When all is said and done, Michigan Democrats may have more viable choices on the ballot than most other voters. Originally, Michigan residents thought that they would only be able to vote for Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, or Mike Gravel at their primary on Jan. 15. Then came word that anti-Hillary Michigan residents were launching a renegade campaign to get people to vote for “uncommitted”—a post-modern rebellion if there ever was one. Now Michigan Dems are being given yet another option: Vote for Mitt Romney.
Markos Moulitsas—the Daily Kos guy—
thinks that the Demcorats are
damned if they do and damned if they don’t in the choice between uncommitted and Clinton. So instead, he’s
rallying Democrats behind Mitt Romney
, hoping that Mitt’s presence will help create more inner strife in the GOP.
As we see it, Michigan Democrats have four options, and each has its pros and cons.
-
Vote for Hillary –
Pros: If you like Hillary, there’s the chance you can float her above the 60 percent mark, which is necessary to help her avoid derision from the press. Cons: How boring—especially when so many other devious options exist.
-
Vote for uncommitted –
Pros: Support the Obama-Edwards axis of change; be an ironic cog in the movement founded upon apathy; screw with Hillary’s head. Cons: Unless you really hate Hillary, it’s a wasted vote; may prove even her own party hates her, which won’t help general-election unity.
-
Vote for Romney –
Pros: Kos’ ego doesn’t need to get any bigger, but he’s right—a vote for Romney messes with Republicans’ heads and weakens the party; if there’s any candidate whom self-aware Democrats should vote for, it’s Romney; a Democrat-fueled Romney win in Michigan is worth it just to see the spin. Cons: It splits the uncommitted coalition up, which will make for a quieter and harder-to-track rebuke of Clinton.
-
Vote for Dennis Kucinich.
– Pros: It’s better than not voting at all;
the guy is due for a karmic boost
. Cons: Voting for Romney or uncommitted does more mischief; you might as well shred your ballot—it has the same effect in the overall scheme of things.
