by John Gregg
So why did I vote for Charlie Crist in the Florida US Senate race? I felt that I had too. Kendrick Meek who was the candidate I was backing was so far behind in the polls that I felt it fruitless to vote for him. Former President Bill Clinton even pleaded with Meek to withdraw from the race so that Meek supporters would vote for Crist in the hopes of keeping Marco Rubio from winning.
People say that voting doesn't matter. In some case I'm inclined to agree. However...you can maximize the power of your vote to prevent candidates that you don't like from winning.
Flashback to the 2000 Presidential Election. I was unable to vote until 7 PM. Living in Upstate New York at the time, Al Gore already had New York signed, sealed, and delivered. To nobody's great suprise.. So...I voted for Ralph Nader. Who was my guy all along. Had I lived somewhere else, I would have voted for Gore.
Flashback to the 2004 Presidential Election....this time I was living in Florida. My candidate was once again Ralph Nader. However...the race was so close in Florida that I could not risk voting for him. I had to throw my support behind John Kerry, a weak candidate at best. I just could not see George Bush win.
What time was it? Who was leading the race? Did I like my candidate more than I hate his opponent? Did my candidate have a reasonable shot of winning?
These are all important questions we need to ask ourselves as we enter the voting booth. It isn't acceptable to say: "I'm not going to vote, because my guy isn't going to win." Or: "My candidate isn't going to win anyways." You can still influence the outcome of the election by voting smartly and strategically.
Marco Rubio as a US Senator is such a frightening prospect to me, that I was willing to vote for Charlie Crist. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
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