A completely sincere question: if you’re among the over 3713 voters who cast a ballot for Charlie Manolakis who are not also a registered members of the Green Party (there were 808 Greens in CD 8 according to the Secretary of State and as of nowish, 4521 people voted for Manolakis), why did you make that decision?
Acknowledging that neither candidate was perfect, but also with the understanding that Manolakis barely participated in the campaign process other than somewhat quixotic appearances at the debates (he spent the weekend before the election at Cape Cod, for example), what made you vote for him?
No judgement, just trying to understand the thought process.
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2012.
I am a registered Republican who voted for Mr. Manolakis yesterday for one simple reason: so I can continue looking myself in the mirror. The GOP does not represent me and has not for many years, particularly as regards its fervent support of religious lunatics and corporations, so after failing to stop Mr. Kelly’s candidacy in the primary I felt compelled to vote against him.
I do not support the Democratic party because they kowtow to the same corporate interests as the GOP stalwarts, so this leaves me with the Green Party as the only entity I don’t have to hold my nose to cast a ballot for. Call it futile if you must, but at least I can still sleep at night.
I’m a registered Independent, and I voted Green this time. Kelly is a far-right extremist who doesn’t seem very bright and doesn’t understand the separation of church and state, while Barber is a conservative Blue Dog who supports further militarization of the border, including the use of drones, which is exactly the wrong response. I don’t see much difference between the two mainstream parties, and I want other choices. Voting third-party is the best way to make that statement, and it looks like other folks agree.
Manolakis was the smartest guy in the room during the debates. I’m registered Green, but I have to admit that I voted for Barber. I did so only because of my extreme fear and loathing of Jesse Kelly. Fear can make you do things you would rather not. I expect Barber to suck up to the two military bases in his district like Gabby did, and he’ll probably do anything Homeland Security wants in exchange for an occasional helicopter ride and photo op like she did. But Barber is the lesser of two evils and not my ideal candidate. And I hope he understands that my support is conditional.
I didn’t fear any of the a-holes;but Manolakis seemed like the smartest Greek in the room.The other two made obongo look smart…..
Because the “greeks shall inherit the earth.” Or maybe next time.
I voted for Charlie because he did not spend a ton of money on useless propoganda and I thought he deserved support for offering a choice outside the dominant 2-party system.
Why don’t we adopt Instant Runoff Voting to replace the winner-take-all rules we use? That way, voters rank order their choices (1st, 2nd, 3rd..). If no candidate earns a majority of the vote on the count of everyone’s first choices, those voters who liked the least popular candidate get their first choice thrown out and their second choice vote is counted instead. It neutralizes the “spoiler” threat. IRV is used by sports leagues and even by some Republican clubs.
The above comments pretty well summarize it–except for the one who let fear guide their choice. Kelly is just too far out there for anyone with an IQ above room temperature to take seriously, and Barber is just another status quo stooge. Charlie actually understands the issues, and was proposing realistic alternatives which we desperately need as the globe heats up, the water runs out, and the infinite growth paradigm continues its self-destructive path.