Yes, the RNC refused to seat Ron Paul's delegates. They also refused to seat Bachman's, Newt's and Santorum's (am I missing anyone here?) delegates. All that to say, I am just as annoyed and disgusted as you are. Why would the Republican party alienate the Tea Party/Libertarian contingent? Obviously they cannot win without us.
But folks this is not a reason to vote for Gary Johnson and not Mitt Romney. It is not a reason to throw the next election. Would re-election of the current White House occupant punish the RNC? Yup! But it would punish the country more.
Don't punish the country. Don't punish our kids and grandkids. Don't send us further down the River of Doom. Because if you do, the current may then be too strong ever swim back up stream.
I would certainly push the lever (or punch the chad if we still have them) beside Gary Johnson's name if he could or might win. But he will not and cannot. I know it. You know it. And not one of you would bet your paycheck on him winning.
I know most of you believe voting for Johnson is "voting your principals". I get that. But,imagine yourself waking up Wednesday November 7th. You find that enough of you voted for Gary Johnson to bestow upon the country a repeat of the past 4-years--on steroids. Will you then feel proud of your vote?
Mom-
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you started this blog, I think it's great a great discussion to have and it is something that I have given allot of thought to. Yes, I agree that Johnson's chances of winning are virtually zero. I was honestly leaning toward voting for Romney just to get the current president out. HOWEVER, the actions of Romney and the GOP during the convention basically equate to spitting in my face and telling me too bad you don't have a choice. To me, that is unacceptable. I don't support Johnson because I think he will win. I support him to TELL the GOP that if they want my vote, they have to EARN it. That doesn't mean they need to pick up the libertarian platform but it DOES mean they need to conduct their party with some semblance of honestly and attempt to represent the people.
As we have discussed, while I think Obama has been awful for the country, I think Romney would only be marginally better. He may not want to spend as much money on healthcare, but he will want to spend MORE money on the military industrial complex. He may not subsidize sustainable energy sources, but he will increase tax cuts to the largest corporations.
I have not 100% decided who I will vote for when i walk into that booth but I know I will support Gary Johnson 100% until that day, and regardless of who you vote for, you should support him too. Getting him in the debates would give him a great audience to pull votes from democrats with his pro peace, ending the drug war positions. It would shed light on the lack of variation between our current "choices".
Agreed Cassie. We need him in the debates. We need to do everything we can to get his ideas out there. We are making headway.
ReplyDeleteMom- Jesus, the prince of peace, believed in and taught unconditional love and forgiveness. Should we give up his vision of a peaceful world simply because it isn't "realistic" or popular enough to get voted in? Jesus was killed in a pretty miserable manner. His side does not always look like the winning one. But I am not going to pick another god because of that. I am not comparing libertarian candidates to Jesus, but I am comparing the concept of sacrificing your ideals simply because enough people are not jumping on board. Obviously there is not a perfect candidate and compromises will be necessary, but I agree with Cass; to me, Romney and everything he represents is nearly as nauseating as Obama. There is no way I could vote for Romney OR Obama and feel clean and ok with myself. I would be lying to myself, my country, and my children. I have said it before and I will say it again, it is merely a case of the same shit in a different pile. NO candidate with the will or power to effect any MEANINGFUL change will ever be allowed to run as the democratic OR republican primary candidate, because there are too many greedy fat-cat puppeteers with an iron grip on BOTH sides!
ReplyDeleteOur votes are already meaningless. We can stop wasting our time debating, stressing, and thinking about it. The only thing we have left to do is PRAY OUR GUTS OUT. If you don't accept that our votes are meaningless, then you absolutely HAVE to vote for the candidate that you believe will be best for the country! The lesser of two evils is not an acceptable choice (will he even be less evil?) and I believe it is important to send that message. If everyone abandons the cause because they don't think enough people are supporting it, then our votes truly are meaningless.
Dear Auggie Doggie, I am not really sure to whom I am writing here. But since the post is addressed to "Mom" I can only assume Michael or Britt?
ReplyDeleteYes, Jesus taught love and forgiveness. But even Jesus angrily over turned the tables of the money changers. Even Jesus was angry at the pseudo-righteous and called them "a brood of vipers". I don't think Jesus would have advocated we never engage in any hostility no matter who or what gets hurt due to our inaction.
Of course we don't give up on the idea of a peaceful world. But is laying down and letting evil run roughshod over good a requirement of bringing forth a peaceful world? I don't believe that it is. However, I think many would advocate just that.
You mentioned a candidate with the will or power to effect meaningful change. Well, the past 4-years have brought us more change than I have ever seen. But no, the President will never have the legal power to effect significant change. And this is by constitutional design.
The only way to effect meaningful change is to educate and to impact the hearts of people. Then, we will have meaningful change at the top.
I honestly don't think Mitt Romney is evil. I don't agree with him on every position. But I don't think he is evil.
And when you talk about voting your values, well how can you say you vote your values if you vote for a candidate who believes that abortion should be legal anywhere in any form in the United States? I mean, would we allow slavery to be legal in any state who wanted it? Murder? Of course not, we would pass a national law forbidding it. Why then, should abortion be legal in any state? (which is of course, the libertarian position)
I think it was immoral when Ron Paul said that "Cheney and Bush" were "gleeful" when the planes hit the towers. I think it was immoral when he said Michelle Bachman hates Muslims. Ron Paul is really loathe to say we needed to involve ourselves in WWII. But, I really think inaction in this situation would have been beyond immoral. We saved most, if not all, of Europe from the ravages of Germany. We saved countless Jews, Gypsies, Russians, Christians and Mormons from being gassed and cremated in the killing factories.In fact, we failed to act soon enough. For us to have sat on our thumbs when all that was happening, and then just say to ourselves, "Its none of our business", is beyond evil according to my values. And this is what Ron Paul evidently thinks.
But would I vote for Ron Paul? Yes I would, and I would be "voting against my values". Then how could I vote for him? Because not voting for Ron Paul would allow greater evil to thrive. And also because I don't believe that Ron Paul is an evil man. I just think he is wrong-headed on some issues.
In short, I believe his heart is good. And I believe Mitt Romney's heart is good. And this is where we need to be as a nation. We need good hearts as the people of this nation. And we need to vote in leaders with good hearts. I certainly don't think the current occupant of 200 Pennsylvania Avenue has a good heart. And I can give you many reasons why I think that is so.
Like our founders said, "our freedom will only survive so long as we are a good and virtuous people". That is what we need to strive for. Will we make mistakes? Of course. Will we disagree? Without a doubt. But so long as we have good hearts, to degree to which we go astray will be limited.
Thank you Auggie Doggie, for reading my blog. And I hope you will reveal yourself soon. Love, mama