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| Author: Posted: Sep. 8, 2002 | This Page Viewed: 7,025,891 |
Question of the Week: 12 - 10/23/2000 Pagan Choice for the y2k US Election This week's Pagan Perspective question is a redux of one that we asked about at the beginning of August... And we apologize in advance to our non-United States readers that we have again brought up an issue that is rather exclusive to just one country, but feel free to comment on the shenanigans of the American political system as you see it.) Which political platform or candidate are you leaning towards? Have you made up your mind or changed your mind? Will you vote and who-if you don't mind telling the world-are you planning to vote for? Why have you made this particular choice? |
| Reponses: There are 129 responses posted to this question. | Reverse Sort |
| I, Too, Have Already Posted Once To This Forum. I, Too, Am... | Oct 25th. at 9:40:39 am EDT |
| NatalieWitch (Corydon, Indiana US) | Age: 21 - Email |
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I, too, have already posted once to this forum. I, too, am having misgivings about posting again. Too many times today I have read the "A Vote for Nader is a Vote for Bush" party line, and I am fed up with it. Hear me no for the last time: A VOTE FOR NADER ONLY GOING TO TAKE AWAY A VOTE FROM GORE IN AN UNDECIDED OR DEMOCRATIC STATE. If you live in NH, PA, WV, FL, TN, MI, WI, MN, IA, MO, AR, NM, WA, OR, or a traditionally Democratic state PLEASE DO VOTE FOR GORE. None of us want to see shubba-u win this election. However, for those of you that live in traditionally Republican states (for example, IN, TX, & UT) should feel free to vote for the candidate of your choice, even if that candidate is --gasp-- Ralph Nader! Don't let these blowhards scare you off. In a Republican state your electorial votes are going to go to Bush. But your vote for Nader can make a difference in 2004. Wouldn't you like to see a third party come into play in the next election? Wouldn't you like to have that third party support your basic Pagan beliefs? Say it with me. "Ralph Nader is a viable option. A vote for Ralph Nader is a vote for Ralph Nader". |
| I Think That Is So Important That All Pagans Get Out And... | Oct 25th. at 11:26:44 am EDT |
| Autumn (Dothan, Alabama US) | Age: 27 |
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I think that is so important that all pagans get out and vote in this election. I have heard some say the will not vote at all since they don't really like Gore that much, and that Nader doesn't have a chance. We all have to work together to keep Bush out of office! I shudder to think what this country will be like if that man becomes president. Living on the buckle of the bible belt is bad enough, but that belt might well grow to cover the whole country if Bush is elected. If Bush becomes president, and gets to elect three supreme court justices, we might loose or right to choose not only what we do with our bodies, but the religion we practice. He might have the decision to protect Wicca as a religion overturned. Then what? The burning times again? Think about it. Do whatever you can. Talk to people, spread the word. We ALL need to vote for Gore to keep Bush from taking away everything we hold dear. What planet are we going to live on if Bush is allowed to destroy this one? |
| Greetings, Kindly Note: Feel Free To Attack The Issues At Hand But... | Oct 25th. at 4:30:34 pm EDT |
| Fritz Jung (Clearwater, Florida US) | Age: 47 - Email |
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Greetings, Kindly Note: Feel free to attack the issues at hand but try not to loose sight of the actual question presented at the top of this page. Posts that contain personal attacks (and related threads that follow) will be removed and are not welcome here. Blessed Be Well, |
| A Vote For Nader Is Not A Vote For Gore, It Is... | Oct 25th. at 4:33:55 pm EDT |
| Wendy (Nyack, New York US) | Age: 50 |
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A vote for Nader is NOT a vote for Gore, it is a vote for Nader, the Greens, for YOUR/OUR future. Surely people cannot be this narrow minded and without the vision necessary to see this? Vote for the person who has worked tirelessly his entire adult life for you and me. Why on earth would anyone waste their vote on a politician who only speaks what they think we want to hear? We must think beyond the next four years. To quote a Kenyan proverb: This earth was not left to us by our parents...it was loaned to us by our children. The republicrats are bought, paid for, and owned by corporations. Vote Green for the future we want. |
| There Are No Òsafe StatesÓ To Vote For Anyone Except Gore. After... | Oct 25th. at 4:40:56 pm EDT |
| John (Colorado Springs, Colorado US) | Age: 33 - Email |
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There are no Òsafe statesÓ to vote for anyone except Gore. After reading the news today, I have to post again to this board. In todayÕs Rocky Mountain News (one of two major newspapers here in Colorado; 25 October 2000, www.rockymountainnews.com), the following was reported (IÕm accurately paraphrasing): * * * California (with 54 electoral votes !!!) was considered a Òsafe stateÓ for Gore to win. Hence, supporters of Nader and other third party candidates were encouraged to vote for their candidates. It was assumed that such wouldnÕt hurt Gore and wouldnÕt help Bush. NOW (**today**É 25 October 2000) it seems that BUSH is within FIVE PERCENT of capturing the popular vote in California. And, of course, if a candidate gets even a *slight* majority in the popular vote, he will get **ALL** of that stateÕs electoral votes. (And, as another poster ably explained, itÕs electoral votes, not popular votes, than elects U.S. presidents.) In California, there are FIFTY-FOUR electoral votes É and Bush is (as of today) within 5% of the popular vote in getting ALL fifty-four electoral votes. And California was a Òsafe stateÓ for supporters of third party candidates to vote for their guy. And, for opposite reasons (a reported 10% lead in the polls by Bush), Colorado is also being considered a Òsafe stateÓ for supporters of third party candidates to vote for their guys instead of for Gore. * * ** Colorado is leaning for Bush by 10%? Sure, I can see El Paso County, Colorado going that way, but Denver? *Boulder?* Hello, all you ultimate-playing, Nader-supporting voters: itÕs time to get busy! ThereÕs no ÒsafetyÓ with Bush winning É even in a supposedly Òsafe state.Ó And CaliforniaÕs popular vote is within 5% of going for Bush? 54 electoral votes might go to Bush because it is a ÒsafeÓ place to vote for a third party candidate? HELLO ! Please, there are NO Òsafe statesÓ in this election. YOU can decide this election. State by state, your vote could tip the balance of the popular vote (which is dead-even nationwide). Thus, YOUR VOTE could give all of your stateÕs electoral votes É to a man who thinks Witchcraft is not a religion or to a man (Gore) who believes in the freedom of religion without exception. I know, I know: many of you who support third party candidates (such as Nader) want to vote for your principles. Consider: if Bush is elected, the principle of religious freedom would be at risk. As the ÒWeb White and BlueÓ statement by Bush of 15 October 2000 clearly stated: he does not consider Witchcraft to be a religion, and he strongly seemed to imply that members of the military who are Witches should not be permitted to practice their religion. Excuse me? This is coming from a candidate for Commander-in-Chief of the men and women who actually have to fight and sometimes *die* for freedom (including freedom of religion). This is also coming from the man who, if elected president, would nominate 2 Ð 4 judges to sit on the Supreme Court and make a new majority for 10? 20? years. If you were Jewish Éa religion which has had more than its share of martyrs for refusing to accept You-Know-Who as their Òpersonal lord and saviorÓ É and if one of the two viable candidates for president said, ÒI donÕt think Judaism is a religion, Ó would you vote for that man? Would you vote for that man IN EFFECT by voting for someone who cannot win É and thereby depriving a vote from someone who *does* believe in the freedom of religion without exception and who could actually win (and thus stop the other guy)? IÕm sorry to burst anyoneÕs bubble, but politics really is a practical matter, and it boils down to who wins. Pagans: religious freedom is at stake. Maybe Bush didnÕt mean that by what he saidÉ but that is what is saying means. Erode liberty for one group, even make political attempts to do so, and there is a VERY dangerous precedent to do so against anyone or everyone else. And to those who might say, Òit canÕt happen hereÓ É I donÕt care which state you are inÉYOUR VOTE MATTERS. This race is between Al Gore and George W. Bush, and it is a **statistical dead-heat.** As todayÕs news about California shows, itÕs a toss-up everywhere. Thus, a very small number of people will Ðstate by state-- decide this election by tipping the popular vote by a hair. There are NO SAFE STATES to vote for a third party candidate. If you vote for your narrow principles (for your third party candidate), you **shall** help Bush win. And if Bush wins, the resulting, very real potential for erosion of religious freedom (first for Witches and then for who else?), will be *your* fault to a significant degree. But, if you vote for your broad principles (like, the principle of **freedom of religion**) --by voting for Gore-- YOU really could stop Bush by getting Gore elected. And thus YOU would have *significantly* helped preserve the freedom of religion for all and preserving freedom in general. ÒNever Again the Burning TimesÓ É that actually means something, and (like it or not) in the U.S. right now, it means voting for Gore. HOLD YOUR NOSE AND VOTE FOR GORE. Please. |
| Hi, I Haven't Read All The Posts On This, So I Hope... | Oct 25th. at 4:46:27 pm EDT |
| Lilac (Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan US) | Age: 34 - Email |
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Hi, I haven't read all the posts on this, so I hope I'm not repeating too much. I wanted to address the issue of people trying to manipulate the system through strategic voting. IMO the only way to bring lasting, long-term change is by everybody voting their concience every time. yes, it may result in Bush gaining office, even in some negative policy for us pagans (et al). but as i see it, if we build a climate of voting in the way that our democratic systems was built for us to vote, it will gradually free others to vote their concience, too, and at some far future date, american politics can be closer to our idealized view of it... i feel VERY strongly that I don't want Bush in office, and was an "anybody but bush" voter not long ago. however, i realized that is (again IMO) a selfish, short-sighted way to vote. I decided to speak out for what I believe is right not only for myself and my fellow pagans, but to cast my vote in a way that hopefully will be beneficial in some small way to future pagans, and others. |
| Correction: See Denverpost.com And Not Rockymountainnews.com. My Apologies... | Oct 25th. at 5:14:05 pm EDT |
| john (Colorado Springs, Colorado US) | Age: 33 - Email |
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correction: see denverpost.com and not rockymountainnews.com. my apologies. |
| Gretings All! Well, I Just Turned 18 Last Month. I've Been Following... | Oct 25th. at 5:17:23 pm EDT |
| Sara Elizabeth (Chester, Vermont US) | Age: 18 |
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Gretings All! Well, I just turned 18 last month. I've been following the race very closely; and I still don't understand all of it... But for sure, I understand this much: I'm voting for GORE! Bush's oppinion of our RELIGION terrifies me! To put it mildly, I rather not have someone so close minded in the white house! I'm Wiccan, I'm voting, and I'm voting for Gore. Blessed Be! |
| One Of My Favorite Authors Says That You May Not Be Able... | Oct 25th. at 6:35:41 pm EDT |
| j. thayer (kent, Washington US) | Age: 52 - Email |
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One of my favorite authors says that you may not be able to decide who to vote for but you can always figure out who to vote against. IN this election it is BUSH! His idea of american freedom is for himself and like minded people only. He has no real plan except to get himself elected avenge his father's defeat at the hands of Bill Clinton.What he would do to the Supreme Court alone scares me.We could survive the rest but our children and grandchildren will have to live with what the Supreme Court does in the next few years. I like a lot of Nader's environmental and business thoughts but that is not what you do in the oval office. It would be much better to get Green party members into local offices where they can have a more direct effect on government. Nader in the white house would be subscribing to a theory of tricle-down environmentalism that will wither on the vine and never come to full fruit in this country. Electing Nader may be the Green party setback that will take decades to reverse. |
| After Visiting The Red, White And Blue Page And Seen Both Major... | Oct 25th. at 7:38:40 pm EDT |
| Natalie Williams (Cedar City, Utah US) | Age: 21 - Email |
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After visiting the Red, White and Blue page and seen both major candidates response to the question about religion, specifically asking about Wicca, I am casting my vote for Al Gore. George Bush said that "witchcraft is not a religion" and that makes me furious! Putting down other people's beliefs and calling names is not something I find befitting of a would-be president. |
| I, Like All The Other Idealists In This Country, Would Love To... | Oct 25th. at 8:55:33 pm EDT |
| Yehonala (Hamilton, Ohio US) | Age: 19 |
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I, like all the other idealists in this country, would love to see Ralph Nader as President... however, since that's obviously not going to happen and I don't want Bush to win (I don't like his foreign policy, or for that matter, his domestic one), I'm going to vote for Al Gore. He has some diplomatic skills and a sincere wish to stay on good terms with China and the Middle East, and that's the very least that I want in a President. |
| I Have Heard A Lot Of Pagans Talk Of Putting Forthan Organized... | Oct 25th. at 9:19:02 pm EDT |
| Wandering Shadow (Miami, Florida US) | Age: 17 - Email |
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I have heard a lot of pagans talk of putting forthan organized front against Bush. They say he is determined to turn this back into a Christian country. I say they are wrong. It is true that Bush is a devoted Christian and is quite pro-life, but besides that has remained quite vague. Gore has not even touched the issue at all in any form. Once again the citizens of the U.S.A. must choose the lesser evil. This is how I see it. We have two candidates both are uncertain in their choices on religious views. Since such is the case I believe we should vote for the candidate who will infringe on our rights less, so that if our freedom is challenged, we will be in a better place to fight for it. Blessed Be. |
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