I'm sick of my candidate being decided for me

[Cleita]

before I've had a chance to vote. Yes, it happened again like it has happened in every election that I was old enough to vote in for the past forty years. Since Dean is on my primary ballot he will get my vote. Anyone else feeling disenfranchised should vote for their candidate of choice even if they have to write him in.

This is what true demcocracy and freedom are about. I am not happy about the front runners. Both are Washington insiders with dirty money in their coffers who voted for the Iraq war resolution. It has been rumored that one of these candidates was behind a shadow organization who were sent out to smear my candidate.

These two front runner members of the DLC are too similar to the Republicans to get a swing vote that will go to Bush because of the devil you know factor. Neither offer real change to end the corruption in our government.

I am sick of business as usual. Yes, I will vote for the Democratic candidate whoever he is in November but I will not feel as if my vote counted for anything.

[wyldwolf]

1. Yet another call for changes in the process simply because Dean...

...didn't succeed in it.

[Cleita]

3. He never got a chance from the left coast.

eom

[wyldwolf]

8. What? If he stays in, the "left" coast...

...will have had ample opportunity to vote for him.

[democratreformed]

7. For me, it is more this feeling of powerlessness and irrelevance

I am still upset about that. When someone tried to tell me my vote wouldn't count (about two months ago), I got indignant. Turns out, they were right. Dang it, I just didn't realize it before.

[dorktv]

11. I feel that today. I feel that all of us Deanies and the Clark people

(I might not have liked Clark but frankly he was "drafted") have been given a short shaft by the "Washington Insiders." And I feel Kerry is too weak on so many fronts that his win will be a loss in November. Guess we should get ready for the Bush dynasty to continue until 2020, when they get the 15th, and 19th Amendmants repealed, and have 1984 completely come true.

[wyldwolf]

12. That comes from your candidate choosing to exit the race...

..before you got the chance to vote for him.

I felt the same way about Clark, but I feel stronger about beating Bush.

Each candidate has every right to stay in the race until the end.

When the voters choose someone else, it becomes their decision to exit.

[democratreformed]

2. I'm with ya.

I already made the decision to vote for my candidate in the primary. Nothing has happened yet to change my mind.

[Cleita]

5. Good for you.

We need to work on changing the primaries to one day all over the country.

[mac2]

4. Me too.

Primaries in many states aren't even party members. What's that about?

All Primaries (in each state) should be held on the same day for each party. Then the top two or three go to the conveniton where the delegates duke out the platform,and pick a VP, to beat the other party they are running against in November.

This running around the country with each state is painful for candidates as well as viewers.

Some of these candidates can't be everywhere at once....and they have jobs. It way too expensive. It's out of hand and just plain crazy.

Politics is like everything else in this country. Done for profit not democracy. I'm sick of the media counting out candidates or whatever. Get out of our democracy!!!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

6. I can totally sympathize with that position

I really think the primary was frontloaded this year because of the court challenge to 527's and fear on the part of the DNC that funds would be too limited for the general election.

I DO think it was a mistake for Dean to give an "underdog-esque" speech in Iowa following a single loss, and think that probably went almost as far as the scurrilous "scream" coverage to taint his chances.

I would at least caution progressives that part of taking back what we have lost is having courts that are open to it.
Visualize a Kerry Supreme Court versus a Bush Supreme Court.

Clinton was to the right of Kerry and he didn't fare too badly on his pics.

You WILL be getting something out of the deal. The key is to recognize it.

[Cleita]

14. Clinton was not my choice in 1992. Jerry Brown was.

Although Clinton isn't Bush, he didn't do a lot of things like bring us universal health care, which he promised, or even a patient's bill of rights when Hillary's plan failed.

Yes, the Supreme Court appointments are a big issue and it is my hope that whoever is elected as a Democratic president will make the right choices.

[mastein]

9. I am no DLCer by any means

but I think the primary system of state by state races is rather dumb. A national primary where people vote their consious and not just for who the folks in the other states did would solve this concern. I am a former Iowan and love the caucus system, but I also think it give about 2-3 million people much more power than the rest of the country and that just isn't fair.

[mac2]

10. You bet.

from Illinois.

[Gman]

13. The fact that Edwards got so close to Kerry so fast

means nothing is decided. Publication of polling numbers are nothing more than a frame out of a movie. The polls over the weekend and then Monday showed Edwards closing. Obviously somebody didn't let the media and polls make up their mind for them. So rather than pay attention to the polls, if people would make up their minds and go with their conscience, the races would be far from decided.

The only way the races would be decided in advance is if people voted for someone because the polls and media said they were ahead. Some people no doubt vote like that because they want to vote for a winner. I think by far most people vote their conscience in some form or fashion, even if that means voting for whoever they think has the best chance of beating Bush rather than just wanting to support the "winner".