Will You Waste Your Vote?

Is it possible?

You can waste time, money, and food….can you waste a vote?
Can the effort to go to the polls be squandered?
John McCain hopes so.

Even more than in the general election, a vote in the primary process is powerful. It is at the primary level that the true voice of the individual is heard. For at the primary, it is not about defeating the opposing party but about supporting the candidate with whom you most identify – the candidate who will promote the issues you believe in. When the national convention takes place and majority rule chooses the party candidate, loyal voters will make the decision to back their party, vote independent, or stay home. But, when you vote in the primary, the field is open. The primary is the sounding board of America. It is your only chance to vote for the candidate most like you.

In the primary, we’re not yet running the “big” race; we are choosing the runners. We owe it to ourselves and to our country to choose the runner we believe in. A primary election where voters are apathetic will result in a weak runner and a weak race. A strong race is forged from strong blood and strong battles.

Let’s lay it on the table.

There is no such thing as a wasted primary vote……if you vote your gut. The way to waste your vote is to stay home or back a candidate you do not believe in. Fall into the easiest rut and vote for whomever popular opinion says will win, and your vote will be truly wasted.

If the predictions are correct and John McCain is the inevitable Republican nominee….why vote for him? He’s going to get it anyway. He doesn’t need your vote. It’s just extra icing on a heavily laden cake – needless excess. If you feel Mike Huckabee more closely represents you and your convictions, let your voice be heard by casting your vote for him. If the pundits are correct, you’ll have the chance to vote for McCain in the fall when it will “really count.” This way, you get the best of both worlds – you can have your own say and you are not “hurting” the general election. That’s quite a win.

When it comes down to it, you can’t really afford to give your vote to someone else, to lend it to the forecasters who predict what the outcome will be. If you do that, the power is gone. Then it isn’t a voice; it’s an echo. An echo of another person’s opinion.

Will you waste your vote? No. You’ll use your vote to make a choice, to express your convictions, and you’ll feel proud. On the other hand, wasteful voters have nothing of which to be proud.