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So Obama passed the indefinite detention bill. I entertained the idea of voting for Ron Paul, so I guess the O-dawg hasn't lost my vote YET. Though he very well should have. Now I'm wondering who to cast a protest vote for. Eugene Debs? No, probably Bernie Sanders. Eugene Debs would sound sarcastic. Thom, do you have any advice for me
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Hmm, what I have been telling most people is that I will decide whether or not to vote for Obama based on how competitive the polls in Virginia are shortly before the election. As much as I disapprove of so many of the things that he has done as President, I just cannot countenance the idea of having a passive hand in elevating the likes of Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney to the White House. Essentially, my decision will reflect whether I think that my vote matters at the time of the election. If it does not matter, I see no reason to vote for Obama.
As for whom to vote for instead of Obama, the left obviously has yet to coalesce around someone like Nader with the resources to attain ballot access in most states. If that does happen and there is someone appealing on the ballot (not getting into whether Nader is appealing; it will not be him so it does not matter), I would suggest that it makes more symbolic sense to vote for that person than it would to write someone in. The State Board of Election will tally the write-ins eventually, but the impact just would not be the same as seeing that X candidate got 3% of the vote in Virginia (over 100K people).
If no one gets ballot access in Virginia, Bernie would be a good choice. I would suggest digging around closer to election time to see if there is any sort of a concerted effort to get write-ins behind a particular left candidate.
As far as Ron Paul is concerned, I guess it just depends on your priorities. There is no question that he is better than Obama on issues like the one that spurred this entry (and some others: drugs, for instance). His views on a wide range of economic issues, however, are 180 degrees away from mine. He is bad on reproductive rights. He is bad on immigration. He has a history of saying vaguely racist things. When all of the columns get added up, I come to the conclusion that I would not touch him with a ten foot pole.
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