Reply #57: No they don't - don't fool yourself with that misconception [View All]

[LynneSin]

We keep living in this dreamworld where everyone is an online advocate involved with websites like DU and participating in online polls like one at CNN where Lamont was 80% vs. Lieberman's 20%. I got a serious wakeup call when I swore up & down that Dean was going to get the nomination but the reality is there is more than just us who goes out and votes.

There's a whole sector of America who considers their computer (if they have one)nothing more than a conduit for Sports Scores, email, music downloads and porn surfing. It's improving but not statically strong enough to correlate what happens online politically to what happens in reality

You talk about Seat Belt laws but that was Ralph Nadar as a consumer advocate NOT as a Green Party candidate who helped push those laws through. Big difference between the two. And you neglect the concept of advocacy as a way of making a change and for some bizarre reason assigning those changes to 3rd Party Candidates. Thanks for nullify all my hard work out there.

I have no problem with Greens winning seats in Congress - hell I wish we lived in a country where democrats & greens were fighting for the majority and the republican party was fighting for 5% of the votes needed for federal funding. But this is reality and we have an electoral system where 3rd Party candidates were nothing more than spoilers. Perhaps if we had the majority or at least a democratic president who knows what the word "VETO" means then I might consider voting 3rd candidate here and there. But we have neither which means what I believe in isn't as important as the greater good.

You may think I'm some democratic "YES" gal out there demanding "VOTE DEMOCRAT OR ELSE" but truly I say I'm not. Ten years ago I had no problem supporting 3rd party because at least I had Clinton has a fail safe especially with my pet cause of choice. But to think like that today is foolish because we have way too much to lose.