Israeli elections a.ka. let's all vote for Olmert! (because he'll win anyway!)

[Loki]

Anyone who's been reading a bit into the Israeli elections knows that most Israeli's who aren't already biased in favor of a certain party have a very hard time trying to figure out who to vote for, myself being one such person.

At least two of my friends hold the view that people should vote for Olmert, since he's most likely to win and therefore supporting him will lead to a strong government that isn't as dependant on forming coalitions as most past governments were. When asked if they'd have voted Hitler in '33, my friends said that Olmert is not an extremist. While I can't find the words to express my criticism of this view, I feel that it's mostly an argument from ignorance.

Has anyone encountered this view before? What do you think of it?

 

[FearlessFreep]

Depends on what you think of the guy. If he would make a servicable leader, then there is a certain amount of sense to the idea of giving him enough of a mandate to weild political authority sensibly. If you think he would be dangerous as a leader then voting for him just 'cause you think he's going to win anyway his foolish. If you think he would be decent but shouldn't be given too much unilateral power but think he's going to win anyway, than vote in a way that doesn't hep him but doesn't really harm his chances either.

The issue really isn't really whether or not you vote for him because he is or is not thought to be the inevitable winner or loser, it's simply *what* kind of political power someone gets depending on *how* they win and whether you think that person should have that kind of power.

If you are resigned to the fact that he will will and you think a solid political position of leadership is better than which of he available candidates actually ends up in that position, then the idea of voting for the sure thing makes a measure of sense.

A vote can mean a lot of things other than just "I want this guy to win"

 

[Hand Sword]

The best thing for yourself is to vote your conscience. What will be, will happen, at least you can have a clear conscience about it. It's a small personal victory in the big picture, but, all the victories add up!

 

[FearlessFreep]

The best thing for yourself is to vote your conscience.

That can be a it tricky.

Last U.S. Election I didn't want Bush or Kerry, so I voted my conscience and voted Constitution Party. On the one hand, my conscience feels good that I didn't vote for Bush or Kerry, on the other hand I feel somewhat concerned that for all practical purposes I wasted my vote. As someone who tends to be fiscally conservative, I could've voted for Bush in good conscience, but as a Christian who is not happy with the church getting so mixed up in politics, I could've voted for Kerry in good conscience as a protest vote against the relationsjip of the Republican party to the "Religious Right" to the church at large. I could've justified eiher vote in good conscience, and yet not felt good about it for other reasons.

 

[Hand Sword]

Not at all, you said that you didn't like Bush or Kerry, and didn't vote for either. You did exactly what i said, which is why you feel good. The rest of the confusion seems to come from thinking that you can waste a vote. I hear people say that all the time. But, lately the elections have been real close. All of you that voted otherwise could've made the difference! That's a lot of power. IMHO, there's no wasted votes. It's your opinions of something at the time, your voice on the subject at hand. That's not a waste! Keep doing what you did.