Sometimes, some of the better thoughts this ordinary schlub might have is "off the blog" and it is worthwhile to post some of them here. Sometimes, it shows a reasonable line of thought, and sometimes, it is a stubbornness to not let something go to waste (after all, if I’m writing THERE, I’m not writing HERE). Thus, as an engineer, I like "double-purposed".
The comment from someone I respect greatly, who is supporting Dr. Ron Paul:
I will never vote for Obama. But I will also never vote for Romney.
Of course there was much more. And my response (slightly edited) was:
And then the realpolitik of numbers comes into play – in which numbers are apolitical. It simply comes down to numbers and this is the hardest part of the argument that I have had to come to terms with (since becoming politically involved). We ALL hate the idea of having to "vote for the least worst" and in this example, it would be Romney over Obama. Except, the commenter would not vote for Romney.
LIKE IT OR NOT, an "absent" vote is the ballot version of "silence is complicity" (that…
…old saw that says if you remain silent when a wrong is being acted upon, you are complicit in that wrongness). By your voting silence, you are complicit, in this next election, in continuing Obama’s reign (and more and more, he is becoming Chavez-like). Sure, you can do a write in for Dr. Paul and am sure that many of his supporters will do so as a protest vote. And to be sure, it would be a protest vote with the best of intentions.
However, there is that phrase "hell is paved with the best of intentions" and in elections, numbers count. Obama won by a landslide this last time – I do not believe that will happen again. In fact, I am going on the premise that this may well be a "down to the wire" election where EVERY vote will count.
As a result, each vote not for the Republican nominee but spent on a write in will be wasted (like it or not); its only purpose will be to make the voter feel good about themselves vs taking out Obama. Trust me, I "get" the philosophical reason what a voter would do that, but the reality is that a vote for other than the actual nominee is a vote that will not be applied in throwing out the Socialist we have now.
Gosh, I should post this up and get myself in REAL trouble!
Yeah, the Dr. Paul supporters may well have something to say, and I’m sure that NH Dem screedster Harrel (Hi Harrell – how’s it going?) Kirsten is going to have to say something about "taking out Obama".
Warning Harrell – you’ll end up having to defend a whole log of Democrats using far worse language than – just go watch the movie "The Undefeated"
