Tell me what bad things might/will happen if I vote my heart in the primary.

[Raven]

This has probably been asked before, if it has, forgive me. I am creeping toward a decision about which Dem I'll vote for in the NH Primary. I am so disappointed with most of them on the war and on health care that I am thinking of voting for Dennis. I know he has no chance of winning the Presidency and I will definately vote for the Dem candidate in November, but I guess I'm wondering what harm I would do to the overall Democratic cause if I voted for Dennis. I am so sick of compromising!

[Olney Blue]

1. It's your vote, and your choice!

I wouldn't presume to advise you.

[TwilightZone]

2. No bad things. Vote your heart in the primary and vote for the nominee in the general election.

Pretty simple, actually! :)

[Gidney N Cloyd]

14. Exactly. Plus minimally you're voting to give DK some influence in the party.

[Maribelle]

3. I truly believe all the democratic candidates want you to vote for whom you believe will be best

That is why they are trying extremely hard to convince you they are the best.

[NaturalHigh]

4. Vote your conscience.

Anyone who does otherwise is just a tool of the corporate party.

[Debi]

9. Would you please list the members of the corporate party?

:eyes:

[NaturalHigh]

13. Just look at the nominees for both parties.

They're pretty easy to pick out.

[Debi]

16. There are no nominees at this point in the race

please list the names of the candidates you are saying are from the corporate party.

How hard can that be?

[NaturalHigh]

17. I'm sorry, my bad.

Candidates, not nominees. Please forgive my lapse.

You want the top two "corporate" candidates? I'm going to put Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Guiliani at the top of the list.

[Debi]

24. Thank you

I don't think all the Democratic candidates are corporate candidates. I keep seeing posts that imply that Dennis Kucinich is the only non-corporate candidate and when I ask for a list of who the poster thinks are the corporate candidates they won't do it. You are the first to actually name who you feel is a corporate candidate. Thank you.

[Jim__]

5. If we all voted for what we believe, Dennis might just win. - n/t

[Debi]

6. I wish everyone would vote/caucus their heart (and head) in the primaries

rather than turning on the TV or opening the news paper and seeing who the 'front-runner' is. We would have a much closer race and much more educated electorate if that happened. Vote for the candidate you agree with/believe in, not who you are told to support by mailings, commercials or paid phone calls.

[eleny]

7. For once I want to vote for someone I trust instead of compromising

So I'm going to caucus and vote for Kucinich no matter what happens before the Colorado primaries. In doing so I'm voting the issues and it feels really good.

[Sukie1941]

8. Vote your brain

[Raven]

11. Hi, welcome! Hopefully my heart and my brain aren't too far apart! :-)

[NV Whino]

10. Follow your heart

We have to let the party know what the people want.

Dennis has my vote... just as he did in 2004.

[Warpy]

12. You might be outvoted by people voting for the other candidate

Ho hum.

That's the worst thing.

[sandnsea]

15. That's when you should vote your heart

Other people's heart will tell them to vote for who they think can win. But if Dennis could get a strong vote, it would prove there are people who want a bigger change for the country.

[sojourner]

18. no matter who it is, vote your heart in primary........we get a chance of a good candidate that way

[Mellowtone]

19. You might be helping Hillary lose to Obama

And that isn't at all a bad thing, IMO!

[Debi]

29. Welcome to DU mellowtone

:hi:

How does a vote for Kucinich help Obama defeat Clinton in New Hampshire?

[ginchinchili]

20. Think about your final goal and vote wisely

We can all relate to you and your resistance to compromise, but unfortunately our system requires it. I'd vote for the candidate who you believe has the best chance of winning the general election, unless that outcome does not matter to you. I'm assuming it does. But if the wrong candidate wins the primary, we'll have 4 - 8 more years of a Republican in the White House.

[renie408]

21. No bad things will happen. That's what primary votes are for. n/t

[rodeodance]

22. vote your Heart, conscience, brain, head, soul-----

[kdmorris]

23. In 2004, when the Florida Primaries came around

the only two still there were Dennis Kucinich and John Kerry. I voted with my heart for Kucinich. I already knew that Kerry would win the primary, but that was the first time in my WHOLE political life that I got to vote for someone that I whole heartedly loved and believed in.

After that, of course, I voted for John Kerry in the general. But I forever get to remember the feeling of voting for someone that I loved, rather than someone I liked better than the other guy.

[sam sarrha]

25. we need to vote to WIN... or not whine about starving to death under the ReThugs, suck it up and die

with dignity..knowing you did the right thing

[stellanoir]

26. The illustrious, very enlightened, and most conscious DK well deserves every vote

he can possibly get.

Especially since the media incessantly trivializes him based mostly on his height and other quirks that many of us find totally endearing.

Worst thing that can happen. . .?

You will sleep well at night, at least until the general election.

Then again, what voting technology do they use in NH. . .???

[n2doc]

27. The only thing you might lose is the satisfaction of voting for "the annointed one"

Whomever the pundits say thet person should be. You not only have nothing to lose, you have a patriotic duty to vote for the canddate whom you best feel represents your beliefs and who would be best for America.

Believe in yourself.

[2Design]

28. it is a primary - vote for the one you want - it is not the final vote n/t

[yorgatron]

30. i'm voting Kucinich in the primary,and Clinton in the general election.

if there were someone farther to the left than Dennis whose ideas i liked i would vote for them.
the powers that be have already picked Hillary,maybe she will see that there are many of us that think this country needs a sharp left turn after all these years.

[2Design]

42. dennis is my first vote and I sure hope my second vote in 2008 n/t

[sampsonblk]

31. That's your right and your duty.

Angling for the general election is not wise and never leads to any victory. Its like forfeiting a baseball game in the first inning before you ever get to bat.

[ginchinchili]

32. You'd have to explain that analogy, because it doesn't make sense

By considering who is best positioned to win in a general election the voter improves his or her chances of obtaining, at the very least, half of their goal, that is to keep a Republican from winning. Democrats are fortunate in that, in my opinion, all the candidates would make very capable presidents. I just don't believe they can all win in a general election.

A better baseball analogy would be to pull a batter who hits lots of home runs but strikes out a lot in favor of a batter who can reach base almost every at bat with the goal of winning the game.

[sampsonblk]

37. It doesn't make sense to whom?

I know I first brought up baseball, but this is not a game. At some point, voters need to voice their concerns to the government. The primary election is the time to do that. To not do it in the primary, means it never gets done. Then we are all pawns in the game of politics. Our votes don't belong to any party, and we are to use them to express ourselves individually, not to win a game for our party.

Secondly, if we follow the electability model of voting, then we'll never get candidates who reflect our views. Every four years, we will get a slate of people who take our votes for granted. No.

Lastly, any candidate who can get enough support can win in the general election. Any candidate.

There are some minor issues that work against that view, and one of them is the small group of 'electability' types who decrease voter turnout by suggesting that certain candidates can't win. If we all vote for Porky Pig, he will win in a landslide. Electability is a myth.

Abraham Lincoln is no longer electable today. Too tall, too ugly and too goofy. Stuck his neck out and said slavery was wrong. And that damn hat has to go.

[AtomicKitten]

33. I have always supported voting your heart in the primary.

However, organizing a cohesive strategy to defeat HRC in the primary will be like herding cats. That combined with the bounty of contenders diluting the non-HRC pool may cause her to win the nod by default.

If I have to choose between the top three contenders (considered viable and electable) I choose Obama because the others voted for and rallied for the invasion of Iraq.

And in a perfect world, Al Gore would be our nominee. :)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

34. The primaries are the ONE CHANCE we the people have to state our true opinion

In 1988, Dukakis already had the nomination sewn up when Oregon voted. I STILL cast my vote for Jesse Jackson, as did 39% of the Dems in Oregon, just to register our displeasure with the nominee.

In my 2004 Minnesota caucus the Old Guard types tried to tell us that any vote not for Kerry or Edwards was "wasted."

I stood up and said that we should vote for the person we really want, not what we thought other people want.

If you ask for what you want, you may or may not get it.

If you don't even ask, whose fault is it when we don't get what you want?

I'm voting for Kucinich in the upcoming caucuses, and I don't care what anybody else does. This is the one time I don't have to accept someone else's choice.

[cobalt1999]

35. I agree.

The general election, we have to sometimes vote the "lesser of two evils", but primaries allow you to vote with your heart (assuming your state goes early enough).

[Lydia Leftcoast]

36. In my caucus, some people voted Dean, even though he was already out of the race

So early, late, it doesn't make any difference.

[cobalt1999]

38. We don't have caucuses in Florida

and Dean wasn't even on the ballot.

[Raven]

39. Thank you all for this good, thoughtful discussion. It has really

been helpful to me.

[Redneck Socialist]

40. None

No one I've ever voted for in the primary has gone on to win the nomination. The world didn't end.

Vote your conscience.

[KoKo]

41. My honest opinion?

Our Dem Establishment won't listen to us...so if you gotta go for your "gut conscience" write in the Dem Candidate of your choice. If you want another chance at "Status Quo" then vote for the Nominee if it turns out they are what we Dems have been voting for who have lost (with the HAVA ACT and DIRTY TRICKS for years)...so maybe, in the end...we can have a candidate who will win in a Landslide throwing off the Voting Machine and elsewise corruption.

But, if we don't? I'm writing in a candidate...either Al Gore or Dennis Kucinich...because BOTH are REAL DEMOCRATS! I've done the ABB and walked the Precincts..I gotta go with my conscience on this...even if it doesn't mean anything and my vote is lost.

I wonder what would have happened if Dems had all voted for Eugene McCarthy or George McGovern? Would America be different today if we had just gone with our CONSCIENCE over PARTY Pragmatism?

When does it matter after you've compromised your soul so many times and lived with the results of your compromise...and it's not looking good in hindsight?

:shrug: I'm going with my conscience for what I feel is the best DEM who represents WHY I've stayed and am still a Democrat. If the Party doesn't want me...I'm still going to NUDGE AND DIG AT THEM...with ALL I HAVE to MAKE CHANGE.

[illinoisprogressive]

43. you will feel wonderful to vote your preference rather than for who you think you should

it doesn't matter if the person is leading or dead last. You must vote for who you want and be damn with who you think will win.

[saltpoint]

44. You're an American citizen? A registered voter?

And you're for Kucinich?

In that case you go to your precinct, you flash your driver's license and sign the log, and go vote for Kucinich.

And don't take any crap from anybody about your choice.

[riqster]

45. As a former North Coaster...

I am voting DK in the Ohio Primary, then the nominee in the General.

More votes for DK will push the platform Left, and that is sorely needed. Plus, it will help keep him in the House, and that is even more inportant.

[arendt]

46. My heart tells me Dennis hasn't a chance. My brain tells me he's the only trustworthy Dem. n/t