I think I'm Voting 3rd Party This Year...talk me out of it?

I have always been a Democrat & believed that a 3rd party vote is ultimately wasted & that it can lead to someone like Bush getting elected or reelected. So I never considered voting 3rd party, Independent, whatever. I remember that in the last election, this one friend that voted Nader had like people stop speaking to her & all this jazz.

But I just don't think things are really going to change very much with Kerry. A very uninspired candidate choice in my opinion. I don't get a read on what issues he is passionate about or who he really is. It's like the Democrats chose him because he was the least likely to threaten to change the status quo & scare off voters in Middle America.

I watched the debate between the Green Party candidate & the Libertarian
candidate on C-span & their reasoning as to why "risk your vote" on a 3rd party candidate hit home. If our choices are always Mr. Status-Quo & Mr. Status-Quo-lite, and our voting choice becomes not who is most suited to the job but who is the least sucky, then nothing ever is going to change in this country. If the amount of people who vote 3rd Party grows every year, it will send a message that a lot of people are sick and tired of the same old business-as-usual and that they want real change.

On the other hand, I'm afraid that I will waste my vote, Bush will win, and two years from now I will be cursing the day I voted Green.

I'm wondering if anybody can give me a good reason not to vote 3rd party and go with Kerry...unless you're Repbulican, in which case I guess you'll be talking me into it.

Originally posted by Cassie Clay
On the other hand, I'm afraid that I will waste my vote, Bush will win, and two years from now I will be cursing the day I voted Green.

Spend some quality time with yourself on this one. Only you know what you can live with.

Originally posted by Cassie Clay
I have always been a Democrat & believed that a 3rd party vote is ultimately wasted & that it can lead to someone like Bush getting elected or reelected. So I never considered voting 3rd party, Independent, whatever. I remember that in the last election, this one friend that voted Nader had like people stop speaking to her & all this jazz.

Cassie, I'm truly glad that you are asking questions about this. The most important issue in this campaign is actually pretty simple: Where is this country going, and can we turn it around?

Funny, this was what got Clinton elected...

Anyway, I'll tell you up front that I am a progressive and am voting for Kerry. One thing I'm actually pretty suprised by is the number of folks I talk to who say what you just have, that they aren't sure what Kerry's policies are, that he's not a strong candidate, and such. The truth is, that's exactly what Bush wants you to think. Think of how much mudslinging this campaign has seen. In actuality, most people don't think about the candidate's records because the media has been completely cowed by the Republican's somewhat brilliant strategy: Make the election about something other than the issues, because Bush loses on every issue, every time. Please read on.

But I just don't think things are really going to change very much with Kerry. A very uninspired candidate choice in my opinion. I don't get a read on what issues he is passionate about or who he really is. It's like the Democrats chose him because he was the least likely to threaten to change the status quo & scare off voters in Middle America.

There is a lot of truth to this. I personally voted for Dean in the primary, but most people voted Kerry because he had the best chance of beating Bush. I think maybe that is true, but we'll never really know.

Still, I'll put in my two cents here. If you look objectively at Kerry's voting record, one thing that the Bushies say rings sort of true: He is among the most liberal of all senators. What that means is he has a record of voting against big business and tobacco, for environmental regulations and gun control, and in general votes very democratic on many issues. I have a lot of problems with some of his votes, but any veteran senator short of Ted Kennedy's record would have problems under such scrutiny. They are all politicians, and most cannot be trusted.

His policies now are far from uninspired. He has already proposed many changes to existing foreign and domestic policy, but you haven't heard them over the Swift Boat Veterans smear campaign or the fake CBS memo fiasco. Make no mistake: this is EXACTLY what the Bushies want.

I think you should look long and hard at Kerry's actual policies. While he's not as exciting as many other candidates have been, I honestly think after a lot of research that they are pretty solid. His failure is that he's allowing the campaign to get bogged down in mud and it may be too late. As long as there are voters like you, however, I think there's hope.

I watched the debate between the Green Party candidate & the Libertarian
candidate on C-span & their reasoning as to why "risk your vote" on a 3rd party candidate hit home. If our choices are always Mr. Status-Quo & Mr. Status-Quo-lite, and our voting choice becomes not who is most suited to the job but who is the least sucky, then nothing ever is going to change in this country. If the amount of people who vote 3rd Party grows every year, it will send a message that a lot of people are sick and tired of the same old business-as-usual and that they want real change.

I have agreed to this sentiment for a long, long time. The problem is that in reality, there is not currently a third party. Technically there is, but only technically. You know as well as I that a Green party vote is like throwing your ballot in the trash. In other elections I might say voting green is a good idea, but the other stark reality is that this discussion is something we cannot afford to be having this year, unless you honestly think this country can afford 4 years of a lame-duck Bush presidency.

I want there to be 5 or six parties on the national stage. I really do. Neither candidate supports many things I believe in, but this is a crucial time for America in that our president is running the country into the ground faster than anyone thought possible. You must know this if you're even considering voting Green.

John Kerry has solid policies that I will vote to support. You may not agree that his policies are solid, but it can't be any worse than it already is and will almost certainly be better. This may equate to "anyone but Bush," but this is our country we're talking about, and I feel like this administration has been so horrid that maybe that's reason enough to vote Kerry.

Take your time deciding, but please vote for someone. The one thing that cannot be argued is this: If you don't want Bush to be president, then voting for anyone other than Kerry (or not voting) is the worst thing you could possibly do. That is stone cold fact.

On the other hand, I'm afraid that I will waste my vote, Bush will win, and two years from now I will be cursing the day I voted Green.

I'm afraid, too. I hope you won't. Think of it this way: if Bush is re-elected, your third party won't be any closer to becoming influential in the way it wishes to become, and on top of that your country will be run by someone who stands counter to everything you believe in. Let's get this guy out of office and get moving in a different direction so we have the luxury of entertaining the third party movement.

I'm wondering if anybody can give me a good reason not to vote 3rd party and go with Kerry...unless you're Repbulican, in which case I guess you'll be talking me into it.

I gave it a try, and am working on some informational posts for you undecideds out there. Meantime, take a good hard look at Kerry's policies and then ask questions about them. Asking questions is the most patriotic thing you can do.

One major issue for me, as a woman, is the fact that a woman's right to choose will most likely be taken away if Bush is in office for another 4 years. It is highly likely that anat least one other Supreme Court justice will retire (Lord help us if there are two!) and Bush will appoint another conservative. Being that Roe vs. Wade is currently supported 5 to 4, it will be overturned. Declaring that a fetal embryo is a human being will open the door to banning birth control pills and other like hormones (because in rare instances, they can cause fertilized ova to be shed), not to mention slam the door shut on embryonic stem cell research for a very long time. Taking away a woman's right to abortion, as well as access to the most reliable form of birth control will set the women's movement back a hundred years. We are not living in a world where people practice abstinence and condoms are not foolproof. Many women will be forced to bear unwanted children and bear the brunt of the situation. Many will seek illegal and unsafe abortions. This just can't happen. To ban abortion is to force one brand of religious beliefs on an entire population, and that is wrong.

I would also hold off on making a final decision until closer to election day. Watch the debates--I think that they should really give you some insight into who Kerry is. If he can't win a debate against George Bush of all people, then he shouldn't be president. Kerry won many debates on a national level on the Yale debate team and has been called one of the finest debaters ever to attend Yale. George Bush, well, he threw a great frat party...

If today's speech in PA was evidence as to what will be coming up, I think that Kerry really has focused his message and will really clarify his positions (you can read the speech here: www.johnkerry.com... ). I think that part of the problem was that there were so many things to go after Bush for and it was hard to really pick one thing! Seriously, the Republicans were also successful in diverting the nations attention to his Vietnam record and away from much of what he has been saying all along. They established him as being indecisive and talked over his explanations for why he initially supported the decision to go to Iraq.

There are plenty of things going wrong with the country and this should be Kerry's fight to win. I think that the Republicans have fought a very emotional, but not very truthful, campaign and have manipulated half of the country into believing such untruths as ousting Saddam was in the name of punishing those responsible for 9/11, America is safer because of invading Iraq, the deficit really isn't a problem, medicare vouchers are a good thing for seniors, religion has a place in public policy--the list goes on and on.

I can't tell you how to vote, but the reality is that we don't live in a country that has a viable third party. If you live in a swing state or a state were the vote is too close to call, a vote for Nader may put Bush in office. If you live in a solidly blue state and Kerry still hasn't won your vote by election day, then perhaps using your vote to send a message won't backfire. Otherwise, think about the consequences of four more years of Bush and ask yourself if it is worth it.