So if the November Presidential elections were being held today, how would you vote?

I realize this forum represents a skewed demographic (I haven't seen any pro-Bush people here yet...) but I thought it would be interesting to see how this poll goes.

how can anyone justify 'i don't have a vote?'

i mean a good concise explanation, not a 'fuck it who cares' - type discourse. or, for that matter, explain an 'other?' i don't get it. green party? do they have a candidate?

oh oh, or 'i'm not going to bother?'

come fucking on. get over yourself.

or are you <18?

the matt clark wrote:how can anyone justify 'i don't have a vote?'

i mean a good concise explanation, not a 'fuck it who cares' - type discourse. or, for that matter, explain an 'other?' i don't get it. green party? do they have a candidate?

Fair enough.

I live and work in the USA thanks to the H1-B visa program. As a tax-paying non-immigrant, I don't have a vote. Of course, you could also be under legal voting age, a citizen of another country, and so forth. I simply wanted to cover all the bases in the poll for the members of the board. If this poll was targeted only at voting US citizens, then I certainly wouldn't have included the "I don't have a vote" option.

As for "Other", well, there's Green, Libertarian, etc...I honestly don't know what they are all up to for this election, but I didn't think it worthwhile to limit the poll to Bush, Democrats and Nader. I would hope that anyone polling "Other" would post a message describing that "Other".

the matt clark wrote:oh oh, or 'i'm not going to bother?'

come fucking on. get over yourself.

or are you <18?

First off, calm down. Enough with the flames over a poll option.

Secondly, haven't you *ever* met someone who has said, "I'm not going to bother voting this year, the Dems and Republicans are too similar on the policies I care about, and my vote for a third-party candidate isn't going to count much anyway".

I've met three of those people this year already in my workplace.

So, it's a valid option in my book.

Yeah, yeah, remember some people do not actually have a vote (under aged people, people who are here but are not american citizens, etc) so, yeah, "I don't have a vote" makes sense. The 'i'm not going to bother' one is troubling. And I do think even people in the green party or whatever party not represented have the duty to vote for whoever will ram them up the wazoo least. Yeah, it is not their first choice but, jeez. Not voting would be cutting off your nose to spite your face in my opinion.

Libertarian

(its not on the poll)

Danm wrote:Libertarian

(its not on the poll)

I second that. Haven't heard who it'll be yet.
Probably Harry Brown again

didn't consider the non-citizen perspective. apologies.

briefly, to those that can but don't think they'll bother voting, i have in fact met quite a few folks at work and elsewhere who don't think the two parties are, on the surface, too different. i would think that the events of the last 24 hours (bush's announcement of an election year plot to alter the constitution to deny marriage rights to citizens based on sexual preference, including plenty of people i work with, friends, extended family etc., to please the right), as well as any of a host of other indiscretions on bush's and the current administration's part, would make any sentient human a good bit pissed. pissed and hopefully feeling obligated to get that guy out of the white house, cronies and all. voting seems to be a good way, maybe the best way, to get that accomplished, or at least the only reasonable option right now. i don't know that i think any single candidate represents the way i feel about how things can or should be done, and i agree that in many respects the difference between the two major parties is sometimes negligible, but a second term for bush seems like not just the last choice, but an abhorrent direction for the usa and therefore the rest of the planet. frankly, bush, and what he represents, scares the shit out of me.

sorry about the previous language if anyone was offended. don't know what 'flaming' means. guess i can't respect anyone that thinks that voting is too much of a bother to deal with though.

gotta work.
mc

the matt clark wrote:sorry about the previous language if anyone was offended. don't know what 'flaming' means. guess i can't respect anyone that thinks that voting is too much of a bother to deal with though.

No worries. BTW, the "flaming" was in regard to your language towards me - which would have been perfectly valid had I expressed the opinion, "I won't bother voting". Since all I had done was place that opinion as an option to the poll, any reaction to it directed at me is basically misdirected. Since yours was also an inflammatory comment, it's what is usually called a "flame".

Besides, anyone who does have a vote and doesn't bother their fucking arse getting up and using it is a dickhead, and deserves more than flames. A red hot poker up the ying-yang might be more appropriate.

So who polled for Bush? Care to give your reasons? Note - this isn't a call for a fight, I'm honestly genuinely interested in what his supporters see as his strong points, achievements and impact on the country.