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There's no such thing as a "wasted vote"
This forum is one of the few places where the third party candidates get any credit at all. Sure, some votes for Nader might have otherwise gone to Kerry, and some votes for Bednarik might otherwise have gone to Bush; but NO vote is wasted.
A vote for a person or issue that does not win still gets counted. Over time, more and more people may vote that way, and before you know it you have real change. Consider the following list:
Republican
Democratic
Progressive (Bull-Moose)
American (Know-Nothing)
Whig
Democratic-Republican
Federalist
Anti-Federalist
These are some of the parties that have risen to power in the history of the United States. Not all have had presidents, but all have had some measure of success. At the country's outset, the Republicans and Democrats didn't even exist. Why do people seem so sure that other parties won't rise up and take their place?
The only way we're going to progress is by voting what we really feel is right. In Washington state right now, the Libertarian Party is officially labeled a major party. Who knows, in ten years it might be Libertarians vs Greens, and a vote for a Democrat is a waste of a vote.
Vote for what you want. Don't be railroaded in to choosing the lesser of two evils. As a prominent TFPer says (whose name escapes me), "The lesser of two evils is still evil."
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"If I cannot smoke cigars in heaven, I shall not go!"
- Mark Twain
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