I'm taking the next month off and I won't be around when Obama gets reelected, so I thought I'd let you guys know that I was a good citizen and mailed in my absentee ballot earlier this week.
I'd initially intended to abstain this year, but the debates really turned me around. For the record, I think abstention is a perfectly legitimate vote in and of itself, and is really the only way for the American people to signal to the rest of the world that we have no faith in our government. Be that as it may, I've only ever abstained once (2004) since reaching legal voting age. On top of that, I firmly believe that anyone who ever voted for George W. Bush (as I did in 2000) should have their voting privileges revoked for life, so any voting I do from now on is pretty much gravy.
So what was it that got me off the schneid and forced me to download a ballot and mail it in? I think it was the case laid out by both candidates for their respective viewpoints, actually. Watching the debates drove home one thing for me:
I had to vote this time around for the sake of my own conscience.
You guys know Obama's fiscal policies are way too liberal for me. Under his watch, he's allowed Bernanke to turn us all into Keynesian lab rats, and I'm not at all convinced it's going to end well. Quite the opposite, really.
And any of you who have read my stuff for more than a month know that I could never vote for Romney for obvious reasons, despite the fact that he is more than capable and he absolutely killed at the Al Smith dinner.
So I did the only reasonable thing I could do, and I wasted my vote. While I would encourage all of you to consider doing the same, I of course respect whatever decision you make.
But for me the choice was clear, and I voted for Johnson. That's how I sleep at night (well, that and a handle of scotch).
Just thought you guys would like to know.
In before the shitshow...
Someone said after one of the debates, I think the second, that regardless of who won the debate America lost. That's how I feel with this election right now.
Was you ballot cast in any of the swing states, if not what state?
Nope, Louisiana. Solidly Romney, according to the polls (and the last 150 years of history).
That's been said after every debate/election for as long as I can remember.
Your vote for Johnson will have the exact same impact as any single vote for Romney or Obama.
I'm in a deep blue state, so I can waste my vote without helping the greater of two evils. But I don't think voting for your 3rd party candidate of choice (I'm also backing Johnson) is necessarily futile, at least not across multiple elections.
First past the post will always trend to 2 parties. But I am hoping that one of the mainsteam parties will see libertarian-leaning voters as a swing voting block, and shift their own positions. This is really do-or-die for the GOP - nobody will be opposing gay marriage 50 years from now.
This is exactly why I am voting for Gary Johnson in Illinois.
This will be the second election I abstain from.
I think the American political system is one of the more corrupt in the developed world, we're just good at hiding it.
Am I crazy? I thought you lived in France?
I do, hence the absentee ballot.
I filled out my absentee ballot last night, and I just couldn't vote for Johnson knowing Obama had secured 47% of all idiots,
Gary Johnson is they guy most Republicans actually WANT to vote for. They just got stuck with Romney.
You sound like someone who hasn't taken a serious look at where each candidate really stands and instead lets hyperbolic nonsense guide their decision.
Johnson...hahaha would make for some great theater if he was unfortunately in another paragliding accident and got back on marijuana for medicinal purposes like he did for 2005-2008. To see him with blood shot eyes giving the state of the Union is something else. Guy is clueless on monetary and foreign policy as well, would be a fun guy to go have some beers with though.
He is a libertarian. I can see criticism of the fair tax, but I assume you just simply are a democrat or a neo con to say he is "clueless" without offering up even a strawman in your defense.
I'm probably not voting for either of the two canidates either. I'm thinking to cast my vote as a write-in for Mickey Mouse. I know he doesn't have a high chance of winning, but I don't know how I can live with myself if I don't show some support for his adorable red shorts and bright yellow shoes.
My view is that Romney is far from perfect, but there are a whole host of administrative issues that he will be much better than Obama on (in my conservative leaning view, of course). Whoever is President in the next 4 years will probably appoint 2 and possibly even 3 Supreme Court justices, not to mention a whole host of judges on the federal benches. As bad as Bush was (and he was AWFUL), his court appointees were night and day better than Obama's (again, from a conservative's perspective).
You've also got administrative issues like net neutrality that was unilaterally (and, in my view, illegally) thrust upon the public by the FCC, despite Congressional objection. You've got rules that I believe are unconstitutional (or bordering on it) from the EPA, that were imposed after Congress rejected the legislation. You've got an absolutely atrocious Justice Department under Obama that has shirked the rule of law for almost 4 years now (Fast and Furious, voter ID, immigration reform, etc.). You've also got Obamacare, which I believe will never be fully repealed but would be administratively damaged by a Romney presidency and you'd probably have at least a modification of the Dodd-Frank bill, which is an absolute horseshit joke of a bill.
You've got an administration that is blocking the Keystone pipeline, that has been financing its well connected cronies' failed green energy ventures, and a Department of Education that was instructed by Obama as one of his first acts to cut off funding for voucher programs. There are other things, like a clearly illegal auto bankruptcy that enriched unions at the expense of bond holders and administration support for a clearly failed Arab Spring.
At the legislative level, little will change, especially because I see the Senate being held by Democrats. But, as pointed out, at the administrative level, you will probably see considerably different policies. And that's why I will be voting for Mitt Romney on November 6 in Virginia.
Agree 100%. Bush's policies was terrible, but Alito and Roberts are great. God forbid Obama can elect a couple more onto the bench.
Could you imagine 2 more Kagans? I shudder to think of it.
If Romney wins I might burn a car or something in joyous rioting. Just to be able to not listen to a grown man complain about fairness worse than my 4 year old niece is enough for me.
Wow... WaitForSlutSet... I think that is the first post of yours that I have wholeheartedly agreed with. Well thought out and articulate. +1
Im writing myself in. Fuck all y'all
I'm Scottish so obviously can't vote in the US election but follow US politics pretty closely (politics in the UK is very boring as all the parties essentially agree on a lot of the big issues such as abortion, gun control, capital punishment, free healthcare etc).
I'm naturally a very liberal person although my economics dont quite stretch to Ron Paul-esque darwinism but this guy Johnson seems like a good guy, particularly on social issues and foreign affairs. Don't know enough about his tax cutting, is he in favour of progressive taxation?
Gary Johnson favors the Fair Tax. I am not quite sure on the exact numbers, but to sum up the idea:
(1) Remove the current tax code in its entirety. Replace it with a really high VAT.
(2) Give everyone a $2500 "prebate", offsetting some or all of the tax. So on somebody with $20,000 consumption and a 25% VAT, they would pay $2500 net to the government (12.5%). Somebody with $50,000 consumption would pay $10,000 net to the government (20%). So it works out as roughly progressive. It might be regressive at 100k+ incomes as consumption lags spending by greater amounts.
The idea behind the Fair Tax is to radically simplify the tax code. Almost every working adult has some "skin in the game", it makes tax increases/decreases extremely transparent to the American people, and should theoretically lower tax avoidance/evasion. It would also make the USA far more business friendly and spur investment (maybe even too much). It's not perfect, but I think it's leagues better than the status quo.
lol
When people don't vote, elected officials presume that their positions and decisions have tacit approval. The only way to keep them accountable, and to remind them of who they serve, is casting a ballot. No vote, not even a write-in, is a waste.
Wrong. When the rest of the world sees that only 20% of a country's electorate shows up to vote, that "elected" government is rightly presumed to be illegitimate. That's why voting is compulsory in most 3rd world dictatorships.
I will probabolly vote for Obama because he helped fix the economy after the george of bush's
I'm a fairly liberal person but it seems like Romney will take the election. The guy got his shit together in crunch time. They're all crooks at the end of the day though. The only reason Obama was so popular was because he seemed like a genuine person in 2008, he was firm in his views and his views were shared by a big chunk of the population at the time. I mean honestly, how can you look these guys in the eye and actually believe that they are telling the truth? These guys flip flop on everything and they change or alter their own stances solely on what their constituencies think. I don't know how people go into politics....it has to suck your soul right out of you. I mean think about it...Romney was pro choice then all of a sudden he had a revelation and became pro life, how phony is that? When you feel so strongly about an extremely important issue like that then you change your position that says a lot about that person and about his/her intentions. I hate the game of politics. I registered but I don't think I'll vote.
Disclaimer: I am referring to politicians in general when I say they flip flop all the time...Obama is more firm in his views and has remained that way which is why I still respect him. With that said, on the economy front I think Romney has him stumped....more experience more energy and more ambition.
About as phony as Obama "evolving" on gay marriage?
I do think it is more believable than Romney's flip-flop due to how society has become far more knowledgeable and accepting of same-sex couples since 2004 -- it's not unreasonable to assume that Obama, like the rest of us, simply wasn't as educated about the issue 8-9 years ago. If nothing else, society has moved, by and large, toward being more pro-choice, and Romney flipping from his stance 10 years ago as pro-choice to suddenly pro-life now is...suspect.
Edmundo, I thought you quit drinking?
Johnson's good people but I just wish he wasn't so anti-defense spending. I like how he's pretty aligned with the Milton Friedman classical liberalism model but I think even Friedman advocated a strong national defense.
Ok, so a few of you have pinged me offline and asked why "I so obviously" couldn't vote for Romney. Dawkins does a better job explaining it than I ever could:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/wZFQyj-HzGU
This is such a bogus argument. I always enjoy seeing disaster strike us humans when we think we have mastered something. The only thing that is absolute in this world, beyond death and taxes, is the overestimation of humans knowledge and ability.
I'd rather Romney believe in space aliens than someone believe in the ability and righteousness of the government to take from me what I have earned.
And the hypocrisy is just so outlandish. Stupid right wingers slander Obama by calling him a Muslim and everyone crawls out of the wood work to defend him, denounce those who believe it or say who cares, but yet Romney being a Mormon is some how fair season.
I also don't see how his beliefs have anything to do with anything. Didn't stop him from being a successful businessman, governor, running the Olympics or being a good husband and father. I also don't see Romney talking about forcing Mormonism on people. If anything I would imagine Romney has a strong respect for protecting freedom of speech and religion since his religion was so persecuted.
The only thing that Christian candidates try and really force on people is the abortion issue. Faith based teaching in schools only gains traction down south, not nationally. As for abortion, you don't need to be religious to be against it. Anyone who believes in innate human rights or simply is a loving parent could come up with a valid moral argument to be against abortion. I frankly support abortion simply because I think humans are a parasitic species, but to say that we are nothing but a blob of cells until a perfect little human gets shit out in 9 months is outlandish. One only needs to look at an ultra sound or a biology text book to know and see that a developing human (what fetus means) is existing within a couple months.
Christian candidates would do everyone a favor to start talking about abortion on a humanistic stance rather than a faith based stance.
The only thing absolute in this world, beyond death and taxes, is the passage below from the Old Testament...I have included it below for everyone's reading pleasure. Cheers.
You're goddam right it is (no pun intended). Obama isn't a Muslim; he's turned the White House basement into a microbrewery for fuck's sake.
Yet Romney is a Bishop (not some jamoke in the pews, not even a priest, but a Bishop) in what many would call a Doomsday Cult. That's not the guy I want anywhere near "the button". That's not to say Mormons aren't perfectly lovely people (at least those that I personally know and have known are). But where is the separation of church and state? Would you elect a Catholic bishop President? I know I sure as hell wouldn't, and I was raised Catholic.
Also, why hasn't anyone ever asked him how he reconciles the overt racism of his chosen faith? He was an adult member of the Mormon faith when it was still official Mormon policy to exclude blacks from positions of authority. He wasn't some kid being forced to go to church by his parents. He was 31 years old before his church was forced to reverse their policy in 1978.
Robert Byrd (a Democrat) got raked over the coals by the media for his old Klan antics (and rightly so), yet Romney hasn't had a single reporter ask him about this because the religion question is off limits in America. At least Mo Udall had the decency to denounce his faith (and had the civil rights bona fides to back up his decision) when he got as close to the Oval Office as Romney is.
And it's a shame, really, because I believe a man of his talents would make a good President. But anyone who can somehow believe the things he believes is unfit for higher office in my view. If there's a bright side to his being elected, I guess it would have to be that we could cut the Secret Service budget because I'm sure magic underwear is bulletproof.
I don't believe in a religious test for candidates unless I fear that religion's affect on public policy. If you believe a practicing Christian's beliefs will impact his public policy (which it probably will) and you oppose that policy then I understand the religious test, so to speak. However, I just don't see any evidence that Romney's Mormon religion has materially impacted his term as governor, his tenure at Bain Capital or his management of the Winter Olympics.
Actually back in 2007 I staunchly opposed Romney's candidacy because he was a Mormon, but I've evolved on this issue and came to support Romney as early as 3 1/2 years ago.
I'm all for Romney.
Johnson is not anti-defense spending. He is anti-imposing_our_will_on_the_rest_of_the_world_and_saying_it's_defense spending. He wants to end the offensive strikes, nation building, and other things that get put in the defense category that really aren't defense.
Whatever. I am sure some people are voting against Obama because he is black. Some people vote against Romney because he is a Mormon. All I know is he is a successful businessman, a person who has been elected governor, who helped fix the SLC Olympics, a person who has been put in his dues for the Republican party and a guy who is essentially pro business Obama. Romney is the most weak sauce Republican in a long time, yet people somehow fault him for that?!
I for one an relieved that we are running a nearly completely economically focused individual. As for his religion, I'd rather him believe in space aliens than the omnipotent powers of human kind. The same humans who built the unsinkable Titanic, the same humans who screwed up standard and metric which lead to the Challenger blowing up and the same people who thought housing prices would always rise and that internet stocks were the best thing since sliced bread.
Humans are dumb. The second we forget that mother nature and reality have a nice way of showing us that. Religion, if anything, at least humbles mans massive ego.
Look, I know you pay attention to this stuff. You're basically admitting that you're voting for Romney solely because he was a business guy, not on substance.
--He fixed the SLC Olympics by taking Federal Gov't Money, not through Bain wiz-ardry.
--He passed Obamacare Jr. in Massachusetts and was arguing in favor of Obamacare as recently as 2010, now he wants to repeal it for reasons that don't stand up to scrutiny while making empty promises about what he'd replace it with.
--His economic focused "plan" is a sham that has been discredited time and time again. I don't see any reason to believe that Romney would shrink government or the deficit / debt when his plan calls for massive deficit spending and a monstrous tax cut that cannot be paid for. Cutting PBS won't pay for massive defense spending increases that the military isn't asking for.
If you, or anyone else, wants to believe that Obama is some sort of radical left winger, go ahead. But, you're living in a fantasy world. He's a moderate that passed a Republican health care plan and decimated terrorist networks globally with drone strikes and intelligence operations.
So, go ahead and vote against the guy, just realize that you're voting for Romney because of what you want him to be, not what he actually is in reality.
No, I am voting for Romney because I believe he is an economically focused candidate. I've been wanting to see deduction eliminated for years (we spend over a trillion of dollars through the tax code a year). He fixed the SLC Olympics, nuff said. He passed Romenycare at the state level. Very different than at the national level. States rights.
As for his tax cuts, he wants to lower rates and eliminate deductions.
I know full well why I am supporting Romney and it isn't because of some fantasy I've concocted in my head.
Frankly, I'd rather he believed in space aliens as well, because that would at least indicate a modicum of rationality. Extraterrestrial life is a near certainty, mathematically speaking. Unfortunately, he believes in an extraterrestrial afterlife where cosmic LDS realtors dole out entire planets to the recently departed faithful, with the highest-priced real estate closest to Kolob presumably being awarded to those Mormons who drank the least coffee. But yeah, that's the guy who should be running shit.
Nobody ever said anything about man's omnipotence, and quit rooting for man's comeuppance, you make yourself sound like a buffoon. Humility is not dependent upon religion in the least. In fact I'd say the opposite is true. Just look at all the fundy Christian megachurch douchebags on TV.
Sorry if this came off as too harsh, it's late here.
No worries. I mean you also said we should basically just declare war on Islam. Judging a person who has been shown to be competent throughout his career solely based on a personally held, religious belief goes right along with this.
Glad to know that both sides of the isle can make voting decisions based on triviality.
Sorry if this came off as harsh. It is late here.
This.
Barack Obama is a "moderate"? That's the problem with the modern Democratic Party. Barack Obama is now considered to be a moderate. Just goes to show how far left the Dems have turned since the 1960s.
No, Mitt Romney is a dictionary definition of moderate. Obama is a leftist, held in check only by Congress and separation of powers. As I've already pointed out, what Obama's done at an administrative level, where his power has been un-checked, is as left-wing as it gets.
But WaitForSlutSet, don't you know "reality has a liberal bias". Your professors and liberal friends should have taught you this already lol.
ill be making money regardless of which asshole gets elected so whatever
Why didn't Ron Paul run separately from Republicans? Why hasn't Federal Reserve been mentioned once during the debates?
For one, his son Rand Paul endorsed Mitt Romney. But what would be the point? He would've not gotten on the majority of ballots nationwide and he would have no path to victory. It's basically like pounding sand.
I think this is a weak argument! 1. Son and father is not necessarily the same thing. Rand is following the Party line to have a longer politician career. 2. Sometimes 5%,10%,15% can be very powerful and give momentum to the movement, voice to the idea and so on. 3. What's the point for voting for people that don't represent your beliefs and don't keep their promises. If you like to be deceived then go ahead and vote for whoever is in the mainstream (unless that's who you actually support).
Why didn't Ron Paul run separately from Republicans? Why hasn't Federal Reserve been mentioned once during the debates?
I agree...I'm voting for Johnson
I don't understand how someone could vote for Obama soley based on the fact that he's been damn close to a career politician. Oh, sorry, he was a fucking lawyer first, way better.
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