Rock the Vote!

[AngraRULES]

Well, I agree with the first part of your statement, but the second is debatable. It's really inexcusable since there's a glut of info. ALL over the internet about the candidates and issues. You can find out at least something about everyone running in every state at don'tvote.com

Unfortunately, I'm (once again) finding it hard in New Jersey to find a candidate with a shred of value. For each semi-positive stand, there's at least 3 negatives points counteracting it. Wish REAL people had the chance to run and win instead of these political phonies. I think our system has become a joke fuled by money and power and not by any real concern for the country. But that's just my ultra-jaded view.

Ann Marie, it seems to me that there's lots of info out on candidates and such, but a good portion of Americans are too busy to care to check this info or just too lazy to do so. And you know that's true, unfortunately.

And the lack of good candidates is not occurring only in NJ. Up here in Connecticut (for senate) we have Joe Liberman (yuck) who can't seem to decide which party go support (He's in the middle now lol), and Ned Lamont, a millionaire from Greenwich CT who has never been involved in politics in his entire life. The republican candidate is Alan Schlesinger, another guy who will most likely not get anywhere. It's sad to see that Lieberman is up and will most likely win. He brings absolutely nothing good to Connecticut in my opinion. I'd take Ned Lamont instead. His campaign and ideas seem to be the more common sense ones.

And yes, the system has mostly become what you said. Agreeg 100% again.

 

[General Zod]

I typically vote Libertarian, as I pretty much agree with every plank in their platform. However, we desperately need a Democratic House of Representatives to keep Bush in check. If the House doesn't go Democratic on Tuesday, we'll be in Iran before you can say "Halliburton wants more cost plus reconstruction contracts."

Zod

 

[AngraRULES]

I typically vote Libertarian, as I pretty much agree with every plank in their platform. However, we desperately need a Democratic House of Representatives to keep Bush in check. If the House doesn't go Democratic on Tuesday, we'll be in Iran before you can say "Halliburton needs more cost plus reconstruction contracts."

Zod

Seriously. Too bad we'll most likely get flamed over here for thinking/agreeing that.

 

[General Zod]

Seriously. Too bad we'll most likely get flamed over here for thinking/agreeing that.

Perhaps. Though I would guess the board leans to the left. Regardless, I'm going to try to avoid any sort of political debate. I figured I'd just state my opinion and leave it at that.

Zod

 

[edgeofthorns]

I'd imagine most Progpower goers would be libertarians. Hard to imagine metalheads being soft liberals or religious conservatives.

Anyway, I just moved to Kentucky, and not really being familiar with the local races yet, I'll sit this one out. What I've seen has only sickened me anyway. Florida had much more enlightened discourse.

I've voted Republican ever since I was able to vote! I doubt that will ever change my friends......

So rock on from this religious conservative!

This board's politics may not be the same, but there's one thing that brings us together............METAL AND GLENN'S FESTIVAL!

 

[adaher]

I typically vote Libertarian, as I pretty much agree with every plank in their platform. However, we desperately need a Democratic House of Representatives to keep Bush in check. If the House doesn't go Democratic on Tuesday, we'll be in Iran before you can say "Halliburton wants more cost plus reconstruction contracts."


Not much chance of that. We simply don't have the troops for a war until Iraq is over. The only way to get them is through a draft or to redeploy them from Iraq and Afghanistan.

And the only way to get that is for Iran to strike first, thus creating the political will necessary for such a difficult undertaking. Iran has been stupid enough to attack us many times before, but since 1996 they've avoided it for whatever reason. But regardless, the ball is in their court.

 

[Jasonic]

I didn't mean to upset anyone with my post.
I agree there is a TON of information.
But just how useful is that info?
Do people really take the time to research the candidates?
Or, is their impression on them based on the "anti-canditate" advertisements paid for by their competition?

It is sad to say that I have been with a group of people where someone will honestly ask, "Well, wait, was Clinton a republican or democrat?"

Yes, there are some who are THAT clueless.

I am in no means claiming to be an expert myself, but come on!
These are people who VOTE!

 

[booB]

I typically vote Libertarian, as I pretty much agree with every plank in their platform. However, we desperately need a Democratic House of Representatives to keep Bush in check.

I used to believe this myself, but considering what has happened over the past ten years, I think we need more Libertarian support NOW. I'm fully sure that if more people knew what Libertarians REALLY are (read: NOT a bunch of anarchist potheads), and if they had any sort of leadership (theirs currently makes the Democrats look like a political juggernaut), the Libertarian party would be big enough to rival the Republicans.

 

[General Zod]

Not much chance of that. We simply don't have the troops for a war until Iraq is over.

I hope you're right... I fear you're wrong. Your logic is actually similar to mine. I'm not sure where the troops would come from either. But there are some frightening signals out there that would suggest otherwise.

Regardless of how realistic a possibility an Iran war is, I still believe we need a Democratic House to restrain the White House from continuing to concentrate power at the executive branch. Our government is founded on the concept of "checks and balances". If we truly want balance, we need the opposition party to control one of the houses.

Zod

 

[General Zod]

I used to believe this myself, but considering what has happened over the past ten years, I think we need more Libertarian support NOW. I'm fully sure that if more people knew what Libertarians REALLY are (read: NOT a bunch of anarchist potheads), and if they had any sort of leadership (theirs currently makes the Democrats look like a political juggernaut), the Libertarian party would be big enough to rival the Republicans.

I agree with you, that we need a 3rd party. And I agree with you, that the Libertarian platform is one that makes a great deal more sense than those of either of the two controlling parties. However, I worry that it's x-Democrats who tend to vote Libertarian, and in doing so, risk fragmenting the anti-Republican vote.

Zod

 

[Jibrille]

>.>
A guy is running for Governor of NY on the "Rent is too Damn High" party

 

[adaher]

I used to believe this myself, but considering what has happened over the past ten years, I think we need more Libertarian support NOW. I'm fully sure that if more people knew what Libertarians REALLY are (read: NOT a bunch of anarchist potheads), and if they had any sort of leadership (theirs currently makes the Democrats look like a political juggernaut), the Libertarian party would be big enough to rival the Republicans.

The Libertarian Party as it is currently constituted is a fringe party. Yes, 14%, maybe even 20%, of Americans are libertarians, but they aren't so libertarian that they want to abolish Social Security and public education and make all roads toll roads. Their isolationism is also unpopular.

Get a more pragmatic libertarian party and they could get that 20%, which is about all the Democrats and Republicans get.

Regardless of how realistic a possibility an Iran war is, I still believe we need a Democratic House to restrain the White House from continuing to concentrate power at the executive branch. Our government is founded on the concept of "checks and balances". If we truly want balance, we need the opposition party to control one of the houses

For me it's more that the Democrats have better people running this cycle than the Republicans. When I look at candidates like Harold Ford, Tammy Duckworth, and Bob Casey, I think "They are finally starting to get it."

But in 2008 I might go Republican, especially if John McCain or Rudy Giuliani are at the top of the ticket.

 

[Jibrille]

Yeah, I could never bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton if she ran (though I'm not certain of her being able to win the primary elections). And I'd give Giuliani my vote in a heartbeat. He's a social liberal which works well for me.
Mr Clinton will be in the area today helping Gillibrand's campaign for congress.

 

[General Zod]

And I'd give Giuliani my vote in a heartbeat. He's a social liberal which works well for me.

I lost a lot of respect for Giuliani after the way he shamelessly campaigned for Bush in '04. He and McCain, are the two Republicans I use to like, who I've lost all respect for.

Zod

 

[Hal9000]

The Libertarian Party as it is currently constituted is a fringe party. Yes, 14%, maybe even 20%, of Americans are libertarians, but they aren't so libertarian that they want to abolish Social Security and public education and make all roads toll roads. Their isolationism is also unpopular.

Get a more pragmatic libertarian party and they could get that 20%, which is about all the Democrats and Republicans get.

More pragmatic like the Republicans who want the entire population to be Christian? Or more pragmatic like the Democrats who want us to be socialists and force the working class to be taxed out of existence and give everyone else a free ride?

 

[edgeofthorns]

I hope you're right... I fear you're wrong. Your logic is actually similar to mine. I'm not sure where the troops would come from either. But there are some frightening signals out there that would suggest otherwise.

Regardless of how realistic a possibility an Iran war is, I still believe we need a Democratic House to restrain the White House from continuing to concentrate power at the executive branch. Our government is founded on the concept of "checks and balances". If we truly want balance, we need the opposition party to control one of the houses.

Zod

I understand the point you're making, but I have a rebuttal. If the Dems take the Senate over, then absolutly nothing will get done within the next two years due to both parties going back and forth constantly. In other words, I don't believe there will be a chance at all for the war in Iraq to come to an end if this happens. Eventhough the war has went south for sure, I don't believe more political two stepping will get our country anywhere if we have a Republican Administration and a Democratic controlled Senate. In a time of peace I totally agree with you Zod, but not during a war such as this.

 

[adaher]

I lost a lot of respect for Giuliani after the way he shamelessly campaigned for Bush in '04. He and McCain, are the two Republicans I use to like, who I've lost all respect for.

They are Republicans. You either support the head of the ticket if you are a Republican politician or you stop being a Republican. When it comes to politics, there are some things we have to make allowances for.

More pragmatic like the Republicans who want the entire population to be Christian? Or more pragmatic like the Democrats who want us to be socialists and force the working class to be taxed out of existence and give everyone else a free ride?


All I mean by more pragmatic is for libertarians to be more in the mainstream of public opinion. Most Americans want smaller government. Most Americans do not want bare-bones government, which is what the LP is selling.

I understand the point you're making, but I have a rebuttal. If the Dems take the Senate over, then absolutly nothing will get done within the next two years due to both parties going back and forth constantly. In other words, I don't believe there will be a chance at all for the war in Iraq to come to an end if this happens. Eventhough the war has went south for sure, I don't believe more political two stepping will get our country anywhere if we have a Republican Administration and a Democratic controlled Senate. In a time of peace I totally agree with you Zod, but not during a war such as this.


On the contrary, a Democratic Congress will result in more accountability for the President. He's mismanaged the war and Congress has completely abidated its own role in regards to war.

 

[General Zod]

If the Dems take the Senate over, then absolutly nothing will get done within the next two years due to both parties going back and forth constantly.

Given that our current congress has been dubbed the "do nothing congress", I'm not sure how much difference that would make.

Eventhough the war has went south for sure, I don't believe more political two stepping will get our country anywhere if we have a Republican Administration and a Democratic controlled Senate. In a time of peace I totally agree with you Zod, but not during a war such as this.

Since you tagged yourself a "religious conservative", I'm going to guess that politically, you and I wouldn't agree on much. That's cool. We can still split a beer and argue about Metal. Let it suffice to say, I think Bush is the worst President this country has even known, and I just can't see leaving his power unopposed for two more years. In my own state, I'm no fan of Robert Menendez. However, I wouldn't vote for Tom Kean Jr., even if it would guarentee Nevermore headlining ProgPower next year.

Zod

 

[Perpet]

Wait a minute. I dont agree that Arnold is a better choice though, I think its kind of like the blind leading the blind on this one. Maybe to many Terminator fans that dont know otherwise? Cringe about Angelides? At least he hasn't taken over 2 million dollars from the Indian gaming nation. I could go on but I wont...

Bear

I could go on and on as well but i won't that isn't what this forum is for. I will say however that Indian Gaming needs to pay its fair share which they haven't for many years. They are heavily subsidized, living for next to nothing on government land and have been virtually tax free for years.

Angelidas is all about higher taxes and thinks it is his responsibility and vision to create a social welfare utopian state with subsidy for all. Sounds good right? Problem is somebody has to pay for it all. Once he runs out big business then who will take the bulk of the taxation? CA residents are already the highest taxed citizens in the country by a long shot.

Having said all that I agree that Arnold isn't the best choice either which is why in my original post i said that Libertarian is getting my protest vote

 

[Jibrille]

I always like to point out that Arnold won an election where the total turnout to vote was lower than the number of votes that won it for the guy who was removed from office. And I don't recall him having that high a win over his opponent. I think if that election had never happened, you wouldn't see Arnold even having a chance at winning a normal election.