Posts Tagged ‘mccain’

I know, I know, I’ve probably said this before…but it’s been a belief of mine that you should vote with your heart and your head, not with the identification on your voter registration card. That’s the major reason why I’m a registered independent voter in the state of Oklahoma. I believe that I have the right to vote for whoever the hell I want, regardless of political affiliation. Which is why, in this upcoming Presidential election, I plan on voting for someone other than the two main candidates.

You may ask, “Why bother? No third-party candidate is going to win, not this year, and not ever!” And I’ll be honest with you…for a time, I did believe that this year was ripe for a third-party candidate to break through and steal the election away from the Big Two. Well, maybe if Ron Paul was running, it would have happened, but unfortunately, we are left with a choice that is no choice. It is almost assured that one of the Big Two candidates will win this election, and current polls project that person to be the Democratic candidate Barack Obama. So with such an apparently hopeless situation, why would someone like me ever want to waste their vote on a third-party candidate?

The answer is simple: I believe that the Republicans and Democrats do not have the best interests of the American people at heart. I believe that there are no Donkeys or Elephants anymore, but there sure are a lot of jackasses. I believe in the innermost parts of my being that neither John McCain nor Barack Obama are the best men to lead this country. Most importantly, I believe that it won’t matter which one of the two wins, because we are still in quite the pickle.

But this is not purely a gut-instinct decision for me. I’ve battled this back and forth just over the last month, and what I have seen from both of the mainstream candidates has given my head cause to fall in line with my heart. McCain and Obama both supported the bailout, which I opposed if for no other reason than accountability, and both sides have in different ways shown a disdain for not only their opponent but for anyone who isn’t voting their way. McCain and Palin have been drifting more neo-con-ward, making themselves look stupid (especially with Palin getting busted for abuse of power in Troopergate), showing hypocrisy by swearing to take the high road while their ads blast Obama’s alleged terrorist ties. And then there are the hyperliberals, bowing down before Obama’s golden idol and denigrating anyone who doesn’t support their boy as sub-human. I cannot support either of these two sides because I know they are two sides of the same coin, and that coin is self-interest. I cannot truly believe that either the Republicans or Democrats really care about anything other than their own power and their own money.

The late Frank Herbert’s twist on a classic axiom reigns true now more than ever: “Power attracts the corruptible, and absolute power attracts the absolutely corruptible.” The Republicans and Democrats both have been attracted to power, and all have proven themselves corruptible. They are running because they want control of the country for their party, not because they want to make the United States a better country than it was when they took office. The independent parties, however, have actual, solid stances and are wanting to really do things to shake this country up, and yet they are largely ignored by the media and the general populace. I bet you that you can’t name three of all the independent candidates and their parties; I myself can only name three parties and two candidates at most. Why? Because you never hear about them. The Big Two don’t want you to know about them, so they blitz the media with all their crap so the smaller voices don’t get heard. That’s not republican or democratic (not capitalized since I’m referencing the forms of government and not the parties), that’s oligarchical. It’s also beyond disgraceful.

If there is anyone out there still undecided, or maybe who have decided not to vote at all, I urge you to reconsider. This is the perfect opportunity to make a stand. So go out there and research Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, and all the other third-party candidates. Find one that aligns with your political ideals and vote for them on November 4th. Forget about McCain and Obama; we know enough about them already. So what if the indie candidates have an infinitesimal chance of winning? It is time to make a statement. Tell the Big Two to kiss off. Tell the government that there are still people in the country who care about the good of the nation as a whole. Tell our representatives in Washington that we will not stand for this suppression of our freedom of choice. It’s time to use your heart and your head. Vote smart, not stupid.