Once Again, Politics Makes Me Ralph
Well, no matter what happens today (for the record, I stand by the prediction at the close of my week eight NFL predictions post on This Football Blog), I can spend the next four years knowing I didn’t vote for the corporate stooge in charge. That’s right, as promised, I cast my vote for Mr. Ralph Nader.
Why? How could I, in such an important election, cast a vote for a candidate who doesn’t represent one of the major parties and can’t win? As I’ve said before, I’m a progressive. And, while others can do whatever they like (and rationalize it in whatever way they choose), I wouldn’t feel like I could call myself a progressive if I went out and voted for a conservative candidate, even a conservative candidate who’s slightly less conservative, considerably more honest, and infinitely more qualified than the other candidate. I know I’m in a tiny little minority here, but I just don’t believe choosing the lesser of two evils is ever going to bring about positive change.
No. Scratch that last bit. I know for a fact that the best you can do with choosing the lesser of two evils is maintain the status quo. And anyone who isn’t blind should be able to see that the status quo in America isn’t working for anyone but the rich and powerful.
Will we get real healthcare reform if Kerry is elected? Shit, no. We’ll talk about it a lot, but nothing will happen, because the corporations that own Bush own Kerry and own pretty much everyone in Congress and they don’t want it. Will rich people be forced to pay their fair share of taxes under Kerry? Come on, now. They may lose the tax break Bush has given them (though probably not), but the bulk of the burden for running our government and carrying out global warfare will still fall on the shoulders of working people. Will the corporations that run this country lose any of their power? Not a chance. They own both of these guys.
How about those Supreme Court nominees everyone is so worked up about? Won’t electing Kerry keep Bush from stacking the court with right-wing ideologues bent on overturning Roe v. Wade and approving school prayer? Yeah, obviously it’ll keep Bush from doing that, since he won’t be in office to do it. But do you think Kerry’s gonna appoint a bunch of liberal justices? And if he does, do you think the Republicans in the Senate are gonna let them make it onto the bench? He won’t, partly because they wouldn’t. So we’ll end up with an assortment of nominees who are as conservative as those named by the last Democratic president. And won’t that be wonderful for us progressives?
So, yeah, I voted for a guy who actually shares many of my values, a guy I would trust to do what’s right for America and Americans, both at home and abroad, a guy who can’t win, largely because he can’t be bought. Shame, shame on me.