When Not Voting Is The Right Thing To Do (Barf Alert)

Worldnetdaily.com ^ | 10/31/2006 | Joseph Farah

[goldstategop]

Some people get mad at me when I tell them not to vote.

But I believe there is a right time to abstain from casting a ballot – particularly if the only choice is a Democrat or Republican who are indistinguishable on the major issues of the day.

A good example of a race where a protest vote for a third party candidate or a non-vote would be the right thing to do on Election Day is the New Jersey Senate race between incumbent Robert Menendez, the Democrat, and Republican challenger Thomas Kean Jr.

(Column continues below)

Pollsters say the race is too close to call. And I don't really care how it comes out.

Some Republicans will hate me for this. They will point out that control of the U.S. Senate could be at stake in this campaign.

I say, if Republicans need Thomas Kean Jr. to control the Senate, then they really won't have control anyway. Because Kean is a RINO – a Republican in name only, a Republican who is embarrassed about being a Republican, a second-generation country clubber who, if elected, will turn out to be a bigger embarrassment to the GOP than a straight-out loss of the Senate.

No, I would never urge a vote for Menendez. He's part of the corrupt Democratic Party political machine in my birth state. As far as I can tell, there isn't a single issue on which he's right.

But, honestly, Kean is no better. Not at all.

And here's the real trouble with electing a sniveling weasel like Kean. What you get is a back-stabbing RINO who will spend most of his time distancing himself from his Republican colleagues, showing that he is "different," that he is "bi-partisan," a conciliator – and someone with no principles whatsoever other than his own personal empowerment.

We've had Republicans in the Senate like this before. Think Lincoln Chafee.

Even though polls in New Jersey show voters there more concerned about local issues than national issues, Kean is spending most of his time right now running away from President Bush – not on the border, not on profligate spending in Washington, not on the political correctness run amok in the White Hose, but on the war in Iraq, the war against jihadist terrorism, the war that will destroy America and Western civilization if we don't achieve victory. It wasn't Democrat Menendez who called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. It was Kean.

Last week, when he heard that Rush Limbaugh had taken on Michael J. Fox for shamelessly politicizing a disease, Kean issued a statement denouncing the talk-show host. He hadn't actually heard Rush's articulate admonishment of Fox and those using him in this campaign. But what Kean read in "press reports" was enough to get him to attack Limbaugh.

"There's no reason for this in our politics, and I don't subscribe to it," he said.

To what does Tom Kean Jr. subscribe? It's a good question. The answer is not much that's good for New Jersey or good for the nation.

If your idea of a good time is electing a spoiled brat rich kid to the U.S. Senate, then, by all means, vote for Tom Kean. Have a ball.

But if your goal in political involvement is to restore freedom in America, to restore moral sanity to our system of governance, to restore constitutional principles to Washington, to restore a reverence for the sanctity of life, to restore respect for America at home and abroad, then I'm afraid to tell you that you have no choice on Election Day in New Jersey. Better luck next time.

Actually, let me backtrack from that statement. You do have a choice. And casting a protest vote or not voting at all in this virtually uncontested Senate race is a very good choice. It's the only choice for those who want to see real competition in elections, who want to see better alternatives in the future.

Vote no on Kean. And feel good about your choice.

[CitizenUSA]

goldstategop wrote: "We ought to take a lesson from them in pride in our beliefs and in nominating candidates who stand for the things we believe in rather than do a head fake Left to get themselves elected. "

I agree. Each person should fight to nominate the candidate that most matches their beliefs. That includes general elections. Ideally, wouldn't it be great to eliminate the RINOs? Realistically, that isn't possible at this time and probably never will be. So, it's better to vote for the RINO (in the general election) who will give you 5 or 10% of what you want and put your party in control, versus the Democrat who will likely try to take everything away you've gained as well as not give you anything else you want.

Seriously, what good does it do to eliminate a RINO (in the general election) if it means your party loses majority status? Fortunately, I don't have to vote for Chafee, but I'd do it in the general election even if I had to carry a barf bag to the polling place.

[Elyse]

It is never right to not vote. One of the worst decisions I ever had to make was in the Louisiana governor's race in 1991. The choice was Edwin Edwards (a blatantly corrupt Democrat) and David Duke (a former grand wizard of the KKK running as a Republican).

It just about killed my soul to cast my vote in that election, but it would have been wrong for me to just say they were both bad choices and not vote at all.

[Lancey Howard]

That is indeed an encouraging statement from Kean, even if he did release it back in January during the primary season, and even if it was a safe "homer" cheer for a New Jersey judge. Thanks for posting that. It gives me hope.

By the way, I don't know how many freepers are "falling head over heels" for Lieberman, but I doubt it's more than a handful. Certainly not me.

Regards,
LH

[Lancey Howard]

Fortunately, I don't have to vote for Chafee, but I'd do it in the general election even if I had to carry a barf bag to the polling place.

If there are odds in Las Vegas on that scumbag Chafee doing a "Jumpin' Jim" routine after the election (presuming he gets reelected), I would lay money on the "switch". God help us if the Senate ends up with 50 Republicans and one of them is Chafee. (shudder)

[rmlew]

The people of NY will elect one of 2 men next week for the Senate. As awful and unappealing a choice Kean makes, he is better than Menendez. Sitting out the election and allowing Menendez to win is cowardly and foolish.
Did you just call Hillar a guy?
The race in New York is between incumbent Senator Hillary Clinton and former Mayor John Spencer.
There is a huge difference between the blue collar conservative Vietnam Vet and Hillary.

[YdontUleaveLibs]

Well I can't vote for or against Kean. I hope that others do though. Hold your nose and vote. Control of the House and Senate is that important.

[kingu]

The time for this argument is during the primary. The primary is over with, a conservative didn't win, you suck it up and vote for the RINO knowing full well that you'll be beaten over the head with him or her for the next six years.

It's not just that the other guy or gal is a liberal, but a far worse liberal than what you're putting in. And you spend those next six years not whining about the RINO, but working to get a conservative to go against him in the primaries and win that primary.

[Once-Ler]

The people of NY will elect one of 2 men next week for the Senate.

I meant NJ. Thank you for correcting me.

[nathanbedford]

Grind the Democrats into the dirt! Smash them while they're down and never let the scum rise again!

Jim, I might add the following:

Run off their herds and their flocks

Lay waste their fields and sew them with salt

Crush their miserable hovels

Destroy their cities, towns and villages

Drive the refugees into the sea

Grind their abortuaries into dust

Torture without mercy their abortionists and Dr. Mengeles

Burn their books of sorcery

Disperse their covens

Crucify their warlocks

Burn their witches at the stake

Castrate their apparatchiks, professors, and journalists

Put to the sword those who will not bend their knee

Humiliate their feminists

Let them rend their raiments, weep, wail, and knash their teeth

Free their victims from their reeducation camps

Spare the children that they might know mercy and be raised in the fear and admonition of the Lord

[ThomasThomas]

Death is a good reasons not to vote. Even if the election were today. I have never seen a ballot with nothing worth voting on. Props, judges and maybe even a candidate or two.

[maryz]

Two words: Lincoln Chaffee

BTW, how is Chaffee doing? The most troubling thing about him IMO is that he's publicly toyed with the idea of switching parties. When I heard Schumer on one the Sunday shows saying Dems have to win that seat, I got the weird feeling that it was a don't throw me in that briar patch moment . . . it wouldn't surprise me if Chaffee had a deal with the Dems to switch in case of a 50-50 senate.

[maryz]

To clarify -- I can't help suspecting Schumer was so insistent on the importance of that seat to Dems, so the Reps will spend lavishly on it, though the Dems will have Chaffee as an "ace in the hole," so to speak.

[Matchett-PI]

"Farah is a self important ass. Telling FReepers not to vote for an R in a general election is sheer idiocy."

I'll add "religious extremist kook", to "self-important ass", if you don't mind.

[Matchett-PI]

bttt


"Vote out of anger, and you'll either vote Democrat or stay home. Vote out of reason, and you'll vote Republican. Please choose reason. If you don't like the Republican candidate, the place to get rid of him is in the primary, not the general election. The general election is not between good Republicans and irresponsible Republicans; it's between Republicans and Democrats." ~ Dennis Prager
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1728947/posts

[napscoordinator]

Four words: Senate MAJORITY LEADER Reid....

We don't need Kean to keep the Senate. Currently the numbers are that we would lose three seats if you believe all the gossip. We will keep the Senate with 52-47-1. I know it is basically gridlock, but at least we keep it.

[AmeriBrit]

What's so hard that you can't understand?

1. The PRIMARIES are when to vote for the PERSON/CANDIDATE of your choice.

2. The ELECTION is when to vote for the PARTY that's your choice to have majority power.

[Fresh Wind]

one of the candidates is under indictment

Not true. He is under investigation.

[AmericaUnited]

We need RINOs like we need cancer.

So the solution is to give ourselves not only cancer but also full blown AIDS, typhoid, hepatitis...

HOW INCREDIBLY STUPID IS THAT??!!

[RKBA Democrat]

I'm not seeing why the "barf alert" on this article. I guess as we get closer to the election, any article that challenges the GOP hegemony, particularly from a conservative perspective, is going to labeled as heresy.

Mr. Farah is correct as far as it goes. It looks to me like New Jersey has a political choice between a leftist and someone who will act like a leftist. If that's what the choice is between, you might as well choose the self- identified leftist, as you'll actually have a chance of getting what you vote for. I think Mr. Farah pulled his punches by failing to note that this is often the choice that you're faced with in dealing with the GOP.

Be that as it may, I think that Mr. Farah is wrong in his conclusion. If this were merely a case of ideologically matched leftists, you could make a sound argument for failing to vote. But he fails to consider the ethical dimension of the election in question. There is a candidate on the ballot who is ethically challenged. Voting for a demonstrably unethical candidate, or allowing them to take office through your failure to vote is just plain wrong.

Sometimes the most responsible thing to do is to hold your nose and vote.

[aumrl]

PERCEPTION is the issue. Menendez is running against W - not Keane.Not voting is a vote for dems and against W. PERIOD. I'll hold my nose and vote REP !