> You are quite right; that statement was unfair. These people are just those whom the media likes to go to for opinions...

I knew you were just joshin'.

(Aside: Your second statement is also the reason why, whenever there's a Star Trek convention, the local news always tries to find the biggest freak at the show to espouse about the Religion That Is Roddenberry, rather than interview many of the sane people who have attended because they just like the show.)

>
> I have a great deal of respect for people who will vote for a minority candidate, knowing full well he/she has little chance of winning this election. I like it when people stand up for what they believe in, rather than voting for someone they don't like in order to 'stand up for your fellows.'
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> gab"Which has nothing to do with whether or not I agree"by

That's probably why I'm going to vote for Nader (up until a few days ago, I was planning on voting for the Natural Law candidate). There's no chance at all that he'll win, but perhaps with my vote not going towards the lesser of two evils, I'll be helping a third party out. I believe that a larger turnout for a third party means in future elections, that party will eventually get the matching funds from the government, be able to get on state's ballots without having to file petitions, and perhaps allow all the presidential candidates to be invited to a real presidential debate.

When you get right down to it, the Democratic party and the Republican party are very similar. Especially when comparing them to, say, the Liberaterians, the Greens, the Natural Law Party (Naturalists?), or even the Reformists.

What I'm urging all of you to do, if you are eligible to vote in the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election, is this: If you're fed up with the Democratic candidate and you're fed up with the Republican candidate, don't vote for "the lesser of two evils" and don't vote for the party you've always voted for, just because you've always voted for them. Vote for either Buchanan (if you lean conservatively) or Nader (if you're of a liberal bent). Bush or Gore is going to be the next American President. By voting for Buchanan or Nader, you're giving what amounts to the third and fourth parties more support. Next election, they'll be able to be stronger and actually give the American public some choice.

Remember, there's a awfully big gap between the big two political parties and the rest. By voting against the GOP and the Dems, you can help to shrink that gap.

-Faux "would like to see more than 33% of the nation's eligible voters actually cast their ballots this year" Pas