catapult magazine

I’ve noticed in these discussions that there are several cino members who won’t be voting for either Bush or Kerry. You like Kerry a little bit better than Bush, but will either not vote at all or you’ll vote for a third party candidate. I know why Bush-supporters dislike Kerry, and I don’t want this thread to fill up with regurgitated Bush campaign ads. What I would like to hear is why specifically those of you who don’t approve of Bush have decided not to vote for Kerry.

I think the reason I dislike him is the reason I dislike most challengers with big party backing. Kerry is so bent on refuting anything and everything Bush says. Bush is wrong frequently, but he’s not the anti-Christ. Kerry is critical of every element of Bush’s first four years. He can do everything better without having given it a shot yet. This is not just a Kerry thing. It’s typical of anybody in that position. It bothers me about incumbents too, but they frequently at least have the experience of making the tough decisions.
Once, I’d like to hear a candidate say “My opponent handled the situation very well. I appreciate his actions and would like to think I would do the same under the circumstances.” But that’s never going to happen.
Policy wise, I think Kerry lines up more with what’s important to me. Do I think he’ll make good on his promises? No way. No human could ever make good on all the promises offered in a presidential campaign. It gets to be more show than honesty.

That sounds less like a criticism of Kerry and more like a criticism of the system. If you’re criticising Kerry it’s because he’s playing according to the rules. He’s suspect because he’s doing what presidential candidates do to become president. Am I right?

Yes. I see in Kerry just another politician. I don’t see a man who’s going to make a difference. All candidates sell pipe dreams. I don’t have a lot of faith that Kerry is going to be the one who can make them realities.
Do I dislike the system or do I dislike Kerry?
Yes.
So I think about voting for a third party candidate. Some guy that 99 percent of the population has never heard of, doesn’t stand a chance to even have his name mentioned in the local or national news, but a guy that would make a difference should hell freeze over and he or she be elected. Is it the Republican/Democratic nomination that turns me off to the candidates? Is it the mudslinging advertising that only those two candidates can afford? Is it hearing the pat answers that I expect from candidates that come off more as professional wrestlers than real people? I don’t know.
I’m running out of time to figure it out.

I wish more people would answer this question, as I’m also curious. I can’t answer the question myself, since Dan’s requested people of my persuasion shut up and listen.

Of course, I do have some thoughts that are objective in nature:

I have heard that undecided voters at this stage in a presidential election generally break toward the Democratic candidate. This time around, they’re not. Neither are they breaking heavily towards Bush. So, this political ennui that Norbert’s struggling with is not unusual, nor is it going unnoticed.

Sometimes I think Howard Dean, if not for his Iowa speech, would have been a stronger candidate for the Democrats and they would’ve embraced him more, rather than go along with the “nutball” label. I sometimes wonder if John Kerry didn’t actually think he’d make it this far …?

Why do you think that Anne? Besides Dean being the strong frontrunner in most if not all the initial polls before that foaming-at-the-mouth rant he had.

Why do I think Dean would’ve been better or why do I think Kerry didn’t expect to make it this far?

Let’s talk about Kerry since he is the actual candidate and since the election is in 5 days.

For me it comes down to this:
[list:0eeb271ba9]*Bush has proven so incompetent that he can’t be president anymore.
*While on the whole I think Kerry will do a much better job than Bush, I still have some hesitation with Kerry on specific issues (probably the foremost is that I don’t think his position on abortion stands up to scrutiny; this is the area where the democratic platform falls flat in its claim to stand up for the weakest, defenseless members of society).
*I don’t live in a swing state.
*I don’t believe the polls. I think it’s going to be a Kerry blow-out.
*I’m not sure whether I will vote for Kerry or not. I’m trying to decide if it’s just a cop-out to assuage my guilt by voting for someone else so that I can say, “Don’t blame me…” (because if I had to cast the deciding vote between Bush or Kerry, I know I would choose Kerry).
[/list:u:0eeb271ba9]

You’re bossy, Dan. I definitely wouldn’t have liked playing in your sandbox as a kid.

Speaking of sandboxes, I personally think Bush would be more fun than Kerry to play with in a sandbox, but that is not necessarily a good criteria on which to base your vote. Laryn’s leery of Kerry’s stand on abortion and thinks it’s going to be a Kerry blow out. Any more thoughts?