Yesterday I went and did the early voting thing down at the courthouse. Early voting is used in West Virginia and a few other states so no one has the excuse that on Election Day they were too tied up to vote.
There were several other candidates on the ballot for president besides Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum, Obama and McCain, so even for the disaffected there are options. Nader is there of course, and many others but if you do want to make a statement by voting but not for the two party system (which is not mandated by the Constitution, FYI) consider the Mountain Party.
There are a group of environmentalists whose primary platform is opposition to coal mining by the mountaintop removal method (a more drastic form of strip mining). The election gives them a platform for getting their message out.
In order to be on the ballot they have to run a national or statewide candidate, so they have one for President and Governor.
Even if you are jacked up and believe it will make a difference who gets elected President and want to vote for Obama or the other guy (who is going to bring Pa l in with him), at least consider voting for the Mountain Party candidate for Governor. In West Virginia, Manchin is going to win by a landslide in any case so no worry about making a difference, which might be there if you are an Obama supporter.
You might be worried about finding your name in the headline of this story. :-)
