"Why waste your vote and vote for Gravel?"

The Simpson's reference by the commenter is a very true representation. It brings another to mind:

"And so, with two weeks left in the campaign, the question on everyone's mind is who will be the next President of Earth? Jack Johnson or bitter rival John Jackson? Two terrific candidates, huh, Morbo?"

at another part:

"These are the candidates? They sound like clones. Wait a minute. They are clones!

 Don't let their identical DNA fool you. They differ on some key issues.

 Johnson: I say your three cent titanium tax goes too far.

 Jackson: And I say your three cent titanium tax doesn't go too far enough!"

We definitely have some "metaphorical clones" running for president. Isn't the most logical answer to vote for the person who will bring some different genes "into the pool"?

Have them watch the episode of Treehouse of Horror where Kang and Kodos impersonates Clinton and Dole to run for president. Kang gets elected president and forces America to build a giant death ray. Homer says at the end, "Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos."

 ' The people who disagree with me say that I am wasting my vote, and that its better to vote for who is running on the Democratic ticket than voting for Gravel and having a Republican take office and drive the country further into the ground. That atleast Clinton or Obama can change some things for the better, and that the two-party system will never change. I have been called selfish for being idealistic and thinking about my views than supporting something that would be better for the whole country. '

This is like the ticking-bomb and torture appeal. It seems as though there is something reasonable about it when there is in fact nothing reasonable about it at all.

The strategy is to put you into a fraudulent hypothetical situation that has an air of reason about it, extort a concession from you, and then quickly whip you back to the present, real situation and apply that concession elicited from you before the funhouse mirrors to that real domain in the here and now.

The great "triumph" of the politico-media duopoly is that they have foreclosed any actual choice on our part and then insist that we must make a choice from their two cloned candidates. Not choosing A is choosing B.

Forget that. Choosing C is choosing C. An if A and B are unsatisfactory then we must choose C. C is the only reasonable choice. If C is not presented by the system then we must invent C.

Their argument is one which tries to blame the victim for struggling to break the chain between himself and the non-choices foisted upon him by the corrupt system that passes for "democracy" in the USA.

Do any of you, having watched the 110th Congess in inaction, think that the situation in Iraq would be different in any meaningful way had what's his name from Massachussetts been elected in 2004?

Do we really have to wait 'til 2012 to say the same about Obama. On the other hand we should all be able to read the Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton pattern for what it is by now, I hope!

No one is going to provide an alternative for us. We must do it ourselves. We have wasted too much time already.

--

Times have changed. We are going to empower the American people. Let’s work together. I am tough. I’m not afraid. None of this politics as usual. Mike Gravel

I think people feel that we need to get a Democrat into the White House no matter what, so a vote for Gravel would be a wasted vote.

Ok lets consider, the majority of Americas felt that way too when we voted in Democrats to take over the Senate.  Can anyone tell me how useful that was?  There is no guarentee that just because they have the label Democrat that things will change.  Infact there is even a larger alarm signal going off here to know that the Military Industral Complex is dumping more money into HIllary and Obama rather than the repubilcans.

Mike Gravel has proven time and time again that he has the peoples interest as he is the only candidate running this election who is willing to give away power (ni4d) rather than just obtain it. The actions of Mike Gravel has always stood out to me and there is in no way shape or form a vote for Gravel would be a wasted vote.

I agree with you 100%.  Democracy fails when people vote against their conscience for somebody who can just beat the other guy.

I plan on voting Gravel in the primaries and, most likely, writing him in on the general election ballot.

__

"It is better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it."

-Eugene V. Debs

My answer to that question (even though I can't vote yet) - "I'm not wasting my vote if I'm voting for what I believe in.  Rather, I believe you are wasting YOUR vote by giving in and voting against your self interest, and against your beliefs."