A vote is a vote, and never a throw away.

[IndependentVoice]

Too many times now.

Too many times have I seen people attacked for not voting for Kerry in 04, but voting for Nader. (I did not vote due to age restrictions) I bring up an old topic, not to talk about the old, its over, Bush won/cheated whatever you believe. No I mention this because I am still seeing people attacked, to this day, for voting for Nader or someone else instead of Kerry. I have a close friend who tells me she voted for Kerry and it was one of the hardest things she has ever done. She was a volunteer for Nader and asked her friend in another state to vote for Nader, and she would, in turn, vote for Kerry.

Now I say this to all of you who would attack someone who voted for someone else and blame the lost election on them, a vote is not wasted so long as it is a vote for what you believe in. Part of being free means the right to stand with someone like Nader, knowing you are going to lose, but standing with him nonetheless because you believe he is the right choice. A vote is a representation of freedom, and true freedom is being allowed to stand for what you believe in, even knowing you cannot win.

That is also what this country stands for.

[Lefty-Taylor]

1. Well put, Indie-Voice. I agree with you but you better duck ...

because the Nader haters at this site are venomous, their rhetoric vitriolic and their tone violent. They also forget all the good Nader has done for this nation. So I'm just warning you: Look out!

[IndependentVoice]

2. Thanks I thought of that when I wrote this

But I really don't care about them. People who don't have a handle on their emotions and attack others based on political decisions are the kind of people I ignore. Someone who gets mad and cannot control themselves over such a small comment have their own issues to work out withut me fighting back.

[MH1]

3. If what you believe in

is "re-electing Bush is a good thing", then not voting for Kerry was the appropriate vote for you in 2004.

We have a two party system. It sucks but that's the way it is, until someone changes the system.

That said, I don't have a problem with voters in non-swing states voting third party, if they really feel they must. I just don't get how, if a Kerry presidency is seen as better than a Bush presidency, a person would even struggle for a second with that decision.

But what I *REALLY* can't tolerate - and where I believe you will find that most of the ire against 3rd parties comes from, if you look - is when the 3rd parties and their mouthpieces LIE about and attempt to smear the Democrat as badly (or worse) than the Republicans do.

I used to support the Green Party. Between what happened in 2000 and what I saw written by sites like Counterpuke in the weeks before (and since) the 2004 election, I am now solidly a Democrat, and will not trust anything I see from the Greens again (I am also dropping my Nation subscription until they drop at least one of their major staff liars). It's really kind of a shame - I like the words they use to describe their values. I just don't like the way their behavior belies their words.

[IndependentVoice]

4. Many would struggle with that vote, I dont know if I would be able to vote

for Kerry. Just being better than Bush is not enough. Look at it like this, you have 3 people. Person #1 is in power and you hate him. Person #2 You have no love for, and while better than person #1 you still dislike him. Person #3 is not popular at all, but you like him and agree with him, and hes the only person you like. You know voting for him would be a loss, but you would rather stand for your beliefs then vote for a man you could agree with.

[Lindacooks]

5. Where does all this 'like' stuff come from?

This isn't voting for student council President or Homecoming Queen; it's for the way the world will be run.

You don't have to like anybody you vote for. You're never going to have dinner with him/her. They won't ever live next door to you, and they won't work at the same place.

What counts is where the person stands on the issues, and what will happen if the other person wins. Period.

[Ken Burch]

7. This is a Democratic Party site

You can't expect a lot of people to feel tolerant of Nader here.

I myself DON'T hate all Nader voters.

I do dislike Ralph for his bloody-minded determination to stay in the race in 2004, even when it was clear that his vote was certain to fall dramatically and that his presence as a candidate would serve no purpose.

Ralph also hurt the GREEN PARTY by staying in. If he had to support a left challenge to the Dems, he could have just campaigned for David Cobb. There was no reason for him to work to hurt THAT party as well as the Dems.

At the same time, I'm not feeling a lot of love for the tactics the Dems used against the Nader campaign in 2004. We should never have pissed away millions of dollars on legal challenges to Nader's ballot position in various states. That money should have been used on registering new voters, or GOTV on Election Day, or on monitoring precincts in Ohio and other states. And by challenging Nader's ballot lines in state after state after state, they made it a point of honor for Ralph to stay in, creating the impression that he would have been caving in to major-party intimidation by withdrawing.

Rather than pissing away millions trying to drive Ralph off of the ballot, The Kerry/Edwards campaign and the Democratic Party should have been negotiating with Ralph and offering him some concessions(say, a clear antiwar stand and a commitment to push electoral reform through as quickly as possible). Instead of that, we basically said to Nader supporters "shut up and do what you're told, peasant scum". This never works, and we should have remembered that.

[Gatchaman]

6. I'm tired of hearing from the "hold your nose" voter

These people who feel they are sacrificing their personal honor and integrity by casting a vote for someone who doesn't meet their criteria 100% are driving me insane. I know it's better to vote FOR someone than AGAINST the other guy, but the simple fact of the matter is, on election day, it's a two person race. I simply can't understand how voting for John Kerry could be "one of the hardest things" a person could do after FOUR YEARS of bush, cheney, rummy, condi, 9/11, Iraq, faith based initiatives, threats to social security, haliburton, Gitmo, Abu Ghrab, thousands of dead and mutilated american soldiers, and freedom fries. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT, ANYHOW?

[saltpoint]

8. I voted for Kerry.

I like this post better than your other one, Independent Voice.

I'm not going to be voting for Nader, however. He's not my cup of tea.