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In a recent opednews.com email, Rob Kall said, "It's disgusting-- that we're going to have to vote for Democrats who have already shown they're afraid to stand up for the constitution and democracy."Excuse me? Who says you "have to vote for Democrats?"
The question isn't whether or not Democrats will stand up for the Constitution and democracy, but whether or not you, Rob Kall, will do so. You only have one voice in government, your vote. Will you cast your vote for the Constitution and democracy, or for an entrenched and corrupt two-party system?
If you click on my name and check out my comments over the past couple of days, you'll find that I've been working overtime to counter those who believe that they have to vote party over principle.
Face it, if you yourself won't vote for the Constitution and democracy, why should you expect your representatives to do so?
If elected officials can avoid fulfilling their oaths of office to uphold and defend the Constitution, and still get your vote, why would they bother?
I know that the Democratic Party and its political operatives have been warning people for six years that if they don't vote for Democrats, the Republicans will win. Well, guess what. It may have escaped your attention, but the Republicans already won and have been in power for six years and the Democrats have done nothing to oppose them. So it is a little late to be worrying about this dreadful possibility, as it has been a fait accompli for six long years now. Yes, it is true that if you don't vote for Democrats the Republicans will win. But it was proven in 2000 and 2004 that if you do vote for Democrats, the Republicans will still win anyway. How many times do you have to repeat the same mistake?
Rob, I admire and respect you. But I feel a need to maintain at least a modicum of self-respect in addition to respect for others. For that reason, since I support the Constitution and democracy, I will not vote for anyone whose commitment to the Constitution and democracy is less than my own. I owe that to myself and to my country.
There was a day when I always voted a straight Democratic Party ticket. That is no longer the case. Now I only vote a straight anti-war, anti-torture ticket. Sometimes it means that I vote for Democrats (Jeeni Criscenzo is a fine example of an anti-war Democrat, but receives no support from the Democratic Party), on rare occasions it means that I vote for a Republican, and often I vote for Iraqi Veterans Against the War without regard to their party affiliation. They fought for this country and my vote is not so much because I believe they will win, but to honor their courage and sacrifices.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to tell me how to cast my vote. Diebold may steal my vote, election officials may discard or refuse to count my vote (particularly if I choose to vote absentee), but unless and until I am being physically tortured, nobody is going to tell me how to vote.
--Mark
