Independents and Third Party Members

A vote for an independent is obviously a wasted vote.I've been alive and aware long enough to definately tell the differance between Dems and Repubs.There isn't enough room on these threads to lay them out,but I suggest some research on the parties and their members.

 

There is no such thing as a wasted vote unless one chooses not to vote at all

 

i feel like i've thought about it a lot in the past few days, and i asked a friend who identifies himself as such earlier.

i think i might be a libertarian.

i agree with the democrats socially, that the goverment should decide for you, that you should have the freedom of choice to do as you please when it comes to you as an individual.

but i don't agree with the democrats economically. i don't like the idea of big government, and the idea of the government taking of the banks (although that seems to be happening now) and things of that nature. where is obama going to get all this money for the things he promises?

but i don't agree with the repubs. socially. and i don't trust them enough to agree with them economically. i feel like the republican party is essentially, now, the neoconservative party, and thus will propagate a larger government.

i feel like the states should have their power as mandated by the 10th amendment. i feel very much, actually, about the states having the power they deserve. i feel like federal government needs to be as small as pragmatically possible, and should only be allowed to make decisions for the states if it comes to emergency or crisis.

i don't know at all if those views make me a libertarian at all or not. i try to be careful with words and labels. i'm not trying to conform, i'm simply trying to figure out where i fit in this country, and if there's a group of people out there that share these same ideals than i would be happy to join them.

 

What you are describing sounds just like the constitutional party. http://www.constitutionparty.com/

 

i think that you're right in clueing into the fact that every political group or 'party' has a social agenda. i've never thought it was very bright to ignore that social agenda. that's one of the reasons i never went for the libertarians. in many ways their social agenda seems to be retro, and as a woman that definitely disturbed me. and anyways, i'll never be comfortable voting for anyone i feel will try to turn back the clock on women's rights. for example, the thing about ron paul is he goes and runs as a republican (big red flag), he's religious, he's anti-choice...and i'm supposed to believe he won't abuse his position and power as chief executive to push his own personal social agenda through? yeah, right! that would be a first. fiscal conservatism is one thing, but social conservatism is entirely another.

 

hmm, too conservative, socially, for me.

maybe i just don't know. i went and read the libertarian "platform," and a lot of it i agreed with, but there was some i didn't.

i guess i'll never truly know.

i still would like to figure it out before election day though...

 

That's kind of where I am too. I've voted for Nader twice, because I just couldn't stomach the democratic nominees. But what it allowed to happen was 4 more years of republican rule.

This year I am voting democrat, since Hillary isn't on the ticket. Not because I think Obama would do great things but because he isn't a republican.

And McCain constantly bringing up that the democrats have held a Senate majority for two years is a joke. Lieberman is counted as one of those democrats...I think we all know what he is in actuality. I think it's time for a real democratic majority.

 

Where have the republican's gotten the money for their wars and bailouts? The republican soundbite that democrats are for big government and more taxes is just that a PR soundbite. They don't differ much from the republican's except in their acknowledgement that individuals deserve individual rights and the respect in order to live their own lives, protected by the Constitution.

 

So burnt--did your man get elected?

 

nope
I voted Kerry last time around. Not because I liked him but I hate Bush. I have been thinking about it and I most likely will vote for Obama, Due to the fact Mccain is no better than Bush. I truely wish that a third party actually would stand a chance, but as its been said they have no chance and most likely never will. The sad thing is that so many people only know of a two party system and have no clue that there are more than two partys, kinda sad actually.

 

Well the way Nader ran his campaign this time, has more or less left him off the radar. Where was he during the primaries? The only mailers I get from him are asking for donations and talk very little about his platform.

Paul looked hopeful as an alternative in the early days of the election but when after the primaries he chose not to run as a third party candidate where were we supposed to place our backing?

In this day of environmental hysteria the Green Party could have been a player, but they haven't been very vocal on any of the issues.

 

i have no clue who i'm voting for, they all are spitting bullshit to the masses IMO. i think i'm just gonna leave the US for a while, travel abroad.

 

i think i'm going to write in Ron Paul out of solidarity.

i'm pretty sure obama is going to win, so that's a plus for my social agenda, but i still don't want to feel responsible for obamanomics.

someone tried to convince me "a vote for mccain is a vote against obama," and whereas i don't agree with obama economically (but i do, for the most part, socially), i just flat out don't agree/like john mccain.

 

i think the Nader camp just hasn't had the support they did in 2000. they really went for it then, with the Green Party backing him with everything they could muster...and when we ended up with bush the people who were behind him ran out of steam. it's important to people to know their candidate has some chance of getting elected. nobody wants to throw their vote away. people like paul always have the support of the religious right to count on, and they are well organized, well funded and tireless. until the green party can count on that same kind of base, they will continue to be a bit player.

 

I am not sure Paul as an doctor had the religious right behind him. I admired his stance on protecting the power of the constitution. I didn't agree with everything he said and I don't agree with his economic stance today.

Too bad there isn't anyone I can truly support. Instead I guess I have to use my vote strategically. Vote em in, then vote em out is my motto of the day, don't let them get complacent.

 

the religious right does support ron paul. they support other candidates as well, and there are others they may prefer, but they do support him. in much the same way liberals will often go with the most liberal candidate in a race if they can't get exactly what they want, conservatives often do the same. just imagine who a right-to-lifer would prefer - paul or obama. nuff said.

i think the reason paul and his compatriots want strict constitutionalism (regardless of what they may say) is that they resist change and seek control. quite frankly i think their vision is a throwback to the feudal days. they think if they can carve this country back up into sections they can rule in their own little fiefdoms as they wish without a federal government enforcing things like equal rights, reproductive choice or nondiscriminatory practices. if they can get people like me to buy off on the pure constitutionalism, the white guy gets control again...and it's BACK TO THE 50's!!! AND BEYOND!!! :tongue:

 

Yeah it pains me that the Equal Rights Amendment still hasn't been ratified. Maybe the grandkids will see it happen.

It only needs three more states.

I don't think the constitution was written to protect feudal rights, I truly believe it was written in the interest of all residing here, and sought to protect their individual rights. It had flaws but it was written in such a way that it could be amended and renewed over time. For me it is the reason for this country's prosperity and promise.

And I think Ron Paul was more interested in individual protections, than he was in his own personal profit. I may be wrong. And I guess I never noticed he wasn't black. I know he was short.

I also wasn't aware of his pro-life/anti-choice stance. Thanks for filling me in. I would have thought an OBGYN would be more grounded in science, but then it's personal. And personal is where the decisions should remain.

 

the constitution was written by wealthy white male landowners and slaveholders. it was bound to be affected by their perceptions, biases and motives. it needed to be made more inclusive and it has been. as soon as women, who constitute more than half the population, are included that will be a big improvement.

their stress on individual rights had more to do with their desire to throw off any obligation to the English rulers than it did people like me. i'm sure i wasn't even on their radar nor anyone like me. these days it is not foreign powers that are the big threat to the freedom of the majority of americans, it's the privileged white male rulers of the country who maintain the status quo in myriad ways.

about paul, i just can't trust a white male baptist of the privileged class who does not personally believe in a woman's right to choose to look after my best interests no matter what he says he will do. he just doesn't share my world view, and there are alot of us that don't want to go back to the old ways. we need to continue to make government more inclusive. we need leaders who will bring new perspectives to the government.

 

so i took the ceremonial time to re-register as an unaffiliated voter.

i think i was just bored and it was really convenient (table set up outside the library).

 

Nader or Cynthia McKinney

Nader: Because of this - http://www.votenader.org/issues/

Cynthia Mckinney because of this - http://votetruth08.com/index.php/resources/campaignplatform

Basically, any candidate that doesn't buy into our current foreign policy. Not only are we less free in this country, we are less safe because of our naive, dogmatic, Pax Romana style foreign policy.

I also don't support any candidate that blatantly lies or intentionally hypes up the threat level of countries. Anyone who is wise enough to understand that Iran is not a threat based upon EVIDENCE.

I want American imperialism to end.

I want us to become less of a militant nation and more of an intellectual, peaceful, nation.

War on Drugs has to end. The movement was basically brought on by ignorance. Drugs can be very dangerous to society, but if we add in honest campaigns against its usages, and start treating addicts as VICTIMS instead of CRIMINALS than we can hope to create more individual responsibility. I also hold the belief that mankind seeks out mind altering substances because it is a fundamental right and urge. People have the right to explore their own consciousness and do with their bodies as they please - You can be a 'druggie' and still be a contributing member of society.

There is a multitude of evidence that suggests that, with proper set and setting, mind altering substances can have huge benefits for the individuals psychological well being. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK0RRTG2WWY)

Cut spending that we use on our military and use this money to better our own country.

Basically, anything that will empower us to become more empowered individuals. Be that education, right to choice, etc

Also, for the third parties to gain more spotlight, we have to struggle to get ourselves in the spotlight. If we say things like, "Nah, it's hopeless... no one knows about the alternatives"... well, the only reason for this is due to this type of attitude. The more votes they get, and the more people discuss the support of these candidates proudly, confidently, and openly the more awareness will be generated.

There are MILLIONS of people that DON'T vote in this country and that is mostly due to the two-party system... there is very little choice. The more awareness that these candidates get, the better. Hopefully, the movement spreads and is able to get a proper foothold in American politics.