I find debates like this one (from Democracy Now!, 9/07/2012) incredibly frustrating. After laying out, in meticulous and eloquent detail, all of the reasons Obama is the more "effective evil," Glen Ford concedes by the segment's end that he will be voting to re-elect Obama anyway. No mention of Stein, or for that matter, any third-party candidates. Dyson asks Ford if he will be encouraging people to "stay home" on Election Day rather than vote for Obama, as if those are the only two options. A frustrating, cop-out of a conclusion to an otherwise intelligent, spirited discourse.
Update: It has been brought to my attention that I may have misunderstood Ford's statement in this video. He does not actually say that he plans to vote for Barack Obama. His actual words, when asked by Professor Dyson, "What do you encourage them [voters] to do [on Election Day]?" are:
"Well, we are certainly not encouraging people to vote for the more effective evil [meaning Obama]. But, however, members of my family and friends and people that we at Black Agenda Report deal with closely, politically, will vote for President Obama. All we ask of them is that they not tell any lies about his record in the process..."
Ford does not include himself in that list of people. Nowhere does he, as I erroneously indicated, say "I will be voting for Obama." However, I believe his statement that "members of my family" are supporting Obama--despite all of the clear reasons, which he lays out, not to--is vague enough to make my error understandable. That being said, my point about the lack of acknowledgement of any third-party candidates still stands.
Like Mr. Ford, we at Guerrilla Press are dedicated to telling the truth, and portraying the facts accurately.
Update: It has been brought to my attention that I may have misunderstood Ford's statement in this video. He does not actually say that he plans to vote for Barack Obama. His actual words, when asked by Professor Dyson, "What do you encourage them [voters] to do [on Election Day]?" are:
"Well, we are certainly not encouraging people to vote for the more effective evil [meaning Obama]. But, however, members of my family and friends and people that we at Black Agenda Report deal with closely, politically, will vote for President Obama. All we ask of them is that they not tell any lies about his record in the process..."
Ford does not include himself in that list of people. Nowhere does he, as I erroneously indicated, say "I will be voting for Obama." However, I believe his statement that "members of my family" are supporting Obama--despite all of the clear reasons, which he lays out, not to--is vague enough to make my error understandable. That being said, my point about the lack of acknowledgement of any third-party candidates still stands.
Like Mr. Ford, we at Guerrilla Press are dedicated to telling the truth, and portraying the facts accurately.
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