Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm an Independent but I'm voting for McCain. I have voted for third party candidates in presidential elections before, even though I knew they weren't going to win. I believe in voting for who I feel is the best person for the job, not by political party, etc.
I don't like any of the third party candidates this year, and this will be a very close election, and it's one that I don't want to see Obama win. McCain will be getting my vote because of the two candidates I feel he is the best person to lead America. I'm not the biggest McCain fan in terms of being President, but I believe he will do a good job, I would feel safe with him running the country, and there's no question at all about the love and passion he has for America. And when he picked Sarah Palin that sealed the deal for me to vote for McCain over a third party candidate, I really like what she has to offer this country.
I do not sincerely believe Obama loves this country and would do whatever he had to do in order to protect it, I believe he's more in love with the idea of running the country, and turning it into the America he would like it to be, and I don't feel that would be an America we would be happy with when all is said and done.
------------
I think Obama loves USA and would protect it.
He may not hit as fast as Mccain which can be good but he will hit if he has to .
I think he doesn't see the big picture and many thing's Hillary said about being in "la la land" are true which is a shame because his heart IMO is in the right place .
I have yet to hear a single specific plan he has about anything . I like him as a person but as election get's closer I lost faith .
Mccain I find 2nd Bush and no way taking that path . I have voted Independent before will do again.
Ah but is it not more random chance at play rather than an actual decision maker? The 6-10% of the vote usually vote for their third because they don't consider the 2 mains to be viable options. At this point such votes probably do have to be considered protest votes. Anyway, they vote while not having a clue how their vote is going to influence the 2 mains.
It's purely random after that since there is no conscious or subconscious choice in picking X or Y candidate that is going to become Pres. The sole thing you are guaranteed is ripping votes from one of them. If anything you are making the decision to let the universe decide. You have no control in who will be president because its really quite random. That is one of the main issues I have with voting 3rd party. You pretty much have to throw a coin in the air then depend on the rest of the American public to decide. The randomness makes the control freak in me twitch.
Excellent point but look at it this way and hypothetically.
At a recent conference for third parties, Ron Paul(traditional republicans) and Nader as well as a McKinny (green party), a Barr representative(libertarian), and Chuck Baldwin (constitution party) all discussed the issue of election laws and the difficulties in getting third parties on the ballot.
Now, lets say Ron Paul who gave his endorsement to third parties, were to run with Bob Barr the Libertarian candidate. Now Paul pulled some pretty monster numbers as far as fund raising and grass roots styled campaign go. They would not win but it is guaranteed that they would siphon enough votes away from McCain to ensure an Obama win.
The same might be said if Nader and Kucinich were to run on a ticket as it would spell disaster for Democrats as it did back in 2000, thus ensuring a McCain win.
Now while I advocate that third parties start from the dirt up and establish influence in local offices, be it state congressional seats, mayors, or even dog catchers in order to familiarize people with a party brand name. There is also something to be said for the top down method as described above as if people realize that small numbers of people can have a big influence, say 5% nationwide, then it would also help familiarize people with a party brand name.
Lets say hypothetically again that the new "America Party" offered people a choice of running either of the two tickets mentioned above(American Party primaries). Do you think this would gain the attention and respect of the establishment parties?
I've voted 3rd party in the past...and remember co-workers and relatives getting mad at me for "wasting a vote", and helping the "worst" candidate to get elected...
But, then again...no matter who we vote for, somebody we know is sure to not like it...
I'm starting to look now at how close it's going to be in my state for Obama/McCain. If it looks like a "landslide" for one or the other, then I'll vote my 3rd party guy. On the other hand, if it looks like a real close race, I might have to vote for my 2nd choice, lest the worst man win...and I get blamed for it. (again!)...
You are a member of an independent 3rd party (for the sake of this discussion it doesn't matter which one) Being a realist, you aren't naive enough to believe your candidate could actually get elected. Everyone knows it's going to be either Obama, or McCain, and not who you want.
Do you...
A. Vote for your candidate anyway, knowing he/she can't win. You want to "make a protest statement" with your vote. You want to let everyone know what you think..."you'll go down fighting"...
or...
B. Vote for either Obama or McCain, picking the one who you believe is the "next best" candidate, after the one who you really want. This way, you believe the worst candidate won't win by default, (because you have "thrown away a vote" on a non-winner. If enough independant voters do this, the worst candidate might get elected...)...
PS: Yes, I am an independant. And yes, I am asking myself these same questions....
Thanks,
Bud
I don't make protest votes, I vote for who I feel is the best candidate for the job. If a minority of people agree with me, it doesn't change my mind or my vote. I'm not interested in voting for the winner... I'm interested in voting for the person who I feel is in the best position to fill the position.
When you choose to vote for the lesser of two evils, you wind up voting for the evil of the two lessers.
I would ask the same question of those who live in states that historically are going to vote with the same party like ID or MA. If you are a Democrat in ID, or a Republican in MA, are you planning on wasting your vote since you won't be voting for the winner in your state?
I would ask the same question of those who live in states that historically are going to vote with the same party like ID or MA. If you are a Democrat in ID, or a Republican in MA, are you planning on wasting your vote since you won't be voting for the winner in your state?
I wish people would quit "framing the argument" by starting with the idea that voting 3rd party is "wasting your vote". The point of voting 3rd party is even if that person doesn't win, that vote will be counted and will be shown in all official and unofficial totals. Mass media and people cannot ignore 3rd party votes if a large percentage of voters do that. Don't believe me? Do you remember what happened to Gore in 2000? Yes, people are STILL talking about 3rd party votes eight years after!
If enough people vote 3rd party, NO ONE will be able to ignore the implications...
I held my nose and voted for Bush, twice, and look where that got us. Once again, we are presented with two candidates I just simply cannot get behind and know we will get deeper into trouble AGAIN if I vote for them. Do you know what the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting different outcomes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/qu...ins133991.html. I simply refuse to do (B) and expect things to get better!!!
C. Vote defensively. What ever party appears will win control of the Legislature, vote the other party to the Presidency. That way, uncontrolled power, like we had in 2000, won't be duplicated. Make parties work together to get anything done.
This is also my strategy. I will look at my congressional district and my state's polls for the president, and vote in such a way as to achieve a balance of power in government, which may include a write-in for either the congressional vote or the presidential vote, whichever one looks more hopeless based on my preferences.
"Next best" is too generous, it is certainly a choice between the lesser of two evils.
Most likely I will have to vote McCain, mainly to offset the likely democratic majority in Congress (don't want to be taxed out of existence, which is what they will try to do, and I live in a swing state for the presidency so my vote may actually count), and write-in "monetary policy reform" in the place of the two bought-out dunces running for the House in my district. There are no senatorial races in my state.
I would really encourage people not to look at the presidential vote in isolation, but to look at the balance of power in government as a whole.
One-party rule, with acquiescence from the other party, has been a disaster over the past eight years, and it won't do any good to repeat the exercise from the other side of the coin.
We need balance, even grid-lock: the less they do, the better ... few laws but good ones.
In 1996 I voted Libertarian as a protest vote against Dole, while honorable, was forced on me as a registered GOP'per.
In 2004 I voted Libertarian as a protest vote against Bush whom I did vote for in 2000. I have friends over in that sand hell. The cost in dollars and dead and crippled soldiers kills me. I wasnt going to vote for a liberal Democrat.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
