wasting your vote in a sense due to the fact that they won't win the election? Is it better to vote for the libertarian knowing he won't win or vote for a republican who shares more of your views than democrats to make sure a democrat isn't elected?
2007-07-11 04:23:46 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Elections
I would like to use my vote for Ron Paul but I have heard he is the least favorite and realistically probably won't win the election...
2007-07-11 05:51:20 · update #1
The only wasted vote is one that is not cast.
2007-07-11 06:48:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am not a Libertarian but I have respect for some of their ideas.
I have been independant for many years now. And there have been times I didn't vote for a major party. And I don't think my vote was wasted. In fact I think sometimes voting for a 3rd party makes your vote -more- important, not less.
I voted for Ross Perot in 1992, not because I thought he would make a good president, but because I liked the way he talked about the budget and deficit spending. If I thought he had a prayer of winning I wouldn't have voted for him. But I thought if he got 5% or 10% of the vote, then whoever -did- get elected would be able to talk about the budget like a man!
And I got what I wanted! Perot got 17% of the vote. Clinton won, but Clinton was able to attack deficits in a way no recent Republican has even tried to do, because he knew that's what the American people wanted.
Suppose we had elections in which 20 or 30% of Americans refused to vote Democrat or Republican. The parties would get the message that they were not meeting peoples' needs, and they would change!
I think both of our major parties are irretrievably corrupt anyway, and we're ready for a REAL conservative and a REAL liberal party instead of two corporate-hack parties. That won't happen until a goodly percentage of Americans show how fed-up they are.
2007-07-11 11:38:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
You need to learn to use capital letters. It actually matters sometimes. Because you didn't, your question is unclear.
If I assume that you mean voting for the Libertarian Party, and not just some registered Republican or Democrat who happens to follow libertarian ideas, then maybe you have a point. On the other hand, not all libertarians are members of the Libertarian Party any more than all environmentalists are members of the Green Party or all socialists are members of the Socialist Party. The parties aren't that strong, largely for the reasons you suggest.
BUT...and this is a big "but": there are times that I would refuse to vote for a Republican because I might find that they are corrupt or that their values are TOO far out of line with what I think is important, and I feel the need to register a protest against their horrific record. My choice then is to vote either for that Republican, or a Democrat, or some third party/independent candidate. Sometimes, I'm more comfortable voting for the third party because the Democrat may seem just as bad.
I think you need to be careful, though, because there are some Republicans recently who have been far more damaging to our nation than anything that Democrats have tried to do.
2007-07-11 11:32:34 · answer #3 · answered by skip742 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
It is not wasting your vote. The wasted vote is a myth. You should ALWAYS vote for the person who you agree with the most and not the "lesser of two evils." Statistically, you would have to vote for 230 million years for your vote to actually effect an election (and then there would be a runoff or court decision to actually decide it). With your vote meaning so little, why would you waste it on a candidate that is not your top choice.
Voting for the lesser of two evils, is wasting your vote. They do not know that you do not actually like them or their ideas, and they will continue to carry out with their policies because you have given them a mandate to do so. Nothing will change if people keep voting for candidates they don't truly believe in.
2007-07-11 11:38:57 · answer #4 · answered by Ron Paul 4 President 08 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think you should vote for who you want regardless of party. If enough people voted for the Libertarians the two party system would have to change to reflect the wants of the citizens, So vote your conscious and feel good in knowing you voted for whom you like. A vote for who you wanted is never throwing a vote away because that is who you wanted.
2007-07-11 11:40:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
You should vote for who you politically agree with regardless of their party affiliation. But I think voting Libertarian hurts the Conservatives more than Democrats. At least that's what has panned out down through history according to the political analysts.
2007-07-11 12:04:34 · answer #6 · answered by Lettie D 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
voting is a waste in the first place.
voting libertarian is great if you actually agree with them.
considering that most of the people here are saying "vote republican because i am one!", it shows that people are really more interested in "make sure my candidate wins"
2007-07-11 11:36:43 · answer #7 · answered by brian 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
As the electoral college is still in effect and people still have the mind-set of the two party system, I would have to say, unfortunately, yes. Registering to vote signs you up for Jury Duty which is a rip-off in itself, so I personally waive my right to vote.
2007-07-11 11:33:33 · answer #8 · answered by Louie 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
he's not the least favorite, that's a lie, media propaganda, covering up how huge he is, join a local meetup, visit u-tube watch all the videos on his speeches and how many people rally and campaign for this man, he has real grassroots supporters. He is a threat to this govt so naturally they are going to omit him, he's HUGE
ronpaul2008.com
2007-07-11 14:15:09 · answer #9 · answered by mom4peace 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1. Y E S
2. Vote for a Republican!!
2007-07-11 11:29:05 · answer #10 · answered by Vagabond5879 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋