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[quote=Anonymous]TMWAU, I hear what you're saying, and I have used some variation of that argument several times myself, as an excuse for not voting, for not being a vegetarian (the animal's already dead, so why not eat it?), etc.  And of course, statistically it is extraordinarily unlikely that any state will come down to one vote.  But under your rationale, it's pointless for anyone, anywhere, to vote, because any one individual vote is statistically meaningless.  And while that may be true, it's not exactly the best civics lesson.  (I understand you're not advocating not voting, and that you are arguing the opposite, in fact.)

When you break it down to the individual, it makes all the sense in the world to vote based exclusively on principle.  I'm sure many, if not most of the Nader voters viewed it like you do - my one vote won't matter, so let me help him try to get to the minuimum required vote to get federal funding.  They were wrong.  Or rather, 538 (one half of one percent of Nader's voters) collectively were wrong - if they had voted a different way, we'd live in a very different world right now.  I bet that if you did a survey of those voters, with the benefit of hindsight, you'd easily find 538 who's like to change their votes.

I suspect a lot of this comes down to personality type, rather than ideology.  I'm risk averse, a little pessimistic, and more likely to manage against the worst possible outcome than seek the best possible result.  I am motivated more by a fear of losing that a desire to win.  I fear the consequences of Republican control of all three branches of government (yes, I'm including the Supreme Court) more than I want to vote for my preferred candidate.  I'd guess that you're more optimistic, less risk averse, and motivated by a desire to win.  Or maybe I'm just a shitty armchair psychologist.  [/quote]

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