October 27, 2004

Why I Voted Third Party

Newspapers, magazines, and a number of blogs all finally seem to be officially endorsing either Kerry or Bush for the office of President. Therefore, I have decided that it is about time for me to explain my position and thoughts concerning this election to the best of my ability.

I voted early two days ago. I voted for Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate. As my vote has already been cast, feel free to disagree with me, but understand that my vote can not be changed.

Many people view voting for a third party candidate a waste of a vote. I could not disagree more. It may be true that third parties rarely win offices, but the point of voting is not to try to vote for the candidate who will win. By voting, a person expresses his or her views on a subject. If that person disagrees with both major parties, he or she should still vote. Since many people do not (and never will) vote, choosing not to vote is a weak way to show disapproval. If one instead examines the views of third parties, one may find groups of people who also disagree with the two major parties.

Voting third party is a much stronger way to protest the current direction of our country. The third party voter still is passionate enough about politics, but the voter disapproves of both paths the country has to choose between. Each side lost a potential vote. When enough voters realize this form of protest, both the Democratic and Republican parties will modify their stances in an attempt to bring the third party voters into their respective ranks.

I suppose another position to explain is why I am against both Bush and Kerry. I suppose this could get interesting as I have never attempted to fully explain why I want neither man in office.

Why I Did Not Vote for Bush:

George W. Bush was definitely the right man to have in office for 9/11. When he decided to invade Iraq, I quietly supported his actions. I was not happy about the decision, but I felt that the man knew what he was doing.

However, I then learned that Iraq did not have what Bush claimed it had. I understand that this was an intelligence failure. If the Bush administration had just come right out and said that they made a mistake, I would have continued to back Bush.

They did not do that, though. In fact, Cheney even flat out said that the adminstration "already knew" that Saddam did not have WMDs. Bush has been attempting to justify the war by showing the atrocities that Saddam had been performing and the corruption in the UN. All of that is true, but that is not why Congress voted to go to war. Don't get me wrong. I am glad that Saddam is no longer in power. However, I am disgusted that our President is trying to justify going to war after the main reason he wanted to go to war has been proven to be untrue.

I also believe that Bush has mishandled the war in Iraq. There should have been more troops there from the very beginning. He should not have declared a victory as early as he did. He should be attempting to get world support now that we are already there.

As far as economic policy and government spending, I do not think Bush did a good job at all. I believe that the tax cuts he made were the right choice at the right time, but when a President cuts taxes he should also cut government spending. Bush is apparently unable to do that. The fact that his campaign has attempted to show Kerry in a bad light for planning to spend large amounts of money is laughable. At least Kerry has said that he will have to cut back on his plans in order to deal with the gigantic deficit Bush has created.

I am also disgusted with Bush's attempts at domestic policy. I was appalled that he would attempt to increase government regulation of marriage. I am horrified that he has often structured his policies to appease the religious right. I am a full supporter of individual rights. Attempting to create laws based off of religious beliefs will restrict individual rights and liberties. Bush (and many lesser Republicans) seem to forget that the United States is a democracy and not a theocracy.

Why I Did Not Vote for Kerry:

John Kerry is an interesting candidate for the Presidential election. It is less than a week until Election Day and I still do not know where he stands on many issues. While I believe that no area of politics is as simple as black and white, Kerry seems to refuse to take a solid stance on any single issue. This fact is something the Bush campaign has fervently used when smearing Kerry.

My reason for not voting for Kerry is much simpler than my reasons for not voting Bush. I just don't trust him. I can not vote for a candidate who may change his mind about almost anything at any time.

Kerry also seems to think that the government can and should solve any problem. I heartily disagree with this line of thinking. I believe that the federal government is already bigger than it should be, and I believe that Kerry will increase its size.

Posted by Randy at October 27, 2004 04:16 PM | TrackBack