Reply #161: it wasn't an analogy. it was a kindergarten math lesson [View All]

i'm not talking about the sociology of the situation, just the simple mathematics of it. if you assume two totals, democratic and republican, then moving a unit (vote) from one column to the other will result in a net loss for the first column (gain for the second) of two. this is the *only* point i was trying to illustrate. that, and a whole lotta sarcasm.

i will possibly vote green too. if i do, i'll be fully aware that i *could* have added my vote to the democratic candidate, and that the democratic candidate would have a better chance of winning than the green candidate. i'll do it anyway, *if* i think the democratic candidate is sufficiently poor that four more years of bush might be preferable in the long run, or as an effort to help build a viable third party if the democratic candidate doesn't have a real chance to carry my state. (note: i'm saying *in the long run* the four years themselves will certainly be worse under bush than under any of the current or likely demococratic contenders) i'm by no means sure of it, and never will be. it'll be my best guess, which is all anyone can really do. i'll probably vote democratic, because i think it's usually true that it's better to do what you can now than fail to act out of hope (or fear) of some future backlash.

but i'm not certain.