Strategic Voting

Steve Bates, The Yellow Doggerel Democrat, has a great post that needs reading. It really talks about the big picture. I applaud him.

He says:

When I was 25, I probably would have felt the same way. Voting was a personal thing, and my vote was for the candidate about whom I felt most strongly. Now, at the end of almost six decades of hard experience, I pursue voting as a strategic matter, and my vote is determined almost entirely by what I perceive to be the larger outcome, the consequences of the election in the broader context. If that vote happens to coincide with my personal preference for a candidate, that’s nice… but my personal preference is not the determining factor in my vote. And I will argue that your personal preference should not be dispositive of your vote, either. Voting is, first and foremost, a civic duty, not a vehicle for personal satisfaction.

I cannot agree more. My first choice for a Democratic Candidate was Dennis Kuchinich. He dropped out, I moved on to John Edwards. He dropped out, and I moved on to Barack Obama. And if Hillary Clinton had become the nominee, I would have moved on to her. Voting is a resposibility, not a popularity contest. It is about a bigger picture. So to those people who say “Clinton lost, I’m not voting”, I congratulate you in advance for helping hand the election to McCain. To those who intend to vote for a 3rd Party candidate, someone as unviable as Ralph Nadar or Ron Paul, again, this is a wasted vote. It is NOT making a statement. If you want to change the system, do it from within. It is possible.

Go read Steve Bates’ full post. The Diva has spoken.

Crossposted at Journeys with Jood.