I ran a post entitled I Early Voted! And Voted For… back on October 22, 2008. It received a fair amount of criticism since I voted for Bob Barr. Some of what I said then:
Today I stood in line in Lawrenceville, Georgia for 2 hours and 15 minutes to cast my early vote in Election ’08. I’d seen and heard enough this presidential election season to last me the next three presidential election seasons. As I stood there in line, I thought about the issues, the controversies, the slop, the unreal, the surreal, the joy, the passion, the sadness, and the overall tone of the primaries and general election. So when it was my turn to fulfill my civic duty, I voted the way I always voted. I voted for Bob Barr for President of the United States. As I have said many times here, I’ve never voted for a Democrat or Republican in ANY election. I completely dislike our two-party, Hatfields vs. McCoys system.
But it was hard not voting for the First Black Presidential Candidate back in 2008. My reasons:
I come from a family of black activists and black nationalists. My parents were Black Panthers. My grandparents on both sides marched with Martin Luther King Jr. My grandfather was part of the Deacons for Defense and Justice in Alabama from 1965 to 1968. And I have family members who belong to the Nation of Islam led by the always-controversial Minister Louis Farrakhan. I grew up immersed in civil rights, Marxism, Socialism, and Black Power. My grandparents waxed poetically about King’s Dream. I would sit for hours as they along with my parents filled my head with the glory of the struggle. That sweet struggle for equality. The sweet siren song that calls many black folks in America. So when Barack Obama passed the threshold of “he could really win this thing” with black people, I became a supporter of him for the Presidency. My family and I would sit and just talk about how historic this is. The pride I felt was so intoxicating. Obama was like my generation’s Martin Luther King Jr. as a transformative figure in race in America. White folks were voting for him! This what King talked about! But even though I felt the pride and the history, a nagging thought just kept popping up:
He’s a representative of the two-party system that you hate!
So there it was and conviction won over emotion. Did it make me better? OF COURSE NOT! I went against the grain but DEEPLY understood the voting “with the grain”.
Fast forward four years…
I voted for Jill Stein (President) and Cheri Honkala (Vice-President) aka The Green Party. And it was easy. Everything I disliked in the two-party system bubbled up and exploded these past four years. The lack of visionary leadership from the Executive and Legislative Branch was a complete turn-off. I watched regular folks lose jobs, lose homes, and lose everything. I lost my job and collected unemployment and food aid during the past four years. But you know what? It happened to me TWICE during then President Bush Jr’s tenure. And guess what? Absolutely nothing was done different those 8 years and nothing different these past 4 years. Why? Because of the fixation on Presidents fixing the economy. There are systemic issues in our economy going back decades that exploded in The Great Correction (which is still occurring). It takes VISIONARY leadership from all branches to tackle this issue and others.
But that’s not there in the Executive or Legislative branch that’s operated by the Big 2. Well since the Presidential Election doesn’t matter here in South Carolina (we’re not one of the 10 REAL AMERICAN STATES oh I mean battleground states) that decide the election, I decided to “throw away” my vote to two women who are principled and passionate in their arguments with specifics. Stein and Honkala.
So don’t fret those who believe a third party voter is just throwing away a vote. My state doesn’t count anyway. No harm no foul. But beware my fellow third party voters in the 10 REAL AMERICAN STATES, oh I mean battleground states). You may get assaulted by a wet noodle waving mob that’s going to blame you for the Big 2 candidates loss.
By the way, I want the Electoral College System beheaded, burned at the stake, and it’s ashes launched in a rocket toward The Sun.
Good Night… Good Day… Good Luck…
I’m not complex. Don’t have time for all that. And all that complex stuff bad for the stomach. Just color me simple and plain with a twist.