The awful truth is --

[rogerashton]

George W. Bush* is better than his party.

It's tempting to see the shrub as the problem -- but the fact is that he is the product of the totalitarian corruption of the Republican Party, a sorry history that stretches back to Nixon's campaign against Douglas and "Tail Gunner Joe." If our constitutional democracy is to be secure, the Republican Party must join the CPUSSR on the trash-heap of history.

What can you do about it? Vote a straight Democratic ticket. Just pull one lever -- Demos from President to dogcatcher. Come out for Kerry, that's great, but Kerry it through!

I know, I know, your dogcatcher is different, he is a nice Republican. But if he is a Republican at all, he is part of the Machine -- too bad he is caught up in that, but there are no "nice" Republicans. Vote the straight ticket. As long as people believe they can have a secure job as dogcatcher by running on the Republican ticket, the vampire will rise again. Put the stake through the heart. Straight ticket. That's all. It's easy. Don't forget.

[LuminousX]

1. I'll never vote a straight ticket

I have no desire to destroy one party over another.

We are best represented through the struggle of opposing forces, but things are out of balance and what has caused the unbalance is the media.

[rogerashton]

2. Well, I used to feel that way, too.

I was living in Louisiana at the time, and Louisiana was a one-party Dixiecratic state. This was the 1960's, and "Rockefeller Republicanism" was still showing some signs of life. So I supported the Repubs, thinking that a two-party system would be better. Take a look. The "struggle of opposing forces" in Louisiana turned out to be Duke vs Edwards -- neonazi vs. crook! -- at one point.

I have been reading the recent biography of John Adams. No one was more committed to checks and balances than he, but at the same time he feared the two-party system, and although he was identified with the Federalists, refused to be part of the Federalist Party and ultimately was defeated because of "High Federalist" opposition. In general, the founding fathers all disapproved of party divisions in principle.

I think Kerry is trying to make the Democratic Party a center party. If he is successful it will be a dominant party, since it will be opposed by both right and left parties, probably Republican (I would prefer Libertarian!) and Green. To have a two-party division in this country means right vs. left, and I see that division as the source of many of our problems.

[Pushed To The Left]

3. Sounds like a good idea!

I will most likely be voting straight ticket this time around. With the Supreme Court situation being what it is, we will need to make sure there are plenty of Democrats in Congress just in case Bush wins or steals. Of course, if Kerry wins, a Democratic congress will make his job that much easier. Let's do a 1998-style Democratic sweep!!