Breaking the Principled Voter

This is how I feel about the election. From CounterPunch:

When John Kerry emerged victorious a few months ago, two approaches for addressing voters skeptical of his principles lay at his feet: he could court them or try to break them. These are the folk, of several political stripes, fired up about war in Iraq, runaway corporate power, and the Patriot Act, among other issues. Kerry and his party have clearly chosen to try and break these skeptical voters, to show them that their only option is to vote against George W. Bush by selecting Kerry. This risky campaign decision will cost Kerry some votes. But the American People bear a greater risk because the strategy might succeed, leaving Kerry committed to being nothing more than not Bush. Such a hollow victory, however, is exactly what Corporate America seeks.

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It's safe to say that Bush has so enraged me, so scared me that I'm definitely voting for Kerry come November. But I'm not very happy about it. Bush stands for destroying America as quickly as possible: Kerry stands for destroying it slowly, incrementally. The Democratic candidate says nice things that voters want to hear, but make no mistake about it; he's as much beholden to corporate interests as Bush is.

In reality, no one can be elected to the Oval Office under the current system of campaign finance without the blessing of corporate cash. In 2000, I said, "the hell with it; I'm no longer going to play by these rules," and I voted for a candidate whose issues I supported but knew had no chance of winning. This year I'm back to voting my fears instead of my hopes. With any luck, in 2008 I will be able to vote my conscience again. Until then, I'm just another one of those broken principled voters.

Malcolm X once said something to the effect that he distrusted liberals because, even though they publicly denounced social injustice, they were also quietly plotting against African-American interests. I think that, today, such a statement could be extended to include most Americans, whites and people of color alike.

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