Editor:
While it is a sad statement, right now a vote for Jill Stein of the Green Party is a mistake, unless the goal is to give Mr. Romney the election (Mailbox, Oct. 25). I would dearly like to vote closer to my heart and soul … but this election can’t afford it. I hold out hope that someday things will correct (I almost said “right”) themselves. I hope elections can’t be bought, that more choices of who might represent us are available and that “equality for all” isn’t a distant memory. I am very disappointed with Obama; the hopes he raised us to were exciting, but the reality is, he is the only choice in this very serious game of chess. The Romney/Ryan combination is a devastation.
Closer to home, Bonino’s slogan is that “he walks the talk”: Whose talk is he walking? Linda Atkins has always been upfront, talking for more than the mere few. I trust her intentions and her actions.
Kathy Travers, Eureka
This article appears in Banished.
What Kathy fails to take into consideration is that presidents aren’t elected by popular vote. They’re elected by the Electoral College.Once a candidate gets 51% of the vote in a state, he wins all that state’s electoral votes.
There is little doubt in anybody’s mind that Obama will win California with many votes to spare. Once he gets his 51%, he gets all the state’s electoral votes. Any votes over 51% don’t give him any more electoral votes. It could be argued that any votes beyond the 51% are “wasted votes” as they won’t have any effect on the Electoral College.
The same case can be made for Romney voters. No doubt they’ll lose the state so their votes won’t garner any electoral votes. Those votes could also be said to be “wasted” since they’ll have no effect on the state or national results.
So why not vote for your real preference in a case like this? Kathy could get everyone she knows to vote for Jill Stein, yet Obama will still handily win California and get all its electoral votes. The same with my choice, Gary Johnson. There’s no reason not to vote for him.
This is the perfect chance to vote your real choice. If not now, when?