Why I Voted for Ralph Nader

I know all of the arguments and apologia. I see the cultural angle. I recognize the historical element. Still, none of this has swayed me to vote for or otherwise support Obama. For one thing, he's gonna win Michigan easily, so my vote is superfluous. But more to the point, I've actually read his proposals, listened to his statements, and separated all that from the soaring rhetoric that sends white libs to the ground, trembling with the holy spirit. Obama promises to be a competent manager of empire, expanding the Terror Wars abroad while fortifying the police state at home. He wants to give tax breaks to those making under $250K? Super. That seems a fair trade-off with shredding more constitutional protections while killing and starving more poor people overseas. Recall his supposed "surrender" on FISA? That was when his presidency was anything but certain, and he sided with the privatized state. What do you think he'll "surrender" next, once he's ensconced in the Oval Office?

I'll give Obama this much -- his campaign has been one of the most brilliantly conceived and cynically executed appeals I've ever seen. His propaganda team has ably exploited people's desire for HOPE and CHANGE, offering them empty platitudes which they can fill with any fantasy they choose. Even when Obama baldly states whose interests he actually serves, his followers either don't care or pretend not to hear. Besides, they bleat when pushed, Obama will be pressured to do the right thing should he stray too far from liberal concerns. The fact that he already has done this shows that claim to be as empty as Obama's speeches. The idea that libs are going to shift from genuflection to lighting fires under Obama's feet is preposterous, but fully in line with the general fantasia.

Dennis Perrin

Here's my take. What have the Democrats done since taking back control of Congress in 2006?

They capitulated to Bush on electronic spying (FISA), continued to fund failed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, shoveled over $800 billion to the same plutocrats who caused the financial meltdown, slipped in a 25 billion dollar bailout to US automakers without a moment of debate or Democratic opposition and, emblematic of their capitulationist style, Nancy Pelosi made the infamous pronouncement that “impeachment is off the table.”

Thank goodness for the Democrats' resoluteness. Without them, imagine what might happen!

Ultimately, what is most important is how Barack Obama and the Democrats responded to the recent financial crisis. Their response to the crisis was to hand over nearly a trillion dollars to the perpetrators and beneficiaries of the sub-prime mortgage-real estate bubble without imposing strict regulatory restraints. They failed their constituents miserably.

I will no longer vote for Democrats. I'll vote for Ralph Nader now, and seek out non-Democratic candidates for all offices from now on.