Apparently... There's Something Wrong With Me...

[WillyT]

I have this old-aged American belief...

I want to vote FOR somebody.

Somebody I believe in.

Somebody I trust.

Somebody I would go to work for.

Hell... somebody I would take a bullet for.

What, exactly, is wrong with me?

:shrug:

[Double T]

1. 'Somebody' doesn't exist.

[undeterred]

Somebody is Russ Feingold.

For me, anyway.

[youngdem]

7. I am still heartbroken he didn't run for Prez.

He would be the class of the field by FAR if he had run. I favor him even over Dean, and for me, that is saying something.

The rest of the field? Meh.

[undeterred]

10. He's not done.

He's a great candidate for VP, and people know it. He couldn't raise enough money to be a presidential contender, that's why he stepped out. But he is a fairly young man (54) and has a lot of good years ahead in the Senate. Expect that there will be a run for pres or VP in his future.

[youngdem]

27. He would be a wonderful addition to any ticket

Obama might try adding someone prior to his inevitable primary loss, to see if the addition of someone who helps round him out might help counter his negatives.

[mzteris]

2. I think we all WANT to do that

but barring the "perfect candidate" - or the candidate of choice not getting the nod - then you have to ask yourself -

is my NOT VOTING - going to hurt me/my family/my country - a good thing or a bad thing?

I mean "standing on principals" are important, but not when the foundation is about to cave in because the house is burning down around your ears. Ya know?

[rwheeler31]

3. Old maybe but very wise.

Our Dem canidates are very brave to get out there in this nutty world.

[Individualist]

4. If something is wrong with you, something is wrong with me

I share your old-aged belief and find the concept of lockstep/blind loyalty abhorrent.

[scarletwoman]

5. Don't know if this helps, but I know I'm NOT going to vote for what I don't want.

It just doesn't make sense to me. I abhor corporatism, imperialism and the MIC -- so I see no good reason to vote for any candidate who will perpetuate these things.

As a free human being, I conscientiously object to participating in a rigged game.

sw

[pnwmom]

9. Spoken like the people who helped usher Bush in in 2000,

calling Gore "Tweedledee" to Bush's "Tweedledum."

I hope you change your mind by the general election.

[scarletwoman]

18. I've voted for the Democratic candidate in every damn election since 1972.

In case you forgot, it was the Supreme Court that "ushered bush* in in 2000".

And, no, I WON'T change my mind by the general election. I'm too old to fall for the same damn shit anymore. I refuse to vote for what I don't want.

[TahitiNut]

28. Agreed.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/TahitiNut/413

[scarletwoman]

36. Bravo on your journal entry, TN! There comes a time when a person just can't swallow any more

bullshit and keep smiling -- "May I have another?"

There comes a time when one's tolerance has simply reached its limit.

sw
:loveya:

[WillyT]

34. Don't You Love It ??? I've Voted for Every Democratic Candidate Since 1974 !!!

And now I get lectures that I've ushered in the age of GW???

I'd be pissed, except for the sheer ludocrity! (Is that a word?)

:wtf:

[scarletwoman]

37. I hear ya! Sadly, I don't think "ludocrity" is a word -- but perhaps it should be.

And what ushered in the age of GW is decades of compliant voters dutifully voting for "lesser evils" instead of demanding a thorough revamping of the entire system.

sw

[pnwmom]

41. The Supreme Court never would have been involved

if Nader hadn't chosen to siphon off more than 90,000 progressive votes in Florida alone. And he did it by lying -- by pretending that there would be no differences between a Gore Presidency and a Bush one.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. "Somebody I believe in"

There's the rub. After the last 7 years, if you aren't burnt-out, bone-tired and go-to-hell cynical, not to mention taking heavy medications...well, you haven't been paying attention.

I just would like to get convinced that at least one of the front runners really does give a shit for us one-fodder-units.

[pnwmom]

12. I think the "gives a shit" standard is more reasonable

than the "take a bullet" standard.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

15. Well, somebody better start giving a shit...

About the one-fodder-units, or there is gonna be a whole lot of people killing other people in the US, in the streets. That's not a threat or a rant, that's a lesson of history.

I mean, who wants to live a Steven King novel?

[pnwmom]

8. You're looking for a hero,

if it's someone you'd take a bullet for.

And there are very few out there.

[Mz Pip]

11. I've lowered my standards

a lot. I will vote for whoever I believe will not stack the Supreme Court with more RW judges. It's come down to that.

I'm will to compromise a lot for that.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Posteritatis]

13. You're clearly infested with democracy. To the reeducation furnaces, posthaste! (nt)

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

14. That's What We'd All Love To Vote For. But When Idealism Fails, One Must Learn To Adapt.

So in this case, just make sure you vote for the Democrat in the general election, whoever they may be.

[johnaries]

16. I suggest the Harry Potter series.

otherwise, you're going to be disappointed for the rest of your life.

On the bright side, I think we had some really good candidates. I would prefer Al Gore, and Hillary is my last choice - but I think even Hillary would take us on a better course than we are on now.

[seemslikeadream]

17. We had him once upon a time

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/12/11/anti_war_narrowweb__300x336,0.jpg

[B Calm]

19. The one major thing I look for in a candidate, he or she must be a life long democrat

I don't want to find out my democratic president was the President of the Young Republicans at Wesley College!

[NotGivingUp]

20. There's nothing wrong with you. It makes no sense to vote for somebody

just because they are supposedly the lesser of two evils. It's time to throw the CORPORATE party OUT!

[durrrty libby]

21. Vote for the woman. She will make it better

[scarletwoman]

25. Yeah. Just like Maggie Thatcher -- a woman leader automatically makes things better.

:eyes:

[durrrty libby]

29. Don't act stupid. We have had too much of that shit

[scarletwoman]

35. Stupid? YOU'RE the one who posted "vote for the woman".

If you were being sarcastic, just come right out and say so, and I'll happily apologize for being snarky.

If you WEREN'T being sarcastic, then I have serious doubts about your ability to accurately perceive "stupid".

[durrrty libby]

40. I have NO doubts about you

[unkachuck]

22. you need more fiber in your diet....

....I find myself feeling the same way occasionally....it will pass....

[Matariki]

23. Damn. I thought this was going to be another 'porn' thread! n/t

[Cha]

24. "Take a bullet for"!! Whoa!

I guess I would have for Gore and Dean if I worked for the FBI!

[WillyT]

30. I Got To Shake Bobby Kennedy's Hand A Few Days Before He Was Shot Dead...

I was just 13, but I felt at the time, that I would have taken a bullet for him.

Particularly, THAT bullet.

Maybe I was just full of shit. I don't know.

[Cha]

38. Oh man! That's got to

be devastating at a particulary impressionable age! I bet you would have.

[TahitiNut]

26. I explained it this way ...

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/TahitiNut/413

Sadly, I don't think some people really "get it."

:shrug:

[WillyT]

31. Precisely...

It prescribes acts consistent with an ethical view that one would have ALL ("universal") others act according to the same principles. What you (and others) advise is the 'politics of scarcity' or the 'politics of preemption' or the 'politics of fear' - to act out of fear that others will behave worse and accept an 'evil' under the guise of being a 'lesser evil.' I will NOT do that. I will vote FOR the person who BEST mirrors my values - not the one who says the other person is worse (and wishes to exploit and benefit from my fears of the worse). I DO NOT surrender to blackmail I DO NOT countenance threats.

Exactly Precisely TN!!!

:yourock:

[msedano]

32. puro folly

to think you can vote for positivity in a system that inherently demands compromise. vote the most rational or moral choice you can make. that's all you have, unless you dig nihilism. but you're doing nothing wrong unless you don't vote.

i'm an oldish kinda guy who finds your angst que plus ça change que plus la meme chose. a draftee in 1968. in those days there were a couple of choices, acquiesce or flee (clinton & cheney and their ilk to the contrary). i won't go into it. i chose to acquiesce and wear the uni and be the best damn soldier i could, within the limits of a belief structure matured in isla vista. we had mccarthy bobby nixon.

coincidentally today i've been thinking a lot back to august 1970, because just about today, i was date return from overseas--DROS--from a posting in cold war Korea while my fellow basic/ait buddies were over in Vietnam. Luck of the draw, not really, but that's a different story. Today I was counting the number of times I almost died in mindbogglingly stupid incidents. my first huey ride i exited the pilot's side of the bird and turned left. then stopped. i didn't see the whirling tail rotors but i stopped and about-faced into the pilot who was about to yank me away from the spinning blades. there was the helicopter ride that flew into the exploding artillery barrage. totally beautiful sight plumes of earth and smoke looking like a forest of giacometti sculptures rising on my left and in our path forward. the pilot banked hard hard right, i slammed into the sgt major and we both laughed our asses off at what we'd just seen. then there was the deuce and a half that lost traction in the middle of a blizzard and we started sliding toward the precipice, we were about half a mile up the mountain. and the time the wind lifted me off the commo hootch and i flew in the air free all earthly restrain. what a trip. i think of these kids today dying in iraq and the kids i knew dying in vietnam. and the irony of dying for bullshit.

keep voting for whomever you can tolerate because that's all you have.

regards,

mvs

http://labloga.blogspot.com

http://readraza.com/hawk/index.htm

[The Vinyl Ripper]

42. For many, the most moral choice is starting to become..

None of the above..

Quick destruction of the light of America.

Or somewhat slower.

[Booster]

33. I'm 64 and have only voted FOR one president in my life.

Kennedy was murdered on my 21st birthday so I was too young to vote then. The only president I have voted for was Carter; all the rest of my votes have been AGAINST someone. Sad, huh?

[flying_monkeys]

39. We all want that.

But heros don't run.... And some get assassinated when they do...


So we get a choice between Candidate A, who exemplifies all we abhor, and Candidate B, who misses a few key spots but otherwise can hum our tune.


I vote for Candidate B, because even though he/she/it misses the boat on some of my "pet" issues, he/she/it scores wayyyyy higher than the other side.


So I am VOTING FOR MY BELIEFS, even if Candidate B doesn't hit every one of my wants. Because I'll take the Dem general platform anyday over the Repugs - - even if the candidate disappoints me - - at least I know we are on the same page, not from some different book entirely....