Ask Jay #12

QUESTION:  Dear Jay, seeing that my vote in the upcoming presidential election really doesn't count, I am considering voting for Ralph Nader. Please advise.
Thank you - Confused in Columbia

To start out with I’ll like to take the extraordinarily unusual step in giving you a personal opinion.  I make it an unspoken rule to always strive for absolute journalistic, psychiatric, and professional objectivity when it comes to dispensing these beautifully golden nuggets of wisdom and advice.  In this case, however, I’m going to make a small exception:

Voting is B.S.  (and I’m not talking about some cheesy piece of paper you picked up from the local community college)

In 2004, when electronic voting machines were first used in a couple of states, there were more complaints about voting issues than ever before.  In 2008, close to 70% of those voting will be using electronic voting machines that have no paper back-up that can be used to verify the count at the end of the day.  For all we know somebody dressed up some computerized Asian take-out menu and is passing it off as a validated tool of democracy.  I bet the fat cats in Washington will be sitting around at the end of election day (November 4rth), smoking Cuban cigars, drinking some Black Label, and laughing.  “Well, Sweet and Sour Chicken got 100 million votes!  Ha!”  Then the play Jenga to figure out who will be the next leader of the free world.

So go ahead and vote for Nader.  It won’t make a lick of a difference but you might sleep better at night knowing that you threw those fat cats an ineffectual “F-You!”  And who knows, maybe the computers will get a glitch and we’ll all be delivered a steaming plate of General Tsao’s on November 5^th.