Someone on Facebook who thinks that my willingness to vote for Obama over any conceivable Republican, despite my disagreements with him, makes me a stupid fucking un-American idiot, and has decided I'm no longer worthy of either friendship or conversation. I'll have to read an extra chapter of DeToqueville tonight to get to sleep. It's going to be an ugly year, and uglier than even it has to be.
It must, I repeat, must be possible to work with those with whom one disagrees. It must also be possible to do so while being clear and true to one's own beliefs. These need not be in conflict, and, in fact, should not. It's possible to be clear that one is compromising, doing some of the work that needs doing, while militating for doing more of it. The alternative is irrelevance or totalitarianism. Neither are acceptable. History is unkind to the notion that withholding a vote for the lesser evil does anything other than empowering the greater evil.
All those who are sure that Humphrey wouldn't have been an improvement over Nixon, nor Carter over Reagan, nor Gore over GW Bush should really, really rethink their inclination to withhold their vote from Obama. Please...
5 comments:
Hullo.
I don't vote for Republicans and the only realistic candidate running who isn't one is Obama. It's that simple for me.
However, I will say this, if we attack Iran on Obama's watch, I'm done with him. I'll write in Smedley Butler or Mickey Mouse.
hey Blak--thanks for joining me again. and I pretty much agree, though I very much doubt we'll attack Iran. All I can do is hope
Yes, I will vote for hope.
Voting for hope and against despair, equally
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