What Is The Most Scary Thing About A Wasted Vote?

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Ed Normile' timestamp='1351470644' post='2499329']
Take my poll please and edify me what you think is the most scary result of wasting a vote on a non-viable candidate during the most important election I have ever seen in my life.

I guess we all can agree that a 3rd party vote is wasted as there are no viable candidates who could actually win with a " protest vote " Beside the view that one might be able to influence future politicians with such a vote, what could really be accomplished in the real world? I guess in a utopian world one might assume that a politician would actually notice the written in or 3rd party votes of a losing candidate, but in the real world politicians look at losers and realize they received 5-15% of the vote and they want to avoid that, afterall they want to win not attract the lunatic fringe and as for written in votes its insane to think they would give a thought to any policy that captured 2% of the write in votes for a losing candidate. Why would any politician think " Hey I want to lose this race with a low total of the votes so I will adopt - insert name of your favorite loser here - policies so I can have his voter block.

ed
[/quote]

Guess I've missed some previous conversation. I'm of the mind that there's no such thing as a wasted vote. Even choosing not to vote is a vote in absentia. It's not always about voting for someone who has a chance to win, but voting simply to exercise our right to vote. Only in swing states does it seem worthwhile to allow the closeness of the election to affect who you choose to vote for.

As for the 5-15% independent vote, these are the ones Romney and Obama are pursuing now. Neither can afford to avoid them since they're both sitting with about 45% of the popular vote, so the roughly 10% in the middle is who decides the election. Romney's been encouraging voters to read his plan on his website because that 10% votes very deliberately. Having a written plan for leading the country could swing just enough votes to Romney to win the election. And tonight Obama aired a commercial about his own plan. Go figure So from what I see, even if the independent voters aren't coming up with their own candidates, they are numerous enough to influence the campaign because they can vote either way.

[BG45]

That troll poll is a troll poll?

Or as Jamie said, "That I've actually fulfilled my civic duty and demonstrated my constitutional right to vote for the candidate of my choosing?"

[Ed Normile]

@ qfnol31, I agree with your post and was actually going to post that but I seriously doubt that jaime is interested in the facts, thank you all the same though.

@ Dust again I agree with your post and again I say the facts do not seem to matter to jaime. And why does this thread show up without the poll acknowledged on the forum and shows 0 views ? When I started it it showed there was a poll at least.

@ Loiusville fan I also agree with your post, no vote is a vote in absentia, what troubles me is that vote in absentia is the same as voting for Obama. No matter how you cut it his base will vote for him whether he comes out for inter-species marriage or genocide in Israel, which the latter he has practically endorsed. I know both parties are courting the undecided and 3rd party voters, my point was that although they are needed by them no politician will change his platform to represent the views of a minority of voters at the expense of losing the 45% majority they already have. Unfortunately the choice is many more abortions and you and I and religious orgs having to pay for them or reducing abortions and not being forced to pay for abortions through constitutionally illegally mandated Obamacare.

@ Mlkolbe, I agree with premise of your post and empathize with your emotions. The difference I see between " killing babies and killing babies " would be the numbers involved and the fact that you and I plus all religious orgs. will be paying for that murder under the current regimes plan. Look this is the most important election we may ever face in our lives, it definetly has been in my life so far. If I could save one life in a burning car out of five I would still be devastated, but I would thank God for the ability to save one and know that one person would be thankful for the life I saved. Thats the way I look at it.

God bless you all, and vote like a life depended on it as it does !

ed

Edited October 29, 2012 by Ed Normile