From an article posted on Mar 22, 2011 on the website of WNDU-Channel 16:
After losing a photo-finish to incumbent Joe Donnelly just months ago, Republican Jackie Walorski is looking for a rematch in Indiana’s 2nd District congressional race… The former state representative lost to Donnelly in November, due in part to the five percent of votes that went to Libertarian Mark Vogel. Walorski says she’s learned a lot since then.
Good stuff!
yes, “belonged to them”. I think I will scream.
LP in Ohio frequently has these questions. Finally, to help our team with creative answers to the insanity of “wasted vote” or “stealing a vote”, we created some responses and posted to lpo.org
Go to lpo.org and click on left menu bar called “About the LPO”. THen look for “myths” section. Lots of potential answers and analogies.
Kevin
“The former state representative lost to Donnelly in November, due in part to the five percent of votes that went to Libertarian Mark Vogel.”
Yeah, I don’t think that actually says the votes belonged to the major parties.
Paulie,
That link goes to the correct page, but it is tabbed and opens to the “comments” tab. Click on the “story” tab.
I don’t see the article at all. Following the link http://www.wndu.com/localnews/headlines/Walorski_to_run_for_2nd_district_in_2012_118418229.html?storySection=comments
takes me to a clip of a TV interview with Walorski. I’ve listened to it twice and didn’t hear Libertarians mentioned at all. What am I missing?
The article doesn’t seem to include any “belong” language.
It simply says that Vogel’s votes partly account for Walorski’s loss.
And that’s true as far as it goes — had the people who voted for Vogel instead voted for Walorski, Walorski would have had more votes.
Yep, it’s a completely erroneous assumption. The whole “taking” or especially “stealing” votes crap is very obnoxious, but the second choice of Libertarian voters who have a second choice is pretty evenly splits between Democrats and Republicans:
http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/nc-poll-8-of-liberals-6-of-moderates-4-of-conservatives-support-libertarian-beitler
http://www.lpo.org/news/press-releases/233-libertarian-voters-come-from-democratic-and-republican-parties-nearly-equally.html
Didn’t Indiana Libertarians also run as anti-war candidates against the relatively conservative Democrats? I think it is disingenuous to say a Libertarian would only hurt Walorski.
Their entitlement mentality begins with themselves, but it doesn’t end there.
oh right, because anything other than a vote for a donkephant is a “wasted” vote that was “stolen” from one of the two mouths of the to headed donkephant creature…
Belonged to them?
And here I thought votes belonged to voters that cast them.
Perhaps dispense with the elections and let the major parties work out their differences around a table in a smoke filled room?