There are two excellent essays regarding the national election and the failure of the two party favorites to address the concerns of the voters. The progressive case against Obama in which the writer asks if we should support a candidate who continues and even escalates the policies that lead to social and economic injustice simply because the other guy might be worse.

So why oppose Obama? Simply, it is the shape of the society Obama is crafting that I oppose, and I intend to hold him responsible, such as I can, for his actions in creating it. Many Democrats are disappointed in Obama. Some feel he’s a good president with a bad Congress. Some feel he’s a good man, trying to do the right thing, but not bold enough. Others think it’s just the system, that anyone would do what he did. I will get to each of these sentiments, and pragmatic questions around the election, but I think it’s important to be grounded in policy outcomes. Not, what did Obama try to do, in his heart of hearts? But what kind of America has he actually delivered? ,,,

Chris Hedges’ then explains why he will not waste a vote in Why I”m Voting Green.

All the major correctives to American democracy have come through movements and third parties that have operated outside the mainstream. Few achieved formal positions of power. These movements built enough momentum and popular support, always in the face of fierce opposition, to force the power elite to respond to their concerns. Such developments, along with the courage to defy the political charade in the voting booth, offer the only hope of saving us from Wall Street predators, the assault on the ecosystem by the fossil fuel industry, the rise of the security and surveillance state and the dramatic erosion of our civil liberties.

The point is we do not have to accept the choices we have been given and a real democracy includes real choice and this is just as true at the local level. Even though it takes an informed people to make informed and reasoned choices and we are sorely lacking a viable media to bring the whole story to the public, playing by the rules merely perpetuates the problem. It will probably take two years to even begin to repair the damage that has been done in this last year and it will take a lot more work than just voting. People must organize, go door to door, hold town hall meetings, blog, write and scream and maybe even engage in a little civil disobedience once in awhile to shake the reins of power from crypt keepers clinging to it now.

Vote your conscience and don’t be afraid to vote no to any and all candidates you consider inadequate or unsuited by using the write-in option. Your write-in choice isn’t likely to win but the message is clear, we demand excellence not business as usual. Just 28% of the ballots have been returned so far and many of those votes are cast for candidates and measures out of fear for the alternative rather than confidence. Doing this discourages good people from running for office which further limits our opportunities to make real changes or establish real stability.

Don’t be afraid to spend your vote on what you really want at the federal, state and local level.