mkeller
10-21-2008, 09:34 AM
It seems a lot of people don't like either of the two main choices for president. I think we ought to be convincing those sorts of folks to vote third party, since the more votes Baldwin, Barr, McKinney and Nader can get (and take away from the Republicrats), the better.
However, nearly everyone will say that they don't want to waste their vote, and will vote for Obama, no matter how much they hate him, in order to keep McCain out. Or vice versa.
So, we've got to fight this flawed reasoning, and get people to vote on principle, no matter what! And the best way, I think, to get the message out to as many people in as short a time as possible without spending money, is by email. Therefore, I propose that we all email one of the following three articles (depending on the political viewpoint of the recipient) to all of our friends. It's quick, it's easy, and it might make a difference, however small. After all, those smear Obama chain emails convinced a lot of folks that he's Muslim.
Here are the articles I found:
For conservatives (my family's sent this out to 68 folks we know, and have already convinced at least one guy to switch his vote from McCain to Baldwin):
The Delusion of Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils (http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Editorial-Page.htm?InfoNo=039076) by Greg Dixon
For liberals and progressives:
McCain, Clinton, Obama and the Wages of Lesser-Evilism (http://www.counterpunch.org/kosko05092008.html) by Matt Kosko
For libertarians:
The Myth of the Wasted Vote (http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/hooper1.html) by Charles Hooper
And then I recommend asking them to forward the article to their friends, if they agree with it, and telling them about the four great choices for president they've got this year.
Now the libertarian article is rather outdated (the anectdotes apply to the 2004 election, though the principles still hold true today), and the one for liberals/progressives a little bit too (from back when Clinton was still in the race), so if you can find an article that's better or more applicable to the current election, post a link to it in this thread!
And if you've got other good ideas on how to steer people away from voting for the lesser of evils, and toward voting on principle, post them, too.
However, nearly everyone will say that they don't want to waste their vote, and will vote for Obama, no matter how much they hate him, in order to keep McCain out. Or vice versa.
So, we've got to fight this flawed reasoning, and get people to vote on principle, no matter what! And the best way, I think, to get the message out to as many people in as short a time as possible without spending money, is by email. Therefore, I propose that we all email one of the following three articles (depending on the political viewpoint of the recipient) to all of our friends. It's quick, it's easy, and it might make a difference, however small. After all, those smear Obama chain emails convinced a lot of folks that he's Muslim.
Here are the articles I found:
For conservatives (my family's sent this out to 68 folks we know, and have already convinced at least one guy to switch his vote from McCain to Baldwin):
The Delusion of Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils (http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Editorial-Page.htm?InfoNo=039076) by Greg Dixon
For liberals and progressives:
McCain, Clinton, Obama and the Wages of Lesser-Evilism (http://www.counterpunch.org/kosko05092008.html) by Matt Kosko
For libertarians:
The Myth of the Wasted Vote (http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/hooper1.html) by Charles Hooper
And then I recommend asking them to forward the article to their friends, if they agree with it, and telling them about the four great choices for president they've got this year.
Now the libertarian article is rather outdated (the anectdotes apply to the 2004 election, though the principles still hold true today), and the one for liberals/progressives a little bit too (from back when Clinton was still in the race), so if you can find an article that's better or more applicable to the current election, post a link to it in this thread!
And if you've got other good ideas on how to steer people away from voting for the lesser of evils, and toward voting on principle, post them, too.