"If you don't vote you can't complain!"

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SNIDELY WHIPLASH

DOOGOODER!!!!!!
Feb 16, 2015
1,643
2,186
Honestly this is my biggest problem with the Republican Party. I never see them propose alternatives or solutions, just 'stop Obama'. That's the policy. I might actually like one of their ideas if they actually proposed one instead of being the party of NO.
 

Simpleman

First 100
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
1,157
1,662
That's my biggest problem with the DEMOCRATIC party: they always blame republicans. See how dumb that looks. How about we just say that both parties are messed up and leave it at that. A lot of our problems would be solved if everything had term limits and they didn't get those benefits for life after serving one term. One 2/4/6 year term should not entitle you to a life time of benefits.
 
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ThatOneDude

Commander in @Chief, Dick Army
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
35,390
34,272
That's my biggest problem with the DEMOCRATIC party: they always blame republicans. See how dumb that looks. How about we just say that both parties are messed up and leave it at that. A lot of our problems would be solved if everything had term limits and they didn't get those benefits for life after serving one term. One 2/4/6 year term should not entitle you to a life time of benefits.
Yup, they are both the same
 

Lamont Cranston

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
4,123
4,407
Of course I can, it's my first amendment right.

Convince me I should, or should not, vote if I don't actually endorse any candidate for president, TMMAC! I'm all ears.
I tell people who say they are not going to vote not to.

It makes MY vote that much more powerful.
 
Feb 28, 2015
2,564
5,763
It's an interesting question and one I think about myself. Especially after really taking the initiative to educate myself. To me it's not as simple as just vote or not. I'm a conscious voter in that I take the time to learn before acting, I would say probably a shit ton more than the average person. I think watching (insert news channel here) and then casting your vote for a puppet who was put forth as the most viable marketing pawn and then proudly instagramming your "I voted" sticker is a load of horseshit and the fact that 99% of Americans limit the exercising of their freedoms to that really infuriates me. I want my vote to mean something and I'd feel much better about participating of that wasn't the extent of most peoples' involvement.

I also have a hard time buying into a system that is meant to pit us against each other with nonsense and drivel so that the few can exercise their greed. I don't want to be a part of that. So yeah, I'm torn. I do my research, I stay away from mainstream media and if I feel good about a vote I'm making, I make it.... I will not choose the lesser of two evils. Outside of the vote, I also involve myself in educating others on important issues that should be considered and that will never be covered by mainstream media and just in general trying to get the sheeple to wake up.

Until everyone figures out that their vote at the ballot matters .01% of the thousands of votes made with each of their dollars, we'll continue to have the shit system we have in place. I'd love it if one day we all united as Americans, instead of this party vs that, it will never get us anywhere, it will only hold us back as it continuously has proven to do.
 

ThatOneDude

Commander in @Chief, Dick Army
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
35,390
34,272
It's an interesting question and one I think about myself. Especially after really taking the initiative to educate myself. To me it's not as simple as just vote or not. I'm a conscious voter in that I take the time to learn before acting, I would say probably a shit ton more than the average person. I think watching (insert news channel here) and then casting your vote for a puppet who was put forth as the most viable marketing pawn and then proudly instagramming your "I voted" sticker is a load of horseshit and the fact that 99% of Americans limit the exercising of their freedoms to that really infuriates me. I want my vote to mean something and I'd feel much better about participating of that wasn't the extent of most peoples' involvement.

I also have a hard time buying into a system that is meant to pit us against each other with nonsense and drivel so that the few can exercise their greed. I don't want to be a part of that. So yeah, I'm torn. I do my research, I stay away from mainstream media and if I feel good about a vote I'm making, I make it.... I will not choose the lesser of two evils. Outside of the vote, I also involve myself in educating others on important issues that should be considered and that will never be covered by mainstream media and just in general trying to get the sheeple to wake up.

Until everyone figures out that their vote at the ballot matters .01% of the thousands of votes made with each of their dollars, we'll continue to have the shit system we have in place. I'd love it if one day we all united as Americans, instead of this party vs that, it will never get us anywhere, it will only hold us back as it continuously has proven to do.
girlandcoconut @girlandcoconut FOR PRESIDENT!!!
 

kneeblock

Drapetomaniac
Apr 18, 2015
12,435
23,026
A few pro-voting arguments I'd like to make:

1) If you think the difference between the approach of the two parties is minimal and that they're both corporate whores and that it doesn't matter, you're partly right, but overall I would say you're not paying close enough attention to policy creation and implementation. There is a big ideological difference between the two parties and that difference literally can affect millions of lives. The notion that there is no difference or that the differences don't matter or that it's all team sports in the end is dangerously naive. It's an accurate assessment in some areas of policy, but it's really not in others. Those small differences do matter.

2) If you think a third party vote is a wasted vote, that's also naive as the presence of those votes for another party brings us closer to having a multi-party system. Every time a third party gets a significant share of the vote, it forces the top 2 parties to capitulate to the influence of those parties in order to assimilate them or work overtime to crush them so they don't upend future electoral success. Also, in order to get on and maintain ballot access in many states (CA and NY being two of them), a third party has to receive at least 10% of the vote in a gubernatorial race. Building and maintaining alternative parties requires voting on those lines, which, in my view, is critical if we want to someday have a more mature, less bi-partisan democracy.

3) Even if one is uninterested in the big contests like the Presidential race, local elections really do matter in ways people seldom grasp until they have a run-in with local government. So many things about the way you experience your city and your neighborhood are the result of who's in those seats. So even if you're disenchanted by the BS of the big election, it's worth taking the time to educate yourself about the positions of the local and regional candidates and vote for them. Most ballots allow piecemeal voting.

What's unfortunate is that to really know enough to have a truly informed vote, you have to do a lot of reading to see how candidates ideologically align with you. You have to read pieces of legislation and read studies on policy initiatives and look at your local, state and federal budget. A lot of it is deliberately obfuscated because it suits those in power to keep it that way. But we are fortunate to live in a time where so much information is made transparent and researching candidates is easier than ever before.

Use Common Cause to find out who your local representatives are.

Use Project Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System to see what the candidates' voting record looks like.

Use Fact-checking U.S. politics | PolitiFact to analyze policies and their impact on Americans.

Use OpenSecrets.org: Money in Politics -- See Who's Giving & Who's Getting and find out where the money is coming from that influences candidates and legislation.

Use snopes.com and assess whether the things you've heard and come to accept as historical fact even happened.

But if all this is too much work, it's probably not worth voting. One is free to complain, but their complaints can't be taken very seriously.
 

sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,427
46,567
I've voted for 20 years.
I'll vote for Rand Paul this year.
But I believe for every 1 legit vote their are 2 fake/illegal ones, so I'm picking my social battles.
I believe precisely because of fraud, everyone can complain.
 

Sweets

All Around Dumbass
Feb 9, 2015
8,797
10,065
Voting for a figurehead of the corporate overlords doesn't impress me. Getting involved in your community and passing reform does.
That's one thing I like about US politics you get a lot more direct democracy on the local/state level, not the case here in Ireland local law is passed by elected "County Council" members (almost always Party members) and even they don't have anything like the freedom you guys enjoy.. For instance they could never pass Medical weed for a given County not even close... They get to set the price of parking in public car parks and the like..

As for a point to voting... Of course you should, the funny thing is most people who say this are borderline politically aware but have given up hope, if they decided to take a positive attitude and vote for independent candidates they could whip out the small axe and chip away at the big tree so to speak..
 

Sweets

All Around Dumbass
Feb 9, 2015
8,797
10,065
I've voted for 20 years.
I'll vote for Rand Paul this year.
But I believe for every 1 legit vote their are 2 fake/illegal ones, so I'm picking my social battles.
I believe precisely because of fraud, everyone can complain.
It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.

Joseph Stalin