Friend in Trouble

[HeartIsAching]

People who were voting for a third party in a two party system were responsible for putting George Bush into office.

And Billy-Bob Clinton, for that matter.

[vashti]

And Billy-Bob Clinton, for that matter.

You can't seriously compare those two elections. It would be beyond ridiculous.

[HeartIsAching]

You can't seriously compare those two elections. It would be beyond ridiculous.

Certainly I can. If Ross Perot hadn't run and siphoned off a sizeable chunk of the conservative vote (mine, for one), there's a good chance Bush Sr. would've been re-elected. So what? Ancient history.

[Jazzersize]

People who were voting for a third party in a two party system were responsible for putting George Bush into office.

This thanked times a thousand.

The only thing a third party does is cannibalize the votes of the party most in line with its thinking.

Also Gore vs. Dubbya can't really be compared to any other election in American history. That was about as close as close gets. However, those who voted for Ross Perot were actually split almost 50/50 between choosing Clinton or Bush second. Even without Perot Clinton would have won by nearly 6 million votes.

[HeartIsAching]

This thanked times a thousand.

The only thing a third party does is cannibalize the votes of the party most in line with its thinking.

Also Gore vs. Dubbya can't really be compared to any other election in American history. That was about as close as close gets. However, those who voted for Ross Perot were actually split almost 50/50 between choosing Clinton or Bush second. Even without Perot Clinton would have won by nearly 6 million votes.

So you're a brainwashed drone. Good for you.

[misombra]

A vote for a third party isn't a vote at all.

and what is voting for one of the two major parties? a vote to f^uck up our country that's what.

[Junket]

Why bother voting then, "lesser of two evils".

I don't even want a miniscule of that responsibility.

[Jazzersize]

The country's ****ed up because it's divided and nobody wants to put on their big boy pants and work together for mutual benefit.

Life--real life, not make-believe complacent bullshit life--is a series of tough choices. You aren't going to steer the country to a better course by voting for some fringe asshole or from abstaining altogether. It's going to take more than that. Voting for the guy who might actually win and who helps your cause so that maybe someday down the road that fringe asshole who represents your beliefs actually does have a shot, well, that might just be a worthwhile endeavor. However, voting is only a tiny piece of the process. If we want a better country it's going to take more than a brief surge of political interest every four years. A whole hell of a lot more.

If you don't want to vote, fine. Don't vote. I really don't give a flying ****. And if you want to vote Nader, Perot, or whoever, well, you aren't really voting there, either. You're basically walking down to the polling station to officially state that you're abstaining from participating in the election process.

To be honest I doubt I'll be voting with the good of my country in mind any longer. Fact is, I don't give a shit about the good of my country. Who wants to give ME tax cuts? Who wants to make MY life easier? That's who will be getting my vote. I now belong to the **** You All party. Why would I want a better country for impotent cowards on the one hand and homophobic bible thumpers on the other? Me and mine, that's all that matters. Everyone else can ****ing die. Two candidates I despise, but one of them in office benefits ME slightly more than the other. That's who gets my vote, evil or not.

If I did still give two shits in hell I'd say we need to take a note from our forefathers. Our strength lies in unity, hence the goddamn name of the goddamn country. Join or die. Work together or die. That's the tough call right there, and considering we couldn't even pull it together long enough to save our credit rating I'd say that choice has been made. So **** it all.

[misombra]

it's really nice that your forefathers preached unity however the reality is there has never been unity. u.s.a. was founded on slave labor and forcing people out of their home land.

also i still do not understand your logic about voting for the two party candidates. you said you will vote for the one who is slightly more out for your interests than the other. truth is they couldn't give a flying f^uck about your interest until you're a billionaire lobbyist. either one will send your loved ones to a foreign country in which they have no business and put their lives in absolute danger. either one will tax 30% of your 8 dollar an hour job. either one will choose to help out big business over your friend or relative that's losing their home. either one will let a big company come over and tear down your loved one's home to make room for a highway or an oil pump.

so go and vote for evil. i voted for obama thinking things would change and not one thing has changed. next time i am placing my vote for 3d party. i know one of the two parties will win and i don't care. from now on i'm going to vote for somebody who believes in the same things i do and who i think will make things right so that my child doesn't grow up in some big government new world order police state.

[Jazzersize]

If Gore had won do you think he would have used 9/11 as an excuse to invade Iraq?

I don't. And that's a pretty goddamn big difference. That's trillions of dollars and countless lives right there. And that WAS an election that could have tipped a different way if people actually voted for a candidate who stood a chance at winning.

In my opinion Bush was unequivocally the greater of the two evils there, and if he hadn't been elected I think the US--hell, the world--would be better for it today.

[misombra]

i think gore would've done the same thing. i didn't think obama would bail out large banks or shut out the epa but he did. it doesn't matter what the president wants.

[IndiReloaded]

For your amusement, Grib, BC just overturned our decision for a harmonized tax.

Whatever one thinks about this as a business decision, it was a pretty good example of 'power to the people'. There are so few examples these days.

[url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/08/26/bc-hst-referendum-pst-exemptions.html]Scrapped B.C. HST will mean consumer savings - British Columbia - CBC News[/url]

[Junket]

For your amusement, Grib, BC just overturned our decision for a harmonized tax.

Whatever one thinks about this as a business decision, it was a pretty good example of 'power to the people'. There are so few examples these days.

[url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/08/26/bc-hst-referendum-pst-exemptions.html]Scrapped B.C. HST will mean consumer savings - British Columbia - CBC News[/url]

You kidding me?

Is that gribble?

[IndiReloaded]

Maybe I'm confuzzled.

[url]http://www.loveforum.net/introduce-yourself/58624-gribble.html[/url]

[Junket]

Bah. I don't browse these forums like I used to, I didn't catch that.