punkadixon

I agree that Hitchens is good at arguing, which is much of what I was getting at. However, I don't think he has much ability to argue for something. He lacks vision now. I think he broke from a tradition rich in hope and inspiration, a tradition which provides a sound basis for a commitment to social justice. Needless to say, his writing is a little hollow and crippled after that.

I think Libertarians are pretty misguided in their economic views, but I tend to respect them for being intelligent individuals. They are opposed to big government and usually socially liberal, so we agree on a few things. I don't agree with some of the analyses they offer (Marxism as big government, etc.). Still, I hope that they maintain some vitality as a political movement - their interest lies in opposing the two party system and they might be able to help break the political deadlock in which we find ourselves.

Note: I think it is more acurately a one-party system. I am thinking of the November elections as a second round of primaries. Yep, you can quote me on that. The differences between the Republicans and the Democrats are smaller than the differences between Bukharin's wing of the Bolsheviks and Trotsky's, for instance...

Yeah, Bush is pretty scary. I agree that there are some differences, which are the basis by which I am going to vote. On some AOL candidate test, I scored 95% compatible with Kerry, 6% with Bush. They didn't ask the right questions obviously, or my Kerry-affinity would have been lower. "Do you think your country should be ruled by one of two insanely rich men who caters to the class interests of the grand bourgeoisie?," for instance, would have lowered it.

Still, it isn't as wide of a gap between the candidates as I would like. Much of it is rhetorical. Bush advocates some pretty crazy laws and defends some pretty crazy policies though.

I would have voted Socialist as a protest vote to send a message that the Left is not happy with the two choices. Unfortunately, the votes are counted here, as the Socialists are not certified as a write-in in this state. That means I vote for the guy who wants to get rid of the Patriot Act...