Re: RAT Gore, gosh darnit!

[NashGay@aol.com]

 One of the reasons that an independent can't win the White House is people's
 FEAR.  

-----well, fearing a bad strategy is a good thing.  my fear of losing the 
white house to bush is a good feeling to heed.  fight.  not flight to an 
unviable 3rd party.

Just like this conversation.  There will NEVER be a Republican that
 is acceptable to progressives.  Thus, every election there will be the alarm
 sounded--if you vote for X you give the election to the Republicans.  

--well, losing to the republicans is just that unacceptable.

It's not necessarily that people don't want things to change.  They
 are scared away from trying anything new.  

--you're elimanating a step here.  vote, green (new)  doesn't put green into 
power (new), it means LOSE TO REPUBLICANS (old).  we don't need to go there 
again.

The bottom line is that at some
 point, you start voting for the candidate you MOST WANT, not against the one
 you least want.  

--i want gore most.  those progressives who want nader most are who i want to 
persuade to not give the white house to the republicans while thining they're 
doing what they most want.  if you want nader more than you don't want bush, 
then i'm arguing there's something very wrong with your progressive values.

It will take time for a third party to pick up steam and be
 viable, and if everyone keeps shying away from third parties out of fear,
 then they'll never get off the ground.  

--There's a bit of the illogic, "don't fear the forest fire, just finish 
building the camp fire."  Actually, the camp fire, the whole camping trip can 
wait.  The forest fire is more pressing.  And fearful and scarey.  Listen to 
your fear in this case.  Or you and your small fire will be enveloped by a 
much larger one.  Sidebar:  The extreme right has not been successful in 
jolting the republicans further right or in starting a viable 3rd party 
either.

A vote for Gore is a vote of fear in
 the here and now.  A vote for Nader is a vote toward the future--a small
 step toward breaking the hegemony of the two parties.

--again, in my original post, i argued and still argue that your progressive 
agenda will be realized faster and fuller by using the already powerful 
democratic party.
 
 I've said it before:  Afraid to vote for Nader?  Your hand trembles when it
 veers away from the democrat lever?  Fine.  Go out and recruit 5 or 10
 NONVOTERS to vote for Nader.  Your vote for the lesser evil is intact and
 you have still made an investment in the future.
 
--get 5 or 10 nonvoters to vote for gore.  he can win.  now!  not 4 8 12 or 
100 years from now.

 In the meantime, work for campaign finance reform, the abolition of the
 electoral college and a change in the election laws toward 3rd parties.  

--you can do this now in a powerful structure that already exists.  the 
democratic party.

The
 time to change this debate rule was 2 or 3 years ago--not two months before
 the debate.  Whatever you decide to do in six weeks--There are four years
 after that to try to make this thing a little fairer if you REALLY feel that
 strongly about it.
 
--let's spend those four years with gore and not bush at the helm.