "commando"), tell the cop you have a gun, or dont...

Luckily that is the freedom of choice.

[The Rabbi]

I may have been unclear. I understand, of course, that voting third party by definition means not voting Repub or Dem. What I'm getting at is this: I think we can safely say that in this forum, the vast majority are right-leaning folk. So when someone comes in here and says they intend to vote third party, they get some version of "You're just going to help elect Obama!" The assertion, which I think is debatable, is that anyone considering voting third party would otherwise vote Republican.

So I'm not disputing the fact that a third-party vote at the national level is essentially a vote in the trash can. I am disputing the assertion that any third-party vote is automatically a vote taken away from John McCain.

The libertarians are almost exclusively a party of conservatives. Most of them were happy voting for Reagan. If there were no Libertarian party the people who vote that way would either vote Republican or not vote at all.

Similar to the Green Party and the Democrats.