Only if it happens nationwide would it actually affect the electoral vote.
I think you actually (or at least you should actually) know that third parties in this electoral campaign for president 2012 does not have a snowball's chance in hell of getting any electoral votes in the first place.
Excuse me, but it is also everybody else's “constitutional right” to vote for “WHOMEVER” we
choose to, “and for whatever reasons”, I might add. Of course, I know that you already know that.
I think that you are mischaracterizing the fundamental reasons why some of us are voting third-party as being “infantile”, “chronic obsession”; + your implication that anybody who votes for a third-party or; write-in candidate for that matter, of being a “disgruntled,” fanatic is a bit much, and kind of insulting to those who have a different opinions that you have the appearance of labeling onto us something which, in at least in my case, is not what the label says and most likely others too who are going to either write in somebody or vote for a third-party candidate.
Unfortunately, I think that if we start playing the label game, there is all kind of so-called (would be) "fanatics" here on this website, including ones that could be characterized as
Democratic fanatics.
Do we really want to go there?... ...I think not, I sure don't.
If Obama had earned my vote, I would vote for him in this election. Obama did not
lose my vote because I did not vote for him (or the Republican) in the last election. To put it simply: Obama did not
earn my vote.
I will not speak for anybody else here, but I agree that there are some, maybe many, "good" things that Obama deserves credit and acknowledgment; for example, some of the things you have mentioned above, and there are probably others, however there are also some changes that could have been made for the better, but instead some of the changes that did occur went for the worse. Of course, as far as the health care situation is concerned, I blame that more on the Democrats as a whole, not just Obama. The Democrats did not even use single-payer as a lever! I know it would not have passed, but they didn't even use it as a lever. I think that was ignorant and gave the other side, who wants to get rid of pretty much all the safety net and privatize it way too much leverage.
I and many others on this board; some of whom I don't agree with very often about a whole variety of things, do for the most part agree on some things that we believe are fundamentally wrong that Obama did and in some cases did not do that he could have done.
Some of those disagreeable things that the Obama administration didn't do include punishing instead of praising whistle-blowers and even the press in some instances.
Then there is the Wall Street and big-bank bailouts, however I think maybe his hands were tied on that one because of the political positions that members in the house had and something clearly had to be done very quickly at the time.... but still...
...He should have fought harder for Main Street and not have bent-over backwards so far siding with Wall Street and the big banks as he apparently did.
Also, Obama, by not initiating something that would prevent the economic havoc that, BTW, we have not gotten out of yet; for example, reinstating the Glass-Steagall act or even so much as coming anywhere near proposing anything like it. Because of what I believe is Obama's lack of initiative in regards to that we are in the same entrapped economic situation we were in around the year 2007, with just about no protections whatsoever against another too big to fail economic breakdown, so the same reasons still exist today that existed when George W. Bush was president that can at any time cause another extreme recession or a depression.
Maybe Obama could not have made the changes that I mentioned, but he didn't even try! So he gets a thumbs-down for not even trying to do that or so much as discussing the matter in deeper detail or at least putting something on the table to bring the discussion up in the first place. Even if the house, which is (now) mostly Republican, refused to bring it up in session, does not mean Obama couldn't have come up with something that would get the ball rolling in that direction at some point in time.
As far as I'm concerned, the Democrats have their earplugs stuck really deep in on that one. And I think the reason those earplugs are in so deep is because Obama did not initiate.
Leadership is about initiating. Where's the leadership on this particular issue? Unfortunately, I do not sense that strong leadership in regards to that specific topic from Obama. To me that's not just disappointing; it is unacceptable.
The only thing more unacceptable would be Romney for president. But lucky me I live in California so I can vote for whoever I want to, because California is not a swing state. If I lived in a swing state I would plug my nose and vote for Obama because the possibility of Romney winning the state in that case would be too high for me to vote for a third-party.
Now, as mentioned before, one of the main reasons some of us on this board would (will or have in the past) vote/ed for third-party candidates is that
we want to see a third-party candidate in the debates!
I know some hard-core Democrats don't like that. But that's just tough!
Honestly, I do not think anybody on this board is that “psychologically arrested" or “delusional” to the extent you describe above.
Also, I have not heard or read anything anybody said here that in any way wanted to start or were even so much as suggesting to start, join, or otherwise participate in an actual "
armed revolution” or anything like that. I don't know if you're just exaggerating about things posted on this board or if I missed something when I have not been reading the board that you picked up on, or if you are generalizing and projecting that onto some of us or someone in particular.
Of course there are some anti-gun fanatics that would say (about) somebody that wants to have protected their second amendment constitutional rights; (some anti-gun "fanatics") who seem to suggest that anyone that want's to maintain the intent of the Second Amendment are somehow revolutionary fanatics because they want to keep their guns and ammo. Whereas I think that Obama does at this point in time, deserve some praise for understanding or at least not messing with what the second amendment right is and not giving too much license to the anti-gun fanatics within the Democratic party.
I don't think of it quite that way, but I understand what you're saying.
I'm thinking that if and when ever a third-party or write-in candidate gets elected that it would be more of a bellwether for the improved chance for the profound changes progressives want and it most certainly is not or would not be the change by itself alone.
Contradictory?... ... It could very well be contradictory.... ... Hypocritical?... ...Possibly. I'm not justifying it, but hypocrisy seems to be the norm in politics; unfortunately.
So maybe it's time for progressives to “occupy” the Democratic Party by joining it... ...Yes that's it; maybe independent, green, peace and freedom, declined to state, etc.
progressives should join the Democratic Party and work to move it where it needs to go to enable it so that it can make those changes it’s unable to make now.
I am not so sure, but I think that (registered non-Democrat
progressives should join the Democratic Party) may be what you have been implying or suggesting some of us
non-Democrat progressives do (?).
That’s a good question, and I have one good answer, but I'm sure it's not the only good answer. The answer is because: some that assert the American political system is essentially flawed
do not want to have an “armed revolution” to change it
.
I understand exactly what you're saying, a lot of people that I knew who voted for Obama felt that way about him in 2008. I tried to explain to them that it wouldn't be that way, but they were so enthusiastic it was like they were under the influence of some kind of a happy drug. When they asked me what I thought about him I told them that he is a politician and that they should not be so overly optimistic about what he would actually do.
I agree.
I don't think we are going to hear that in any of the debates between Obama and Romney. That is precisely why I am going to vote for a 3rd party candidate in 2012.
That is a very accurate assessment, and I agree with the gist of it.
