Help me understand this. If you know you will be throwing your vote away in a key state like Pa, why would you even do it? You would be voting for someone that doesn't stand a chance in hell of winning.

I also agree with the post about people taking a test to vote. Too many stupid people in this country will vote for the person that Kanye West supports. Have I missed something? When does he or any of hollywood think they are qualified to talk about politics on a large scale. I know the freedom of speech argument but get real. These are the people that you would think would be for McCain with the amount of money they make and the taxes they will pay under Obama.

 

I would LOVE to vote Ron Paul, and for awhile I was saying that I will be casting my vote to Ron Paul hit or miss. But agreed you come to standpoint where you would be throwing away your vote. Ron Paul I believe would make a PHENOMENAL president, and I think would help solve a lot of issues. But, like stated, it's a wasted vote and in key states that could go either way with the electoral college you need to cast wisely to your genre of president

 

Well for one, anyone in any state would be throwing away their vote. A dem or rep is going to win every other state as well. I would hate to see Obama as president, but I would not vote for McCain just to see that happen. I have to vote for what i believe in

Basically I feel obligated to do so. A third party will never gain any ground if the people of those parties never vote. Elections are popularity contests when it comes down to it. The general public will never vote for an independent or libertarian if they constantly represent 1% of the vote. I basically look at it this way. How many people share my thoughts on voting for Ron Paul or wanting a Third party system? Probably tens of millions of people (a three party system would be fantastic for this country and I think most people know it). Now, how many of them don’t vote because they know their candidate has no chance, I’m willing to guess WAY more then 50%. I also bet that 75% of the people that do vote go with either cast for rep. or dem. Elections become such a pissing contest between the two parties that everything else is overlooked.

They always say "make your vote count". Even if i voted for Ron Paul this year, my vote would still count for something. I'm not a short term minded individual and i dont need to believe my vote counted for something THIS year. I believe in long term goals and thinking globaly. So, while my vote for Ron Paul is just being thrown away, its still going toward a higher belief

We can’t change anything if we quit and say, we have no chance. It seems like Every year people are complaining about their options. From president, to congressional and senate seats both federal and state. The public rarely seems to be really happy about either candidate. Well why not increase your options? Sure we have about 8 people running right now, but only two have the chance of winning. If more people voted cross party it would put other names into the mix.

 

I'd love to vote for Ron Paul, honestly he's the only one that's preaching what I want to hear, but unfortunately he has no chance of getting elected. Him, and Ross Perot are the only 2 people that have run in the last 20 years that would have done this country right.

 

Exactly, I love how hollywood jumps on a specific candidates bandwagon and everyone follows suit. Lets be serious, celebrities just want to be in the spot light and regardless of who wins they wont be affected, case in point the total disregard for the tax implications of voting for Obama. The thing is that our country as a whole is becoming less educated. Just look at what is considered entertainment today. People would rather sit and watch someone elses life on the obscene amount of reality tv shows that are out there then do something productive. Its also scary when people are voting simply because Kanye West, P. Diddy, etc, etc are saying vote for this candidate instead of actually researching the candidate and making a decision based off of facts/knowledge. I respect someone voting for Obama/Biden if they research both candidates and can say "I know the pros and cons of both parties and I think Obama is the better choice". I can deal with that, but its the individuals who are clueless that just jump on the bandwagon and vote with Zero knowledge of the candidate they are voting for that bothers me.

 

I don't talk politics with anyone. Not even my family and I honestly hate threads like this one because they always turn into big messes. I did want to comment on this though and please don't take it the wrong way. The founding fathers of this country bestowed a God given right to us to place our vote where ever one wishes without question or merit and honestly it all boils down to ethics. It would be terribly wrong of him to take advantage of that right for a "lesser of two evils". And the absolute sad thing is, if you're thinking this way, imagine how many other Americans are thinking this way...And if for once they were to vote ethically, perhaps the outcome would be different instead of this two party system where 90% of the time its a 'lesser of two evils'. I'm sorry and please don't take offense to this. And I just want to remind everyone that these viewpoints are mine and do not necessarily reflect those of HSW.

Nick

 

I do not take offense from any response. I understand the right to vote for what you believe in but if you guys missed it, Paul was the fourth place finisher in the Republican primary as stated on wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul
That already tells me that he will not win. I don't plan on changing anyones mind. I just think if you have already stated that you will be throwing your vote away you would be better off saving the gas money and not going to the polling place.

 

I realize Ron Paul did run on the republican card and did not win. That does not tell me he could not win the election. As i said earlier, i am a registered Independent, meaning i could not have voted in the primary for Ron Paul. So, take into consideration the millions of non-republicans. Which includes democrats, independents, Green party, etc. What if a majority of them were not thrilled about their parties nominee AND not thrilled about a very conservative republican nominee. Im obviously not talking about this election, but it could be possible

More importantly, i think you missed what i said about achieving an end goal. Anyone running in the other parties will never stand a chance because those parties are not recognizable and popular. BUT what if this year millions of them vote. Then the next year it starts to catch on, then so on and so on. That is the only way this could happen. BUT taking your position is the reason why it will never ever happen. It is NOT a wasted vote, its going toward a greater good

 

Also and most importantly keep this in mind. Ron Paul is not in the running because he does not have access to MILLLIONS in campaign contributions. Not because his policies are bad, not because his beliefs are bad or because his personality is bad. He isnt in it because he doesnt have millions to spend on advertising. Seems kind of stupid to me. Saying dont vote for him cause he cant win will only make it worse

 

Nick thank you for contributing to the thread. I started it essentially to get a view on other people. I think keeping an open mind is an extremely important thing to have in this country. Everyone has their own views and opinions, and it is a right in this country to have an entitled right to your own view, and a right to speak it freely. Go back to the last presidential election. If you wanted to go to a George Bush rally you had to sign a waiver saying that you agreed with anything, and everything he would say during the speech prior to the speech????? Those who signed that gave up their right. More so than most Nick, it's people like you I love hear expres their thoughts and opinions, because like you said you never speak politics but that doesn't mean you don't have your own views on it. Thank you

 

/thread lol obama is going to be the next president so some of you people are going to need to deal with it.

 

I thought i would bring up some interesting facts on that bill for you guys. Just to understand the kind of BULLSHIT concerning it and how long it took to produce.

As part of the legislation in this bill tax exemptions were given out to companies that make wooden arrows for children and companies that research wool....ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME. Our country was literally on the verge of a TOTAL economic meltdown and they are drafting up this kind of bullshit.

As a result of it i decided to start a company that makes wooden arrows for children who shoot sheep with the intent of researching the wool. BIG tax break for me, YAY!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well I'm just going to play devil's advocate here and change your quote around a little.

See how quickly things change? I would much rather vote for a person that I doubt will win rather than comprimising my position. Some might view it as pig headed and not sacrificial to the greater good, but this is my duty as a citizen...like it or not. Again, not picking on you or anything like that. I think sometimes some of the greater things in history stem from a single person doing his duty and taking a stand. And trust me, I'm not trying to play rally around the flag rah rah rah...I'm just trying to show some different views and maybe light some sparks under some lazy people to actually get out and do their duty and vote. And better yet...maybe finally some people will finally gracefully make the transition to adulthood and take a look at the issues at hand. Nothing is better than an informed voter. And maybe that's part of the problem with this country...people just follow the leader and make un-informed decisions? I honestly don't know. Please, nobody read into this post and assume which candidate I support, this was just an example. Again, these are my opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of HSW.

Nick

 

Absolutely no need to thank me.

Nick

 

Hmmm...how can I impliment wool into the nitrous industry...

 

Wool Insulated Bottle Blankets....I'll take 25% of the profit, thank you very much

 

Hahaha thats too funny in a non-funny way. Seriously though I still dont understand why they felt the need to push the bailout bill through so fast. We didnt get into this mess in 2-3 weeks, so why force a bill down the Senate and House in that time span? Plus, I cant tell you how many people I have spoken with that think the bailout bill is the solution to our economy's problem and its far from that. Even Paulison stated numerous times that this is a very short term solution to the problem and that a serious economic overhaul is needed and whats gets me is that people think somehow Obama is going to put this economy on his back and lead us to the promised land. Seriously, neither party candidate is going to be able to do much other than ride this recession out and hope that we can rebound sometime during their term. As an economist and finance professional it scares me when the government, through open-market policies, starts tinkering with the system too much. There are many views on this subject but I strongly believe in the theory that the market will eventually correct itself so limit how much we try to artificially alter its path. JMO.

 

Wool underware with your logo on it! Preferably crotchless panties for the ladies!

 

The diffence is my quote is fact. Polls do not speak the truth. Have you ever heard of the Bradley Effect?

 

I believe I read that another factor of that bill is 200 billion going to offshore companies