Pub talk: So who you vote for ?

[The Xl]

Been eligble since 08.

08- Didn't vote
12- Gary Johnson
16- Jill Stein

Was going to vote for Gary in 16, but he literally turned into a malfunctioning robot during the campaign despite having a real opportunity to reach the 10% the threshold needed to be in the debates. Also wasn't happy with his VP pick. It almost seemed like he was sabotaging himself on purpose and pissed me off.

[IMPress Polly]

I have reached the conclusion that the major third parties are bought and paid for by the major ones. Namely, if one follows the money trail, one finds that the Green Party's presidential campaigns are always funded mainly by the Republican Party, to which end their candidates never run to win, but instead spend their time hawking the Republican candidate, not unlike how Jill Stein spent the whole campaign defending Trump and Julian Assange and so forth. The same principle goes for Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, who barely stopped short of formally endorsing Hillary Clinton.

I wish that our major third parties could run genuinely INDEPENDENT campaigns. Campaigns to win. Not just be bought and paid for stooges of other, more powerful forces. I won't vote for Stein again if she's the Green Party nominee in 2020.

[Chris]

I have reached the conclusion that the major third parties are bought and paid for by the major ones. Namely, if one follows the money trail, one finds that the Green Party's presidential campaigns are always funded mainly by the Republican Party, to which end their candidates never run to win, but instead spend their time hawking the Republican candidate, not unlike how Jill Stein spent the whole campaign defending Trump and Julian Assange and so forth. The same principle goes for Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, who barely stopped short of formally endorsing Hillary Clinton.

I wish that our major third parties could run genuinely INDEPENDENT campaigns. Campaigns to win. Not just be bought and paid for stooges of other, more powerful forces. I won't vote for Stein again if she's the Green Party nominee in 2020.

That was insightful!

Why I don't vote.

[nathanbforrest45]

I have been voting since 1968 (the first year I was legally able to vote) and have never voted for a Democrat or an Independent. I have too much self respect and pride in my country to vote for socialist and nobodies.

[Lummy]

Been eligble since 08.

08- Didn't vote
12- Gary Johnson
16- Jill Stein

Was going to vote for Gary in 16, but he literally turned into a malfunctioning robot during the campaign despite having a real opportunity to reach the 10% the threshold needed to be in the debates. Also wasn't happy with his VP pick. It almost seemed like he was sabotaging himself on purpose and pissed me off.

Gary Johnson was an interesting figure who was not given nearly enough exposure for his positions not drug-related that were never heard, if he had any. Libertarians = Dope, as far as I could see. I'm sure he was much, much deeper however, just didn't get the chance because ... because ... what were we talking about?

[Lummy]

I have been voting since 1968 (the first year I was legally able to vote) and have never voted for a Democrat or an Independent. I have too much self respect and pride in my country to vote for socialist and nobodies.

I am a registered Independent, and "nobodies" is definitely a compliment. Thanks.

Now eat, don't throw, that pie.

[IMPress Polly]

That was insightful!

Why I don't vote.

I try to vote strategically, but not pointlessly. I always vote in the Democratic primaries. In 2004, I favored Howard Dean. In 2008, I had preferred John Edwards, but wound up actually voting for Hillary Clinton (as Edwards was out of the race by the time the contest got to Vermont and Clinton was actually seen as the more populistic candidate between her and Obama, being as her's featured the predominantly working class base of support in that context), and in 2016 for Bernie Sanders. I tend to vote with my class, I guess you might say. In the primaries. But my preferred candidates never win their primary battles (at least not for the presidency anyway), as the outcome is always determined by wealthier, more powerful forces, to which end I struggle with what to do in the actual presidential contests. I no longer see third party votes as meaning anything, as highlighted above and just cannot get excited about Joe Biden (the next inevitable Democratic nominee), who has quite a few of what I'd consider problems that I can think of. And voting Republican is never even a consideration of mine. They've always been pretty far removed from everything I stand for and are only getting more so over time.

Voters in Vermont are more progressive-minded, so I don't have as much difficulty voting for state and local candidates. To that end, I'll be voting to re-elect Peter Welch (progressive Democrat) to represent me in the U.S. House of Representatives next month, to re-elect Bernie Sanders (independent, obviously) to represent me in the U.S. Senate as well, and Emily Peyton of the Liberty Union Party (the authentically democratic socialist party that Bernie Sanders used to belong to before he became an independent) to be my governor.

[Common]

I have been voting since 1968 (the first year I was legally able to vote) and have never voted for a Democrat or an Independent. I have too much self respect and pride in my country to vote for socialist and nobodies.

I have been eligible to vote since 1968 but I have voted for Democrats, more so in state and local than for President.

There are positions of the Republican Party I oppose and always have and there are some republicans I cant stomach like Paul Ryan.

I demonstrate undying support for everything trump does, even though I do not believe he does everything perfect, because of the lefts vicious lying and denigration of him from before he was a candidate, they have never given him a second of a break AND their undying love for the worst president of my lifetime Obama.

Democrats including those on this forum cant even bring themselves to admit that Trump is right about Illegal Immigration and closing the border, which THEY KNOW IS KILLING US FINANCIALLY and in many other ways, but they cannot be honest, therefore they deserve no honesty in return

The Democrat Party is no longer the democrat party, it is now the far far left progressive socialist party. Their entire platform is an assault on my family, my children, their children and their childrens children after them

[donttread]

2004: John Kerry
2008: Stayed home.
2012: Barack Obama
2016: Jill Stein

So far "stayed home" is the one I don't regret. That's very likely to be my vote in 2020 again.

I always vote for whoever is considered to be the progressive candidate in the Democratic primaries and they always lose.

Don't regret the GP vote. Jill's not my cup of tea but at least she's a step away from the two regimes currently ruining the country.

[Captdon]

I have been eligible to vote since 1968 but I have voted for Democrats, more so in state and local than for President.

There are positions of the Republican Party I oppose and always have and there are some republicans I cant stomach like Paul Ryan.

I demonstrate undying support for everything trump does, even though I do not believe he does everything perfect, because of the lefts vicious lying and denigration of him from before he was a candidate, they have never given him a second of a break AND their undying love for the worst president of my lifetime Obama.

Democrats including those on this forum cant even bring themselves to admit that Trump is right about Illegal Immigration and closing the border, which THEY KNOW IS KILLING US FINANCIALLY and in many other ways, but they cannot be honest, therefore they deserve no honesty in return

The Democrat Party is no longer the democrat party, it is now the far far left progressive socialist party. Their entire platform is an assault on my family, my children, their children and their childrens children after them

Democrats on this forum won't admit they are Democrats.

I vote Republican as the best chance but not much better. Locally, the Republicans actually are conservatives.