By Bruce Thompson
Bruce Thompson is an adjunct instructor of philosophy at Palomar College. His Ph.D. is from the University of Colorado. His major emphasis in philosophy is critical thinking, formal logic, and American pragmatism. He is also a poet, violinist, and raiser of back yard chickens
Bruce Thompson is an adjunct instructor of philosophy at Palomar College. His Ph.D. is from the University of Colorado. His major emphasis in philosophy is critical thinking, formal logic, and American pragmatism. He is also a poet, violinist, and raiser of back yard chickens
Vote Your Heart
There has been a lot of discussion recently about who can and cannot win. A woman can’t win; a married gay mayor can’t win; etc. Here is my opinion about that:
I just voted (by mail), and I don't mind saying that I voted for Elizabeth Warren. But, I think much of the wailing and gnashing of teeth about who can win is fueled by political commentators. (Yes, MSNBC, I am looking at you.) What the pundits have, I think, failed to realize is that Democrats are voting their hearts. This largely explains why early polls showed very little tendency to coalesce around a single candidate. Very early in the process we took a look at the field of candidates and said to ourselves, "Hey, none of them are terrible. I could support any one of them. [This was, of course, before Bloomberg entered the race.] And, according to polls, Trump loses to them all. I might as well vote for the candidate I actually prefer rather than trying to be strategic about it. If my favorite doesn't win, I'll vote for whoever does." To my surprise, it seems that a lot more people actually prefer Bernie Sanders than I realized. And I'm okay with that. But, of course, "Old, white Democratic Socialists can't win." Hmmmm. Maybe they can.
I just voted (by mail), and I don't mind saying that I voted for Elizabeth Warren. But, I think much of the wailing and gnashing of teeth about who can win is fueled by political commentators. (Yes, MSNBC, I am looking at you.) What the pundits have, I think, failed to realize is that Democrats are voting their hearts. This largely explains why early polls showed very little tendency to coalesce around a single candidate. Very early in the process we took a look at the field of candidates and said to ourselves, "Hey, none of them are terrible. I could support any one of them. [This was, of course, before Bloomberg entered the race.] And, according to polls, Trump loses to them all. I might as well vote for the candidate I actually prefer rather than trying to be strategic about it. If my favorite doesn't win, I'll vote for whoever does." To my surprise, it seems that a lot more people actually prefer Bernie Sanders than I realized. And I'm okay with that. But, of course, "Old, white Democratic Socialists can't win." Hmmmm. Maybe they can.
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