Take Your Pearls and Clutch Them

Are you the type of voter who votes your conscious — no matter what? I used to be. During the 2000 election I voted for Ralph Nader and the supported the Green Party candidates. There was a stretch in there where I voted Libertarian too. My mistakes, and I do consider these mistakes, possibly contributed to Gore losing the 2000 election. Not just mine, but guaranteed there were people like me in every state.

It’s nice to believe that there exists out there somewhere a perfect candidate who aligns well with what we believe. That’s not reality. Reality is that we vote in a 2 party system, and one part always rallies around their cause. This means that the rest of us — those of us who don’t consider ourselves conservative but do want to vote, are only allowing what should never be the case. This is why although most American’s are liberal-minded (if party affiliation is left out), the conservatives win where they otherwise shouldn’t. For example, in Oregon right now Tina Kotek’s votes are being siphoned off by an opponent more than enough to give the Republican candidate for governor a fighting chance in a reliably blue state.

Don’t be a me. Make the right choice and vote for a candidate that can win, which may not always be the candidate of your dreams.