My official mea culpa to Gore and the Democratic Party...

[Hosnon]

I voted Nader in 2000. To my credit, I was 18 and extremely idealistic. I still am, but I've managed to sprinkle in a bit of pragmatism (thanks to Mr. Bush).

In any event, I've changed my signature line for the first time in my entire stay here at DU. Not only did Ms. Ivins begin my turn against President Bush in 2002 (with "Bushwhacked") but she seemed to hit the nail on the head (and hopefully the heads of us Nader voters).

I signed the "Draft Gore" petition.

Please run Al...

[durrrty libby]

1. OK, I will forgive you because you were young. On the other hand,

at least you were interested enough to vote.

So....:toast: :party: :bounce: :hi: :dem: :loveya:

[Hosnon]

5. Thanks.

I was quite excited to vote my first go-'round:)

[tuvor]

2. At least you voted.

There always tens of millions who don't vote, and they always seem to get forgotten after the votes are counted and the blame starts going around.

[Hosnon]

6. Yeah, and it's not that bad in retrospect. My state went Red by a huge

margin so it was a win-win to some degree.

[illinoisprogressive]

3. I'm sure he would forgive you for your youthful folly. And reading Molly is

good penance. Actually, reading Molly should be required. We all make youthful mistakes.

[Hosnon]

7. Molly was great. I tried to read her whenever I could.

I'm from the Deep South and she always reminded me of a mix of my mom and aunt with a political slant.

[BlooInBloo]

8. From folly to Molly!

Hard to imagine a better transition.

[Hosnon]

10. Not a bad tag line:)

If Gore runs, I will try to make that the reformed-Naderite-Gore-voter chant!

[tnlefty]

4. To your credit you registered and you voted!!!

Don't give up on your idealism. Ms. Ivins still had hers and I'm really gonna miss her. I haven't given up on mine and I was a few decades older than you in '00, which is part of why I voted for Al Gore. Keep up the good fight!!! :hi:

[Hosnon]

9. And I got called for jury duty four months later!

Of course I was in my first year at school so I didn't do it (federal case).

I haven't given up on my idealism...just tempered it a bit. I just wish Al would run...

[durrrty libby]

11. Yes, Al Gore = The Best

[Redneck Socialist]

12. Well, I cast my first vote for Reagan

Hard to say which of our decisions was worst.

[pnwmom]

13. Hah! We live and learn. n/t

[Redneck Socialist]

32. Yes, yes we do. n/t

[Hosnon]

18. Yeah. I at least take comfort in knowing that

my state would have gone Red regardless of how I voted.

However, I wish Nader weren't there. Who knows what the national implications were, especially in close states.

[Redneck Socialist]

31. Well, I don't recall if my state was in play way back then

I doubt it. Nader probably flipped my state (NH) to bush though. :mad:

[pnwmom]

14. It was great to read that, MJDuncan1982. Especially since

yesterday Nader threatened to run again in 2008.

I hope there are a lot more like you out there.

[Hosnon]

16. He won't be getting my vote this time:) nt.

[manic expression]

15. I get this feeling from reading this thread

What did your vote do? Nothing. That's the story of just about every vote in the US. Voting is the opiate of the people in this country.

Perhaps this is off topic, but I'm not so sure that voting really gets anything accomplished.

[Hosnon]

17. My vote did nothing because of the state in which I happen to live.

Voting may sometimes be an opiate but it is oftentimes important (see Florida in 2000).

[manic expression]

19. Which is precisely the situation 48/50 states face

And considering the fact that if a person who actually votes for someone they want in office, they are effectively giving a vote to the other side, we're left with no real choice whatsoever.

It seems as though the people don't have a voice at all; that, my friends, is reserved for the rich and powerful.

I swear, voting in this system, even in the precious few cases where it actually matters, is like trench warfare: it's either one side or the other, or else you're in no-man's land.

[pnwmom]

21. Please don't discourage yourself or anyone else from voting.

Your stance doesn't make sense unless you think there is no difference between the two parties, in which case I don't know why you're here.

You can never know when the vote will be very close, as it was here when we had two recounts in the last Governor's race. And we needed every last vote all over the country in the legislative races in order to have enough of a margin to knock Rove's hand off the voting scale.

[manic expression]

26. Presuming there is a difference

voting, in almost every state, really doesn't matter. Blue states go blue, red states go red. A red voter in a blue state doesn't matter, a blue voter in a red state doesn't matter. That's just the way it works.

Furthermore, it seems whimsical that someone should apologize over voting for someone that they actually wanted in office. That was another part of my point, that a vote for someone other than the Democrat is a vote for a Republican; there is something wrong with that.

[Hosnon]

29. If there is something wrong with that then the fault lies in the concept of voting itself.

That strategical insight is known to even high school Homecoming Queen candidates. Split the opponents vote and victory is practically assured.

My apology is rooted in the realization that there are many reasons one should vote for a particular candidate, all of which should be taken into account. In 2000, I voted for a viable third party and a shake-up of the Democrat-Republican duopoly. Seven years later, in retrospect, I see that the vote was in error.

Perhaps it's not so much an apology as a acknowledgment.

[manic expression]

30. The fault lies with the system in which the voting takes place

There are many systems which do not see trench warfare voting, or the fact that blue voters simply don't matter in red states (and visa versa).

Do we really have a voice? Two candidates, one of whom we may or may not disagree with, but one of whom we must vote for. That, to me, is unacceptable. Let us work toward disposing of this ridiculous system and building a better one in its place (and since government and economics are so intertwined, that means we must also dispose of our equally ridiculous economic system).

And really, are we actually saying that this duopoly (or monopoly, depending upon where you're standing) is desirable?

I'm not questioning your acknowledgment (it is perfectly reasonable), I only question the system which would produce such an acknowledgment.

[Shoelace]

20. our votes count, our voices count - with or without the doubters amongst us

I hear your doubts but trust me on this, we will all need to vote next time. By the time 2008 comes around, we are going to be treated to the most massive media black ops in history!

I just got off a message board that pretty much had the same message of "our votes don't count" and have to say that I do NOT agree.

Enough voters got out there and voted this last election to actually make a difference. Now it appears we have found some semblance of our voice after 12 years of being shouted down by nutcase Neocons, conspiracy theory wackos, "don't vote" progressives, "both parties suck" folks, and all their ilk so it appears that our votes count afterall.

Much thanks to the dedicated Democratic volunteers who stood at the polling booths to be the watchers, all the Democratic activists who worked their asses off to make damn sure that our votes WERE COUNTED.

Election reform must happen, and we must throw out those bloody Diebold machines before they manage to elect yet another lunatic Neocon to any position in our government.

Bloody glad I voted and can't tell you all how glad I am to be here amongst people who know that our votes count!



:kick: :kick: :kick:

[RestoreGore]

22. Sorry, too little too late based on where this world stands today.

Oh yes, and by all means, sign a petition that actually supports this toxic system and wants Al Gore to give up all that he has accomplished to go back to that BS. It is totally illogical to me that the same people who claim that we need to change this system don't seem to be doing anything but business as usual, and I will never support that. And with all due respect, even though you voted your conscience and I certainly will not deride you for that, I base my votes on the man. That's why if Al Gore really wants to ever run again, I hope he does it totally OUT of this two party toxic system to really change things in this country. But as part of this toxic warmongering military industrial complex system, I would hope he would stay away from it like the plague.

[TroglodyteScholar]

23. It must be great to be perfect n/t

[RestoreGore]

25. I'm just being honest

But it figures that would get mocked. And considering the thousands of people who have died since 2000 and the way the people of this country have continued and continue to allow these bastards to trample on our Constitution even AFTER KNOWING WHAT THEY ARE, I honestly don't give a damn what anyone thinks of my comment. Party politics in all respects is what has ruined this system, and that includes Democrats who continue to enable it.

[Hosnon]

27. Too little too late?

I do admit to a lack of personal omniscience. The world was an incredibly different place in 2000; the number one threat, in my mind, was the two party system, which was part of the reason I voted for Nader. Had I known the Constitutional horror that Bush would soon inflict upon this nation, I would have recognized a more serious threat at the time and voted for Gore.

But as Molly Ivins pointed out, George Bush and the Republicans showed us that the choice between the two parties can - at times - be worse than the lesser of two evils: it can be the choice between less evil and utter disaster. That seems to have been the case in 2000.

And, like you, "the man" is certainly an important consideration when choosing whom I vote for but 2000 showed me that it should not be the only consideration. Sometimes (though, not always) the totality of the circumstances may dictate that other considerations determine my vote.

I would love nothing more than to see a strong third party. And I am not abandoning that desire by supporting Gore as the Democratic nominee in 2008. The election in 2000 illustrated that a blind obedience to a cause, in this case a viable third party, could lead to some very undesirable consequences. As far as the struggle for a third party is concerned, I have come to believe that that fight is better fought locally and in the Congress, at least before it is fought with regards to the Presidency.

I think you assumed a bit too much about my position on a number of these issues.

[crispini]

24. I think everyone goes third-party at least once in their life.

No worries. :hug: I just wish we had a ranked preference voting system like Australia so that we could vote for who we wanted, really truly.

[JNelson6563]

28. All is forgiven, welcome!

Fellow supporter of President Gore. :toast: