Forum Post: Should we vote ?
Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 16, 2011, 2:50 p.m. EST by tr289
(916)
from Chicago, IL
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I'm just curious what people think about not voting in the upcoming elections ? I know that unless we get hundreds of millions of people to not vote it wont do any good. That being said, The way i see it is... Why vote for a broken politician in a broken system that will not ever represent us ?
Anyway, please don't take this post as a push for not voting. My only intention of this post is to get others point of view on the subject.
On Nov 06, 2012 elections will be held for all 435 U.S. house of representatives in congress and 33 seats in the U.S. senate.
Americans all over our country agree with the OWS principles of getting our govt back from corruption and returning it to the people. Let people all over America organize the recuitment of honest non-affiliated candidates for their districts. Representatives that will pledge to get money and lobbyist out of our govt. Representatives who will do what is best for the majority of the constituents in their districts, not only the powerful ones.
With an 18% approval rating for congress, I think enough voters finally realize that change must happen before it's too late. They now know both dems & reps are controlled by money and corruption. Voters are ready for a choice who is for the 99% and cannot be bought.
If only 10% win, that would still be 43 in congress who will give the people a voice for change . A new beginning that breaks the two party facade of choice.
finally, someone who realizes that THAT'S the way to get stuff to change. not by changing the president (the president actually agrees with OWS, a bunch of our representatives are idiotic lobbyist loving assholes).
Well said and great post.
I'm actually in favor of an old idea of funding elections with tax dollars and removing the special interest groups from Washington. It's obviously more in depth then what i mentioned but personally i think that's the way to go. It would help get more politicians that are for the people into the House, Senate and hopefully even the White house.
Anyway, great post ! =)
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/home/the-steps-to-non-violent-revolution
Very well said, I wonder if this site or another easily accessible site can be used as a medium for a conversation about who we as America are going to put in government. If you know a little guy/gal running that represents the ideals that we are fighting for, prop them up without the typical left/right bashing we are so accustomed to. This movement is growing! We can do this! In one year we have the chance to tell Congress to get the fuck out of our government and put in people who will govern for us and not Big Pharma/Big Ag/Big Banks/Big anything! Govern for We the People!
The ONLY power we truly possess that cannot be stripped from us is our vote - even if it comes down to voting for the lesser of two evils, our vote counts. The people that allowed the freshman T-bags to gain control have seen the havoc they've wrought. When we don't vote we give it to the bastards that want to make us into wage slaves. Please, don't be stupid.
Well said, and I'm not pushing or telling any one to not vote. Was just a question and something i have heard people talk about but never go into any depth with.
The short answer is: yes. Yes we should vote. If the consensus is that neither of the two parties represent the 99R%, then an appropriate candidate should be identified and supported.
To not vote is exactly what those that control the economy want.
Don't forget what happened in the 2010 mid-term elections when liberals decided to stay home.
If you are trying to say OWS is liberal, that would statistically make us the other 35%, as well as supporters of the controlling party in Washington. Perhaps we should dial back the "liberal" label so we can hang onto the idea that we are the other 99%. Or not.
Occupy Wall Street protesters are exactly the kinds of people who the Rolling Stone article talks about when they warn about the GOP effort to disenfranchise people likely to vote against them.
If you boycott democracy then your opponents will use democracy against you.
This is why i said I'm not pushing for NOT voting. The only way i can see it doing any good is if every one decided not to vote. The likelihood of that happening is not so good. lol
Okay so what if everybody who agrees with you doesn't vote -- and the other 53% DO go and vote? What happens then?
(Pretty much the same thing that happens every election, that's what.)
Again, that's why i said it would do no good unless every one decided not to vote. I'm not disagreeing with you at all. I actually agree. =)
Sorry, I don't understand how that addresses the point made in my post.
Occupy Wall Street protesters might not want to rally around the word "liberal", but their opponents are actively working to rig the system against them anyway, which they can do unopposed if people don't show up to vote like they didn't show up in 2010.
Who says they didn't show up in 2010? What you saw in 2010 was OWS showing up to vote before OWS existed, unless, once again, you are trying to call OWS a liberal organization.
Look around. From a purely political perspective, there is way more Ron Paul support here than anything else, though I'll admit its a mixed bag. I still wouldn't call it a libertarian movement.
Are you saying the people of OWS voted for the freshman T-bags? Ha - sorry Mikey, maybe you're that stupid, I'm not. It's the people that were disillusioned that DIDN'T vote that handed our country to people who want to end SS, medicare, all public jobs: fire, police, teachers, nurses, libraries, who boo a gay solider, who applaud executions and the death of uninsured. Not me bro, not me.
Only 24% of eligible voters aged 18-29 showed up to vote in the 2010 mid-term elections that handed the Tea Party their influence.
Please read the Rolling Stone article that I cited above.
I remember what happened... and we will suffer the consequences for a very long time. =(
Then please help me to counter these sad, misguided, disillusioned people who somehow think that they can make everything better by boycotting democracy. This proposal comes up at least once a day on this forum and that's a very sad thing.
I advocate a Boycott of Elections with a call to a Voting Bill of Rights. To a great extent, Elections are a method used to convince the Public that this is a Democracy. In other words, if you can vote, this is a democracy. Of course, the real power is held by the Plutocracy which finances elections and then with their lobbyists, write most of legislation. The access, time and influence of the money invested in financing elections (bribes by any other name) is well worth to the corporations and special interests. We need to DEMAND that elections, if they are to be held, are Fair. Thus, we should boycott and demand the following: 1) Public Financing of Elections 2) No private funding, period, no advertisements 3) Mandatory Debates, Interviews, access to all public media 4) Preferential Voting 5) Voting on Sundays 6) Uniform Federal Ballot 7) Paper Trail on all Electronic Voting 8) Easier Registration Process 9) Enough polling places esp. in inner cities 10) Shorter election time line
Until we get most or all of these reforms, elections are farcical at best. The Boycott would draw attention to the fallacy of elections and draw attention to our cause, educating people. As long as people keep voting, the Power Structure convinces them that the system works, is fair and that people are responsible. Of course, we need legislative reforms as well such as elimination of filibuster.
This movement is ever growing still and if organized can produce significant numbers. If the tea party can move congress this can as well. But must organize with others, like say, coffeepartyusa whose views are quite similar to those in the occupy movement
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/home/the-steps-to-non-violent-revolution
I have seen this site before, don't know what to make of it. Not sure if it's just another random website made by some random person ?
I have no idea. Maybe this will become clear at a later update of the OWS website?
Perhaps it is time to get voting out of the equation, at least in part. Why not have a branch of government randomly selected from qualified and willing citizens. It could be a requirement of citizenship. It could be considered a great honor to be selected. Real and trackable compensation could be equitable. Imagine, YOUR local mechanic, or High school teacher, SENT to congress, NOT BOUGHT TO CONGRESS, to represent, guess Who?----------------US. Had the founding mothers and fathers had this ability I'm sure we would have a very different Government, one truly BY THE PEOPLE.
In a weird kind of way, that's not a bad idea. The again, if any one ever thought it would be a good idea to send me to congress... God help us all. =)
Yea, vote for Obama as a tactic for your longer term strategy whatever it may be. Our actual freedom is at play when we undermine the existing axis of power - in USA this is money controlled parties of any shade of red or blue. At least we can hope for a less violent opponent than the Republican machine
Easy test - who voted FOR the jobs bill... who voted AGAINST the jobs bill... there is a difference - it may be small - but I'm going with the guys that stand with me and mine.
vote rp people
Yes we should vote, but we should become much more aware of who we are voting for. We should be pushing for a lot more dialog with our candidates and transparency of their records. By not voting we are accepting the status quo. Our strongest power is with our votes, let's become more educated and vocal about who we are going to pay to represent us :)
We were aware of Obama and what he stood for. He was a Chicago politician and i knew him fairly well. He shocked even me with what he has done in Washington.
Also, i fully expected Obama to say one thing and do another. It's exactly what he did here in Chicago, only difference is that he was not a Republican shill.
It goes beyond voting for one person, we need to be aware of the positions that the President/Congressperson/Senator/Govenor etc is going to have to work with.
Voting for one person and expecting them to be able to fufill their promises while everyone around that person is blocking them is silly.
Americans need to talk to eachother, when we vote for a President we need to talk about the congressional and senatorial elections that will take place under the new adminstration. Only a state can elect those two positions but we can all have conversations about the candidates. Tunnel vision is how we got here.
I agree with you for the most part. The only reply i can really give is that Obama didn't even fight for his own beliefs. He fought for Insurance reform / Obamacare but that's about it.
Anyway, you are correct about looking specifically at one politician and putting all the blame there while ignoring the other influences surrounding them.
There are parties other than the democrats and republicans. If you don't want to vote with the two party system look at some of the other options.
If we don't vote then things will only get worse - if that's even possible. Yes, the system is broken, but we do have the power to choose the lesser of two evils. But we need to change the voting procedure. Why are we voting on a Tuesday when everyone's at work? (Assuming most of us still have jobs). How is a 40% voter turnout democracy? I don't think an election should be valid until at least 90% are counted. Why is there no National Election Day like in other countries? Why can't we vote from our computers or smart phones with a user id and password? Why can you be fined for not showing up for jury duty but not voting? You can be fined in Australia for not voting and they get a much higher turnout. Bottom line: Why do we tolerate such an antiquated and inconvenient form of voting? I think it's because the Republicans know there's more of us than there are of them, so they rig the game,and we tolerate it with our apathy. But I tell my friends, "If you don't vote - then don't bitch."
I agree with you completely on the changes to the way we vote. This is something that really needs to be addressed. I don't even want to open this can of worms but the electoral collage needs to be looked at as well.
As for choosing the lesser of 2 evils, that's my point. I basically don't feel like voting for the lesser of 2 evils. In my twisted mind, it's like condoning the actions of our politicians and rewarding them for using KY jelly before they screw us over. It almost seems pointless.