Ill say Ive pretty much always voted Libertarian, or at least voted for freedom(back before i knew what a libertarian was) sometimes that has meant a Democrat, sometimes a republican (more often than dem, but both parties are about equal in their distaste of freedom) but i have no ties to either party.
As Ive said I vote for whomever I feel would best represent me as a Citizen. The candidates stand on issues that are important to me, as well as their stand regarding issues that are not important to me.
As for the usefulness of my Other vote:
I dont think there is a better way that I could cast my vote than for a 3rd party candidate.
I do not believe that there is a better Vote I could cast for my country and my fellow Citizens than a 3rd party vote.
I believe that unless we break ourselves out of the Rep/Dem 2 part loop the country is in trouble.
The 2 parties are extremely similar in most ways, they currently have a handful of differing opinions and positions but for the majority of issues they are only differences are a matter of degrees.
Both have abandoned us as a People, they are built around keeping themselves in power, not preserving the constitution. They are not concerned with me outside of getting my Vote to keep them in power.
For the most part the Party out of power defines itself not by what it has to offer, not what it will do better or differently but instead it defines itself by trying to destroy the other side. And our media plays right into their hands.
There is no better service that I can do for my country than to do everything I can to break the cycle of decline that the 2 party system has us entrenched in.
I cannot tell you how often I hear "throwing away your vote" or "your voting for candidate X is a vote for Candidate Y", or "Voting for candidate X is useless" or "Candidate X has no chance, I guess ill vote for candidate Y who I don't really like"
The worst part is that these comments usually come from people that agree with me and my belief that the 2 party system is a curse, and that we need change. Sadly they are only helping to perpetuate the current system and are enabling that system to continue to exist for much much longer than it should, which by my count has been far too long already.
The candidates WANT us to believe that the 2 party system is a good thing, they have done everything they can to continue that belief through the Media and IMHO the education system. RealGun and several others seem to have bought into this theory. You state that an other vote "can do more harm than good"
My thoughts are the exact opposite. A vote for the status quo can and will do more harm than good. Giving them the approval of my vote indicates to the politicians that I agree with them and that I agree with the messed up system we currently live.
Just think where we would be right now if everyone whos said "Candidate X has no chance, I guess ill vote for candidate Y who I don't really like" actually voted for the candidate they really supported. What would the country look like if each and everyone of those people voted for the candidate they felt would best to the job, not against the worse candidate of the 2 that have been paraded in front of us as 'the candidates'
I have been doing ALOT of thinking lately about who will get my vote. I feel that this and the next election are two of the most important elections this country has ever seen. There is a stark difference between the two 'viable' (and i say that with distain) candidates and their opinions regarding the War we are currently in.
For the past 20 some years we have been attacked time and time again by Islamic militants bent on the destruction of our way of life. Until 9/11 we have ignored this war; this World War that has been waged against us.
My thinking has brought be to the conclusion that I will be voting for GWB. He is the first administration that has taken the threat seriously, sadly it took the deaths of over 3000 people to really get them to understand this, but they now do seem to understand and are acting accordingly. I do not hear anyone else even close to the level of understanding that the GWB administration has: We are in a Fight for our existence, lose this fight and we may very well lose everything we have ever cared about.
This is WW4, the ultimate trump card. I can say all I want about GWBs stand on personal freedom, the constitution, guns, religion, taxes, increased government, etc.; but his understanding and pursuit of those who wish to destroy us trumps it all.
Believe me once this war is won I will do my best to Vote to get the damage GWB has done corrected and reversed but for now he is the candidate that most closely matches my feelings regarding the most important issue I will probably ever face on any given November 7th.
Michael W N.
-aka Murrie
