The Lesser Evil: Enemy of the Greater Good

In an opinion piece at the Athens Banner-Herald, Jeffrey Moss argues against lesser-of-two-evils voting:

Most of the folks I talk to don't even actually vote for a politician, they vote against the other guy - or gal. They've been conned into voting for what they consider to be the lesser of two evils. Sadly, most voters won't even consider casting a vote for a third-party or independent candidate, for fear their vote will be "wasted" - or worse yet, will be taken from the not-so-bad candidate, thus essentially giving a vote to the really bad candidate. If this really were true, we'd still be having political contests between the Whigs and the Federalists. Our two-party system needs a makeover . . .

I wrote to state Sen. Ralph Hudgens, R-Hull, a few years ago and asked if he would be willing to introduce legislation that would make it easier for independent and third-party candidates to qualify for elections. After all, I reasoned, if a candidate is secure in his or convictions, what's the harm in a little competition? Hudgens responded by indicating that having more than two parties on the ballot would make it "crowded." All Georgians should take offense at that response. One of our elected officials believes his constituents aren't intelligent enough to decipher a ballot with more than two choices [emphasis added] . . . Is voting Republican year after year and expecting fiscal responsibility sane? How about voting Democrat year after year and expecting social reform?

The major parties have evolved into more of a ruling class than a representative class. Continuing to send incumbents to Washington and the statehouse is insane. Voting for an independent isn't a wasted vote. Voting independent sends a message to both parties.