babbling blue

But only for Kerry.

Especially if you’re in a swing state, do NOT vote for Nader or any other third-party candidate. Sure, you may believe in what they have to say. Great, fine, splendid. But in an election this close we can’t afford not to vote for Kerry.

The American political system forces us to, in many cases, choose the guy or gal who sucks less than his or her opponent. Does that stink? Yes it does! Should we try to change that? Sure! Should we try to change that by voting for a third-party candidate this year? Probably not! If you live in Ohio or Florida or Wisconsin or other highly contested state, don’t even think about NOT voting for Kerry. It’s not an option.

The worst thing that can happen is 4 more years of the Bush presidency. He dragged us into a war under false pretenses with inadequate support and no plan for winning the peace. Now it’s turned into a quagmire which has proven fatal for thousands of Americans, Iraqis and others. The economy is not doing well, the job market sucks. The environment has suffered (the Bush administration has rolled back many protections that existed when he took office). Our civil rights are being gutted by the Patriot Act. He wants to amend the constituon to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, putting discrimination into what is the closest thing to a sacred document we Americans have.

Education? No Child Left Behind has left children behind. When a national teachers union had the nerve to (gasp) speak out about how it wasn’t working, Bush’s Secretary of Education called them a terrorist organization! (See the story) Can you imagine? Bush didn’t have anything to say about this. Typical of this administration is attack the messenger rather than the message when someone doesn’t agree with them. Health care costs are continuing to increase with no end in sight. Bush opposes importing prescription medications to help bring down drug costs. Millions of Americans lost their health insurance coverage during the Bush presidency.

So, go vote. Tell your family and friends. In a free country as ours (supposedly) is, we can vote for whomever we want. So vote for the candidate that has a chance to do the most good. In my opinion, that is John Kerry.