"Holding my nose" to vote - stupidest phrase EVER

[WildEyedLiberal]

Words cannot describe how much I LOATHE the smarmy, arrogant, smirking, self-righteous superiority conveyed in those words.

"Oh, I held my nose and voted for ____."

"If ____ is the candidate I guess I'll have to hold my nose and vote for him/her"

SHUT UP

SHUT UP

SHUT THE FUCK UP

The ONLY reason anyone has for uttering that banal and asinine phrase is to let it be known to the whole wide ever-lovin' world that YOU have super-duper-impeccable-unreachable-amazingly high standards that 99% of the Democratic party has no chance of meeting, but nevertheless, you sucked it up, toughed it out, nailed yourself to the cross like the long-suffering saint and patriot that you are and voted for that hideous, horrible, no-good worthless DINO piece of shit on the ballot because even though you KNEW they'd lose and/or be a worthless PNAC enabler, you DID IT ANYWAY for the GREATER GOOD.

Honest to God, spare us all the sanctimonious windbaggery. If you voted for a candidate in the past that you didn't care for - cry me a river. There are usually several candidates in any given primary - not everyone's favorite choice is going to be the nominee. Stop acting like you're special because the eventual nominee didn't meet your lofty standards.

And whatever you do, don't pull this shit in 2008. If you cannot vote for the eventual candidate without making some holier-than-thou pronouncement about the stench emanating from the ballot causing you to gag and retch and hold your nose - then don't vote for them! It's really that simple! If Hillary/Edwards/Obama/Kucinich/whoever disgusts you THAT thoroughly that you literally feel a wave of nausea overcome you as you step behind the curtain on election day, then don't vote for them just so you can go proclaim your eternal martyrdom on DU afterwards and crow about what a great patriot you are that you voted for this AWFUL candidate that you hated just because you hate the Republicans more.

There are a few candidates that, I will admit, I am seriously considering not voting for in the general election should they be the Democratic nominee. I will not discuss who they are, and if any of them actually becomes the nominee, I am certainly not going to spend all of 2008 wailing about how my preferred candidate should have gotten the nomination and now I'm just going to have to HOLD MY NOSE and vote for _____ even though it violates everything I believe in. Why? Because that's narcissistic in the extreme. If you can't graciously support the Democratic nominee, then please refrain from loudly telling anyone and everyone that you'll vote for them even though it sickens you to your core. Either vote for them, and advocate for them, and do it honestly and with conviction; or if you cannot bring yourself to support them, then BE HONEST ABOUT IT and don't support them and use DU to discuss other things and issues that matter to you. If for some reason I can't bring myself to support the party's nominee in 2008 wholeheartedly, I will refrain from posting anything about that candidate during the election. It's that simple.

Lukewarm "support" like loudly proclaiming that you will "hold your nose" while you vote is every bit as harmful in the general election as actively campaigning for a third party, which is not allowed at DU. I honestly don't see why the "holding my nose" bullshit is allowed either.

[BobRossi]

1. No problem..

Precisely why I am sitting the '08 election out. My vote is too valuable to waste on second or third choice.

[WildEyedLiberal]

4. At least you're open about it

Don't vote for a candidate you hate, period. If you don't like any of them, don't vote for them and then whine about it - just vote for someone else, write in someone else, or whatever. I just can't stand the whiny sense of entitlement mindset.

[emilyg]

39. That's your decision

But I also hope that if you don't vote you won't complain for 8 years.

[saracat]

2. Wow Wild, what a beautifully written post! Congratulations!

[billyoc]

3. I agree with you, I've never voted for a Democratic candidate I didn't like

and I never will, PERIOD.

[peacebird]

5. no prob - I am already planning to write in my candidate if the DLC succeeds in getting HRC in

as "our" candidate.

[WildEyedLiberal]

7. I'm considering a write-in too in the event a candidate I can't vote for is nominated

Despite what the media is telling us, this pool of candidates, IMHO, honestly sucks and I understand where people are coming from who can't get behind any of them. But I also respect the admins intent that this is a Democratic party board first and foremost, and if a candidate I can't stomach is nominated, I just plan on shutting up about it on DU and doing my own thing in the ballot booth.

[Yael]

41. This is where I am right now as well

Likely will vote our candidate regardless, but if the election were today, I don't know if I could if it was someone that I really really felt was not in our best interest.

Once the (R) machine gets fired up against our nominee I think a lot of us who feel this way may change our minds.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

6. I'm no saint.

That's all. MKJ

[cobalt1999]

8. well said. n/t

[sendero]

9. Speaking of sanctimonius windbaggery..

... your post is a fine example of it.

As long as people keep accepting liar, crooks, triangulators, flip-floppers, folks without any guiding principles other than winning the next election, etc, etc, etc, then that is what we'll get.

If you think it sanctimonious to wish for otherwise, that's your dysfunction.

[karynnj]

27. That is crazy - I never heard people saying that

until 2000 and 2004. If there were any candidates that did not deserve to be called liars, crooks, triangulators, or flip floppers, it was Kerry and Gore. If you believe what you wrote, you should consider the source of your information. Both Kerry and Gore were KNOWN for their honesty and the fact that they were very clean. They were also very principled and both articulated what their guiding principles were. It's too bad the media hid all this from you.

I agree that Clinton was proud of triangulating (third way) and he was a liar, but other than the RW, no one thinks he is a crook. I never heard anyone speak of ABB in 1992 - even from those of us who really hadn't want him as the nominee.

Who was the last person you happily voted for in the general election?

[sendero]

79. I voted for John Kerry...

.. and I don't consider him to be a liar/etc - but he did lose to a president that Waldo should have been able to beat.

So he's not real high on my hero list either.

As of now, I'd celebrate Gore's entry to the campaign, as I do believe he is a person of principle, but I really can't say that about many in congress these days, not even the Dems.

[TankLV]

31. Exactly. Thank you for pointing that out...

[durrrty libby]

10. You should post this thread every fucking day and twice on Sunday

So many assholes type "I will hold my nose" What bilge they are

[Solon]

11. This seems like a bunch of sanctimonious bullshit to me...

Not to mention hypocritical, for you would immediately turn this around and blame those who voted for who they want for making Democrats lose elections, because of "wasting" their vote.

[WildEyedLiberal]

12. Saying you're "holding your nose" is the HEIGHT of sanctimonious bullshit

So, please.

What's hypocritical? My belief that, if you're actually going to vote for the Democratic candidate, you should do so without whining about what a put-upon martyr you are? Do you really feel the need to tell the whole world how much you suffered by pulling that lever? Give me a break.

[Solon]

14. The fact of the matter is that at least 90% of Politicians....

in both parties are full of shit, 9 times out of 10, they don't give a shit about us. So "holding my nose" to vote is a matter of course, no more, no less, In fact, I would hazard a guess and say about 90% of independents who vote(like me), vote this way, for we have no other choice. Hell, I've heard this BS about voting for the "lesser of two evils" since I was a kid, damned near everyone complains about it, yet, due to institutional reasons, they are not given options. Is it any surprise that we have one of the lowest turnout rates in the Western World?

[tomreedtoon]

44. All right, WEL, how about this situation?

Democratic candidates who have screwed up, who have allowed Republicans to stomp all over their reputations and their ideas, who haven't bothered to defend themselves or strike back at the Republican attacks? Democrats who have lost enough of the popular vote that they will never be President? Or who, if they win the popular vote, refuse to keep the Republicans from stealing the election?

Guys like Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004?

What would you do in a case like that? Vote, deeply inhale the smoke from the burning corpse of Democratic hopes and say "It's like a spring day?"

In case you weren't awake for the last seven years, everyone who posts here ARE martyrs. Or more appropriately, victims of the people running the Democratic Party into the ground. Partially the DLC, partially the timidity of the candidates themselves.

I'm not talking about nit-picking that's going on about the current candidates. You might have a point there. But you don't during the general election. Which, by the way, I believe will have more mine-strewn paths for Democrats than in the previous two elections combined, unless everybody - fans of the eventual candidate or not - gets serious for a change.

[sam sarrha]

13. it is ReThug propaganda mind control to get us not to vote.. freeper shit

[Jack Bone]

15. * is the poster boy for Democrats not voting for the nominee..

If we haven't learned from our past mistakes then we'll be bound to repeat them.

I'm sorry but the battle lines have been drawn, and not by our making. If you consider yourself to be a Democrat you better vote straight ticket DEMOCRATIC in '08....we can't afford any more division of our party based on some right wing talking points, or our own sense of purpose, or ideology.

We are more than half way way down Shit River and we've only got 1 paddle left. I basically agree w/ your post, other than the fact that you might not vote for whomever the nominee may be...I don't give a rats ass if you have to plug yer nose or hold yer butt-cheeks together...All Democrats, All DUers need to cast straight ticket Democratic ballots in '08!!

There's just too much @ stake........

[noamnety]

16. I don't get it.

I get that "I held my nose" isn't a constructive critique.

But I don't get why criticizing a person you voted for as the lesser of two evils is being equated to being nailed to the cross in martyrdom. That's some serious hyperbole in the OP.

It's an expression of dissatisfaction with the major candidates, and of the frustration with having to compromise between voting for someone whose policies you don't especially like, and wanting to ensure a worse person doesn't get into office.

I don't understand why it's such an unbearable burden for you to have to read about someone expressing that frustration.

[WildEyedLiberal]

19. Yes, the OP is hyperbolic. It's a rant.

But all exaggeration aside, saying you're "holding your nose" is VERY much intended to be an expression of smug righteous superiority ("my standards are far too high to be met by these worthless candidates! Guess I'll have to hold my nose!") and that particular character trait happens to burn my ass. Your mileage may vary.

Not to mention that it's ironic being accused of hyperbole when discussing the mother of all hysterical hyperbolic expressions. "Hold your nose?" Honestly. It's crude, it's shrill, it's over the top, and it happens on DU in every other thread, so yeah, I just got sick of seeing it bandied about here so casually, as if every other Democratic candidate ever up for election is some foul hideous pile of dog shit.

[noamnety]

28. seriously?

"the mother of all hysterical hyperbolic expressions" is "holding my nose"?

(Is this an ironic performance piece of some sort, and I am just too slow to pick up on it?)

I guess any criticism of any politician on either side of the aisle is, to some degree, an expression of smug righteous superiority. We criticize because we think we know better. That's the basis of debate, at it's heart - thinking you know better than the other person.

[WildEyedLiberal]

33. Maybe you are, I dunno

If you don't think it's slightly hyperbolic to complain that a candidate literally emits such a strong odor that you can smell it from the ballot box, I don't know what to tell you.

And yes, I've noticed that DU seems to think it knows better than pretty much the rest of the world put together.

[noamnety]

36. Well, you know, that's not "literal"

it's more one of them fancy "metaphor" things.

[sueh]

85. Every other thread? Oh, dear.

[InvisibleTouch]

17. I'd rather see people "hold their nose" but cast their vote for the Dem...

...than see them not vote at all.

[ElizabethDC]

21. Me, too. n/t

[mcg]

71. Me three. nt

[hisownpetard]

83. Me four. n/t

[WildEyedLiberal]

22. Point taken...

I just wish they'd stop telling the rest of us how brave they are for valiantly holding their noses while pulling the lever. Ugh.

[kdmorris]

Fine, I won't SAY it!

But you can't stop me from thinking it. Except for the 2004 primary, when everyone else dropped out before Florida got to vote (except for Kucinich and Kerry) I've NEVER gotten a chance to vote for someone for President that I thought would fit my ideals (My first election was 1988, so I got Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush and Bush) I didn't vote for any of them, but I got them anyway. I got to vote for Kucinich then, but when the general election rolled around, as distasteful as I did find it, I voted for Kerry. I voted for Kerry because I was voting against Bush. So, that made it less distasteful.

I won't sit out an election. I know that my vote barely counts anymore. Hell, 2000 taught me that, but I think it's the ultimate in "letting them win" to sit out an election because people like you think THAT'S preferable to just sucking it up and voting for the lesser of two evils.

[WildEyedLiberal]

25. "suck it up" "vote for the lesser of two evils"

Yeah, that kind of crap is what I'm talking about. If you really feel that way - why vocalize it after the candidate has been chosen if you actually intend on voting for that candidate? If you think you're making some big heroic statement about how progressive you are, you're not; you're just convincing anyone you're talking with who might be on the fence to either a) vote Repub or b) not vote at all, since if you can't muster even the slightest measure of enthusiasm for "your" candidate, why should they? You're obviously much farther left than most Democrats; fine. But if you think it's important enough for you to vote for the Dem just to keep the Repub out of office, then you need to understand that vocalizing how much you hate the Dem before the election is just going to hurt that Dem more than keeping your mouth shut and voting your conscience in the ballot booth.

[kdmorris]

26. Actually, I've NEVER said it before you posted this

I went out pounding the pavement for Kerry, running all over the place with Moveon.org, even though I considered him the lesser of two evils. Who the fuck EVER said that I badmouthed Kerry to anyone? I didn't want him as the nominee, but I damned sure didn't walk around telling everyone that. In fact, I talked glowingly about the bastard, telling everyone great things about him, just to have him concede when the going got tough. What happened to "fighting for us"?

THAT is not what you were bitching about in your initial post. At least, that's not what you seemed to be bitching about. You were talking about saying it to OTHER DEMOCRATS on a DISCUSSION BOARD (DU), and mentioning that you didn't want to see it HERE.

Who ever said anything about talking to other people about it?

[WildEyedLiberal]

29. You think only Democrats read DU?

Saying ANYTHING on the internet is tantamount to saying it loudly in a public square. When people whine about our candidate repeatedly, even on DU, calling him a "bastard" (real mature, btw ) and saying they're going to hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two evils blah blah blah... they might as well not bother. The damage you do by badmouthing them nonstop will outweigh your "sacrifice" of voting for them in the booth. Seriously, how freaking much is it to ask that, IF you're going to vote for the Dem, you just DO it, and not whine about it?

And, btw, most people can tell if someone is giving them bullshit. I campaigned for Kerry because - gasp - I LIKED Kerry. And if you don't think people can tell the difference between someone who actually likes and supports their candidate and someone who is just "sucking it up" because they hate the other guy, then you're pretty naive. I will not "pound the pavement" for Hillary Clinton because I'm fully aware that I don't like her well enough to push her candidacy to other people.

[kdmorris]

35. Yeah, I get what your saying, but you're being pretty nasty about it

If YOU want people to listen to YOU and stop feeling this way.. then YOU could try a different approach.

What part of your posts have been mature? What part of it isn't just baiting people? You, yourself, admit it was hyperbole. So, why use hyperbole? Why not just go with something gentler? You sure you aren't just looking for a fight?

And yeah, that's pretty much what I think of Kerry right now. I don't really give a crap if it's MATURE. And I don't really care if you -gasp- liked him. It's a REAL feeling. I feel like he gave up when he shouldn't have. Instead of trying to talk to me about it or even -gasp- understand where that feeling might come from, you ridicule me and posts the stupid little laughing guy. You can go through the archives, you can check all my posts. The point still stands that I've not bad-mouthed any of the candidates, this time around or in 2000 or 2004 (disclaimer- you can't check 2000 because DU wasn't there then. You will just have to trust me). You are never going to get people to see your point of view that way.

You part of the problem. You are alienating people in EXACTLY the same way that people who bad-mouth the candidates do. And I reiterate.. I've NEVER said it, but you can't stop me from thinking it. I'm not naive, and I liked Kerry plenty enough to truthfully tell people that we NEEDED him. It was after the election that I started thinking I'd backed a loser, and not because he lost (I'm convinced Kerry actually won).

And I've got news for you-if you think that ANYONE wanted to hear what we were preaching about Kerry, you are mistaken. Everyone made up their mind and either hated us or loved us as soon as we knocked on the door. And if you think that people can be convinced to like someone they hate, YOU are naive.

At least we can agree that we won't either one be pounding the pavement for Hillary Clinton. If she is the nominee, I'll still vote for her, but I won't try to get others to vote for her.

[WildEyedLiberal]

43. Well, in complete honesty, my OP was a rant and was intended purely as such

Not as a super-serious screed intended to change the behavior of DUers. I just read a thread in which EVERYONE was saying that they "held their nose" and voted for: Gore, Kerry, random Senate candidates, various 2008 hopefuls, and the amount of "nose holding" really really annoyed me because I think it's one of the most hackneyed and overused phrases on this website. Hence, my admittedly over the top rant.

Although I am quite sure we disagree very strongly on John Kerry, I apologize for my antagonistic tone to you and I do understand where you're coming from with your general points. I tried to avoid posting judgment against people who actually dislike the Democratic candidates, because I am, despite what my posts in this thread might indicate, mature enough to understand why and how people might disagree strongly with them. What I was getting at wasn't that people aren't entitled to have their beefs with the Dems, but rather at the smug way many of them have of pointing that out, in a way that almost advertises their moral superiority. I really hate moral superiority and the people who go out of their way to post over and over and over that they "held their nose" to vote for whoever usually reek of it. My whole point was basically: you know, I'm not going to say you're not entitled to dislike the Dem candidate, but if you do, and you still plan on voting for them anyway, it's just tacky to go on and on about how much you hate them.

Anyway, I apologize for being prickly. Cheers

[kdmorris]

59. Oh

Well, that makes more sense. I think we find more common ground than you realize.

I was quite prickly last night too, and apologize for calling Kerry a bastard. We probably don't disagree on as much about him as you think. I am VERY disappointed in Kerry's actions, and he didn't truly articulate my values, but I often believe that the media made it seem that way. In that, I mean that it was very hard to get any real information about him, even on the internet. I liked him and was really happy to see him in person when he came to FAU. His speech was awesome and it made me feel like, even though I didn't agree with some of what he said, he meant it and we REALLY needed the change. I do wish he hadn't conceded like that, though. I am usually a lot more rational about it, but, in all honesty, I'm having a really crappy week.

In 2000, I voted for Gore, and at the time, it also felt like "voting for the lesser of two evils". At the time, we had one computer and only the basic cable channels (no C-SPAN). Fast forward to 2004 and we had two computers and my husband and I are internet-savvy. AND... we get C-SPAN. And I heard Al Gore give a speech on C-SPAN around that time that made my jaw drop and tears well up in my eyes. He's THAT good of a speaker! I said "Why the HELL didn't he speak like that during the 2000 campaign?". My husband said "Maybe he did and we didn't get to hear it". So... today I'd vote for the man in a heartbeat, even though he and I don't agree on EVERY single issue.

Hillary Clinton is really the only candidate amongst the current crowd that I would feel like I was "holding my nose to vote for" (OK, Biden... but he ain't got a chance). I think that she's very, very centric, and carries a HUGE amount of baggage. I'm willing to admit that I've thought a couple of times that the woman may just be presented like that in the media, but I really don't like her. However, since she will need all the help she can get and I want her over a Republican, who I would likely utterly despise, rather than simply disliking, I will vote for her in the general election if she is the Democratic nominee.

I certainly have a favorite (Edwards), but I don't go around bashing the other candidates. I think it's REALLY counterproductive to tear our candidates apart before there's a nominee and give the Republicans ammunition (I think we both agree on that!). Actually, I think this is the first time I've ever declared who my favorite is. I wish Edwards would push for Single Payer Health Care, but since I'm not a one-issue voter, I'm willing to allow that might be the best we can do right now. And, like Hillary Clinton, John Edwards may get into the White House and be even better than we are allowed to see on TV.

I do despair that our Presidential elections have become so black and white. Like my husband once said.. "All you can get for dessert is ice cream. You can get chocolate or vanilla, but, if you want pie for dinner, no way." That's what it seems like to me. I will admit that I'm very liberal and that many of the democratic candidates don't represent my views. But, that doesn't mean that they won't try... hopefully.

At least I get to vote, with pleasure and pride, for my Congressman every election cycle. Honorable Robert Wexler and I don't see eye to eye on Israel, but he truly represents his constituents (there's a large population of Jewish people in Palm Beach County, FL. I just don't happen to be one of them.) I've agreed with him on just about everything else.


I didn't see the thread you saw and so, there's no history there. I understand feeling angry about stuff. I just don't usually air all those feelings on DU. In fact, I usually try to stay out of the General Discussion: Extra Crunchy forum just so that I won't walk around pissed off all the time. My husband has much thicker skin!

So, cheers right back at you. (It's too early in the morning for ale!)

[beachmom]

81. I think the problem was that Republicans were super enthusiastic

for Bush, but Democratic purists said with Gore and Kerry that they were "only holding their nose" to vote for them. People picked up on this and figured they should vote for Bush. This attitude loses us elections. For the record, my vote for Kerry was the proudest vote I'll probably ever cast in my lifetime. He was a real boy scout, and we don't get to vote for boy scouts much.

[pansypoo53219]

18. well, i would rather the held their stupid noses

than be a &^#$% purity voter! ooh, if it's not kucinich, i am gonna stay home. if it's hillary, i am gonna write in MY person.

IF YOU DON'T VOTE FOR THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS, YOU GET FUCKING EVIL!

did bush teach democrats NOTHING! the other side wins, cause they stay UNITED!




sometimes democrats really piss me off! GROW UP! we will NEVER get exactly what we want. NEVER!

but close is a fucking WIN!

[ElizabethDC]

20. My thoughts exactly. n/t

[Solon]

23. Is it really too much to ask for a candidate who bases their positions on facts, not fantasy?

This last election cycle, I voted for a Democratic Senate Candidate, who won, by the way, because she was slightly better than the Republican. But seriously, she's against Partial Birth Abortions, of all things, if I wanted a candidate that was against a fucking fantasy, I'd vote for someone from the Libertarian party, Jesus fucking Christ on a trailer hitch, how fucking stupid can she be?

[riverdale]

63. Yes it is

because an atheist candidate will never have a chance to win an election in this country

[Solon]

89. This has little to do with religious belief, I'm talking policy and politics...

Partial Birth Abortion is a POLITICAL term for a myth that doesn't exist, as such, and Atheist can believe it exists, and a Christian can believe it doesn't exist, and the Christian would be the one who is rational in that debate. You can have a politician who believes fairies dancing in the clouds cause rain, as long as they don't want to cut the NOAA, I'd still vote for them, assuming the rest of their political positions don't diverge too much from mine.

I don't care what a politician believes in their personal life, I care about how much that affects their policy, and how much that policy diverges from reality.

[Stinky The Clown]

24. I love it when young people are active, involved .... and very smart.

I like the sentiment you expressed.

[TankLV]

30. Don't like it - fucking tough shit! DEAL WITH IT!

I might just stay home - only I don't see it happening yet...

And yes, when it comes to MY points of view, and if I consider YOUR point of view flawed, then, naturally, of COURSE my viewpoint would be superior to yours!

Don't like it - fuck off and DEAL WITH IT...

[WildEyedLiberal]

34. Another brilliant, thoughtful, and articulate post from TankLV

[DU GrovelBot]

32. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

==================
GROVELBOT.EXE v4.0
==================



This week is our third quarter 2007 fund drive. Democratic
Underground is a completely independent website. We depend on donations
from our members to cover our costs. Thank you so much for your support.

[jillan]

37. You go girl!

[emilyg]

38. Going to give you a *star

[LWolf]

40. I had to hold my nose to read your post,

but I do agree with one thing. I will never again hold my nose to vote for what I consider to be a putrid party nominee. Thrice was three times too many. If there is not an acceptable Democratic candidate on the ballot, I will write one in, or vote 3rd party.

Of course, I made that decision on November 3, 2004, without your odoriferous rant, lol.

[rucky]

42. I'll say "lowered my standards" instead. n/t

[dionysus]

45. uh huh.

i'm holding my nose after reading that tripe you just wrote.

[WildEyedLiberal]

48. And like all the other self-righteous breast-beating martyrs at DU,

rather than ignore my post, you just had to click "post reply" and let me know what you really thought. Good for you - you really are good at this whole "sticking it to the MAN" thing! You sure put me in my place! Armchair revolutionaries unite!!

Yawn. Move along now, kiddo.

[JI7]

46. saying you will "hold your nose and vote" is usually worse than just not voting for them

because people who say that are usually a small number, but they tend to be the loudest and the type to continually bash the candidate they will"hold their nose and vote for". this does nothing for the candidate in terms of getting support from those who need to be convinced. all they do is make that candidate look bad and get people to say why vote for someone like that or vote at all.

it's especially bad since the Republican side almost never does this. so they are able to get out a unified positive message on their candidate.

it always thought it was assholish. it's like they think we should allow them to bash the candidate continually because in the end they will vote for them. i would rather lose that person's vote and have people who are able to say positive things be out there convincing others to vote for the candidate.

[WildEyedLiberal]

49. Thank you

That's my point exactly

But for some people, it's more important to be self-righteous blustering assholes who "have higher standards" than it is to elect the candidate they're supposedly voting for...

[fishwax]

47. I don't care what appendage people hold while voting, but I do hope they vote for the democrat

[acmavm]

50. This thread just made me laugh. Talk about pot/kettle/black...

<snip>

What I was getting at wasn't that people aren't entitled to have their beefs with the Dems, but rather at the smug way many of them have of pointing that out, in a way that almost advertises their moral superiority. I really hate moral superiority ...

<snip>

[WildEyedLiberal]

51. I'm not the one telling other people that I'm a better progressive than they are

The purity patrol who "hold their nose" for every other Dem candidate are as morally sanctimonious as the fundies, and I dislike it nearly as much from them. So sue me.

Maybe this wasn't a nice, polite rant, but I'm not the one bragging about my unimpeachable standards and progressive gold medal purity credentials.

[acmavm]

52. No, you're the one telling everyone what's acceptable to think, do, and

say.

[WildEyedLiberal]

53. Wow, I didn't realize it was "moral superiority" to have an opinion about idiotic things DUers say

I have to admit I was waiting for the "party hack" or "thought police" accusation... and DU doesn't disappoint!

[acmavm]

54. You're hilarious.

[WildEyedLiberal]

55. Thanks. I'm here all week.

[Hippo_Tron]

56. I'd rather someone vote Democratic and complain that they had to "hold their nose" than not vote

On the national level I believe that all of the Democrats running for President are significantly different enough from the GOP candidates that I don't have to "hold my nose". In Louisiana, it's a different story. You have to try very hard to find issues on which the local Democrats are different from the Republicans. Therefore I hold my nose and vote Democratic for the sole reason that I don't want the Republicans to have institutional power in the state because it will help the GOP nationally.

Many of the Democrats in Louisiana hold no values that I would consider to be liberal or progressive. And for those who think I'm talking about Mary Landrieu, I'm not. Compared to other Louisiana Democrats, Mary Landrieu is considered liberal down here.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

57. I'm holding my nose as I read this thread.

[tkmorris]

58. Shut up? SHUT UP? SHUT THE FUCK UP?!?!

Who do you think you are anyway? And who the hell do you think is gonna listen to you when you wander into the room snarling like a rabid dog and snapping at anyone who dares breathe in your presence?

I'll vote for whoever I damned well please, and NO ONE is going to tell me otherwise. Who the fuck are you, Diebold? And if I have an opinion about the person I'm voting for, the person I'm not voting for, the 69 Mets, paper vs plastic, or who really kidnapped the Lindberg baby I will tell whoever I damned well please. Or not. It's my decision to make, not yours. How dare you. How DARE you.

If you are of the opinion that someone who votes for a candidate while telling all who will listen that it is damned hard to do so is shooting themselves in their own foot, then fine, say so. In fact if you want to do it in the most offensive way possible, I support your right to do that. Just like I reserve the right to respond to such an inarticulate raving screed by telling you to stick into whatever orifice you feel like punishing that day.

If you ever want to have a CIVIL discussion, look me up.

[orleans]

87. yes, but will you actually (literally) hold your nose while you vote?

that might be a bit cumbersome

[spotbird]

60. I promise only to vote for

candidates I believe will benefit the future of the nation. There are some candidates who are better than others, and stretch who would test my loyalty, I'll hold my nose and vote for them.


The expression you despise is just another way for a person to explain they've compromised. There are Democratic candidates who stink so badly that I will not hold my nose, because I'd take their stench home with me if I did.

It is a metaphor, sorry it upsets you so.

[Vickers]

61. I'm gonna hold my pecker and vote for the Dem. candidate.

I swear, I can't keep my hands off that thing!

[TroglodyteScholar]

62. Take your blood pressure medicine.

I held my nose to read your rant.

[depakid]

64. Actually, in 2008, I'm not going to hold my nose

If certain individuals get nominated- I simply will not vote for them.

And there are a lot of other people out there who are feeling the same as me.

I'm done with Republican lite.

[Poll_Blind]

70. I sure as hell understand the sentiment "I'm done with Republican lite". n/t

PB

[alfredo]

65. Farting in the polling booth is bad form.

[tomp]

66. i'm going to hold my nose and post on your shitty thread.

what a jerk!

[Moochy]

67. Unity Uber Alles!

[Donald Ian Rankin]

68. I strongly disagree - voting for someone you have to "hold your nose" for often makes sense.

Whether or not you should vote for someone or not depends on how much *difference* you think there is between them and the alternative.

Whether or not you have to hold your nose while voting for someone depends on how good a candidate you think they are in isolation.

If candidate A will be bad, but the only alternative is candidate B who is much worse, then the logical thing to do is to support A, but that doesn't mean you won't have to "hold your nose" while doing so.

[Poll_Blind]

69. You kind of channeled a pissed off Sam Adams or Ben Franklin or Tom Paine there.

  Any one of them would have been likely to make a similar statement especially because the crux of your message is: Vote your conscience!

  I am not surprised, although I am a little at the turnout, at the roasting you received for suggesting things like thinking for one's self and taking responsibility as opposed to making the choice that feels wrong and then forever lamenting it.

  But this is not Democracy Underground- it's Democratic Underground and the Democratic stands for "Democratic Party". As in vote Democratic Party right or wrong. I've been here long enough to see the "Hold your nose" meme pushed from everyone except the Administrators themselves (to their credit!).

  The reason why it's so popular is it dovetails people right into the concept of voting for the Democratic Candidate nomatter what. This is sort of where DU breaks a bit, because the Democratic Party has some pretty odious (in the sense of their conservative leanings) candidates.

  So thank you for posting, but if you post something similar in the future there will be people waiting in line to stuff ashes into your mouth for having spoken.

  And if you think it's bad now, just ponder what it will be like here if Hillary Clinton (bless her heart but damn her pandering) gets the nomination.

PB

[bluedog]

72. sorry but I'll hold my nose and vote

for the one candidate I do not like........its better than staying home because "your" candidate didn't win the general........and to look at the alternative....do I want another Repig in the WH house>.........Hell NO......

[GreenArrow]

73. sophomoric twaddle

.

[Throd]

74. Sometimes the choice is a turdburger or a shit sandwich

Yes, I often do hold my nose and vote AGAINST a candidate more than I vote FOR one. Calm down.

[Vektor]

75. Hahaha...

"Honest to God, spare us all the sanctimonious windbaggery."



No shit, huh?

"OH THE HUMANITY. MY patron saint of Democratic purity did not get the nod. I HAVE TO VOTE FOR THE 'LESSER OF TWO EVILS.'" <- (Another windbag mantra.)

I know. I get tired of the whining too.

[lojasmo]

76. Wow. What a rightous load of crap that OP was.

Excuse me while I exercise my free speech.

I HELD MY NOSE to vote for Kerry, who, despite his stated misgivings at the time, voted to enable smirk to attack Iraq.

Perhaps he should have shut his fucking trap, and just voted for the damn thing?

Perhaps he should have abstained from the vote?

What do you think, OP?

[grace0418]

77. Get over yourself.

I completely and totally understand why people say this, and I'm sure I've said it myself. What, we're not allowed to express disatisfaction with the election process anymore?

[Greyhound]

78. Fortunately few, if any, people care about your opinion. If people did follow your advice

the next President would be decided by a couple of thousand people that work in political campaigns, as the rest of us would stay home and do something we like instead of wasting our time voting for people that couldn't care less about us or our lives and will change nothing in the end.

[WildEyedLiberal]

84. If it changes nothing in the end... then why NOT stay home?

Nice logic, spanky...

[KT2000]

80. I agree

It is an egotistical, immature comment to make.

Like so much in our society - "It's all about me!"

[lwcon]

82. Bad advice

If people have qualms but enough sense to vote out Republicans, why should we advise them to do otherwise?

___

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, now at my new home: Correntewire.com

[hisownpetard]

86. Cut down on the caffeine!! Take some slow, deep breaths and put your head

between your knees, if you can extract it from where it's been!!

Sounds as thought you've zeroed in on people who use the phrase you so dislike because, obviously, YOU are the only DUer who actually does have super-duper-impeccable-unreachable-amazingly high standards and who is here to teach us a thing or two. Even at the risk of putting yourself out there, you DID IT ANYWAY
for the GREATER GOOD.

I want to thank you for that, and for telling me which phrases I should not even consider using, ever, ever, EVER. In fact, I have followed your advice and
had every word in that unspeakable phrase expunged from my online dictionary. Phew!

[sampsonblk]

88. Held my nose and read this stupid post

...hoping in vain that there was something - anything - worthwhile in your long rant. Alas, I have wasted my time.

[rasputin1952]

90. Locking

There are many reasons people vote the way they do. I should think we would all vote to end the neo-con agenda.

This thread has become little more than flames and accusations.

Thank you for your understanding.