Political professionals say that negative advertising works. That may be true for some voters, but not for me. I refuse to vote against a candidate for any reason. I am looking for reasons to vote for the best candidate. In this search, I am looking at all possible candidates, even those who have no chance to win.
I do not agree with those who argue that if you vote for someone who cannot win you are wasting your vote. The purpose of an election is to give you a chance to express your opinion. If a third party or even a write in candidate best reflects your opinion, then that is where your vote should go. To vote on the basis of who you think will win is the way to waste your opportunity to express your true opinion.
Look at the present campaign for governor of Georgia. We have a particularly vicious negative campaign underway. The two major candidates and their supporters are spending millions of dollars trying to tear each other down, and very little telling us what positive things they want to do. As of now, I cannot support either of them.
So that leaves me with two options: either vote for a lesser-known candidate, or just stay home. Staying home is not an acceptable option. So I am looking at all possible candidates for someone I can support. There are five possibilities. Three will be on the ballot, and two others have qualified as write-in candidates. You can find a complete list of candidates for statewide office at http://www.politics1.com/ga.htm.
You know about Roy Barnes and Nathan Deal, of course. How can you not know about them, thanks to the heavy barrage of hate they are slinging at each other? The other candidate on the ballot is Libertarian John Monds. He is supporting the standard libertarian positions of less government, lower taxes and personal responsibility. Learn more about him at http://www.votemonds.com/index.html.
Two men have qualified as write-in candidates, one from each side of the political spectrum.
Neal Horsley is an evangelist who is running against abortion and the gay lifestyle. While he is not directly attacking Barnes and Deal, he is attacking other public figures who represent what he considers as Evil http://www.horsleyforgovernor.com/
Sam Hay III is an environmentalist who is making his second write-in run for the office. He has no web page that I can find and has attracted no news coverage.
I have never endorsed political candidates, and I will not tell you how to vote this year. I urge you to learn as much as you can about the various candidates, then vote for the one most reflective of your opinion, regardless of his chances of winning. And I hope you can find someone you can vote for and will not be forced to select the one you dislike least.
Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal. His e-mail address is frank@frankgillispie.com. His website can be accessed at http://www.frankgillispie.com/gillispieonline.
Either Barnes or Deal WILL win this election.
The other candidates have no real chance of winning.
There may not be a "lesser of two evils" between Barnes and Deal, but if there is, and you do NOT vote for the lesser, then you will have helped the greater of the two evils win the election.
By voting for a candidate that you know will NOT win, when you could vote for the lesser of two evils, you help to ensure that the worst of the two will win.
Regardless, expression of your opinion will NOT matter to the person who is elected governor, and in that regard you are wasting your vote if you do not vote for a candidate that at least has a realistic possibility of winning.
The real truth of the matter is this: to really have your vote matter you can vote for Deal or you can vote for Barnes. Voting for anyone else will merely act as a "spoiler" for one of the two front runners.
And that is a crying shame.
You're out smarting yourself,and that's exactly what they expect,and depend on happening.
Just a thought.
Another thought - you wrote that the founders never intended a two party system. They also never intended for every citizen to vote, especially the uneducated landless masses. Perhaps that is where we have gone wrong. Politicians pandering to the gullible, the needy and the lazy.
Not so, first I would have to have respect for you before I could get angry at you.
I am compelled to correct one mistake. I am not a political progressive. I am a political conservative. A progressive would not remind you of the fact that we live in what was designed to be a limited representative republic.
Why would your mama say "if you can't take the heat out of the kitchen?" It must have been then that you learned to not think a thought all the way through.
Is this a case of "if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull batter?"
Real Republicans - we CAN do it - WRITE IN KAREN HANDEL!
A write-in for Handle is a vote for Barnes.
*sigh*
See, if you spell the candidate's name wrong the vote doesn't count... and most people who will be writing in for Handel are not going to be likely Barnes supporters in the first place.
If you don't make that kind of money,then you're probably a knee-jerk Christian conservative hypocrite that is just being used by "Real Republicans".
I fit my "Real Republican" description,do you?
And, I am certainly not a Christian.
Being a racist or homophobic doesn't really make you a Republican. But, they will gladly accept your vote too.
Come on, tell me why YOU think you are a Republican.
I would love to hear it.
He is nothing but another progressive just like Obama.
I remember when he ran against Guy Millner and said in debate that if you were born white you had your set a side. I don't think he has had any change of heart and will not represent us equally and I don't trust him one bit.
He also was the one who removed our state flag and divided our state. He is not a unifier nor does he have any place in Government Period
Barnes also sued our state over the voter ID Act . If he cared about Georgia why did he sue us the tax payers? Only to Help ACORN commit more voter Fraud so the Illegal's could vote.
2 wrongs wont make a right people. VOTE Deal even if you don't like him. He is definitely the lesser of the 2 EVILS !!! And God is guiding me to not vote for that Evil Roy Barnes
Was it because they saw what that party had turned to ? Maybe . I know this you cant remove the splinter from your brothers eye with a log in your own. Nor can you help to clean some one else's house till you have you own in order.
You CAN write in on our electronic ballots and you SHOULD.
WRITE IN KAREN HANDEL! Nathan Deal LIED and cheated us out of our best candidate but IT AIN'T TOO LATE...LET'S WRITE IN KAREN HANDEL and show the lying DIRTY DEAL NATHAN DEAL that you can't cheat the Republican party out of OUR GIRL with LIES and BANKRUPTCY while stuffing BAILOUT BUCKS in your pocket!
John Monds is just a Phony not a true Libertarian based on the true libertarian principles.
Do some research don't just use the TV or trust me .
Roy Barnes attacking a man for going bust just trying to help his family .
Anyone of us would do the same I would think , if we cared at all about our family.
I think that just makes him human and he knows how allot of people feel going bust in this economy .
I don't trust Roy Barnes !! When his attack ads didn't work he tired to parrot Mr Deal .
Nathan Deal for me .
I also agree with PoJohn . Those are facts I remember them so I know that's fact.
I might also add that Roy Barnes thinks the Government is the solution not the problem . Classic Progressive
The only problem is you may find a person who is for 1 thing that you want but that same person may be against something else you are for, Or they may be for something that you are against? It's hard to find someone who is for everything you are and against everything you are? If ask THEY will all tell you what you want to hear, it's when they get in office WE see if they are true to their word?
There is another Obama Progressive on the ballot running against Johnny Isakson that nobody has mentioned here. That's the State Labor Commissioner. I have a close contact who knows him personally and agrees that he is an Obama Progressive . They have worked with him before. That's Michael Thurman VOTE NO for him to.
John Monds Supports and is an active member of the NAACP which I feel is a Progressive and possibly Racist organization . Either that doesn't support Equality or Libertarian Principles . So yes he is for sure a PHONY !!
I don't think that much of Johnny Isakson either but I believe he is the lesser of the 2 evils.
Paul Broun was my personal MD before he went into Politics . I know him to be an Honorable Man and should be Left in Office. At least one more Term .
You can look it all up and verify I haven't lied about any of the Candidates . I encourage you to do so .
I belong to no party I am and Independent Constutionalist .
What ever you do get out and vote and encourage others to do so .
If you haven't registered the deadline was OCT 4th so you missed out this time . Don't let that stop you from getting registered and Voting in 2012 .
America needs us WE THE PEOPLE to make a show of force against the tyranny unfolding upon us that will only reduce us to absolute Despotism if we do not act in unity and for the right reasons.
May God Bless us all in this Endevaor !
I first met Michael Thurmond about 25 years ago. His brother was one of the hardest working men I ever worked with. Sadly, this is the first statewide election in which I will not be able to vote for him. I believe that Georgia needs more men like Michael Thrumond - just not in Washington.