Monday, November 5, 2012

Uninteresteds Should Stay Home

Jeff Greenfield writes an excellent article for Yahoo News in which he urges the undecided not to vote. COTTonLINE agrees, with one proviso.

There are two kinds of undecideds: those who aren't interested and don't care versus those who are genuinely torn between the attractions of the two candidates. For the first group, the uninvolved, I believe Greenfield is correct - stay home.

For the second group, those who, for example, like Obama's view on abortion but prefer Romney's view on government size and spending, I want that group to make a decision. This second group are informed voters who just can't find a party that encompasses their views.

I empathize, I'm in that second group. I've voted for centrist Democrats - not many, but more than one. Mostly I vote Republican, as this blog reveals, but sometimes I have to hold my nose to do it.

Mostly I understand why the party has to encompass values to which I do not subscribe. It's in order to get enough voters inside its "big tent" to win elections. Both parties do it, it is the downside of a two party system.