Who are you going to vote for in the New York Primary?
So, the calm before the storm. We are done with Jingle Bells and RGE’s Vote Your Choice ads. Primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire will be done in a week or so. The New York primary is February 5th.
So expect to be inundated with vote for me ads , calls and mailers fairly soon - maybe some of those candidates will throw some ads our way 
. Actually, New York is in play from a primary perspective because we are early and will actually get to influence who gets on the ballots from either party.
Have you made up your mind?
I get asked that a lot as I continually practice the politics of personal conversation.
My favorite situation is the hand-wringing I see from Dems, agonizing over who they should vote for, because they want to vote for someone who will win in November. I usually tell them to vote for someone they actually want. Someone who closely represents most of their positions. I remind them that more than likely in November they will pull the lever for the Democratic nominee anyway, so the primary is really your only opportunity to select a candidate of your choosing. If they are worried about who plays better in November - I remind them that this is New York. The candidates have to earn other states so let those other states decide.
Meanwhile - it is never too early to look at their positions,
Here are two charts that might help:
One from the New York Times on all candidate positions
The other - grist.org on Candidate environmental positions.
Check them out.
Also - ask yourself - if there is a candidate from the other party that you could vote for?
John Edwards!
Obama!
Joe Biden!
Undecided - still…
Edwards.
Huckabee
John Edwards. Found this through the links above. Edwards, interviewed by a science blog: http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2007/07/exclusive_interview_with_senat.php
Matt Stoller makes the case that if you vote for Obama, you are voting for the most conservative candidate in the Democratic primary.
SusanUnPC makes a similar argument, that Obama is not a progressive and not really a Democrat.
dennis kucinich. i got kucinich’s auto biography for xmas and it has recharged my belief that he is my favorite candidate.