I don’t know man, is that it? Are we (as in those that give a shit) going to let the political representatives assigned to us go full boar after Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid while continuing the Military Empire? I mean, haven’t we been like, TOLD they’re (both parties) going to do it?
Phone rings: “Hello, we’re going to rob your house”. “OK, thanks for letting us know”.
Two months until the election and many on the left, progressive and liberal democrats and independents, are complaining about the prospect of voting for the lesser of two evils again. Many are indicating they will vote for a third party candidate or withhold their vote entirely. A lot of those same people are opining that now is the time to pressure our political candidates that don't represent us, when they want our vote. They will not be quiet just because it’s election season, there’s work to be done.
Well, what is it? Are we all separately sending e-mails to our assigned representatives that don’t represent us and nobody told me? Are there some organizations out there that are trying to use their votes to pressure the President by demanding he pledge to leave the social programs alone? Are there some “Just Don’t Vote” campaigns going on out there that we can join? Seems like we could do something like write an open letter to Obama with 1,000 progressive signatures telling him we won't vote for him unless he promises to leave the social programs alone and cut the military in half. Publicize it on Twitter and Facebook. Couldn't hurt. If people really aren't going to vote for Obama, or both dudes for that matter, why not use it while it's possible. If not, it's like taking your ball and going home, leaving everybody else going, WTF? .
A quick google search indicates nothing much at all. Alot of people with similar opinions regarding voting but nothing organized.
It seems the last major organization to “Just Not Vote” was in 2008,
Oh, those actors are smart ya know. You see what they did there, they used reverse psychology. Yep. What they're really saying is that if we care about terrorism, global warming, education, the war on drugs (WTF?), the economy, and Darfur, all we have to do is vote. Apparently it doesn't matter who we vote for, it's the voting thing that counts. I've never quite got a grip on that. What if more people vote for the wrong one? It's still all good because they voted right? Whatever. Anyway, that was in 2008, now it's 2012 and the damn Mayan calendar is coming to an end and Obama has saw Bush's ante and raised him $17 trillion and three countries.
I guess it’s too late, only two months to go. It’s almost all over but the crying. We’ll find out how many voted for who after November 7th. Then we’ll have elected another President and another Congress and Senate, who will proceed with the agenda of those that they really work for. Then we can try to pressure those that don’t represent us to do the right thing.
I don’t know how, but that’s the plan.
Comments
Yes,
We're here for a reason.
Does anyone else see a low turnout
for the upcoming election?
Casual reading around the Internet has me believing that people are fed up with both parties. A few days ago I saw a poll which gave Obama a 48% approval rating and congress a 13% favorable rating. What wonderful leadership we have!
There are few options, no organized program for withholding our votes and very little information about which third-party candidates will be on the ballots in which states and about their views on important issues. The power elite must be happy with the way things are.
Meanwhile all is relatively quiet on the political scene. We aren't seeing much about important issues but I would expect the stew to be stirred after the election.
Hope so.
This was actually a plea to this place, but it appears another effort at the same ole thing. I wish I had the energy to lead. Maybe I do in my own way and just have to decide to do it.
Ahem
I'm sure the power elite are thrilled, and you do have a point. Mostly.
However.
Not having an organized program for withholding votes is no excuse. (What does that mean, anyway?)
Having little information about who will appear on your ballot is also no excuse. That information can be obtained if you put in a little effort.
Neither of the above are sufficient excuse for not showing up and not voting. If your preferred third party candidate isn't on your ballot, write his or her name in. That's what that blank space is for.
The only thing keeping third parties such as the Justice Party from being, for lack of a better word, viable, is voters buying into the lie that if they don't vote D or R, their vote won't count. And that is just what that is, a lie.
vote equals "what do you think?"
let's say there are a few of us in a room, discussing some subject. Each of us would give his or her opinion and we'd come to an agreement or not.
Voting should be like that.
Theoretically a representative democracy is one where we vote for a person who we feel comes closest to our opinions on the important issues. So that's what I'll do. I'll vote for the person who I agree with the most, whether or not he or she "has a chance to win". To do otherwise would really be throwing away my vote.
I wholeheartedly agree.
~
Same thing
only different.
Oh well.
That vote will never be counted or acknowledged.
"If your preferred third party candidate isn't on your ballot, write his or her name in. That's what that blank space is for."
Writing that name in on my office desk pad carries the same weight and means the same thing.
yes, it doesn't seem right but it's true
they only count the official write-ins and I'm not even sure what makes the grade. Notification of candidacy? Seems so. It feels like a joke that you have to file a statement that you'll be a write-in candidate but a google search shows a lot of hits with the words "must file".
And that admonishment of if you vote for a third party,
"you're throwing your vote away" because they don't have a chance of winning, well, following that logic, the same would be true if you voted for a candidate who was 15 or so or more points down in the polls and doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the election -- that's a wasted vote, too.
That's an excellent point
Iow, by the same logic, if you live in Alabama and vote for Obama, you're wasting your vote. The only level-headed thing to do in that case is vote for Romney. That's good.
As to the question of the essay, I really think it is time to turn our attention and energy to fundamental concerns apart from voting. Voting is not going to take this country where we need to go.
I totally concur.
"Voting is not going to take this country where we need to go."
And I also think if all these people who work so hard and are gung ho on GOTV had been so determined to make their voices heard by the politicians, maybe we'd be getting somewhere good.
If the politicians passed good laws that helped The People, they wouldn't have to fight so hard to get re-elected. If Obama had even tried to fight for several issues, even if he lost the fights, I'd like to think that The People would have a greater understanding of who is in their corner.
"Good policies makes good politics," and in Obama's case, that's exactly why he's not running away with this election as he should be against a clown like Romney.