Voter ID–Short and Sweet

To get a library card at the New York Public Library, you must show an identification card with a photo.  To open a bank account you have to show an ID with a photo and your actual physical address, which you must also verify with a utility bill.

So why is it so oppressive or cruel to expect people to prove their identity when they vote?

How Should We Then Vote?

In regard to the United States’ presidential election, I ask you. . .

• Should we vote for the candidate who is most likely to win the election, so that we don’t waste our vote, or should we vote for the candidate who we sincerely believe would be the best President?

 

• Should we vote for the candidate of the party that we have always supported, or should we vote for whichever candidate has a platform that we concur with?

 

• Should we vote for a candidate who says lots of good things, or should we vote for the candidate who is most likely to do what he says?

 

     I would still like to stick with Alan Keyes and vote for him in November.  Now that Bob Barr is running as a Libertarian, I might vote for him, instead.  I want my vote to count.  I want it to mean something.  I want my vote to reflect my actual beliefs.  I want to be able to vote for somebody rather than against somebody.

     How about you?

Voting for a Third-Party Candidate

Jay Burns wrote a comment on my post about Bob Barr, the LIbertarian presidential candidate:

A vote for Barr is a vote for Barak Obama, assuming he wins the nomination. What Libertarians must ask themselves is if they are willing to hand the election over to the Democratic Party in order to stand on their principles and get the candidate that most closely matches their views.

To which I say:

Yes, it almost certainly is a vote for the Democratic candidate, either way.  The only way that would not be true is if another leftist party, such as the Green Party, picks a very popular candidate.

I’m not sure if I am completely ready to vote for a non-Republican for President, but over the last few years I have been telling myself that I need to vote according to my conscience, not according to political strategy.  Just when I think I have the courage to actually do so, I wince at the thought of a Democrat in the White House again.

Jay Burns wrote:

It might be worth it.

 And I say:

Yes, that’s what I think–with a strong emphasis on the might. 

He gives two reasons that it might be worth it:

1. To show the Republican party how disconnected they are from the base of the party. If you don’t know what I’m refering to, please comment and I’ll go into further detail.

2. A viable third party candidate will never be established if we don’t start showing a legitimate vote of support.

I reply:

I certainly know what you are referring to in #1.  And I’m pretty much ready to do it.  I am very disappointed that we still have abortion on demand in our country.  I am very disappointed that the Republicans are only slightly more fiscally conservative and fiscally responsible than the Democrats.  I have put lots of time and energy into supporting the Republican Party as the “lesser of two evils,” but I think I am ready to choose a better alternative.  At least, I think it is worth a try.  And then when I die I can face my Maker with a clear conscience about my voting practices.

The main reason that we haven’t had a Third-Party President for so long is that pundits and the media keep telling us that we are wasting our vote if we vote for one.  Because we are programmed that such a candidate cannot win, one never will.  You win by getting votes, and you won’t get votes as long as pessimistic people think that their votes are wasted on the candidate that they actually prefer.

Jay burns concludes:

There would, however, be consequences to such a vote. Damage would be done in the mean time. Are we really willing to take that chance right now?

To which I say:

And that is why so many people lack the courage to vote according to their principles.  They aren’t willing to suffer (possibly a lot) in the short term in order to make the right changes in the long term.  As disgusted as I am right now with the Republican Party, I think I am willing to take that chance now.

It’s just not enough for me to hear “Well, at least things won’t be quite as bad with a Republican in the White House” anymore.  I want something better than second-best.  I don’t want to waste my vote on a default candidate that I can live with rather than cast it for the candidate that I think would be better for the job.

Funny Business in Washington GOP Primary

     I hope that the Republican Party of Washington eventually releases the final, accurate results of their primary on Saturday.  It doesn’t make sense that they would declare a winner when only 240 votes separated the top two candidates and there were about 1,500 votes left to count.  Huckabee trailed McCain by only two percentage points.  What do you think?  It seems to me that the party chairman really wanted McCain to win.

Here is a news report from today :

“Huckabee disputes vote count” in the Seattle Times

Who Won’t Vote for John McCain

     Ann Coulter said (in jest?) that she will not vote for John McCain.

     James Dobson said (sincerely) that he will not vote for John McCain.

     I will not vote for John McCain.  Go ahead and start throwing those stones, or piecing that cross together.  I don’t care.  Voting for Republicans for over 25 years has not gotten us any closer to ending the Abortion Holocaust.  It hasn’t kept us from ever-increasing Statism.  I am tired of granting my sacred vote to a party that promises but doesn’t deliver.  I am tired of accepting wishy-washy compromise and accomodation.

     Who will I vote for?  It depends on whom the Liberatarian Party or the Consititution Pary nominates.  I can always write somebody in.  My preferences are still (in descending order):

1. Alan Keyes
2. Fred Thompson
3. Mike Huckabee
4. Ron Paul

How to Decide on a Candidate

     So you are going to vote in a primary or caucus.  Whether it be in the Democratic race or the Republican, how do you decide whom to vote for?  There are some very bad reasons to vote for a particular person, unless you are talking about the homecoming queen or about the president of the Spanish club, and there are some very good reaons to vote for a particular person.

Top Ten BAD Reasons to Vote for a Particular Candidate

1. He or she is good looking.
2. He or she seems sincere.
3. He or she shakes hands with plumbers and waitresses.
4. He or she was married to a president.
5. He or she seems to identify with you.
6. He or she is a talented orator.
7. He or she claims (merely claims) to be different from other politicians.
8. He or she has a “vision” for the country.
9. He or she exudes hope.
10. He or she is for change (without specifying what kind of change).

Top Ten GOOD Reasons to Vote for a Particular Candidate

1. He or she has experience that qualifies him or her for the job.
2. He or she has accomplished important things.
3. He or she has the intelligence needed to do the job.
4. He or she has specific plans for improving the state of the country.
5. He or she has a record of carrying out what he or she promises.
6. He or she practices his or her stated principles.
7. He or she has a platform, with specific goals, that you agree with.
8. He or she handles pressure well.
9. He or she gives honest answers, not pat answers, to tough questions.
10. He or she has a consistent political philosophy that doesn’t change as polling data change.

     If you have a favorite candidate for the upcoming presidential election, and you chose him or her for any of the first ten reasons, please do your fellow citizens a favor, and just don’t vote.  This should not be a popularity contest.  If you do insist on voting, then please take my advice, and vote for the candidate who would be the best president–not the one you like the best.

Dixville Notch Election Results

     Seventeen people voted in Dixville Knox, New Hampshire, in the first hour of the morning.  In the first primary of the election year, this small town voted first.  The voters consisted of 12 Independents, 3 Republicans, and 2 Democrats.

     Ten of the voters participated in the Democratic primary, and the other seven participated in the Republican primary.  Here’s how they voted.

DEMOCRATS

Obama  7

Edwards  2

Richardson  1

Clinton  0

REPUBLICANS

McCain  4

Romney  2

Giuliani  1

Huckabee  0

Thompson  0

———————————–

     Is this a quaint part of the American political process or just a bunch of silliness?  Or have the residents of this hamlet found a clever way to make a name for themselves?  Do the results have any significance at all, or are they completely irrelevant?

The Keyes to Success

     It has been awhile since I wrote about Alan Keyes.  I know that some who read my blog are strongly opposed to him–or at least to his being the President of the United States.  However, I have wrestled hard with my conscience, and he is the only candidate whom I can wholeheartedly endorse with little or no reservations.  Click the “Alan Keyes” link on my blogroll to learn more about him.

     At this point Keyes is not on my state’s primary ballot.  I’m pretty confident that he will end up on it, however.  If he does, I will vote for him in the primary and then switch to whichever candidate gets the Republican nomination.  I’m not stupid; I realize that he has little chance of winning.  But I will not yield to the temptation of pragmatism.  I will support the candidate I believe in, even if I am the only one who does so.

     Keyes has an interesting strategy going.  He’s calling it “The Pledge”.  He is asking people to promise to  find five other people to sign it and to donate at least five dollars to his campaign.  I hope it works.  It took the pledge, and will begin looking for those five companions.  Yes, I donated already. 

     Keyes is virtually invisible to the media, mainstream or otherwise.  Why is that?  The answer that I have heard is that he isn’t electable.  I find that a bit ironic, since media exposure is one of he things that makes one electable.  Even Stephen Colbert made huge headlines when he announced his candidacy, and that was just a stunt.  Few Americans knew Barak Obama at the time he announced his candidacy, but the media just adore him.

     Of course, I hope somebody reading this will take The Pledge.  If not, then I hope somebody reading this will support Keyes anyway and vote for him.  Let me know if you do either one.

Women as Candidates

         Here’s a little quiz about women who have run for President of the United States.  To be included, the woman had to either be nominated by a legal party or be included on at least one state ballot and had to actually receive some votes.  Mrs. Clinton hasn’t gotten that far yet.

1.  Who was the first woman that ran for president?

2.  How many women ran for president before women had the right to vote?

3.  Which woman received the most votes in her attempt(s) to become president?

4. Which party has nominated a woman the greatest number of times?

5.  How many women have run for president (see guidelines above)?

For the answers. . .

Is the Tide Turning in Switzerland?

     The land of cuckoo clocks, chocolate, and yodeling has just posted very interesting election results.  The Swiss People’s Party has received the most votes ever in a general election.  The interesting thing is that it is a rightist party that campaigned largely on the issue of immigration.

     What, if anything, do these results indicate?  Are you surprised that the Swiss population seems to be moving rightward?

UPDATE:  (for Eve)  Apparently Switzerland has had some of their foreign residents commit crimes.  The Swiss People’s Party would like to see those people deported.  I don’t know any other details.  The article is short; if you are interested, you should read it.