This leftist says: voting for Kerry IS voting my conscience

[Selwynn]

I wanted to move this out from a separate thread into a separate post:

Someone else wrote:

your conscience should take into account the actual effect of your actions, not just your hopes and ideals.

I agree with that, that's why I'm voting for Kerry. Because conscience should and must take into account the long term picture, not just what is immediately gratifying.

It may feel good to "stick to principle" and vote a third party this year, but there are those of us who feel four more years of Bush might be so horrible we just can't take that chance. Not everyone feels that way, and if you don't, then you might vote differently. But Because I believe in "strategic idealism" - meaning that idealism must be counter-balanced with a healthy understanding of reality, short term gains vs. long term games, immediate costs vs. long term benefits, and risk - I believe I must vote for Kerry this year, in order to vote my conscience. Because my conscience at heart tells me that four more years of Bush is a disaster from which we might never fully recover.

I also believe that while real change in this country does involve a breaking up of the two-party monopoly, I don't believe that will ever be effectively achieved in a top down manner - starting with the Presidency and working your way down. Even if such a person did by some miracle manage to get elected, he or she would have no constituency in Washington, and therefore no mandate - no one would take his or her calls, nothing would get done and the country would spend four years spinning its wheels, because revolutionary change just doesn't work that way.

I believe if we really want to radically chance the country, we start be electing independent grass roots progressive to school boards, and city councils, then to mayorship, then to state legislatures then to congress then to the white house - you build up a strong grass roots popular movement that transforms communities first and expands ever outward, until enough momentum is gained to change the landscape of the nation.

That's why I believe local elections are as important if not even more important (many times) than national ones. Change begins at home.

[The Traveler]

1. Agreed. We must do the next right thing

to reach the desired end result. Step 1: Strip Bush of his power and play toys and send him back to Crawford.

[DaveSZ]

2. Of course you're right on the money

When I think of the millions of people who are being harmed, and are yet to be harmed because of the BUsh Administration's policies, my conscience will not allow me to support anyone other than John Kerry.

John Kerry is a real Democrat as well, so it makes me feel even better about supporting him.

[Guaranteed]

3. "Because conscience should and must take into account the long term

picture, not just what is immediately gratifying."

That would be why I would vote for Nader- if I was to vote for Nader.

Which I'm not.

[Selwynn]

4. How do you figure?

There is nothing long term gratifying about voting for a man who cannot be elected just to stand on principle. When I say cannot, I literally mean it, at this stage in the election cycle, with his numbers vs. the numbers of the other candidates, it is a virtual impossibility.

So what you are doing is short-sightedly thinking that by casting that vote your "following conscience" when in fact deeper understanding of conscience should take into account all of reality, not just principles, and see that enabling Bush into another four years of office has far, far more long term negative effects, and will allow for many more opportunities for horrible acts which go deeply against my conscience.

I agree more closely with nader, however becuase I am a man concerned with conscience I alos know that I we cannot afford another four years of Bush, therefore the most integritous choice I can make is to vote against Bush by voting for a cadidate who directly threatens his stay in office, and then fight hard once Bush is outsted for moves to the left, and the emergence of populist politics.

Also, I encourage the last half of my post to be looked at again - real change begins from the bottom up, not the top down.

My point was, in case it was missed, was that voting for Kerry by a person who is strongly progressive is not a betrayal of conscience, it is actively standing by the conscience of the bigger picture.