The Importance of Voting the Mid-Terms - and - How ELSE can we deal with our Current Government Mess?

Joe, I enjoy hearing you on the radio and found the show interesting this morning. However, I cannot agree with you that voting Democratic is our best option. I have made a personal decision never to vote for a Democrat or Republican ever again. The most important reason behind that decision is that neither party has earned my vote. These two parties are the organized crime of our age. They have fleeced and degraded the citizenry for decades and voting for either party is like voting for the Genovese family because they are slightly less brutal than the Gambino family. The real answer is the formation of a strong competing party that is dedicated to enhancing the lives of anyone receiving a W-2. I am amazed that people like Arianna Huffington, Michael Moore, Bill Moyers, Amy Goodman, Bill Maher, and the like have not joined forces to implement this desperately needed option for working people. Of course, they might just ask why I'm not doing it. Their question would be well justified and any excuses on my part would be feeble at best. But in my opinion, a strong workers' party is the only viable solution for this country. Until such time, I will vote for any party other than the dominant two, or I'll vote for an independent or I will write in Bernie Sanders name or your name or Joann Bowman's name. But I will not reward the criminal class that has, and continues to destroy working class America. Does that mean things are going to get worse if the Republicans take control of the house? Things have been getting worse since 1968. Civil rights legislation was this nation's high water mark and the integrity (what little we had) of the country has dwindled ever since. Anyone trying to uplift us to a higher level, like Martin Lither King or Robert Kennedy, seem to find themselves "sleeping with the fishes" or today, with the help of the corporate media, find themselves marginalized. But the bottom line is this: Are we progressives or not. If we are, then we must stand with and make the sacrifices required of our convictions. I have not been disappointed by Obama. There were two progressive candidates in the 2008 race and I voted for one of them, Ralph Nader. Obama never hid his agenda, intentions, or his disposition. Only those who wanted to be, were fooled.  Note that I am a cynic and I realize that the progressive path will provide only the slightest chance of success, likely achieved generations from now. But what will this world look like in a few generations if these two parties retain their power? Take a look at New Orleans and the Gulf. That's just a teeny, tiny, little preview.

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In today's show you made mention of the Florida election and words to the effect that Nader lost the election for Gore. As a Nader voter I have to say I find this amazing. Consider the following:-
1. 200,000 registered Democrats voted for Bush in Florida (a net loss of 400,000 votes), 1% of then could have swung the election Gore's way.
2. If Gore had won his home state he would not have had to win Florida.
3. Pat Buchanan himself has admitted that most of his votes in Palm Beach County were meant for Al Gore, saying he "did not campaign and bought no advertising there" (Nichols, 2001, p. 86). He added, "I would say 95 to 98 percent of [the votes] were for Gore"
There are many more examples of how Gore could have won the election. Also to suggest that someone like me would have voted for Gore if Nader had not been on the ballot is wrong. I voted for Nader in 2008 because a vote for Obama said he'd be keeping 50,000 troops, called "security guards" in Iraq, he told this to Amy Goodman in June 2008 on Democracy Now. He also pledged to carry on the war in Afghanistan, he supported the bill to give immunity to the Telephone companies who wire tapped US citizens and he pledged to support Israel. His only redeeming stance was Healthcare and he unfortunately failed to deliver on that. There were too many negatives for me to give him my vote, and I suspect a lot of Nader supporters in Florida in 2000 felt the same way. I thought we were over this myth about Nader; it's a shame to hear it echoed on KBOO, I thought the station was more understanding, it seems not. Regards