2008 Presidential Candidates

[Guitar Shark]

OK, this is a serious question... Who do YOU want to run for president in 2008? Whether you tend to vote Republican or Democratic, please give your top 3 choices for the nominee.

I'd like to see a list of the best candidates, and then later on we can compare our lists to the actual candidates.

I haven't done my own research yet and I'm hoping that some of you can educate me on the legitimate contenders.

[NightProwler]

Bob Kerrey is a man I would be proud to have as my President.

[Guitar Shark]

Originally posted by NightProwler
Bob Kerrey is a man I would be proud to have as my President.

I've always liked Kerrey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Kerrey

[NightProwler]

He was Governor of Nebraska when I was stationed there (USAF).

He is a genuine war hero unlike bush or kerry.

[m_dixon1984]

I'm already disillusioned by this thread. Only Republican or Democrat listed as choices? Americans really need to open their eyes and minds to some of the alternatives. You'll only get more of the same government if you elect more of the same Republicans and Democrats.

If he runs...vote Nader. Or consider the Libertarian or Green parties. Stop being sheep, of the donkey or elephant kind, and vote for substantial change to your government. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

M

[FORD]

My first choice remains Howard Dean. But he voluntarily took himself out of the running when he took over as DNC chairman.

The strongest ticket I see at the moment is Gore/Edwards. These are the guys who have been out talking to the American people, and delivering the best speeches of their careers. And more importantly, it's not just words, it's the causes they are committed to. Gore with the environment, and Edward's fight against poverty and to restore "one America for all of us".

Gore and Edwards also represent the best of the last two tickets, both of whom actually won their elections if you follow the facts. Given the damage done to the country by the Bush Criminal Empire who better to step up than the guys who were unfairly denied the opportunity?

A pro war/corporatist pandering DLC candidate will NOT win the election this time, and even attempting to nominate such a person is a waste of time and money. The American people have had enough of this shit, and they will vote for real change.

[NightProwler]

dean is your idea of "an alternative"?

LOL

And didn't you learn anything with nader in florida in 2000? A vote for nader was as good as a vote for bush!


What are your objections to Bob Kerrey?

[Guitar Shark]

Originally posted by m_dixon1984
I'm already disillusioned by this thread. Only Republican or Democrat listed as choices? Americans really need to open their eyes and minds to some of the alternatives. You'll only get more of the same government if you elect more of the same Republicans and Democrats.

If he runs...vote Nader. Or consider the Libertarian or Green parties. Stop being sheep, of the donkey or elephant kind, and vote for substantial change to your government. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

M

I did not mean to suggest that responses should be limited to Republicans or Democrats. Beyond Nader, what Libertarian or Green candidates interest you?

[Guitar Shark]

Originally posted by FORD
The strongest ticket I see at the moment is Gore/Edwards. These are the guys who have been out talking to the American people, and delivering the best speeches of their careers. And more importantly, it's not just words, it's the causes they are committed to. Gore with the environment, and Edward's fight against poverty and to restore "one America for all of us".

I think Gore has been branded a "loser" and stands little to no chance of winning. Edwards is a more viable candidate IMO.

FORD, what are your thoughts on Russ Feingold? Has he indicated any interest in running?

[FORD]

Originally posted by Guitar Shark
I think Gore has been branded a "loser" and stands little to no chance of winning. Edwards is a more viable candidate IMO.

FORD, what are your thoughts on Russ Feingold? Has he indicated any interest in running?

Gore is even better positioned than Nixon was in 1968 for a comeback. All LBJ did was fuck up Vietnam. Chimpy has fucked up the entire country.

As for Russ Feingold, I have no problem with him, and I'd gladly vote for him if he were the nominee. But I don't think he's got a shot for the following reasons:

1) Voted against the Patriot Act. I respect him for it, but the reich wing will have a field day with it and call him "soft on terra"

2) He's percieved as a "Liberal". Again, fine with me, but not with the reich wing spin machine.

3) Senators don't get elected.

4) He's been divorced twice. The "morality" hypocrites will have a field day with that one. Never mind that Reagan was fucking Nancy while he was still married to Jane Wyman.

5) He's Jewish. Shouldn't mean a fucking thing in the 21st century, but it does. They were questioning Kerry's Catholicism in 2004 just like they did JFK's in 1960.

[Guitar Shark]

Interesting.

So, Lounge, I deliberately avoided using the poll feature for this thread. Hope you're happy

[FORD]

Originally posted by NightProwler
dean is your idea of "an alternative"?

Dean is my idea of a Democrat who doesn't take shit from neocon fascists and actually has a PLAN for moving this country in the proper direction.



And didn't you learn anything with nader in florida in 2000? A vote for nader was as good as a vote for bush!

Who the Hell said anything about Nader? :confused:


What are your objections to Bob Kerrey?

His involvement in the 9-11 commission whitewash is reason enough.

[m_dixon1984]

Originally posted by Guitar Shark
I did not mean to suggest that responses should be limited to Republicans or Democrats. Beyond Nader, what Libertarian or Green candidates interest you?

I'm not really up on who the Green and Libertarian candidates are in your country. I listed the parties simply as reasonable alternatives to the big two. I've always had an appreciation for Nader's positions and his fight against the status-quo in the US political scene, regardless of whether he was an independant or a Green (which I believe he was for a while).

Someone else said a vote for Nader was a vote for the Republicans. It may have looked that way but that's mainly because of how weak the third party alternatives really are in the US. Truth is a vote for Nader was simply not a vote for the other two and a vote for change. Nader supporters should still be proud to have voted their conscience and in support of substantive change to how America is governed. It's the attitude that voting for anyone other than a Rep. or Dem. is wasting a vote that really fuels my disillusionment.

This site is so full of "sheep" talk, when it comes to spammy fans, that I'm surprised to see everyone sheepishly discussing Dem, and Rep. candidates and no one else.

Hey, these are just the disillusioned rantings of a foreign observer to your political process. Hopefully 2008 will see better things for your country's politics.

M

[FORD]

The difference between the US and Canada is that we don't have a parlimentary system, so the whole structure is built around two parties no matter what you do. For example, if you had a Senate here made up of 50 Republicans, 30 Democrats, and 20 Greens, it might be a more liberal body overall, with the 20 Greens involved, but that doesn't mean shit as long as the Republicans have the majority.

And isn't it true that most of the political power in Canada is still held by the "Liberals" (who really aren't Liberal) and the "Conservatives" who are morphing into Neocons/northern division. If I moved to BC, I'd probably vote NDP myself, but do they (or the Quebec party) really have that much political power?

[Nickdfresh]

The U.S. system is heavily stilted towards two parties. That's it! The trade-off was stability over a more pluralistic political system where everybodies' particular outlook is represented. No one likes that, but it was thought that the alternative would inevitably be a gov't similar to Italy's, where the gov't of unstable coalitions can fall when the wind blows above 5mph.

I think federal systems like Germany's have shown you can have a multiparty coalition gov't and still have stability. But so far, in the U.S., the third-party only manages to drag down its closet incarnation of Repubs or Dems.