And you'll be the fool. Sorry.
Don't you have any understanding of who you are voting for when you vote for a president?
You ARE NOT voting for the candidate per se - be it Thompson, McCain, Obama - or ANYbody.
When you vote for a presidential candidate, you are REALLY voting for a "slate of electors" who are pledged to vote for that candidate, and NOT for the candidate himself. Have you heard of something called "The Electoral College"? Better read up on how it works!
So, if Fred Thompson abandons his candidacy, and has no electors, you are voting for, essentially NO ONE. Your ballot probably won't even be recorded as a legitimate vote (yes, I know in YOUR mind, you think you voted for Thompson). It will in all likelihood be ignored and register nowhere on the final tally of votes cast.
The only way you could legitimately cast a write-in vote for Fred (or anyone else) would be to write in all the names of a slate of electors pledged to support him.
But writing in "Fred Thompson" on the ballot accomplishes nothing - it won't even be counted.
By the way, this applies ONLY to presidential elections. You could write in for any OTHER election that way. But it doesn't work that way when you're voting for president.
All you "write-in my candidate for prez" kooks better find out how the system works. You'd do just as well to not vote at all.
- John
(by the way, Mr. Thompson would be my first choice, but if he doesn't make it, I'll consider choice #2, and etc.)
I know EXACTLY how the system works.
Read this and understand it:
If we can’t come up with a conservative, I’d rather have Clinton, or someone even more liberal. Got it?
When a conservative commits socialism, he/she is a centrist. When a liberal does it, he/she is overreaching. Witness Pelosi.
As for SCOTUS, does it matter? Really? I’d direct you to read Levin’s book. The sane ones on the bench are beset by the centrists.
No more centrists. Give me either a conservative, or let’s have a liberal. Truth in advertising.
Centrists are neither hot nor cold, so I spit them from my consideration. At least with Liberals, once they get elected they deadlock themselves, being a collection of diametrically opposed interests anyway.
I know, and endorse, how the electoral process works. It’s the party process of picking a nominee that is idiotic. Until I can tell the difference between the parties at the CANDIDATE LEVEL, then I will do my duty and vote.
But I official withdraw from the party process.
The party can kiss my grits at this point.