Forum Post: So why do we all vote???
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 15, 2011, 11:11 p.m. EST by AvIsaev73
(29)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Here is a very simple solution. DO NOT VOTE.
Let's show politicians that only 1% of their own are voted or even they voted for themselves.
This will be a very clear sign - what kind of "Democracy" we really have. We do have a right not to vote. We are not stupid - we do not want to choose between Party of Rich for Rich "A" and Party of Rich for Rich "B" .
Share your thought!! Andrew
I dont vote because it is pointless too. my vote only matters if it has a check with a lot of 0s with it. I can put a lot of 0s on that check just no other number.
I want more options! None of this tails they win heads we lose bullcrap, I want a third party!
Oh, yea, that'll show them. Do you really think the majority power in Congress right now gives a rat's behind about you? Great, don't vote and let other's who don't represent you vote. I would say if anyone is not registered to vote and does not intend to vote, they should stay out of this movement. People in our country and other countries even today have died for the right to vote. But honestly, if you are that naive, then I think you shold stay home on voting day. It'll make my vote count that much more.
Thank you! I am not in this movement - if the movement want to find other "Mama & Pap" who will keep screw you up...
Vote for a symbolic figure like Thomas Jefferson for president.
Better to vote for an Independent or Third Party candidate than to not vote at all. Not voting just looks like apathy. A vote for a candidate you really support at least sends a message.
you can't trust any of them. It's all a well choreographed act. Independant and third party are controlled by the same people. And if they are not, the powers that be will never admit defeat to one of those parties. Open your eyes, they've been closed far too long. Your vote is a lie. Electronic polling was the official end of democracy. Not voting sends a message too. It says "we don't trust you" and "we don't trust this system"
agreed
100% - agree - need to find such a Third Party or create one or a good candidate. Any ideas?
Ron Paul?
The voting system needs an upgrade. The archaic system is BS. We demand an upgrade for 2012 or we won't vote.
100% - agree
Don't listen to people who tell you not to vote.
That's what they want you to do because the more of you who don't vote, the better their leverage will be in the elections (The Corporatists that is).
Get everybody you can to vote. Otherwise, they will take our Democracy away from us.
we're all slaves now! Get to work and maybe massa will give you a little money to go have fun with. After you give back most of it in taxes.
Don't vote. It's a waste. They've already decided the outcome no matter who you vote for. It's like pro wrestling. All fake. And the small minded and trusting think it's real. Wake up! When did greed become acceptable? They should be paying all the taxes while we live tax-free. That's a step in the right direction.
Sounds like what the Tea Party and Republicans want us to do.
As Paul Weyrich said: They want everybody to vote. I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people, they never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.
http://crooksandliars.com/2007/06/07/paul-weyrich-goo-goo-syndrome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GBAsFwPglw
So sure. Don't vote. That will make the people who really own government more powerful.
Someone WILL vote, and that is the problem. You only need 3 votes to elect someone. Not voting will only cause one party to lose and considering most of you are republicans we can guess who that would be.
Yes - i want to see this in the new - President X elected by ... 3 voters...
Haha. Yeah. It would be cool if you could get A LOT of people to abstain from voting. It would be historic.
This is what i wrote earlier - i am OK to give them such victory - it will be all over the world - President X won by 0.1% of the Nation. This will be their last Victory.. It will be a joke and the world will realize this and they will be defeated..
The question in my opinion is what should be the purpose of personal wealth--Is it not possible that in order for us to move forward as a life form we must first come to the realization that true injustice does exist --and then decide how we will alter history--a blip or the beginning of something new--a beginning of a simple statement--We the people demand the the purpose of all wealth is for the betterment of all lives on this planet.
Same reason we work for money. Same reason prisoners eat their meals at the prison cafeteria.
The voting is already bogus since the outcome is always the same number of electable votes each state is entitled to.
Respectfully, to those who say we SHOULD continue to vote, can you explain: 1. Why you believe the voting system is legitimate and not rigged and 2. Why you believe you should vote in light of the fact that corporations have been given the legal right to bribe those you are voting for.
The Tea Party demonstrated that government IS responsive, to people who participate in the democratic process. The first step was the protests. The second step was selecting candidates who would be responsive to their concerns. The third step was VOTING.
I respectfully disagree. The tea party started out as a strong libertarian movement - lots of Ron Paul folks. But the republicans quickly realized that they needed to take over this movement, and so you have a bunch of politicians now acting out the will of the ruling elite while claiming that it is the will of the "tea party." But the tea party originally was about real freedom. The fact that it was quite literally bought out by the republican elite doesn't mean now the politicians are doing the will of the people. They are doing the will of the folks who bought out the movement.
The point is that somebody took over the Tea Party movement which took over many government positions and made the government more responsive to THEM. Whoever they are!
We can do the same. Though, personally, I would recommend we take over the Democratic Party since the Republican Party was taken over by "them".
Also, I would respectfully suggest that anybody who recommends that we not vote is a wolf in sheep's clothing, pretending to be on "our" side while actually working to undermine "our" goals.
OK - I am not the wolf in the sheep's clothing. And no offense - very difficult to discuss this situation with someone who is brain washed from the birth. Please read - I do not wish to have 2 parties only. Why? Where does it state in constitution we must have only 2 parties. Forget about them.
Let's create another party and call it "People" or "Nation" or something we can come up with...
Here is the problem statement - why do we focus on GOPs or DEMs - both sides use US - the PEOPLE.. They do not care.. They use us and they use our votes and make it as a legitimate point to continue...
It feels like so many people here would be Happy just to be screwed over and over again by DEMs as long as it is not by GOPs and vise versa - c'mon people - wake up!!
Are you referring to me as "brain washed from birth?" That's about the most completely utterly absurd thing you could say about me. I was a lifelong Libertarian and recently became a Democrat. I did it because I finally woke up and examined the evidence and, though most of the Democratic politicians are bought out by Coporations, the Democratic party's stand on issues is more correct than the Republican party and the Libertarian party is living completely in a fantasy world.
I also was raised as a brain-washed "Born Again" Christian and managed to throw off the yoke of my childhood. Does that sound like somebody who's brain-washed? You really should quit stereotyping people because it wiil lead you to grossly wrong conclusions.
I'm not even going to bother with the remainder of your comment after that ridiculous statement.
OK - so if you are not brain washed - explain why do you only choose 1 party? Among the other 2 parties? People got screwed by both parties while ether is in Government and not in opposition.. And both parties do nothing but blaming each other.
Let them keep blaming each other after we vote for a brand new party. We do not need them - ever!
Why the hell they spend so much money on the preliminary campaigns? Do you knwo why? Both parties. Why? So much money? I do not need their speeches! I wish to see Jobs created and not outsourced, I wish to see normal Healthcare system, I wish to see our soldiers come back home. I also want to see these veterans taken care of and also veterans from previous wars not working at age 90 because they do not have other choice or means.. I do not want to see words "Banks bail out" !!!
I believe I answered that already.
Because our constitution doesn't really allow us to have more than two parties. By requiring a plurality voting system, it makes it pretty much impossible to have more than two significant parties. I believe the only way we can realistically take over government is to take over one of the two parties in power. I personally think the Democratic party is closer to the truth based on empirical evidence and the application of the Scientific Method. So I believe it would behoove us to take over that party.
THEY are the wealthy minority you are fighting against. Don't you get it? If you do the same thing the tea party did, your movement gets bought out by the ruling elite and they install shill politicians who don't actually represent you. This is the whole problem. I would argue that the politicians supposedly elected by the "tea party" are not really going to do the things the "commoners" in the tea party wants. They aren't going to balance the budget or stop spending - they are just going to block democrats from spending FOR NOW. While continuing to funnel money to the richest 1%, continuing to block any action against the will of corporations, and continuing to throw trillions into the toilet of war. I think that the millions of us who supported Obama can now unhappily attest to the fact that the democrat party is NOT the party of the people. And allowing this movement to be usurped by democrats would be its suicide.
You just gave yourself away. You're a Republican shill.
No liberal or democrat calls it the "Democrat Party". Only those who have been so brainwashed by constant exposure to Right Wing talk and TV that they haven't even heard of the fact that the Democrats get extremely annoyed when you call it the "Democrat" Party because that term was started by Senator Joseph McCarthy to make it sound like they're "rats".
Just because the Tea Party got co-opted doesn't necessarily mean we will.
Seriously?
YOU referred to it as the "democrat party" in the post I just responded to. Are you serious? Totally bizarre.
I mean, I guess you're right. I'm no "liberal" or "democrat." I guess if I had to have a label, I'd embrace "anticivilization" ala Derrick Jensen. Fuck the republicans AND the democrats. Get it?
I would love to know how you plan not to be bought out in a country that buys and sells EVERYTHING. Are you hardcore? We'll see.
To be clear here, I support OWS wholeheartedly. I was one of the original IMF protesters back in the day. I screamed until my throat was raw to stop the invasion of Iraq and spent entire days on a police bus - thinking that THIS TIME we were going to win. Only to watch at least 50% of my comrades collectively yawn and become Obama supporters. So we'll see where this goes. I pray to mother that you are right and this movement defeats the monied interests that bought the tea party. I'd be out there screaming my throat raw again, but I have 4 kids here to take care of and can't take a day off work.
That is correct F*K both parties! Let us built a one normal quality party for the People of this nation !!
Oh, I see. You said, "democratic." How foolish of me. I am definitely a republican shill because I left off the "ic." You are batshit crazy, huh?
Fuck both these parties, and that's my final word on it.
No. I did NOT refer to it as the "Democrat Party". Liar! How do you think you can get away with that? We can all read what I said. I said the "Democrats". That is legitimate. The "Democrat Party" is NOT. You need to learn your grammar where it concerns nouns, vs adverbs.
I'm not even going to read the remainder of your absurd post. LIAR!
Is that how Republicans got arm-wrestled into participating in that standoff over the debt ceiling? Would that have happened before the Tea Party elected their candidates, who made government more responsive to their concerns?
Did the tea party elect their candidates? Or did wealthy bankrollers pay for their candidates to run and be elected? I think the "standoff" over the debt ceiling had little to do with the tea party and everything to do with ensuring that the wealthiest minority in this country continue to enjoy the lowest tax rates since - what? - 1960? I just don't buy it.
To be clear, I'm not saying that people SHOULDN'T vote, but I continue to ask why you believe the voting system in this country is legitimate and how you expect to be represented by politicians who are paid off by corporate mafia to do as they are told.
Again - Exactly - let's vote but for neither DEMs or GOPs!!
If your not voting for Ron Paul do as he ask. lol jk
Man bro dude! Whoa, i'm so stoned right now. I love weed. We smoke so much while walking down wall street we hve no idea where we are, duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude. More protests! More weed! We're all high as FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUu!K
Why don't we just vote for independents?
If we don't vote at all, they've already won. We won't be able to vote in even a marginally good candidate if we don't vote. I'm an American, and it's a privilege to vote, even if the system is corrupt. Too much of the world is run by oligarchical and dictatorial governments. The citizens in those countries I'm sure wish they had even our corrupt system.
I'm an American and it's my responsibility to vote. I refuse to ever not vote. I won't be owned by the pessimism propagated by the corrupt and maniacal media. I don't care about them. I care about my great great grandfather who never once in his life had the opportunity to vote in politics in Sicily.
I understand what you mean, but I tell you this: I will never turn my back on this concept of voting.
"I'm an American and it's my responsibility to vote." - this is what you were brainwashed with and you are not alone and it is not your fault. Sorry - i am not trying to insult you. But as some people in here believe they want us not to vote - i am telling you - THEY WANT TO GET THIS LEGITIMACY FOR THEMSELVES AND SHOW THAT YOU AND OTHERS CAME AND VOTED...
You act as if I'm going to vote Democrat or Republican. In the last election, I voted entirely independent. I'm a registered Independent. If we all registered Independent, the Republisnots and Democrabs would be screwed.
Besides, it's the Neoliberal media construct that convinces us not to vote. That's how they win.
If you don't participate in the process then the process will be used against you. That's how democracy works.
You can elect your own flavor of Independent. Learn from the Tea Party.
I will review and think of your suggestion..
Not voting is the stupidest thing we can do. The 1% would love for most of us not voting and control our government even more. For god's sake vote!! People have died for that right and to throw it away in insane.
Well - keep voting - let's get back to this forum in 20 years and see what has changed.. People in Russia vote as well you know.. Do they believe they can change something with their votes - no they know they can't - how do you call it?? Voting out of stupidity or because of perhaps a miracle will happen? So miracle can happen also without voting...
VOTE. Then hold your elected official accountable.
HOW??? How do i hold my governor accountable - please share... How do i have my senator accountable or the congress person accountable?
They are accountable but not for the people or God...
I think this movement is largely an effort to hold Obama accountable. He promised change and has retreated on nearly ever front. There were millions who worked very hard to help him get elected and have been very disappointed. To show this disappointment we tried the "don't vote" method and are now stuck with a co-opted Tea Party congress.
You can learn fom the Tea Party about how to translate energy like this into political change.
Sorry - maybe i missed my point - I am not against democracy. But democracy does not mean i have to eat hamburgers and be happy this is all i get and if I am pushed to eat just bananas and brain washed a bit more - i do not want to be happy for having such "Democracy".
I just do not like the Capitalism in its ugliness and evil..
Shhh, the latest myth is that this isn't an anti-capitalist protest. Keep it going...
I've actually thought that before. In fact, I haven't voted in the last couple elections because I believe the election process is corrupt and doesn't represent the wishes of the people. Hell, the 2000 and 2004 elections were stolen. I know a lot of people think "if you don't vote you shouldn't complain" but that's bullshit. Why should I participate in a corrupt system? Like Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results."
The elections process is increasingly corrupt because of people not participating and allowing the GOP to make the process even more corrupt.
Bullshit.
You don't believe that the GOP has successfully pushed through legislation to advance their agenda of disenfranchising liberal voters? Did you look at the link? It's a Rolling Stone article. Pretty mainstream stuff. Not a left-wing blog or something.
Just read the article. One take on it is that it actually reinforces my statement about the whole process being corrupt and needing a serious overhaul. The system should be transparent, the Electoral College should be abolished. Those new electronic voting machines should be thrown in the garbage heap. Like I say, when they fix the system, I'll come back.
Exactly - the rest are just brain washed or i just can't explain - you ask a person (out of 99%) - why do you vote for GOP or DEM and the answer is is in most cases "I am choosing the least worst option". F*K the least worst option - i do not want to vote for crap - on both sides. I am not stupid by any party association - ask these people hat is their agenda - "I do not know - the against GOP (or they against DEM)". Vote for human - make Government be responsible. POS comes to govern for 4 years and do nothing or even makes things worst - punishment needs to be implemented. I mean - enough is enough - they do not care about us!!
They do care about you. They care about limiting your voice. They're succeeding because you don't vote anyway, which give them free reign to further limit your voice.
Personally, and I know this sounds radical, but I really no longer believe the American people elect our President. I truly believe they are chosen by the elite and just go through the "election process" to perpetuate the illusion that the "people" have a say in government. I know that makes me sound like a conspiracist, and I may be wrong, but that's my opinion. In the 34 years since I turned voting age, I guess I've become jaded watching the joke called Capitol Hill.
No - they do not - trust me if 200 millions won't vote - see what will happen... Who are they going to represent???
It will be a real joke 0 in front of the entire world.. The show (which is played now) - will be over...
You're already a joke for completely misunderstanding that when I said that they care about you, it's only to care about silencing you.
The real joke is that only 24% of people aged 18-29 bother to vote anyway, so if the protesters boycott voting then nobody will notice anyway.
They will - see my earlier updates today.. Yes - I agree today i am a joke and BTW - you too a joke and we are all jokes.. But not anymore.. I refuse..
Yep. I don't know how many times I've heard "Well, you gotta vote for somebody." Bullshit. If there are only crappy choices, sorry, I'm gonna opt out this time. My vote is far too important for me to waste it on a couple of assholes. Yours is, too. The election process needs to be overhauled. When they fix it and I know everyone's vote is going towards actually electing the person we want in office, then I'll start voting again.
The Tea Party elected their own candidates. You can too. Learn from them.
If you boycott democracy, then your opponents will use the democratic process against you.
No - you do not get - No GOP and NO DEM - do not vote - they are using you.. Understand this!!