He never misses an opportunity to imply that I'm promiscuous. And whenever he does, I always leap on the chance to flirt with him. It's a good dynamic I think.

I already said Huntsman, unless he dropped out.

But you don't have to vote. Nor do you have to live in America. Nor do you have to vote for either of the major parties. Vote for yourself. Send letters to all your friends and be a write-in candidate. Form your own political party.

I don't understand how people can say "man the paradigm is broken, there's a genuine feeling for change, etc" then say "whelp, let's hope somebody goes and embodies it". If being a politician is easy, well-paid, know-nothing job, why aren't you guys doing it?

Either a) the majority of people agree with you, you can run and you'll be President; or b) people don't agree with you and you can moan to all the other people about how the brainwashed masses manufacture their own doom, like you do now.

"To be entirely honest, everything in the states is just so far to the right, I actually cannot conceive of voting for any of them. It's rather like someone asking, "If you had to choose would you rather swallow Arsenic, Strychnine, or Cyanide?" They're all deadly poisons. So it's all more or less the same at the end of the day. No matter which I choose, I've contributed to myself being totally fucked."

No offense, but that's a really ignorant summation. There's a big difference between people who want to privatize social security and destroy the welfare state, and those who do not. Between those who want to ban Muslims from public office, and those who do not. Between those want to tax the working poor ("broaden the tax base") and those who want to raise the tax rate on the richest 1%. Between those who want to destroy unions, and those who want to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Between those who just eliminated the ban on openly gay people in the military, and those who want to reinstitute it.

I could go on and on. Leftists who say that neither choice is left enough, and therefore don't vote, are simply surrendering to the far-right and effectively voting for the far-right. You have to be someone of privilege in order to be able to afford the horrors the far-right will inflict on this country.

"But you don't have to vote. Nor do you have to live in America."

He doesn't. He lives in Canada. The paradigm in Canada is supposedly not broken.

@ Putin - Oh no no! You mistake what I meant, mostly because I did not express my opinion very well.

What I meant by that was the broad political spectrum has shifted so far to the right in America that there is very little for a leftist to choose from among the field of *Republican candidates*. I am an Obama supporter (at least, in so far as I can be, seeing as I'm a non resident of the US) and of the Democratic party in general and/or of any independent but left leaning US political figures. I just don't see anyone in the field of Republican presidential contenders who doesn't, as you say, "want to privatize social security and destroy the welfare state,... want to ban Muslims from public office,... want to tax the working poor ... want to destroy unions, ... want to reinstitute [DADT]." I'm not advocating not voting for Democrats or other liberal or social democratic or otherwise left or even centre leaning American politicians. I'm simply expressing a complete inability to choose between the field of Republican presidential contenders. A huge difference, I think you'll find.

To amend your point about Canada, I'd say "The paradigm in Canada is supposedly not as broken, yet." - And even if it does get that broken I'll keep voting NDP (as long as they remain the best choice for my politics).

Also not all the US Republican Presidential contenders want to do all of those things, but really, any one of them is kind of a deal breaker for me.

Oh, ok, I misunderstood because you said everything in the states. On the Republican field I entirely agree, it is picking between poisons, or types of manure. No offense to poisons or manure.

To be entirely honest, I suspect Romney might be ...slightly more reasonable than he's indicating now, as a president. But even then there's just too much wrong for me to really get behind the idea of a Romney presidency. It's just, he was Governor of Massachusetts, which isn't exactly in the Bible belt. So he's probably more accustomed to working from the centre than the rest of the Republican field. Still my skin is kinda crawling right now at having typed that.

Romney will say anything to get elected. Since he's running for national office, he's going to pander to his psychotic base. And since the tea party runs Congress, etc, he will cater to their agenda if elected. McCain was once supposedly a "moderate" (not really), remember that? Then he unleashed Sarah Palin, a Buchananite dominionist, on the world, and after that he went completely hard right.

I bet Romney himself is banking on Americans thinking the same thing of him that I do. That overall he seems the most moderate in the Republican field, despite the position he's taking now.

If I can go a little off topic, though, to prove iIm not totally cynical about US politics I like Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, even if she does come off as overly populist and a little bit pandering, I think she also gets the problem and is kinda the assertive voice the Democrats need standing up against the Republican party.

Why do people write off the Tea Party movement? There are thousands of these people; you can't say they're all insane. It's very patronising if you think that thousands of Americans - intelligent Americans, no doubt - are capable of enjoying a far-right point of view.

If you dislike people displaying apathy towards the democratic process, you have to at least applaud that these people believe in something, even if you don't agree with it.

@Maf - NDP, not Green? I'm pleasantly surprised.

I admire the Greens, but single issue parties are too simplistic for my tastes.

I agree, I admire the Greens and was glad that May finally won her seat, but overall, for the past several elections I have voted NDP hoping for a Liberal-NDP coalition or cooperative government of some sort. Then of course last election cycle that all changed...

I just logged on and saw this - enjoyed reading what you think of the GOP candidiates on the American side of the Atlantic. Like Putin, I wouldn't want to pick any of them - but I agree with obi that Mit Romney does so far seem the least detestable of the bunch - though part of me thinks if 50%+ of Americans really think it's a good idea to vote for someone like Perry, Bachmann, or Palin, to lead their country then let them have it for 4 years so they can screw up America completely. Maybe then people (hopefully) wake up to the idiocy of far-right Republicanism in their country and see that things like gay people fighting for their country, Muslims playing an active role in politics rather than being marginalised to the point of terrorism, and free universal healthcare for all are actually positive things to be desired not scorned or feared.

Then again, Bachmann would provide some amazing material for Jibjab videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adc3MSS5Ydc

Just in case some of you haven't seen these, two more excellent videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVFdAJRVm94


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKYe1KiwywE

The lesser of evils is still evil.

but less evil.

asking which party you will vote for is like asking which testicle you'd like to be kicked in.

Bachmann because she can't win in 2012.

I'm rather hoping for a Republican win next time. I work in flood defence these days, and a Republican boost to global warming will do wonders for my job security :D

Would Bachmann be elected... ever?

I suspect that short of being elected VP to Joan of Arc that Bachmann would have no chance in hell of getting anywhere ever.

Gary Johnson is closest to what I like politically - which means he doesn't have a chance in hell of getting the GOP nod

^that. Voting RP2012 and waiting for Gary Johnson to take over the liberty movement in Paul's place

"asking which party you will vote for is like asking which testicle you'd like to be kicked in."

Thanks for helping the lunatics win. Hope you don't have relatives on Social Security.

Do-nothing leftists are equivalent to rightwingers.

"Why do people write off the Tea Party movement? There are thousands of these people; you can't say they're all insane. It's very patronising if you think that thousands of Americans - intelligent Americans, no doubt - are capable of enjoying a far-right point of view."

Intelligent? Have you seen these people's signs? "Get government out of my Social Security". It's all astroturfed bs. There's nothing authentic about it. It was concocted by the Koch billionaires and Fox News. Real protests, like Occupy Wall Street, get ignored. While the tea party "rallies" are deliberately inflated.

And I'd rather have apathetics than dangerous people who show up to rallies with guns.

The true people I have respect for in the Tea Party movement are the rich pundits who have convinced thousands of people to blindly spout out things that make no sense and act against their self-interest.

Glenn Beck is a fucking genius. But what he's doing with his power is disgusting.

@ Putin33

"Get government out of my Social Security"

What's so unintelligent about that? Calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme isn't too far off from the truth.

"There's nothing authentic about it. It was concocted by the Koch billionaires and Fox News"

You lose all credibility when you pull the FOX News card. What's next? The race card? That one usually gets pulled on the Tea Party.

"dangerous people who show up to rallies with guns."

Dangerous? Has anyone gotten shot yet? Nope. Guns aren't dangerous. People are dangerous. If I put my gun on the sidewalk, there is no way that the gun could kill someone.

There is nothing wrong with them bringing guns to rallies, as long as everyone carrying a gun has been screened and is properly qualified to carry a firearm.