[lbo-talk] Tariq Ali Endorses Kerry . . . for the Battleground States

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

>Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>
>>If the so-called AnybodyButBush brigade actually meant 
>>*Anybody*ButBush, they would count all votes for candidates other 
>>than Bush -- on the left and right -- as AnybodyButBush votes in 
>>the popular vote.
>
>No. Contrary to your apparent belief, voting is a symbolic act, a 
>gesture of self-expression. It's about evicting the present occupant 
>of the White House. You can add up all the minor party candidates' 
>votes you like and it'd be lucky to hit 3%. Big deal.
>
>Doug

Changing only the occupants of the White House without changing the 
most egregious policies of the present occupant -- the root cause of 
much of anti-incumbent (aka ABB) sentiments -- is largely symbolic. 
What's purely symbolic is leftists such as yourself and Thomas voting 
for John Kerry in such one-party states as New York and California, 
when your votes do NOT even contribute to "evicting the present 
occupant of the White House" AT ALL.  Thomas says that "if Bush wins, 
in the same manner as 2004, [he] want[s] to be able to point out that 
he lost the popular vote" -- "winning" the popular vote while losing 
the electoral college is also nothing but symbolic.

What's usually not symbolic is winning the electoral college -- 
except that, in 2000, the electoral college, too, turned out to be 
mostly symbolic!
-- 
Yoshie

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