A conundrum

[fbhjr]

Tomorrow is my state’s primary election.
Members of the parties get to vote on who will be their candidate in the
general election in November.

I hate political parties and am not a member of any of them.

This does allow me to vote for any of them if I wish. I can show up at the
voting place, ask for a ballot from any party of my choice and vote on that
party’s candidates.
Then, take my name off of their membership when I’m done.

Normally which I pick is fairly straight forward. I decide which candidate
I like out of all of the parties, take a ballot from the party they are in
an vote for them.

This year it is not so clear.
There is a candidate I like.
There is a candidate I hate.
And, they are in different parties.

So, I can either vote for the person I’d like to win, or against the person
I don’t want to win, but not both.
And, as they are only running against people in their own party at this
time helping one isn’t hurting the other.

I’m honestly torn on this.
Should I support the person I’d like to win?
Or try and stop the person I would hate to win?

Comments

[chris-warrior.livejournal.com]

i tend to 'support', but that's just me.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

That is where I almost always go myself.
But, this time is different. I really, really don't want that other person to win...

[one-raido.livejournal.com]

We caucus here (tomorrow, also), which I won't go to because I'm working, but wouldn't anyway.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Those do seem like they would take quite a commitment.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I had the same conundrum, looking at the alternatives. The alternative to the person I like is someone I could live with, but the alternatives to the person I really dislike and fear are also hateful and fearful. Not a good time to be a voter.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I wish there was a way to vote "Start Over with new people!"

[cissa.livejournal.com]

I think ALL elections need a binding "none of the above" option. And if NOTA wins, they have to start over with new candidates.

I am also in favor of representational voting, as they have in civilized countries.

The corrupt 2-party lockup is one of the reasons most do not vote.

[yesididit2.livejournal.com]

my brain says vote for who you want.

i think if trump gets nominated, young people are going to come out of the woodwork to vote against him for president.

but i'm oddly optimistic like that.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I hope you are right!

[yesididit2.livejournal.com]

i hope so too! i dont want such a racist bigot for our president.

and i'm really saddened that so many people in this country DO want that racist bigot for president. i thought we'd come farther than that.

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

I was born and raised in the Republican party, my mom has tickets she was given to Nixon's second inaugural, but this year I've enrolled in the Democratic party so I can caucus for Bernie. I expect Hillary will win both the nomination and the presidency, she's maintained a solid 10 point edge over Trump in general election polling, but I still want her to know how important the things Bernie has been talking about are to me. That's how I personally am approaching this election cycle.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

That's pretty close to how I had been thinking about it too.
But, I expected the D to drop by now, and I'm getting worried about that...

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

But, I expected the D to drop by now, and I'm getting worried about that...

I understand. The last number cruncher I saw said the surest way for the Republican party to have the fight for the nomination carry all the way to the convention is for Ted Cruz to carry Texas, Marco Rubio to carry Florida, and John Kasich carry Ohio. Though I think it was less a matter of those three carrying those states, and more a matter of anyone other than the D carrying them. My dad has been figuring from the beginning that the D is less interested in actually getting the nom than he is in fracturing the party, since among other things he's sworn up and down he won't run as an independent. If that's his goal he's getting there. There seem to be three camps in it so far--The Anyone But D Camp, the Anyone But Cruz Camp, and the Oh God We Need a Third Option Camp. It's definitely going to be interesting seeing how today goes.

[postingwhore.livejournal.com]

What's the matter with Cruz? I've only really heard of the panic over Trump.

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

Ted Cruz is problematic within the party in a couple of different ways-- 1) he's very socially conservative, his victories in the primaries have been heavily dependent on evangelical voters, and 2) unlike Marco Rubio who's been careful to work with the Establishment since he won his Senate seat, Ted Cruz has consistently fought with the Establishment since he won his. The first makes him unpopular with Republicans that may be fiscally conservative, but aren't socially. The second makes him unpopular with Republicans that believe in respecting the Establishment. He might not generate panic like Donald Trump does, but Ted Cruz produces deep panic in his own way.

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

Whatever you end up doing, I hope that the result will be to the world's liking.

We're all looking with anxious eyes into your country's direction

[hindustar.livejournal.com]

This election cycle is killing me.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

Apparently, us enenrolled types no longer have to re-register as unenrolled after casting our partisan ballots. At least according to the poll workers.

I voted for Bernie, and this is only the second time I have voted that I felt good about voting. (The first time was my first time voting.)

I have wearied of voting for the lesser evil- it makes me feel like manipulated slime.