To Anyone Considering Voting For A Third Party Presidential Candidate

[Zorra]

To Anyone Considering Voting For A Third Party Presidential Candidate In 2004.
by Kayla Michaels
OpEdNews.Com

I respectfully ask you to read my truly heartfelt opinions here, and to take them into utmost consideration, because I firmly believe that if Bush is allowed to stay in power it will result in a possible worldwide tragedy resulting in the loss of many lives, and the loss of many of the rights and liberties that we have assigned to ourselves in the past as Americans.

In the 1930's, the German people who opposed the Nazis spread their votes out among several political parties, and failed to unite behind a party strong enough to keep Hitler and the Nazis from attaining power. As a result of this unfortunate lack of foresight and unity among German voters, the Nazis gained enough power to give them the ability to covertly and undemocratically manipulate and control the German government in order to implement their radical right wing policies. The result, as you probably know, was iron fisted political repression, ethnic group persecutions, unilateral military aggression, and a subsequent worldwide bloodbath.

The parallels between the undemocratic, Machiavellian legislative manipulations of the Nazis in the 1930's and those of the Republican Party and the Bush administration of today should not be ignored. The 2000 election fiasco in Florida, the undemocratic re-districting farce in Texas, media consolidation, the Patriot Act, the electronic voting issue, the deliberate exclusion of Democrats from some legislative meetings, and the Bush administration’s false statements to, and subsequent betrayal of, Congress and our country that led to a premature pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, are but a few of many examples of this undemocratic political activity that parallels the activities of the Nazi’s in the 1930’s.

We cannot afford to ignore the tragic mistake that was made by the Germans, and must not repeat this mistake when casting our vote November. We simply cannot allow this undemocratic, repressive, and bloodthirsty right wing administration to continue its assault on our democracy.

Despite many of our, in my opinion valid, disagreements with the direction of the Democratic Party, there is far more at stake right now than ideological differences. If you consider yourself “left-wing”, or just a believer in democracy, then you are probably horrified at the actions that Bush and his administration have taken since they assumed power. What kind of monstrous things are they going to do if they retain power for four more years? Many more people will die from their unwarranted, violence oriented policies, and many, if not all, of our rights will be restricted and/or abolished.

I think most of us agree that this is probable.

It seems to me that we all realize that neither Ralph Nader, nor any Green/third party candidate, can conceivably win the election in November. Voting for a third party presidential candidate at this point in history will be a regrettable, enormous mistake if Bush is consequently elected, and this mistake may cost thousands of lives, and may very well cause the end of any semblance of real Democracy in our country.

Therefore, in my opinion, the risk in voting third party is simply too great for us to ignore. We simply cannot afford to take this risk right now. The possible consequences of taking this risk far outweigh any possible benefits that could be gained by taking it.

We have already seen what Bush and the republicans are capable of. There should be little doubt that they are going to accelerate their violent, repressive policies if they are given four more years in office, and subsequently, as a result of their continuing assault on our rights and democracy, perhaps an entire generation or more to do so. How will we ever regain our democracy once they steal it from us?

I have observed that most folks on the "left" are, in general, very informed people. Therefore, I have to assume that most of you that are considering voting third party recognize that Bush and the republicans represent a threat to our lives and our nation similar to that which I have described.

So I beg you to reconsider your decision if you have decided to vote third party, or allow this argument to help persuade you not to vote third party if you are considering doing so. It is apparent that the only presidential candidate that can win the impending presidential election, besides Bush, is the Democratic Party nominee. Right now, there is no question in my mind that we need to unite behind the Democratic nominee in order to remove Bush from power, regardless of our perception that we may differ ideologically in some areas.

Senator John Kerry, the probable Democratic Party presidential nominee, has supported many of the issues and agendas that most of us also support. Bush has supported none of them. And while I am aware of, and concerned about, the apparent philosophical differences between those of us who are considered by some to be "left-wing" and what we perceive as John Kerry’s beliefs, it does not appear to me that these differences should overshadow the positive things that Senator Kerry has done as a legislator, and the critical necessity of removing Bush from our government by voting him out of power in 2004.

Please, let's get rid of Bush first so that we may retain the democratic liberty to change what needs to be changed at a later time, or we may never again have a reasonable possibility of doing so. We can try to reform the Democratic Party, or begin or join a political movement/party more consistent with our beliefs, after performing our democratic duty of removing Bush from office.

Our children must be given the opportunity to grow up in a world with some promise of liberty and hope. We cannot take the risk of denying our children this opportunity.

Because four more years of Bush will almost certainly leave us, and our children, in a dark, gray world devoid of hope for the future.

Thank you for considering what I have written here.

http://www.opednews.com/michaels032604_3rd_party.htm

This article is copyright by Kayla Michaels and originally published by opednews.com but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media so long as this credit is attached

[Warpy]

1. not a chance in hell, not this time.

usually not voting for the lesser evil in favor of a third party candidate doesn't do much damage, since the two evils are equivalent.

This time it's George W. Bush, arguably the worst president in the history of the US and a disaster for the whole world. If we let this man get another four years, we can pretty much kiss the American experiment with democracy goodbye.

Forget the ideological purity of the splinter party candidates and their appeal to those of us who are thoroughly disgusted with the DLC "New Democrats." This is too important to give in to self indulgence.

We have got to get Bush OUT. Our survival depends on it.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Bu$h out, massive election reform in.

[Zorra]

5. I agree. The bottom line is that it is a matter of survival.

[Claire Beth]

8. well said! n/t

[Nicholas_J]

3. No way

If I prefer anything, I would prefer a country that is more parliamentary in nature, where voting third party could have actual consequences that would get seats in the legislature bases on the percentage of people who voted for third party candidates. But not with the system we have. Voting third party, especially at the left end of the spectrum is tanamount to giving thev election to the right.

In our system of government, it is simply a luxury we cannot afford, not even to try to make the point that you beleive in things that it seems that neither party thinks is as important as you would like. Best bet is to choose the one party that comes closest to supporting the things that you do, and selecting them. Other wise, the party that is more against what you beleive in and desirte will always stay in power. Always.

[IndianaGreen]

4. The only real opposition to the Nazis in 1930s were the Communists

The Social Democrats were all too willing to play along and, more importantly, underestimated the danger the NSP posed because they were more fearful of a Bolshevik revolution.

[bklyncowgirl]

6. Not this time around, Jack.

I usually flirt with the idea but the last time I actually voted 3rd Party was back in the 70's when Carter was running against Reagan. I was young, idealistic and disgusted with Carter's compromising.

To make a long story short, I took a flier on Barry Commoner, a wonderful environmentalist who actually managed to get more than a few votes. At various times i've considered voting for Ross Perot, John Anderson and of course Ralph Nader.

Reagan won and I still blame myself to this day.

[Kevin Spidel]

7. A Progressive Response to Kerry/Edwards Ticket

July 8th, 2004

Monday night before the announcement of Kerry/Edwards ticket I got a phone call to check out a “buzz” on the internet. The word on the blogs was that Gephardt was going to be Kerry’s pick for VP.

YIKES!

Of course I freaked out at the buzz as we are working hard to keep the progressive base alive and active in the Democratic Party. As usual the Democratic Party was not giving us much to work with when I thought it was a Kerry/Gephardt ticket. I kept getting visions of Gephardt in the Rose Garden, and I cringed. Do the Democrats really WANT to screw the left base? With a Kerry/Gephardt ticket it would appear so! You can imagine the relief I had when I awoke to the news it was a Kerry/Edwards ticket.

I went straight to the blogs to read the buzz. Of course all of these organizations where spinning this top down as a great choice. A “son of a Mill worker,” the “first great choice of a Kerry Presidency,” the organizations spun this as a wonderful decision. Call me a nonconformist at heart, but I got a little irritated that all these “progressive” organizations did the deciding for us, that this was indeed a good choice. Where does one go to truly get an opinion on the Kerry/Edward ticket from the progressive base? Well to the Progressive Base! I drafted a letter to our membership at Progressive Vote asking them to chime in on our blog.

The response was surprisingly mixed; From “I can’t wait to get a Kerry/Edwards sign in my front yard” to “two pro-Iraq war Senators out of touch with America.” We are a splintered group aren’t we!

Is there a progressive hope in a Kerry/Edwards ticket? I remembered an article written in the Nation titled “Progressives Should Vote Edwards.” Is there truth to that? The article touts the obvious upbringing of Edwards as a bonus. That I think we can all agree with. Trade, Economy, Jobs, yes, yes, yes… good decent progressive stances. I think a true progressive can find hope in a Kerry/Edwards economy, however let’s talk about the real obvious issues.

The war and the Patriot Act. This has become the progressive litmus test hasn’t it?

Yes they rolled over and bought Bush’s bull that was fed to them. Where is the leadership in that stance? I agree, we can not let them forget these votes… however, when the political scrutiny was on, they stood together… united against giving Bush a 87 billion dollar check for the continued occupation without a solid plan. Amen to that! But is that enough? Does that get you off the proverbial progressive black list? Most would say no. However, does the combination of the political scrutiny as candidates that are “Uniting America,” the fractured left voting block who may stray toward Nader or Cobb, and the overwhelming need to get Bush out of office make for a political climate that will create a safe place for a Kerry/Edwards ticket to take on a progressive stance on Iraq? On our Civil Liberties?

We must begin to demonstrate at the grassroots level, that we are active and loud within the Democratic Party. Between the state progressive caucuses that are being established throughout the states, and the more the Democrats sweat the Cobb/Nader factor, there is opportunity.

Progressive leaders like Zinn & Chomsky are asking progressives to vote for Nader in “safe states” only. This allows the progressive radicals to still have a voice. However, with the stakes as high as they are now, and with a seemingly endless war in Iraq, I trust that a “Vietnam Vet” like Kerry combined with the “son of a mill worker” will bring our troops home. So if you find yourself in a “battleground state” be loud, be active, hold Kerry’s and Edward’s feet to the fire… but make sure as you’re doing this, you vote for them! At this point, it’s a grim reality that this duo maybe our only hope. Let’s make sure we keep the fire under their feet all the way to the Whitehouse, and continue that fire long after they take the oath of office!

[newyawker99]

9. Hi kspidel!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: