Comments on: Saturday Music Jammie Third Party Musing

By: sweetleaf

sweetleaf — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:15:10 +0000

well i am for, principle before personality. i also think obama stands on his own merit, and is not necessarily an evil here (as in lesser evil). i think he has integrity – even if he is not, (even close to) comprehensive of my own personal views.
yes, we the people are who are responsible to change the 2 party monopoly, but it has to be an on going active process, starting now for the next elections – after the one on tuesday. a third party will not succeed the day of the elections…only in the vote, but in the precedent of the efforts for it’s platform made before election day.
the vote is a call for a common sense action, for the better of outcomes, that we are all responsible for. voting is not necessarily a time for self righteousness, but for what is righteous – so i will vote for obama.
thats my 2 cents and worth about that, but thanks for asking what my thoughts are, and especially, thanks for the post, it’s taken me to the memories of times deep in feel, rocking the bones of my being. (i’ve been hanging on youtube with ccr and john fogerty while i type this…soul nice)

By: Malicia

Malicia — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:15:22 +0000

I’ve always been partial to “Bad Moon Rising”

But thanks for the post. I don’t know anyone admitting to voting 3rd party in my real life friends, but I have seen many online who talk about voting 3rd party. You have helped me articulate my argument against it.

By: cmcneill

cmcneill — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:06:28 +0000

Nezua, you and Cero may be right about this. It pains me in many ways. I can’t shake the impression that it is so only because we have allowed it, but allow it we have, and now this is it. There really is no other choice than between the two major party candidates.

So WHY is the one guy I can really get behind without reservation always one of those “third party” guys?

Interesting reading lately of Naomi Wolf’s newest tome, which makes it pretty clear how difficult, if not impossible, it is to run for [ANY] office if you’re not “in” with the Rs or the Ds. Which makes me think that if we don’t change this, it will ALWAYS be a choosing of the lesser of evils.

What kind of real choice is that?

In the end, on Tuesday I’ll likely vote for Obama as the less scary guy. Still, I would like to have heard him once say that when he’s President our phone conversations will no longer be listened to, our e-mails will be private, we won’t do mass roundup raids and incarcerate the undocumented, we’ll close Guantanamo and won’t torture – anyone – anywhere.

There are a lot of things that I’d like to have heard. But haven’t. And I don’t expect now to hear them. And that is extraordinarily sad.

By: JP

JP — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 21:12:48 +0000

I have no preponderance of evidence. I can’t see into the hearts of the candidates and r-e-a-l-l-y know. All I have is the gut feeling that should Obama win, fewer people will die. THAT is good enough for me and I can think of no “grand gesture” that trumps that vote.

By: Cero

Cero — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:06:35 +0000

Well, I voted for Nader twice, in 1996 in Oregon, where Clinton was going to win and I wanted to push him left, and in 2000 in Louisiana, where Bush was going to win by a large margin no matter what.

I don’t regret it because in neither case did *my* vote put the Republicans in. But I had also been massively heckled for voting Democratic in earlier elections as opposed to third party, so partly I was guilt tripped or something.

But now my theory is much more solidified. Third parties are cool in local elections, any time they have a real chance of winning. But these third party Presidential campaigns are shots in the dark and that is why they are not strategically a good idea. It is much better to put energy toward pushing Left the one who *does* get elected, or doing other grass roots types of work.