Doing Our Homework
Every city has a better restaurant than Chili’s, The Olive Garden or McDonald’s. Who knows about it? The people who live there. There might be a better hardware store, record shop, or place to get your car fixed, but you’ll never know it.
Unless you do your homework. Ask around. Google. See what else is out there. Give them a try. You may find that thing that is better. And then you’ll want to support it. One conversation, one dollar, one choice to go here and not there. These are our simple votes against the landscape of our domination.
I’m ashamed to say I just started doing my homework tonight, with 14 days to go before the Presidential election. I want to help you do yours. Let’s all take half an hour tonight and spend five minutes on each of these sites. Read their stances on the issues. Find someone you might be able to vote FOR, something besides the lesser of two evils. It’s not a wasted vote if you can sleep well for casting it.
These people won’t win, not this year, but they’re each trying to make this country a better place. For that we owe them five minutes of our time to hear what they have to say. There are more than two people running for President, so let’s do our homework. You may be surprised. (I was.)
Are there others we need to know about?
October 20th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I’m not sure if Ron Paul is officially on any ballots still, but he’ll still get write-in votes from his supporters.
October 21st, 2008 at 4:40 am
“…they’re each trying to make this country a better place.”
That’s giving Cynthia McKinney an awful lot of credit.
Good post. I got fed up about a month ago with supporting the “lesser of two evils” and did exactly that–research the candidates (since the media and the Republicrats shut them out of the mainstream like the debates). I will be voting for Bob Barr this November. GO THIRD PARTY!
October 21st, 2008 at 4:50 am
mike huckabee!!!! mike huckabee!!!!! mike huckabee!!!!
i’ve been more and more aware, especially since the LAST election, that i don’t want to opt for the lesser of two evils … if i don’t like the partisan options, i’ll write-in. if i can’t find a suitable candidate, i will abstain. american politics are not my priority; the gospel of christ and the glory of god are my priority. i won’t conform to what they give me simply because it’s the most convenient choice. i’ll make a new way if i have to.
October 21st, 2008 at 5:44 am
I’m thinking Bob Barr, too. He doesn’t seem like a nice person, but if we can send a message to the major parties that we desire smaller government, less foreign intervention, and more freedom at home… I’m all for it.
October 21st, 2008 at 7:18 am
I too am tired of the two-party system and trying to decide which candidate out of the two that I will give my vote to. Especially considering that neither of them are ideal. So I am starting to wonder if it is a betrayal of my ethics to “throw away” my vote on the lesser of two evils instead of voting for a candidate that truly does represent what I would like in the White House.
October 21st, 2008 at 7:37 am
I’m torn between Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr. I voted for the Constitution Party candidate in ‘04, but since then my political views have shifted into this middle ground between them and the Libertarian Party.
I don’t think Barr was a good choice for the Libs, because (1) his political history isn’t very compatible with Libertarian Party ideals, so they’re having a hard time selling him to their own party members, and (2) he’s just got that “creepy used car salesman who walks around the park offering candy to little kids” look to him.
On the other hand, I’ve recently learned that Baldwin failed to get enough petition signatures to be listed on the ballot, and is now only a write-in option. I’m not sure how (if at all) that would effect electoral college votes, but it will severely limit his votes to only those die-hards (compared to the dissillusioned in PA who want neither a Democrat nor a Republican, and will pick “someone else” on the list out of spite).
Either way (and this is what I’m telling everybody), I won’t vote for a blatant oath-breaker. See… when inaugurated, the President swears an oath before God to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.” Looking at McCain and Obama, neither one seems like they’d work too hard to fulfill that oath–if nothing else, they both claim they’ll do things “once in office” that the President has no Constitutional authority to do. So regardless of whether it’s due to ignorance or malice, neither one is qualified (in my mind) for the position.
I can’t change the minds of 60 million people, but “as for me and my house….”
October 21st, 2008 at 7:38 am
LOL @ Chris on the McKinney line. She’s crazy.
I’m thinking Barr, but I’m wishing Ron Paul was still in it.
October 21st, 2008 at 7:41 am
Oops! Here’s a correction and an addendum:
CORRECTION: Chuck Baldwin wasn’t able to get in the ballot in Pennsylvania. He’s on the ballots in many other states, though.
ADDENDUM: OnTheIssues.org has a “Vote Match” quiz that helps you figure out which Presidential candidate(s) you most closely align with. It’s not perfect, but it was very enlightening the first time I used it.
October 21st, 2008 at 9:13 am
I’m not a very political person, but please do not vote for Bob Barr or Cynthia McKinney. They are simply not fit for the job of president. Either of the two main party candidates would do a far better job.
As for the other Third Party candidates, I can’t tell you much, but I *do* know we’d be better off with Obama or McCain over those two.
October 21st, 2008 at 10:55 am
So that vote match quiz was pretty cool, and my results were totally not what I would’ve expected… guess my homework’s been weak to this point…
October 21st, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Can I write in your name, Andy?
October 21st, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I don’t match up with ANYONE, third-party candidates included. This is a small dilemma…
October 21st, 2008 at 3:05 pm
That quiz told me I was a moderate conservative, and then told me that Barack Obama agreed with me the most, with a 35% likeness. Oh well, good thing that I am not capable of voting because of some filing errors with my registration.
October 21st, 2008 at 4:52 pm
andy, if you didn’t have that attitude, you would have never found out that chinese doughnuts could tatse so good.
October 21st, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I plan on finding out how to write in a RONPAUL candidate on a computer this year.
October 21st, 2008 at 7:26 pm
yeah except in this analogy, you find out where the good restaurant is but you never get to enjoy what it offers. in the end you have to choose from the chilis or mcdonald’s menu. so do your homework, but don’t fool yourself. a vote for any of these 5 is a vote for obama at this point….i guess if you support nader or mckinney, you can’t lose.
October 21st, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Seth H.: That’s it–Osenga/Webb 2016. If we start campaigning now, maybe we can get enough momentum going…
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:00 am
@chris:
That’s the attitude that got us to where we are today–only two choices. That argument is a tired cop-out and a fraud. There are plenty of left-leaning voters who would probably vote Obama who are fed up as well.
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:07 am
@Chris:
thx for the response (at 5am no doubt!). i’m really speaking more to the restaurant analogy. of course there are more than two choices. never said otherwise. but on January 20, you’ll be choosing from either mccain’s or obama’s policies…or menu if you like restaurants better. on 11/4, you have a lot to choose from. 5 new restaurants that you won’t get to eat in, or 2…1 of which you will. that’s all i was trying to convey. hope this was less fraudulent.
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:36 am
Good point Chris. The reality is that you DO only have 2 choices if you want your vote to count. Ask the people in Florida in 2000 who voted for Nader instead of Gore. Do you think they got anything out of their vote? Even if only 500 of them voted for the candidate who had a chance to win and agreed with MOST of their ideas we would have had a different President for the past 8 years. Editorial note: I am a conservative/libertarian and am glad Bush won. This is just an example of why third party politics usually backfires on the people in the third party (or 4th or 5th or 6th) Good discussion though.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Manders - I was thinking Osenga/Cerveny, but I guess Webb works fine as well.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Seth H.: I was thinking Webb b/c of Mockingbird and The Ringing Bell (”I Don’t Want to Fight”–how’s that for some foreign policy). If we can populate the cabinet with Square Pegs, though, that’d be stellar.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I really like Chuck Baldwin, but he’s not on the NC ballot. NC’s only one of two states where he’s not on the ballot or eligible for write-in status, so guess I’m stuck with Barr. Though anyone in NC should check out Mike Munger for the governor race, he’s a political sciences prof. at Duke and running for the Libertarian party.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:03 am
We really need some kind of “ranking vote” system, where we designate a first, second, and third choice. That way I can vote for the third party candidate who most closely matches my own views, and still express in some form that I prefer one of the “major 2″ candidates over the other.
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:24 am
Maybe just a single vote with space for a short essay on why you voted for this candidate instead of the candidate you really liked. Kind of like a true/false test where you have to explain your answer. I am so tired of politics right now. I wish we could just fast forward a few weeks and get this mess over with.
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:21 am
I’m not sure Webb would accept our nomination… he’s the only public figure that seems to be okay with not voting at all…
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:31 am
This is excellent. Did you know there’s a third party debate tonight at 9:00 pm ET in Washington, DC? C-SPAN may not carry it live, but you’ll be able to listen to it online in their archives, I think.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
A third party vote is not a vote for Obama any more than it is a vote for McCain. Your vote is for the one for whom you voted. In the absence of an acceptable candidate, a withheld vote is not a dishonor, either. If you are offered the choice between Nero and Titus, the proper response is “neither.”
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:21 pm
on the test, i scored 58% for barr and 53% for mccain… guess that means i’m going to stick w/ mccain. (though, obviously, none of the would really speak for me…)
don’t get me wrong, i’m not a fan of the “only two voices” but i’m pragmatic… it’s going to be hard for any 3rd party to score president before the fill some house or senate seats. i’ll vote 3rd party for those positions (and local positions), but i’d rather have that big vote count for the one that’s closest…
and for anyone flirting w/ an O vote, here’s a reasoned plea to vote otherwise…
October 24th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Hey Andy,
Its been a while since you left a gear post. When you have the time I would love to see a pedal board, guitar, or recording set up.
October 25th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Come on lets be real in this serious election.
Even though you may be more aligned with one of these other candidates, you are throwing your vote away. It means nothing if a third party gets .002 percent of the votes. The obsession with third party seems to border some sort of mental illness. Sorry, but how many times has Mr. Keyes ran only to lose? I use to like the guy.
October 25th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
You know, I’ve been feeling really uneasy about having to choose between the two candidates, I got to the point where I didn’t know how I could choose either. Thanks for the third party elbow nudge, Andy, I will spend some time tomorrow checking them out.
October 30th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Ben:
I know I am late to this game. I also know that this has been said before - but I really don’t think voting for a third party is “throwing away my vote”. If I thought of the election as a horse race and was voting for the person I think will win - then a third party vote would indeed be thrown away. But I think of it differently. I am resigned to the fact that Obama or McCain will be president (Ok - Obama will). I disagree with both of those guys on a lot of things but I think that either one will do a decent job and will probably do a better job than the current administration. So the issue for me is not really one of those candidates over the other. The issue for me is that we are given other options.
I don’t think a third party candidate is going to win anytime soon, but the more popular they get, the more people are going to listen to what they have to say. It wasn’t that long ago that Ross Perot was included in the main debates. I think a strong showing for third party candidates - any third party candidates - will send a message that we want more voices in the mix. That is why Ron Paul’s original endorsement was just for any third party candidate (and eventually for Chuck Baldwin).
I just think we are so used to looking at things like this election as betting on a football game in a Vegas sportsbook. You only win if your team wins. I voted for a third party candidate not because I was trying to pick the winner - but because I want better options in the future. And we will never get to those better options if we don’t start with some small steps in that direction.