To Anyone Considering Voting For A Third Party Presidential Candidate In 2004.
by Kayla Michaels
OpEdNews.Com
I respectfully ask you to read my truly heartfelt opinions here, and to take them into utmost consideration, because I firmly believe that if Bush is allowed to stay in power it will result in a possible worldwide tragedy resulting in the loss of many lives, and the loss of many of the rights and liberties that we have assigned to ourselves in the past as Americans.
In the 1930's, the German people who opposed the Nazis spread their votes out among several political parties, and failed to unite behind a party strong enough to keep Hitler and the Nazis from attaining power. As a result of this unfortunate lack of foresight and unity among German voters, the Nazis gained enough power to give them the ability to covertly and undemocratically manipulate and control the German government in order to implement their radical right wing policies. The result, as you probably know, was iron fisted political repression, ethnic group persecutions, unilateral military aggression, and a subsequent worldwide bloodbath.
The parallels between the undemocratic, Machiavellian legislative manipulations of the Nazis in the 1930's and those of the Republican Party and the Bush administration of today should not be ignored. The 2000 election fiasco in Florida, the undemocratic re-districting farce in Texas, media consolidation, the Patriot Act, the electronic voting issue, the deliberate exclusion of Democrats from some legislative meetings, and the Bush administration's false statements to, and subsequent betrayal of, Congress and our country that led to a premature pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, are but a few of many examples of this undemocratic political activity that parallels the activities of the Nazi's in the 1930's.
We cannot afford to ignore the tragic mistake that was made by the Germans, and must not repeat this mistake when casting our vote November. We simply cannot allow this undemocratic, repressive, and bloodthirsty right wing administration to continue its assault on our democracy.
Despite many of our, in my opinion valid, disagreements with the direction of the Democratic Party, there is far more at stake right now than ideological differences. If you consider yourself "left-wing", or just a believer in democracy, then you are probably horrified at the actions that Bush and his administration have taken since they assumed power. What kind of monstrous things are they going to do if they retain power for four more years? Many more people will die from their unwarranted, violence oriented policies, and many, if not all, of our rights will be restricted and/or abolished.
I think most of us agree that this is probable.
It seems to me that we all realize that neither Ralph Nader, nor any Green/third party candidate, can conceivably win the election in November. Voting for a third party presidential candidate at this point in history will be a regrettable, enormous mistake if Bush is consequently elected, and this mistake may cost thousands of lives, and may very well cause the end of any semblance of real Democracy in our country.
Therefore, in my opinion, the risk in voting third party is simply too great for us to ignore. We simply cannot afford to take this risk right now. The possible consequences of taking this risk far outweigh any possible benefits that could be gained by taking it.
We have already seen what Bush and the republicans are capable of. There should be little doubt that they are going to accelerate their violent, repressive policies if they are given four more years in office, and subsequently, as a result of their continuing assault on our rights and democracy, perhaps an entire generation or more to do so. How will we ever regain our democracy once they steal it from us?
I have observed that most folks on the "left" are, in general, very informed people. Therefore, I have to assume that most of you that are considering voting third party recognize that Bush and the republicans represent a threat to our lives and our nation similar to that which I have described.
So I beg you to reconsider your decision if you have decided to vote third party, or allow this argument to help persuade you not to vote third party if you are considering doing so. It is apparent that the only presidential candidate that can win the impending presidential election, besides Bush, is the Democratic Party nominee. Right now, there is no question in my mind that we need to unite behind the Democratic nominee in order to remove Bush from power, regardless of our perception that we may differ ideologically in some areas.
Senator John Kerry, the probable Democratic Party presidential nominee, has supported many of the issues and agendas that most of us also support. Bush has supported none of them. And while I am aware of, and concerned about, the apparent philosophical differences between those of us who are considered by some to be "left-wing" and what we perceive as John Kerry's beliefs, it does not appear to me that these differences should overshadow the positive things that Senator Kerry has done as a legislator, and the critical necessity of removing Bush from our government by voting him out of power in 2004.
Please, let's get rid of Bush first so that we may retain the democratic liberty to change what needs to be changed at a later time, or we may never again have a reasonable possibility of doing so. We can try to reform the Democratic Party, or begin or join a political movement/party more consistent with our beliefs, after performing our democratic duty of removing Bush from office.
Our children must be given the opportunity to grow up in a world with some promise of liberty and hope. We cannot take the risk of denying our children this opportunity.
Because four more years of Bush will almost certainly leave us, and our children, in a dark, gray world devoid of hope for the future.
Thank you for considering what I have written here.
Kayla Michaels lilyoakalane@hotmail.com. Is originally from the Pacific Northwest and is an environmental activist. This article is copyright by Kayla Michaels and originally published by opednews.com but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media so long as this credit is attached.
