Lesser of two evils argument: how to respond?

[Matt Collins]

A very good friend of mine (who has a degree in pol sci) and is very conservative sent me the following after I told him I wasn't voting for McCain:


"
Should I vote for Obama? A vote for a third party candidate is a noble
jester and probably full of principle but in reality it is a vote for
Obama. I may vote for a third party candidate but I will do it knowing
the liberal socialist will run the country un-opposed for the next 4 to
8 years and that my be enough to permanently convert the country to
socialism. Does Chuck Baldwin have the votes to beat Obama? If not the
info he is providing will certainly provide support for Obama by
injuring McCain. He will win the battle (hurting McCain) and lose the
war (the main war is between socialists and conservatives).

We saw this when Perrot ran and gave the election to Bill Clinton. Bush
was not a very true conservative but we showed him and got Clinton for 8
years. This election is lining up quite similar and the Libertarian
candidate Bob Barr and maybe Chuck Baldwin together are going to be the
Perrot that puts Obama in the Whitehouse.

Hey! Who knows maybe the Dem's will give us all such great benefits we
will be overwhelmed with gratitude and line up for our freebies. They
seem to believe they can promise 1 trillion in new benefits and not
raise taxes (except on the rich) so they must have some magic that we
don't know about. I can't wait; 29 cent gas, free cars, a check for
spending money and housing on demand. Let the good times roll!!!"

 

[Matt Collins]

How do I respond to this?

 

[nate895]

Tell him there is this body called the Seante that only needs 40 votes to stop this madness, and if Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin get a large share of the vote, the GOP Senators will be watching to secure their reelection, and they'd know that if they stood on conservative values, they'd have another 6 years to get cozy in the Senate. I think we can get 40 votes in the US Senate to stop this madness if it came down to it.

 

[SLSteven]

If you are in a state where the election is clearly going to go to one of the 2 party candidates, you should definitely vote for Barr or Baldwin. The dilemma to let your vote "count" or vote for your principles is really only present if you happen to be in one of the battleground states.

 

[speciallyblend]

better then mccain, thats what i would say tell him the republican party should of thought of that before they silenced us, tell him to enjoy the bed they made, mccains campaign is over..

 

[yongrel]

Voting for the lesser of two evils only encourages more evil.

There have been several interesting scholarly articles written about the game theory implications of choosing the lesser of two evils. Reader's Digest Version: Voting for the lesser of two evils produces more evil.

 

[Ninja Homer]

How do I respond to this?

Tell him his pol sci degree was a waste of time. The word is "gesture," not "jester."

McCain is promising 1 trillion in benefits as well, except that goes to the military industrial complex to continue the war.

It's not even close to time for, "who are you going to vote for" yet. Right now, if you are politically active, it's about looking at ALL the candidates, deciding who you would like to support, and working to get them as high as possible in the polls by November so they can be in the presidential debates.

Right now, it looks like Barr has a chance at making it into the debates. If he makes it, it is going to completely change the face of this election.

It's already very obvious that Obama has more support than McCain, Barr, and Baldwin combined. The only way Obama could ever be taken down is for somebody like Barr or Baldwin to get in debates with him and get some good media attention.

McCain doesn't stand a chance, no matter what happens. Just wait until he gets hit with $30 million+ of attack ads. So far, he's had it pretty easy.

 

[nate895]

Who should I vote for?
Satan, with a 49% chance of winning, but is evil;
Demon, with a 49% chance of winning, and is less evil than Satan;
or Angel, with a 2% chance of winning, and is pure good.

I think I know which one I'm going with. Do you?

 

[SLSteven]

I personally feel better voting for someone I truly support. Voting for Ron Paul has been a great feeling!

 

[Matt Collins]

The dilemma to let your vote "count" or vote for your principles is really only present if you happen to be in one of the battleground states.

He is in Florida.

 

[SLSteven]

He is in Florida.

Uh Oh. You have a dilemma!

 

[speciallyblend]

hmmm

He is in Florida.

call ice and get him deported to cuba ,one less mccain vote joking well maybe

 

[SLSteven]

Well, the chance of the election in FL coming down to one vote is astronomically small. So, he should vote his conscience.

 

[Staupostek]

Just remember, voting for the lesser of two evils still means you are voting for evil.

 

[synapz]

"I'd rather vote for someone I want, and lose, than someone I don't like, and win."

 

[haigh]

Per

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

McCain's got a strong upper hand in Florida he should go with his conscientious.

On top of that, handing the GOP a loss this next election, may be the makings of a better GOP in 2012.

 

[pinkmandy]

Voting for the lesser of two evils only encourages more evil.

There have been several interesting scholarly articles written about the game theory implications of choosing the lesser of two evils. Reader's Digest Version: Voting for the lesser of two evils produces more evil.

I'm quoting Yongrel. First to prove that he does add value to conversations when he wants to and second...because he's dead on right. How can people (voters) expect their politicians to start representing them when we condone what they do by voting for them? That's why they are the way they are. Instead of holding them accountable we vote for them! Where's the incentive for a candidate to uphold values when the candidate knows, if he gets the nomination, that he'll get the vote regardless?

Here's another reason:
http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin443.htm

 

[1000-points-of-fright]

Who knows what the situation will be in November. Any one of the candidates may very well blow it big time at some point before that.

Operating on what we know at this moment, Obama will win. So we have two options:

Obama wins because....

1) McCain loses by a slight margin and the GOP continues to think they are on the right path because they came oh so close to beating a very popular candidate.

2) McCain gets his ass handed to him because lots of conservatives voted for Barr and Baldwin. He loses so badly that the GOP sits up, takes notice, and maybe even rethinks the direction they've been heading.

Either way, Obama wins. You just have to decide which GOP you want fighting against him for the next four years.

 

[Michael Landon]

Just tell him that the odds of your 1 vote giving the election to Obama are EXTREMELY slim, you probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than helping Obama win, or in other words, helping McCain lose. Then tell him at least you can go to sleep at night knowing that you didn't abandon your principals and morals voting for the lesser of two liberals... err... evils.

- ML

 

[Conza88]

Video I'm working on addresses this point.