Poor Cornell West, the brother has no money

[LDAHL]

In the by no means certain event that Trump gets the nomination, I will probably vote Libertarian again.

[catherine]

Luckily, I live in a state that the Democratic candidate will win by a significant measure, so I can feel free to vote for the best person. If there is one.

I would enjoy it if we moved to a ranked-choice voting system however.

bae, you were the one who convinced me that I shouldn't vote strategically for one of the two parties--I should vote for who I think would be best. I am afraid that even as divided we are as a country, there aren't that many significant differences between the extreme right and the extreme left. I also truly believe the culture itself not on the right track. So I think in my old age I'm going to be who I always wanted to be as a teenager in the 60s when my mother wouldn't let me be a hippie even though I wanted to be one. Let my final and only act of rebellion in my life be voting as a proud counterculturalist.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I don't actually think there are any GOOD 3rd party choices either. It's not like there is some 3rd party dream choice that is so tempting I just have to vote for them (maybe if Ralph Nader was running). I'd take Cornell West over Jill Stein though, between those two. Obviously I don't live in a swing state, if I did I'd obviously be voting Biden in the general, may anyway. If not in a swing state it's largely symbolic, so choose your symbolism. I think voting for Biden just to symbolically vote against Trump is ok.

[jp1]

bae, you were the one who convinced me that I shouldn't vote strategically for one of the two parties--I should vote for who I think would be best. I am afraid that even as divided we are as a country, there aren't that many significant differences between the extreme right and the extreme left. I also truly believe the culture itself not on the right track. So I think in my old age I'm going to be who I always wanted to be as a teenager in the 60s when my mother wouldn't let me be a hippie even though I wanted to be one. Let my final and only act of rebellion in my life be voting as a proud counterculturalist.

Are you saying that you don’t think there’s much difference between biden and the guy who attempted a coup against the country when he lost re-election and has more recently promised a thuggish autocratic nightmare of a presidency if he gets elected a second time?

[catherine]

Are you saying that you don’t think there’s much difference between biden and the guy who attempted a coup against the country when he lost re-election and has more recently promised a thuggish autocratic nightmare of a presidency if he gets elected a second time?

Well, we'll see who winds up running, and what the polls say, and, as bae said, how "blue" my state votes. Vermont is pretty reliably blue. I do not want Trump to win, that's for sure, but I think I'm like the Republicans here who may hold their noses and vote for Biden, which wouldn't be a vote against Biden because I think he's done a decent job as President. It would be a statement on our collective values.

[Yppej]

Are you saying that you don’t think there’s much difference between biden and the guy who attempted a coup against the country when he lost re-election and has more recently promised a thuggish autocratic nightmare of a presidency if he gets elected a second time?

Biden ignores the constitution all the time funding and waging wars without Congress declaring war.

[jp1]

Biden ignores the constitution all the time funding and waging wars without Congress declaring war.

Every president from at least JFK on has done that. Korea was also never declared but I'm not sure if Eisenhower actually conducted any war without congress declaring it so I won't state unequivocally that this goes back to Truman and I'm too lazy to actually check.

[jp1]

Well, we'll see who winds up running, and what the polls say, and, as bae said, how "blue" my state votes. Vermont is pretty reliably blue. I do not want Trump to win, that's for sure, but I think I'm like the Republicans here who may hold their noses and vote for Biden, which wouldn't be a vote against Biden because I think he's done a decent job as President. It would be a statement on our collective values.

I guess my point is that when each of us votes in the presidential election we're not voting "right" or "left". Or "center" for that matter. We're voting for one of two very real, specific people and the policies and leadership styles that we believe they will bring to the white house. Or alternatively, voting "none of the above" if we vote for a third party, or decide not to vote at all. Personally I'm of the opinion that the presidency has too much power for me to vote "none of the above". The time for voting my conscience in terms of what I want my party and its leaders to be is during the primaries. Since there will be no meaningful primary for the democratic party this time around I won't be using my idealism to decide who to vote for. I'll be making that decision based on who I think won't attempt to overthrow the country or use his power as the head of the government to attack his political enemies.

[Yppej]

Every president from at least JFK on has done that. Korea was also never declared but I'm not sure if Eisenhower actually conducted any war without congress declaring it so I won't state unequivocally that this goes back to Truman and I'm too lazy to actually check.

Doesn't make it right. We could elect someone like Vivek Rawaswamy who would actually follow the constitution, who isn't gunning to take away First Amendment rights from anyone who criticizes Israel policy on campuses like DeSantis is, or from anyone who dares to criticize covid policy like Trump/Biden did with their "misinformation" patrols with big tech and big pharma.

[iris lilies]

I think the popular vote is important as well. It is an often cited number, especially by those who lose thru the electoral college but win or come in a razor thin close 2nd.

So what I am saying is your major party vote DOES count regardless if your state is safely blue or red.