Jude 2

...that in this upcoming election, that not voting has just as much of a voice as voting does?

Given the fact there is no one candidate I can truly throw my full support behind (as said before I'm tired of the Republicans and I'll even admit Hillary and Obama scare me to a good extent) because of issues they stand for, I am kinda thinking not voting is as much of a vote as throwing your vote behind the lesser of two evils.

What say ye?

Why not just pray about which one to vote (or not to vote) for?

Jennifer Smith wrote:Why not just pray about which one to vote (or not to vote) for?

Because I don't believe God endorses one specific candidate.

I do understand your position. We seem to be left without a truly viable candiate.

With that being said I think back over this past year. In Burma where the military hunta shot down and killed so many in the streets for protesting. where a duly elected individual has been in house arrest for more than ten years and denied the right to serve as president by the military.

I think of the recent elections in Kenya where ethnic bloodletting has resulted in more than 1,000 killed, hundreds of women raped and mayhem.

Last week in Russia where international observers openly said the elections were a farce and Putin had hand picked his successor.

I have a right to vote, I have a voice, and to the best of my ability I will go to the polls and pick the person I think closest holds my views. I know fully that no one person will think as I do on all things.

The silence of one not voteing only increases the loudness of the ones who do vote. (IMHO)

EagerBeaver wrote: Because I don't believe God endorses one specific candidate.

But I believe God gives us instruction to pray for our leaders and I believe he provides us wisdom to determine which candidate lines up best with our beliefs, our goals and the issues about which we feel strongest.

from Paul

The silence of one not voteing only increases the loudness of the ones who do vote. (IMHO)

I agree 100%

just do what I do - write in Nixon or Regan.

Does our vote ( the popular vote) really count when electing a president or is he/she elected from the votes out of the Electoral College?

I dont understand the whole Electoral College process when electing a President.

Paully_44 wrote:I dont understand the whole Electoral College process when electing a President.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Sta ... al_College

Paully_44 wrote:Does our vote ( the popular vote) really count when electing a president or is he/she elected from the votes out of the Electoral College?

I dont understand the whole Electoral College process when electing a President.

When you "vote for president" you are technically voting for electors who have pledged themselves to vote in the electoral college for the candidate who you are "voting for". On your ballot, below the names "John McCain" or "Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton(whichever wins the nomination)" you will see a list of electors' names. That is actually who you are voting for.

Chris,
We both live in decidedly non-purple states. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that my state will line up blue and yours red regardless of how either of us vote, i.e. our vote doesn't matter much anyway. That being the case, I usually vote third party as a protest vote. Feel free to do the same.

forestwalker wrote:Chris,
We both live in decidedly non-purple states. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that my state will line up blue and yours red regardless of how either of us vote, i.e. our vote doesn't matter much anyway. That being the case, I usually vote third party as a protest vote. Feel free to do the same.

I have seriously considered doing this, throwing it to the Libertarian party (whose ideals I align with most anyway).

The two party system sickens me and is killing America.

climbs on soapbox

I agree totally that the 2 party system is killing us, and that the Republican party has moved too far left of the ideals that I see in the Scriptures. And although no party or candidate is perfect, the 3 that are left now are so far away from my beliefs, I cannot in good conscience vote for any of them.

Many say that we just need to pick the lesser of 2 evils, but that still leaves us picking evil.

That is why I have left those parties and joined the Constitution Party. I have looked at their platform, and it most closely aligns with what I believe the Scriptures and the Constitution of this country stands for.

There are those who say a third party cannot win the election, and that it is throwing away my vote. But if enough people would stand up and leave these parties to join, then a third party can win. Just ask Abraham Lincoln, who was the third party canidate.

I believe it is time to stand up and take back control of this country that I love and served in the military for - and I am not content to just watch it slowly move away from the moral and Scriptural values.

climbs down off soapbox

The two party system sickens me and is killing America.

That was my motivation behind voting for Nader in 2000 to make the Green party a viable choice. Seems to have not worked out . . .

crispfinagin wrote:

The two party system sickens me and is killing America.

That was my motivation behind voting for Nader in 2000 to make the Green party a viable choice. Seems to have not worked out . . .

It SELDOM works out. One of the advantages of having a few extra years of life under the belt is learning to temper idealism with a healthy dose of pragmatism. We are not electing a Pope or General Overseer, but a Commander in Chief of our military forces and leader of the Executive Branch of our government. None of them are going to be (pick your favorite) Billy Graham/Mother Teresa/James Dobson -- they are compromised by virtue of being politicians... so we hold our nose and pick one.

EagerBeaver wrote:

forestwalker wrote:Chris,
We both live in decidedly non-purple states. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that my state will line up blue and yours red regardless of how ether of us vote, i.e. our vote doesn't matter much anyway. That being the case, I usually vote third party as a protest vote. Feel free to do the same.

I have seriously considered doing this, throwing it to the Libertarian party (whose ideals I align with most anyway).

The two party system sickens me and is killing America.

The two party system is part of America, we are an argumentative culture and we see everything with two sides!

I understand what you meant, but I still believe that God has an opinion about each of our decisions.