Strategic Voting: Have You Ever Done It?

[On the Road]

There's a lot of talk of talk about GOP-leaning independents voting for Dean in the New Hampshire primary on the theory that he would be the weakest candidate versus Bush.

I admit: In 1988, I voted for Pat Buchanan in the Maryland primary. Although my party loyalties had started to change, I was still registered Republican and could only vote in the GOP primary. So I pulled the lever for Buchanan as a protest against Bush Sr. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

The question is: Have you personally ever cast a strategic vote?

[tokenlib]

1. 2000 Michigan Primary

A lot of us voted for McCain to embarrass our a-hole governor at the time who was a good buddy of Dubya. I don't think it was exactly organized--perhaps it was a mass conciousness thing. But I was surprised when Bush lost that primary--the Bushies were pissed..

[GiovanniC]

3. Also From Michigan

Engler was looking for a SWEEET Bush administration appointment... guaranteed that Michigan would go to Bush. It didn't go to him in the primary, and it didn't go to him in the general election, either. John-Boy had to hang his head in shame. That was a nice feeling, and a much-needed refuge from the bitter pain of what happened in 2000.

Then, we voted in our first female Democratic governor, who's doing a hell of a job considering the budgetary clusterf*ck he left behind.

[Cuban_Liberal]

2. I've never had the opportunity to do so.

I have an unbroken string of straight 'D' votes. :)

[janx]

4. When I heard that Chimpy's old man was going to run for

president, I purposely registered Republican so that I could vote against him in my state's primary.

I was still in my twenties then, but I had an instant dislike to the man and his policies.

The irony was that at the time, I had NO IDEA he had Chimpy as a son.

[On the Road]

5. Wow -- I'm Surpirsed!

I thought that strategic voting would be the exception. Or possibly frowned on. But I guess it's just politics. Or else everyone is Machivellian at times, too.

[janx]

6. When I did it, I was a young unaffiliated voter.

I didn't switch from Dem to Republican or anything.

This year I switched again from unaffiliated to Dem to support Dean, although I've voted Dem as an independent anyway.

So I wasn't terribly strategic. In the first case I did it because I didn't want GHW Bush anywhere near the leadership of our country, and in the second place because I saw a real leader our country needed. That's not strategic voting; that's voting my conscience.

I would never consider registering Republican to vote for a weak puke candidate--that's too low.

[cprise]

7. Pat Buchanan, huh?

You know he had no chance of getting the nomination. All you did was make the far-Right look stronger in the eyes of the party.

[dawn]

8. No. I don't like it when they do it, so why should I? nt

[seaglass]

9. 2002 Gubernatorial primary in MA

I voted for the candidate I thought could win (O'Brien) vs the one I liked the most (Reich).

Obviously my instincts were way off and I won't be doing that again.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. No, but I knew an elderly couple in Oregon who did it

They had registered as Republicans after moving there during the days when Oregon Republicans were (I'm not making this up) staunch environmentalists.

They never bothered to change their registration after all these years and always tried to vote for the worst possible candidate. Often, the rest of the Republicans joined them, as when they nominated notably stupid ex-Congressman Denny Smith for governor in 1994.