Do we vote for the lesser of two evils?

[Prodigal_Son1]

Catholics have a duty to vote

ewtn.com/vote/voting_faq.htm

Bishop Gracida

Those Catholic voters who love moral absolutes would have no choice but to vote for candidate, but those Catholics who recognize that in the real world it is sometimes necessary to choose the lesser of two evils in order to prevent greater harm—in this case harm to innocent unborn children would vote for candidate

smwa.org/Documents/Letters/Bishop_Letter/Bishop_Letter.htm

Thanks you, but I think everybody is still entitled to an opinion about this, this is not infallible teaching…

You may recognize that response from another thread…

 

[Tietrack]

Of course Ryan was one of the big obstacles for getting anything done in Congress.

Jim

And I thought it was Democrat Harry Reid that was refusing to bring anything to the floor of the Senate. Three years and not one budget…lol

 

[SusansChoice]

I am not going to express an opinion for the sake of argument. I am simply going to state some facts about the forthcoming US Presidental ElectionFor those of you who feel morally superior for abstaining to vote in the next US Presidential Election, you should bear in mind that this is going to be one of the most important presidential elections in American history. One has a choice between continuing our country as a democratic republic or becoming a super secular nanny state.
The incumbant candidate has prooved himself in disregarding at least two amendments of the, Constitution, is a vocal advocate of abortion and contraception, and is the most anti-Catholic President in history; the other does not evoke a sense of leadership or trustworthiness, and has a gubanatorial record at odds with Catholic teaching-but not as severe as that of his opponant.
Considering that the vote is going to be close. abstaining or neglecting to vote in this election will be a vote for the incumbant, and will result in long term harm to not only the country, as it was envisioned by the Founding Fathers, but to the Catholic Church’s position in it.
Remember that whoever is elected will replace several Supreme Court Justices, which will determine the future course of our country.
So, all of you moralists, don’t be right, but still do harm to our country.

Well stated

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

And I thought it was Democrat Harry Reid that was refusing to bring anything to the floor of the Senate. Three years and not one budget…lol

Bet he blames the other side.

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

Remember that whoever is elected will replace several Supreme Court Justices, which will determine the future course of our country.
So, all of you moralists, don’t be right, but still do harm to our country.

Who appointed the most justices currently serving, and which political party were they affiliated with?

 

[john78]

Every election in America for President is historical, it is always a monumental impact.

it is sad to think some people think their vote does not count, to those of you who think that, ask yourself why do politicians then spend so much time fighting for our vote ? why do they do every underhanded trick in the book to get as many votes as they can ?

if our vote did not honestly matter, they would not be spending millions upon millions of dollars flooding television with ads of why this person is the devil and this other person is the saint to save the country.

if the vote did not matter they would simply pay a fee and become president.

and for those who want to vote but hate both canidates, i would offer that no one is truely happy with Romney, nor his running mate…

I have ZERO hope in Romney or his running mate, that they will accomplish anything, you name it, i have ZERO doubt that they can accomplish it.

just more glitz and glamour and empty promises.

I cant stand Obama like so many others for a bazillion reasons, so i look at it like this, I am not voting FOR Romney, i am voting AGAINST Obama,

I wish we had the option to toss everyone out on their rumps and just let states run themselves for the next 4 years and leave all these power hungry politicians scratching their heads wondering what just happened.

for those who choose not to vote, especially not voting for Romney, you are screwing also yourself, you have made a choice in that you are ready to take what anyone shoves down your throat no matter what, that is what not voting says.

so if you dont vote, and obama gets re elected, dont start crying when things go from bad to worse, same if Romney gets voted in and you dont like a policy he comes up with, your opinion matters even less.

when you cant even take the time to vote, you basically tell everyone that you do not care.

So is Romney the best choice, can he change things that Obama has destroyed, probably not any time soon , but I am merely hoping that he can not possibly be worse than Obama.

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

Every election in America for President is historical, it is always a monumental impact.

it is sad to think some people think their vote does not count, to those of you who think that, ask yourself why do politicians then spend so much time fighting for our vote ? why do they do every underhanded trick in the book to get as many votes as they can ?

if our vote did not honestly matter, they would not be spending millions upon millions of dollars flooding television with ads of why this person is the devil and this other person is the saint to save the country.

if the vote did not matter they would simply pay a fee and become president.

and for those who want to vote but hate both canidates, i would offer that no one is truely happy with Romney, nor his running mate…

I have ZERO hope in Romney or his running mate, that they will accomplish anything, you name it, i have ZERO doubt that they can accomplish it.

just more glitz and glamour and empty promises.

I cant stand Obama like so many others for a bazillion reasons, so i look at it like this, I am not voting FOR Romney, i am voting AGAINST Obama,

I wish we had the option to toss everyone out on their rumps and just let states run themselves for the next 4 years and leave all these power hungry politicians scratching their heads wondering what just happened.

for those who choose not to vote, especially not voting for Romney, you are screwing also yourself, you have made a choice in that you are ready to take what anyone shoves down your throat no matter what, that is what not voting says.

so if you dont vote, and obama gets re elected, dont start crying when things go from bad to worse, same if Romney gets voted in and you dont like a policy he comes up with, your opinion matters even less.

when you cant even take the time to vote, you basically tell everyone that you do not care.

So is Romney the best choice, can he change things that Obama has destroyed, probably not any time soon , but I am merely hoping that he can not possibly be worse than Obama.

They don’t fight for votes, they see who can raise the most money to purchase ads and then lie like Persian rugs.

Viewing it through the spiritual eye, I think of Christ; the lesser of two evils is lukewarm,.

 

[exnihilo]

An individual vote is unlikely to make a difference in most elections. The counting is far more important. In the rare instances of a modern federal election coming down to even one hundred votes the counts are different each time which suggests the whole counting process is unreliable. My vote is unlikely to make a difference so what is to be gained? I realize no one is perfect. But the candidates for political office are generally all so terrible that I prefer not to vote. I try to ignore them as much as I can. Like childhood monsters the only successful way to be rid of them is to ignore them.

it is sad to think some people think their vote does not count, to those of you who think that, ask yourself why do politicians then spend so much time fighting for our vote ? why do they do every underhanded trick in the book to get as many votes as they can ?

An individual’s vote does not matter for the individual but it does matter for the politician. Politicians have great wealth and tremendous power to gain from winning. The return on their investment is great. I am going to get fleeced no matter who wins and there is rarely a dimes worth of difference between candidates. So politicians spend great money to get my vote because it is important to them but it is of no consequence to me.

 

[MarcoPolo]

But while this is a perfectly valid strategy - to use your vote to try to cause wider change - it is also a perfectly valid use of your vote to try to avoid an immediate danger. The question of which one is more important is not, I think, a question whose answer is independent of circumstances.

Consider this thought process. Voting for the lesser of 2 evils in 2004 begot the U.S. whom in 2008? In 2016, there is no chance for there to ever be a candidate like Santorum or Paul or someone like them if the masses show “satisfaction” with a lousy candidate just because he’s not the other guy. That’s how evil prevails. You are tricked into taking 2 steps back instead of 3, but you’re still on your way to hell. An extreme analogy, I know, but you see my point? Perot commanded 19% of the vote in 1992 as I recall. A third party option is not inconceivable, but attitudes have to change. The presidency has gotten, arguably, progressively worse since Reagan. Maybe it’s time to stop trying the same strategy. The immediate danger posed by Obama can still be fought at other levels, legislatively, civilly, and there are still battles in the courts. Now, I’m not a psychic, so maybe Romney would somehow be best for the future of American citizens. But I think 3rd party vote must be considered if someone wants to make an educated decision.

 

[PTL]

Romney / Ryan is the righteous ticket to vote!!

 

[Iron_Donkey]

Consider this thought process. Voting for the lesser of 2 evils in 2004 begot the U.S. whom in 2008? In 2016, there is no chance for there to ever be a candidate like Santorum or Paul or someone like them if the masses show “satisfaction” with a lousy candidate just because he’s not the other guy. That’s how evil prevails. You are tricked into taking 2 steps back instead of 3, but you’re still on your way to hell. An extreme analogy, I know, but you see my point? Perot commanded 19% of the vote in 1992 as I recall. A third party option is not inconceivable, but attitudes have to change. The presidency has gotten, arguably, progressively worse since Reagan. Maybe it’s time to stop trying the same strategy. The immediate danger posed by Obama can still be fought at other levels, legislatively, civilly, and there are still battles in the courts. Now, I’m not a psychic, so maybe Romney would somehow be best for the future of American citizens. But I think 3rd party vote must be considered if someone wants to make an educated decision.

Well, if Romney wins then it is true that Romney will probably run again in 2016. But if he wins and then at times that aren’t election time (imagine that) we then make it clear that we want a decent candidate, we might get Santorum or similar in 2020.

Also I’m not sure that voting for Bush in 2004 directly lead to Obama now. I mean, obviously if Kerry had won, he’d probably have run again in 2008, but there’s no reason why Obama wouldn’t be pulling his hopey-changey crstuff right now and end up doing the same thing but 4 years later.

Again, the question is: is the chance at making a point by voting third party or not voting worth the chance of another 4 years of Obama, a president who is aggressively pro abortion on an unprecedented scale, is attacking religious freedom, and generally aggressively supports the wrong side on nearly every single essential issue there is? I think the answer is no.

 

[PTL]

There is no lesser evil. Romney /Ryan ticket is against the evil. The evil is on the abortion, rationing seniors, gay marriage, class hatred, numerous regulations to kill the business, taking away religious liberty …

 

[gnjsdad]

I’ve been told by partisans for both men that an abstention, which I intend, is a default vote for the other candidate! Can’t win, so I’ll just continue my course of action with no malice to either candidate.

I’m in the same boat. I have no intention of voting for either Obama or Romney. In fact, it can be argued that participating in this sham is an exercise in material cooperation with evil, because no matter who wins, we’ll still have abortion, contraception, “gay marriage”, rampant pornography, war threats, and economic exploitation of the weak by the strong.

IMO, these evils have taken root in the culture. Politics can’t cure them. Only spiritual weapons can give us hope. Conversion, not politics, is the only answer. We are in for a very very long fight and it won’t be solved by one election.

 

[edwest2]

Do we vote for the President who:

Supports the continued killing of millions of unborn babies?

Supports same-sex “marriage”?

There is no law where the Federal government can force American citizens to buy any product or service, yet this President wants Catholics to act against their conscience and religion by forcing the HHS Mandate on us.

He is not doing anything to help job creation in America for Americans.

The other candidate is against the killing of the unborn and does not support same-sex marriage, and the same for his Vice Presidential running mate, Paul Ryan.

Romney on the issues:

mittromney.com/issues/values

About Paul Ryan:

ncregister.com/daily-news/paul-ryan-catholic-who-looks-to-churchs-social-teaching-tapped-as-romney-ru/

Peace,
Ed

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

Do we vote for the President who:

Supports the continued killing of millions of unborn babies?

Supports same-sex “marriage”?

There is no law where the Federal government can force American citizens to buy any product or service, yet this President wants Catholics to act against their conscience and religion by forcing the HHS Mandate on us.

He is not doing anything to help job creation in America for Americans.

The other candidate is against the killing of the unborn and does not support same-sex marriage, and the same for his Vice Presidential running mate, Paul Ryan.

Romney on the issues:

mittromney.com/issues/values

About Paul Ryan:

ncregister.com/daily-news/paul-ryan-catholic-who-looks-to-churchs-social-teaching-tapped-as-romney-ru/

Peace,
Ed

Or, we vote for the best candidate according to our faith formed consciences; which may be neither of the two major parties.

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

I’m in the same boat. I have no intention of voting for either Obama or Romney. In fact, it can be argued that participating in this sham is an exercise in material cooperation with evil, because no matter who wins, we’ll still have abortion, contraception, “gay marriage”, rampant pornography, war threats, and economic exploitation of the weak by the strong.

IMO, these evils have taken root in the culture. Politics can’t cure them. Only spiritual weapons can give us hope. Conversion, not politics, is the only answer. We are in for a very very long fight and it won’t be solved by one election.

 

[ProVobis]

My personal opinion is this, for what it’s worth.

Had this principle been followed all along in the primaries, Romney would probably not have ended up the Republican nominee in the first place. Where was the outcry when people were voting for etch-a-sketch pro-life/pro-choice (depending on the office he’s running for) Romney when polls showed Ron Paul or Rick Santorum had almost the same or better chance to beat Obama in many key states?

It looks like I’ll be sitting on the sidelines again this next election.

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

My personal opinion is this, for what it’s worth.

Had this principle been followed all along in the primaries, Romney would probably not have ended up the Republican nominee in the first place. Where was the outcry when people were voting for etch-a-sketch pro-life/pro-choice (depending on the office he’s running for) Romney when polls showed Ron Paul or Rick Santorum had almost the same or better chance to beat Obama in many key states?

It looks like I’ll be sitting on the sidelines again this next election.

 

[He_Man]

Who says there are only 2 options? That is lie. Sure, you’ll get the “you’re throwing away your vote” crowd getting mad at you. But voting for either of the “two parties” ensures that we perpetuate the failed system that we’ve had that gave birth to disastrous presidencies, and the invasive gestapo, anti-Catholic government we have today. The problem with U.S. government is not the D or R occupant per se. It is systemic. We embolden collusion among the “two parties” by accepting the idea that it has to be either one or the other guy. The D & R false dichotomy should be destroyed. Assuming that our votes actually count…

Using a single non-vote to cause change when no one is aware of the larger reasons does nothing. If you want to mount a campaign to end two-party politics, great - I’d endorse that.

But to simply quietly not vote affects nothing, much like not buying a product as protest. At a minimum, a letter to the company needs to explain why they lost your business.

 

[Dawnia]

Voting for the lesser of two evils implies that both candidates are an equal amount of evil. I don’t agree that they are equal. I believe Obama takes that prize hands down. While I would prefer a better candidate than Romney, he is the only viable candidate. If he turns out just a ******…I’ll vote for someone else in 4 years.