<quote name="Levi Pearson" date="Thu, 19 Jun 2008 at 10:30 -0600"> > Nicholas Leippe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > > It goes back to my opinion that the voting system is flawed, since > > it encourages this type of thinking--because it limits choices, and > > people think they have to choose from a limited menu. Well, the chef > > does take special orders, and if enough people order it, it will > > become a regular menu item--but only when enough people stand up and > > order it, as many times as it takes to for it to happen. > > Hmm, haven't I been saying this all along? I've phrased all my > arguments in the context of our current voting system, and repeatedly > mentioned voting reform as a reasonable way of trying to get your > third party elected. > > A voting system can be analyzed to determine the optimal way to vote > depending on what the outcome you would like is. Von has been saying > that you should always vote for the candidate you want to see elected, > even if they stand no chance of winning. I disagree; sometimes that > might be the right choice, but depending on the race, the probability > of different outcomes, and what you would like to see happen, that > might not always be the best way to vote. > > I have to take issue with most of the rest of your email, though, > because you seemed to be talking about Ron Paul, and he was not a > third-party candidate. Maybe a lot of votes for him would have > encouraged the Republican party to change, but that's just a variable > to consider when deciding who to vote for, and may or may not be > overcome by other variables (such as whether you have a strong > preference between the viable candidates).
You're missing the point. Strategic voting, as ever I've heard it discussed, is about choosing the lesser of two evils. If you agreed with on of them it wouldn't be strategic, you just vote who you agree with. Maybe there's someone you like more, so you can chalk up a little strategy there, but you AGREE with who you vote for. Picking the lesser of two evils (as jacob said 'evil' is used loosely here, let's say the lesser of two bad choices) then you are selling yourself out and you're selling your country out. Von Fugal
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