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I like Gary Johnson, but priority one is defeating Obama. He is the biggest disaster to hit the US in history.
Yeah that's who I would vote for given the chance. The Libertarian Party is finally growing and getting enough attention that it might be worthwhile to start taking them more seriously. They certainly make a lot more sense than the GOP and Dems. If you actually wanted to balance the federal budget for example, the Libertarians could do it without raising taxes.
Ideally, every state would adopt an automatic run-off system. This means that if neither candidate gets a majority of the vote, you take the top two candidates and have another vote to determine the winner. Now there's lots of whiny pathetic excuses I've heard against this idea, but it's the only way to break the two party system's stranglehold on power. If you believed in Ross Perot, Ralph Nader or Gary Johnson this year, you could vote for them without worrying about the greater evil out of the big two parties winning by default.
I'm of the opinion that Obama needs to go away ASAP. I also live in Illinois. There is nothing I can do that will cause Barack Obama to lose the state of Illinois. That means that I can vote for Johnson if I choose without affecting the outcome. Voting Libertarian or other 3rd party really comes down to where you live. If you're in Ohio, vote Romney (if you want Obama gone). If you're in Florida, vote Romney. If you're in New York, California, Illinois or any other state where Barack has a ridiculously large lead, go ahead and vote for who you actually believe in.
Vote for the one you think is best, unless you only slightly prefer him.
When the numbers grow a little, maybe more people will have the courage to do the same. If a huge majority choose D or R, it looks like we don't need any other options after all, so D and R it will remain.
People that vote third-party are the adult equivalents of hipsters. It's not the parties that are the problem. It's the voters and politicians catering to their stupidity and/or apathy.
A third party vote means you are willing to live with either Romney/GOP or Obama/DEM and have no interest in the result, believing both parties and candidates are equally objectionable and will do EQUAL HARM.
I won't vote third-party because it could possibly swing the election to the candidate/party I REALLY don't want to live with for the next four years.
Florida in 2000 cured me of any illusion about third-parties. If I had my druthers, someone like Jill Stein would be more to my liking. But there will be no real third party of consequence in my lifetime.
I am in a swing state, so my vote DOES count. Not voting third party.
A third party vote means you are willing to live with either Romney/GOP or Obama/DEM and have no interest in the result, believing both parties and candidates are equally objectionable and will do EQUAL HARM.
I won't vote third-party because it could possibly swing the election to the candidate/party I REALLY don't want to live with for the next four years.
Florida in 2000 cured me of any illusion about third-parties. If I had my druthers, someone like Jill Stein would be more to my liking. But there will be no real third party of consequence in my lifetime.
I am in a swing state, so my vote DOES count. Not voting third party.
I am in sort of the same boat. I tend to agree with Jill Stein more then anyone else, but I also live in a swing state and I really don't want one particular major party so yeah.
This topic started me wondering why Vermont has such a long and successful way of electing Independents to office.
Part of it may be the Voter's Pledge, which is a part of the Vermont Constitution; it essentially declares that each voter will cast his vote in his best conscience to further the good of all Vermonters and the nation, without regard to fear or favor from any party. The state's website also says every voter in Vermont is considered to be an independent voter. Declaration is voluntary, but not required.
While the percentage of declared Vermonters vary from election to election, this time, 40% have declared as Independents. Vermont also gave 40% of their Republican primary votes to Ron Paul, his highest percentage in the nation. At the same time, only 18% of conservative voters consider themselves to be 'very conservative', the lowest in the nation. 27% are evangelicals, also a low percentage.
Independent Bernie Saunders was Vermont's sole Representative from 1991 to 2007, when he was elected to the Senate. The single at-large seat is now occupied by a Democrat, but since 1930, when Vermont lost it's other districts, Republicans have been elected to the House 7 times to the Democrat's 2 times. Independent Saunders served the longest of them all.
All this makes me think that, if a 3rd party, especially an Independent party, was to ever become a major political force, Vermont has a lot of lessons to teach on how to make it so.
I am in sort of the same boat. I tend to agree with Jill Stein more then anyone else, but I also live in a swing state and I really don't want one particular major party so yeah.
North Carolina is not a "swing state," but keep telling yourself that.
North Carolina is not a "swing state," but keep telling yourself that.
If it is not a swing state why has $56,000,000 been spent here on ads alone, 35 million of which was from your beloved Mittens, why was the Democratic convention here and why do we get frequent visits from all the candidates.
Hey y'all! I know that no one should vote based on the opinion of strangers, but I wanted to get some different perspectives on a situation I bet many people are in.
No one agrees with a candidate 100%, so really we're all just voting for the one who we think will screw up the least. We live with a 2 party system, and it's either or. I agree halfway with Romney, and agree halfway with Obama. Neither is a clear winner to me, but at this time I'd choose Romney.
There is a 3rd party candidate whose ideas I find to be more in sync with my views, of course not 100% but much closer than Obama or Romney. I know he'll never win, but I'm wondering if I should "waste" my vote on him on principle? I realize people have been asking this question for many many elections and the dilemma is nothing new. I know people also argue over the electorate college and how a president is really elected, and I think that needs to change as well. Change is slow though.
I am wondering if it is pointless to vote for my favorite candidate, or have we reached a time where 3rd parties can start to gain support over the next few elections? This is my 3rd presidential election, and I have voted both R and D in the past. R in 2004 because I had just graduated high school and was raised in a conservative republican home. D in 2008 because I liked Obama's campaign of hope and change. This time I am thinking for myself and not voting based on my parent's views or on good speech writing. I have noticed that groups such as the tea party gained quite a bit of support recently, and it makes me wonder if someone else can start to be influential besides Republicans or Democrats. Is this normal throughout history, or am I just too young to remember any other hopefuls gaining noticeable support?
I'm asking for input because I don't know a ton about politics. I just want to make an informed vote and want to hear things I might not have thought about. Any thoughts? Oh, I live in Ohio if that makes a difference.
A single vote in Ohio or anywhere is not going to make a difference most likely-- see Paradox of voting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Vote your conscience and don't listen to people who say you are "throwing your vote away."
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