Are you voting FOR a candidate or for the lesser of two evils?

[dragonrider]

In a lot of elections, you hear people say they aren't happy with either of their choices so they are voting for the person they dislike the least --- the lesser of two evils.

For example, I'm a registered Democrat and I voted for Gore over Bush, not because I was excited about Gore, but because I really did not like Bush. And I voted for Kerry, not because I was excited about Kerry, but because by that point I really hated Bush.

Here's a quote from P4B about how he has had to pick the lesser of two evils in the past, and how he thinks this election is the same kind of choice again:

ONCE AGAIN it's not a vote for who we like but a vote against the other. I've voted for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in the past and the only ones that I can honestly say that I "voted for" was Reagan, and Perrot. B. Clinton also received my vote in his second term due to who he was running against.

Sometimes it's the whole country who feels like the are picking the lesser of two evils, and sometimes it is only one party. In 2004, I don't think either party was truly excited about their pick --- Democrats were just hoping to get rid of Bush, and Republicans had to stick with the sitting president. But in 1988, it was only the Democrats who felt they were picking the lesser of two evils --- Republicans loved Reagan.

One thing that I have noticed in this election is that it's Republicans who say they are planning to vote for the lesser of two evils, while it is Democrats who are planning to vote for their candidate. Republicans do not seem excited about McCain --- they seem to mostly be voting against Obama. While Democrats seem to be voting for Obama.

In fact it seems to me that even though Democrats are mostly really excited about Obama, they are also pretty much OK with McCain --- so Democrats seem to see the race as picking the best of two good choices, while it's the Republicans who see it as picking the lesser of two evils. It's funny that Democrats are almost warmer to McCain than a lot of his very conservative base --- but not enough to pull them away from thier best choice, Obama.

And this is why I think Obama will win the election. It's a lot easier to win if people are voting for you because they like you than it is to win if the only reason they vote for you is they don't like the other guy.

So who are you voting for and why? Are you picking someone you are exctied about or just the lesser of two evils?

dragonrider Reviewed by dragonrider on 06-26-2008. Are you voting FOR a candidate or for the lesser of two evils? In a lot of elections, you hear people say they aren't happy with either of their choices so they are voting for the person they dislike the least --- the lesser of two evils. For example, I'm a registered Democrat and I voted for Gore over Bush, not because I was excited about Gore, but because I really did not like Bush. And I voted for Kerry, not because I was excited about Kerry, but because by that point I really hated Bush. Here's a quote from P4B about how he has had to pick the Rating: 5

[dragonrider]

I'm excitied to be voting for Obama. I think he will steer this country away from disasterous policies we have been following for the last 8 years, and he will begin to make real progress on some serious problems that are of i9mportatnce to me --- environmental issues, energy issues, economic issues, healthcare issues. I like most of the things he has proposed. I think he is going to win and also sweep in enough Democratic Congressmen and Senators that he will have a very good chance of getting his policies implemented.

My vote for Obama is not a vote against McCain. I have a lot of respect for McCain, but I like Obama's policies better. I wish McCain had beat Bush in the primaries in 2000, because I think he would have been a decent president for the last 8 years, but now I think McCain's time has passed.

[texas grass]

i hear this argued alot. lesser of 2 evil.
theres no such thing
theres evil and theres evil
theres good and theres evil


perfect example bush was the lesser evil compared to gore. he was a christian and talked good. bush is the biggest war criminal out times(evil)

[killerweed420]

I'm voting for Ron Paul. Screw the other 2 assholes.

[dragonrider]

Well, I was hoping for more participation on this poll by now. Oh well.

At this point we have a total of 10 votes. The largest number of votes was cast for "not voting all." Ha ha! I'm guessing those are dusgruntled Republican's who won't even vote for McCain to stop Obama, but who knows.

The winner of the election is Obama. He gets 4 of the remaining 7 votes that were cast for actual candidates --- 57% of the popular vote. 2 of those votes were for cast for him because the voters were excited about him, and 2 were cast because he was the lesser of two evils.

Next we have 2 votes cast for Third Party Candidates -- 28% of the popular vote. Way to go Nader and Barr and any other Third Party Candidates! That is a respectable showing. 1 of those votes was for cast for the third parties because the voter was excited about the candidate, and 1 was cast because he was the lesser of two evils.

Poor John McCain is dead last with 1 vote --- 14% of the popular vote. That 1 lonely vote was not cast because the voter was excited about McCain, but because he was considered the lesser of two evils. Presumably this vote was cast by McCain himself, and it's just too bad he couldn't even muster any excitement for himself.

Anyway, this sample is so small and limited to canncom members, so it would be ridiculous to draw any conclusions, but it seems like a lot of people do vote for the lesser of two evils or consider the whole process so evil they won't even participate. 30% did not want to vote at all, and 40% voted as a protest against the opponent. That is sad. Only 30% of the respondents were excited about their choice.

Like I said, it would be ridiculous to draw conclusions from this poll. But I see this mirroring how I think this election will go to some extent. I think Obama has enough excitement behind him to win. I think some Republicans will be so demoralized and uninspired by McCain that they will just stay home, and others will vote for third party candidates. McCain will mostly get votes from people opposed to Obama, and it won't be enough to overcome enthusiasm in the Democratic party or malaise in the Republican party.

[Psycho4Bud]

I'm putting a sticky on this until either 30 days have past since the last post OR if you request to have it dropped. As usual...GREAT THREAD!! :thumbsup:

LOL....I see the quote and held to my word; McCain....lesser of two evils.

Have a good one!:s4:

[dragonrider]

I'm putting a sticky on this until either 30 days have past since the last post OR if you request to have it dropped. As usual...GREAT THREAD!! :thumbsup:

LOL....I see the quote and held to my word; McCain....lesser of two evils.

Have a good one!:s4:

Thanks, P4B! With your vote you have closed the gap between Obama and McCain to only a 25% spread --- its still a statistical landslide! (Of course, with this few votes, that's only a 2 vote difference! Ha ha!) Hopefully a few more people will chime in and we'll get a better sample.

Thanks again.

[psychocat]

I think most elections come down to "the lesser of two evils" , it's sort of like asking who do you want to shaft you this time around ?

[dragonrider]

I think most elections come down to "the lesser of two evils" , it's sort of like asking who do you want to shaft you this time around ?

Another way to look at is, which orifice do you prefer to be raped in?

[happiestmferoutthere]

I really lost faith in the election system after the Bush-Gore election. I mean, if popular vote don't do it, why bother? Everything I learned in school about the election process is a big joke, so I was pissed off at the whole system for a while.
However... I am slowly getting more excited about Obama being elected. I see him surrounding himself with some great Democrats, and maybe, just maybe this election will be different. I truly hope so. I'm tired of saying "God... I hate that SOB" every time I see our president.