Vote for neither. Vote for nie-ther. Vote for Nader.

10/06/04

Given the current choices in the 2004 presidential race, I'm afraid I'm going to have to vote for neither the Republicans nor the Republican Lights (a.k.a. Democrats).

That's right - I'm voting for Ralph Nader. Why? Several reasons:

1. Becuase I honestly feel Ralph Nader is the only one who isn't lying to me to get elected. True, he's got nothing to lose by telling the truth, since he doesn't have a rats-ass chance of becoming president. But at least he has a forty year consistent record of looking out for the American people through consumer advocacy. He fights the good fight no matter what.

2. I don't believe Ralph's in it for the money like Bush/Cheney and their corporate malefactors who want to rule the world, or rather, who already rule the world. And I don't believe Ralph's in if for the glory, like those political opportunists Kerry & Edwards (if you point that thumb at me one more time during a speech, so help me God...!).
If this is the best the Democratic party can do, we're up Shit's Creek without a paddle. Can't we get Dick Gephardt to come back? Please? He dropped out of the primary way too early. Gotta wonder about that.

3. Yeah, I know. Voting for Ralph will help George Bush get re-elected. Maybe things have to get really, really, really bad before the American people (i.e. the people who were born here, or were naturalized LEGALLY) will get off their asses, rescue their idealism and proclaim that their lives, their liberty and their laws are NOT FOR SALE. Perhaps it will take another four years of "Compassionate Conservatism" (the lie) or a revolution brought on by same to bring the American people to their senses. Will we ever rein-in the Corpo-Culture fascists who are dissolving our privacy rights, depressing our wages (by suggesting we naturalize illegal aliens), deporting our jobs and dividing the classes? What kind of world are we creating?

4. Finally, I feel it's one of my few remaining rights - to vote my conscience for the candidate I feel best represents my interests. If that skews the results of the election in a way that wasn't intended, that's a failure of the system - not my vote. For far too long this de-mock-racy has been ruined by the same few people colluding with those who would enslave us for a profit.