Fuck BOTH major political parties.

[mijan]

I just got news of McCain's pick.  My initial reaction to fiona_fawkes via g-mail chat:

Fi: did you hear who mccaine chose as VP?
Me: Yes, and I already have an opinion. 

She's just a Good Ol' Boy with fewer wrinkles and more lipstick.

Fi:  LOL

Me:  She's anti-gay, anti-choice, and pro-big-oil.  She has almost no public opinions on other important issues.

I don't care that she's got a pussy.  That doesn't mean she gives a shit about women's right to control their own lives.  I'm not fooled by high heels.  She's totally anti-abortion in all cases.  She's "pro-family" (read: anti-non-traditional family).  She's completely inexperienced and politically useless.
And McCain will be banging her before the election season is over.
When McCain has a heart attack or falls into a state of complete age-related dementia, this woman will not be remotely ready to lead the country.  Even Obama has more experience.

See, I don't hate McCain... or at least, I didn't before.  For a Republican, he HAS been a moderate on MANY issues.  He's worked across party lines for common sense initiatives.  He was one of the few decent Republicans left.  Now, he's just pandering to everyone like a puppy running around chasing its tail, desperate for people to love it for its inane attempts at people-pleasing.

But I don't like Obama either.  I don't dislike Obama, but... there are things that bug me.

I have another idea.  I'm doing what I should have done LONG AGO.  I'm going to take a good long look at the third option - the one that people forget all the time.  The Libertarians.
http://www.bobbarr2008.com
I'm still reading through his stances on the issues, but so far, I agree with ALL OF THEM.  In detail.  They're logical.  They're Constitutional.  They're FAIR.  They make SENSE. 

I'm sick of our two-party system that locks us into "one or the other".  We have to fall into party lines, even if we don't agree on all the issues.  There are more than two answers to most questions.  We don't live in a yes-or-no world.  I like what Bob Barr has to say.

He supports people's right to privacy.  He's against the invasive measures of the Patriot Act.  He believes that the Federal Government does not have the right to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, and says that individual states (like MA and CA) have the right to determine their marriage laws.  He's sick of America wasting billions of dollars on overseas military efforts - not just Iraq, but the thousands of bases all over the world.  (Dude, do you know how much money we spend on those bases?  It's fucking INSANE.)  He supports the improvement of medical care for veterans by overhauling the VA medical system.  He wants to discourage ILLEGAL immigration, but ENCOURAGE LEGAL immigration.  He opposes all forms of demographic-based discrimination, INCLUDING sexuality-based discrimination.  And finally... he's openly opposed to the Federal Reserve.  That's HUGE.

Don't tell me I'll waste my vote.  It's because of that "don't wanna waste my vote" mentality that we've been condemned to our broken two-party system, to the exclusion of other good visions for our country.  I don't care that he's a white dude.  I don't care if he doesn't co-run with a woman for a VP.  I vote based on people's ideals, plans, and stated positions on the issues.  I'm going to closely follow Barr and Obama and consider them both equally, based on the issues, not on current popularity in the polls.

BARR  '08  VS.  OBAMA'08

Let the real showdown begin.

Comments

[avidbeader.livejournal.com]

An informed vote is never a wrong vote. I've voted Libertarian before on some state and local races when the candidate fit best.

[vampireanneke.livejournal.com]

I've been waiting for someone to give me a run down on the third party option. I usually vote third party. Yep, going to do so again this year. Barr '08!

[sgt-majorette.livejournal.com]

Bob Barr, you say? Thanks for the tip.

[sgt-majorette.livejournal.com]

Oh, wait. Don't like him, either.
{sigh}

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I don't really LIKE any of them. It's like that South Park episode where Stan doesn't want to vote because it's a stupid choice between voting for a Giant Douche or a Turd Sandwich, but finally his dad says, "Don't you realize - the choice is ALWAYS between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich."

[scarlet-malfoy.livejournal.com]

If Ron Paul, another Libertarian cleverly disguised as a Republican (or as I like to say, a sheep in wolf's clothing), was still in the running, that's who I would have voted for. His list of issues and standings reads almost identically to Barr's. I will definitely be looking into Barr now!

[god-of-belac.livejournal.com]

Heh, welcome to the dark side.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

*raises eyebrow*

What's that supposed to mean?

[god-of-belac.livejournal.com]

Traditional (at least in my parts) ironic geeky greeting for when someone joins you in an unpopular opinion.

I've been a libertarian (small-l) for several years, and supported Paul until he proved incompetent at message discipline, then switched to Barr/Obama (I vote in Illinois, so it doesn't matter who I vote for--I'm pulling for Obama to beat McCain, and voting for and supporting Barr).

The warning I'd give you is that the Libertarian Party and the libertarian movement do not always agree, and take turns being kookier than each other. And the variance of opinion within the latter is very large, going all the way from the anarchist lunatic fringe to people who think maybe government intervention is sometimes not the answer.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

AAAH. Got it. I've been a closet Libertarian for years.

I know the Libertarian party has a wide range of ideas, and that's been part of what has held it back so much. That's also why I've not joined the party - I agree with most "mainline" Libertarian ideals... but not every libertarian candidate espouses those ideals in a way that I can support.

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

I've voted for libertarian and independent candidates, depending on whom I think is a better fit, i.e. will get the job done. In general, I'd rather go with a third party option, but I'm listed as a Democrat. I'm going with Obama for now, but I'll consider Barr as well, because although I get what Obama's saying, his stance on gay marriage does sound like "separate, but equal":



It's a good first step if he intends to push through a marriage equality bill later on if he were elected, but I don't see how it can be considered equality if he publicly supports civil unions as opposed to gay marriage.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I can handle "separate but equal" for now. Here's why:

When blacks were given "separate but equal" status, it wasn't right, but it was an improvement from what had existed before. And once people overall became less hateful, it was quickly realized that "separate but equal" COULD NEVER BE EQUAL. But it was an important stepping-stone away from absolute inequality.

Right now, gay couples have NO federal rights. I'll take something over nothing, and then keep fighting to show why the "something" was a nice breadcrumb, but we all deserve a fair shake at the American Pie, too.

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

Put much more eloquently than I did...

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

Voting is NEVER a wasted vote. You vote your conscience. That's never a bad thing. My thinking is this: if you don't vote, you can't bitch.

[naughtyinred.livejournal.com]

I've said it for a long time; if people actually voted on the issues they care about (not the issues they care about to keep up appearances), we would have gone Libertarian a long time ago.

However, I'm a pragmatist at the core. This was why I supported Hillary; she was a democrat who shared a nearly identical set of ideals to me but she showed an ability to compromise and work across party lines in the Senate. It looked like she would have the best chance of getting the policies passed that I wanted to get passed.

Still a pragmatist and left with candidates that have a solid chance of winning, I have to look at what I can do to get to best FEASIBLE option into the office. I will hence be volunteering my ass off for Barack Obama. I hate to say it because I sound like the Obamabots I loathed when I was on the HRC campaign, but watching him speak last night... I was moved.

They're "just speeches." However, as someone who has been doing public speaking for 9 years, I can tell you how important it is to be able to compose yourself on your feet the way Barack Obama can. The power of great orator with the right ideas in American politics is, indeed, great. The power of that same person with the right backing is unstoppable. Amazing things could happen with Obama's presidency.

The Federal Reserve won't get toppled. Marriage will still be a state by state thing (but overall rights will be increased at the Federal level and gay marriage will slowly come around to the left state by state), but rest assured... in an election that's tooling up to be this close, none of it will happen if the vote is split by a non-contending third party candidate.

[georgeodowd.livejournal.com]

Amen to that. I fervently avoid politics because it gets me so worked up, but I like it when people provide me with brief and to-the-point information like this.
I'm going to have to look into this Bob Barr now... I've always been really irked by the two-party system, and hey, voting Libertarian is better than not voting at all (which is what I sometimes feel like doing...).

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I'm getting more information as I go. Seems like Barr isn't all he's cracked up to be. I'm cross-checking sources though. Never vote without all the facts!

[georgeodowd.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeed! I need to do a bit of that myself...

[alaana-fair.livejournal.com]

*G* Have I told you lately that I love you? No? Well I do.

I've learned to keep my political opinions to myself (I come from a sternly entrenched Republican family and have lovingly obnoxious Democratic friends) but I've also learned to vote my conscious, whether it be the "popular" vote or not.

You'll rarely hear me voice my political views, but when someone comes out and says them, expertly and concisely, it makes me want to kiss them. Thanks for that. :-)

[naughtyinred.livejournal.com]

One question, dear sister...

You listed out what Barr stands for, but did you bother to explicitly compare them to what Barack Obama stands for? Furthermore, did you compare their personal histories?

Voting off the beaten track is, without a doubt, a sexy option... not saying Barr is sexy *shudders*, but it's something the cool kids are doing. Just ask the former Nader supporters how awesome they were and how cool it was when Gore won the popular vote but lost the electoral college... Ultimately, it's a wasted vote for an ideology that will not help the sad state of this country.

[halo4.livejournal.com]

I was just about to tell you that an informed vote is never a pointless or wasted vote but it appears that I've been beaten to it by quite a few people. However, I decided to comment anyway since I haven't in a while. *waves hi*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

*waves* HI!

I know an informed vote is never wasted. What I said was that I didn't want people to give me shit about a "wasted vote", because inevitably, if you're even considering a 3rd-party candidate, someone is going to tell you not to waste your vote. So annoying, yes?

So, how're you? :D

[naughtyinred.livejournal.com]

Your opinion and thoughts behind the vote are never wasted.

However, if John McCain wins and the difference between a win and a loss is the amount of votes that went to a third party candidate...

*headdesk*

[emrinalexander.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. There's also the sad but inescapable fact that no third party candidate is going to win this election, period. It might happen at some future point in time, but there's no realistic way anybody from left field is going to win the presidency this year. There simply aren't enough voters to make the numbers needed. It would be nice if we didn't essentially have a two-party system, but we do.

[lurkitty.livejournal.com]

Quite right. As long as there is an electoral college, it will be almost impossible to overthrow the two-party system. THe other thing is money. It takes far too much money nowadays to run a campaign. Without party name recognition and funding, no third party candidate is going to get more than 10% or so of the vote.

[elizardbits.livejournal.com]

Do you mind if I link someone to this as an example of why Palin is lame? I know it's not flocked but it still seems like asking is the right thing to do.

(I CAN HAZ NORML HOOMIN SENSE OF RITE AND RONG! I WINAR!)

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Sure, but if that person decides to start debating against me on my LJ, I'll delete their comments and lock the post. I just don't have the time or energy today to argue. If he/she wants to reply to you, then you two can feel free to debate here. I just don't feel like getting into an argument today. Too much to do. :D

So, go for it! :)

[elizardbits.livejournal.com]

LOL no, it's not even someone with an LJ. And it is highly unlikely that they would get one just to start a fight.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

LOL. No problem, go for it. :)

[lurkitty.livejournal.com]

Did you know that Barr personally wrote and sponsored a bill to ban Wiccan ceremonies on military bases?

He is also anti-choice, voting for every piece of legislation that restricted abortion rights that came up during his time in office and arguing for a nationwide ban. He is in favor of restricting appeals of death penalty cases and against rehabilitation programs in prisons.

Not only is he against illegal immigration, but he wants to strip citizenship from infants born in the US to illegal immigrants, in direct contravention of the Fourteenth Amendment. That's hardly Constitutional.

Despite what he says now, he was the author and co-sponsor of DOMA!

I know a lot of Libertarians, and none of them like this guy. He is too fundie for their taste.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Aaah, and the back-story comes out. More research is an order!

See, that's why I said I'd check it out, not, "I'M GONNA VOTE FOR THIS GUY!" Comparisons require facts. Do you have links/sources? I'd like to check it out. :)

[naughtyinred.livejournal.com]

.... and this is where you admit that Obama is the better option?

Oh, btw, on the subject of Sarah Palin-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4gkPXSDtGQ
Click now. Thank me later.

[lurkitty.livejournal.com]

Sure!

For his stand on Wicca

For his voting record on Abortion, and other things. Here's another article on his abortion stance.

Here is a synopsis of a lot of issues. The stuff on school prayer and such is scary.

Here is an article on his stand on various civil liberties issues..

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've heard.

Well, that settles that! He's off my list!

[lurkitty.livejournal.com]

The first political campaign I was actually cognizant enough to participate in was that of Bobby Kennedy. I can honestly say I have not felt as much hope and excitement shown to any candidate since then.

I am really tired of bumper sticker politics. Obama is willing and able to be a diplomat, which is what we really need if we're going to recover any of our standing in the world. He is widely known as a good listener, taking feedback from other people before making up his mind. One of the things that has irritated me about Bush is that, even though the situation changes, he has stubbornly clung to whatever policy he started out with as if he says it enough times, it must be true. If presented a good argument, Obama can change his mind. He is open to the possibility that someone else might know more about the situation. I don't see that as weak, I see it as flexibility. Growing grass bends, dead grass breaks.

I'm very worried that McCain can't get the details right about the warring parties in Iraq or the countries of the former Soviet Union. I am not impressed at all by his VP pick, and I was creeped out by the fact that he was looking at her ass when she was giving her acceptance speech. It's really creepy that a man who has had two beauty queen wives would pick an inexperienced beauty queen running-mate. *shudders*

[pinkfinity.livejournal.com]

Honey, you know I love you, but I am a little hurt by your use of the phrase "breeding machine" to describe Sarah Pallin. I mean, I've got three kids - and I've taken surgical steps to not have anymore, but if something happened and I got pregnant, I would probably carry to term at this point - I'm lucky enough to be able to make that choice and I wouldn't force it on anyone else, but I wouldn't want someone to call me a breeding machine if I end up with four kids - I mean, I have three now.

(Now, of course, this sets aside the unproven ugossip that Pallin's fifth child is actually her daughter's by her high school boyfriend, and she's they've decided to keep her from being stigmatiszed and thus are raising the child as Sarah's and Todd's, and if that's the case then OMG there are some serious issues there, so let's just leave it for now as if it is actually fiction, mmmkay?)

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, Heidi. I was probably a bit callous when I said that, but I was thinking about it more because EVERY article keeps saying "She's got five kids! She's got five kids! Soccer mom!" As if that makes her a good example of a conservative Republican, and the pillar of anti-choice morality, and that her multiple children somehow validate her as a woman.

I'm sorry it came off like that. It's just that the stuff people have been saying about her... has rubbed me the wrong way. Some women have kids, some don't, and... I don't like how her "mother" status is somehow more important than other candidates' "father" status in the past. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

I'm sorry. Please don't be angry at me?

[cool-tre-cool.livejournal.com]

There is no way to waste a vote other than to not use it at all. Every vote counts, at some level. ^_^

[mijan.livejournal.com]

True.

And I've decided, without a doubt, that my vote will go to Obama.

Barr thinks that Wicca should be banned from military bases because it's not a "real religion". Considering that I'm pagan and my wife is Wiccan, I find that just about as offensive as anything could be. So, Barr is out.