Irresponsible
And, no, while there's some echo of the above applicable to myself, I'm referring to statements made Thursday by Jesse Ventura. Claiming to care for neither Kerry nor Bush he's publicly opting not to vote. The statements were made while addressing roughly 1200 students at the University of Illinois in Urbana. He's opposed to voting for Kerry because he expects his taxes to be raised, while Bush's stance on social issues such as gay marriage and his theistic blockage of stem cell research. The anti-Bush comments fit in with my many reasons for wanting the Dubya crowd out of the White House, while the Kerry ones strike me as simplistic and playing into the hands of the GOP by suggesting that most of us will automatically see tax increases under Kerry. So far what I've seen only says that Kerry would intend to end the very high income tax breaks that have been put into place, recognizing the social contract that should exist between a government and those who've most greatly benefitted from it.
Had he advocated protest votes - looking to a Green, Libertarian or Reform Party candidate (admittedly, I'm not sure what the status of each is in Minnesota this election cycle) - I would have some respect for that, but based on what he instead said what respect I might have had for the man has all but vanished... much as such respect as I once had for Colin Powell has as the Bush administration's rolled on, and for John McCain as he appears to have gone into full whore mode for the GOP since their national convention.
There are choices to be made if one's to have the right to complain afterwards. A citizen who can vote but doesn't has stilled his own voice where it might count. He doesn't deserve to be heard elsewhere.
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