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So, as a Californian, in February after the primary, everyone would
ask me,
"Who did you vote for?
The Black, or the Woman?"
in one way or another.
This was such a prevalent question between many of us in the Hollywood
entertainment industry / Los Angeles art community that commonly it
was posed as blatantly as I have quoted above.
And, with great pleasure I would say "Both!".
I would get puzzled looks, and some creative questions, but the answer
very simply came down to "I'm a Green, I voted for Cynthia McKinney!"
(If I were a Democrat, my vote would have been for neither, I was for
the white guy, John Edwards...).
Personally I firmly believe that there should be more than two parties
in American politics, and I exercise those beliefs in my party affiliation.
I also understand the realities of American politics, and have for a
long time. That means I understand that for the most part it comes down
to two party politics.
I also understand, and have for a long time understood, some of the
vote counting apportioning systems like "The Electoral College"
(how the November Presidential Election will be decided) and "Proportional
Representation" (how the Democratic nominee was chosen).
Because I understand these systems of how votes are counted, I tend
to vote somewhere between my conscience, and which candidate I think
will do the best, who is one that will actually get elected.
In 2000, I lived in Massachusetts, and even with my Green vote, I knew
all my Electoral College votes would go to Gore-Lieberman. If there
had been any question how my "real votes" (the dozen or so
representatives from Massachusetts that went to the Electoral College)
were going to go, I would have voted differently.
Now, I live in California. I'm pretty sure where my 50 plus Electoral
College votes are going to go, so I have somewhere between 5 and 7 candidates
to consider (including Cynthia McKinney), since I'm not concerned that
my Electoral College votes will go to four more years of Bush (or worse...).
I would hope the good voting citizens of America would consider the
candidates for what each has to offer.
I do pray that they will grade them on their vision and the ability
to deliver on that vision, and what effect that will have on our country
and the world now and in the future.
Sadly, I realize that some will vote based on other criterion.
So let me make the pitch to Women (like everyone else)...
So, you want a woman as president?
You can't have Hillary (this time), and must wait for McCain to "abdicate"
his presidency!
What are you going to do?
Well, the only woman who has a chance to get the Electoral College votes
to become president is Cynthia McKinney - Presidential Candidate for
the Green Party!
And, all you Latinos, especially the ones that were on the Bill Richardson
bandwagon just because he is Latin, you need to vote Green too.
The Green Vice Presidential candidate, Rosa Clemente, is not just a
Latina, but the only Latino left in the race who has a chance of winning.
So, should I look out for the first Female President, the first Female
Vice President, and the first Green Party President, because they will
obviously get all the Female, and Latino votes (and syphon off some
Black votes) in enough states to get enough Electoral College votes
to take the White House?
While it's mathematically possible, I'm not going to hold my breath...
And as for my vote, it still has not been cast...
Sincerely,
Steven J. Brooks
ColorInAble.com
P.S. The moral of the story for all you "Swing State" voters
is...
VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA!!!
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