Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Happy Election Day!

Get out there and vote. If you don't vote, you waive the right to bitch about our government. End of story.

11 comments:

Jude said...

We were at the Polls at 7:10am!!! There isn't a lot that gets me up and out that early,(well,maybe golf!!)but this was very important.I hope everyone gets there...as Nora said,if you don't vote you'd better not bitch about a thing,except how stupid you were!

Anonymous said...

To play Devil's advocate, there are good reasons out there for abstaining from voting, at least for President. For one, you aren't actually voting for the President, as that is technically handled by the Electoral College. The popular vote essentially means nothing, just ask Andrew Jackson or Al Gore.

Another problem is location. If you tend to vote one way and the majority of your state votes the other, then in essence you voice isn't going to be heard. For example, I live in a red state. If I were to vote Obama, its not going to matter because McCain is assured to win the state because of the types of people living here. This is the reason why the candidates almost live in "swing states" during their campaigns because they know that is where the elections will be decided.

So, while I do believe in voting, I, however, feel that some areas are more predisposed to having their voices heard more than others based on geographical association.

So go vote, but don't fuck this up America!

Nora said...

I see your point, Mike, but I believe that the action in and of itself is an exercise of the privelege and the right. To not go to the polls is an expression of apathy and apathetic citizens are as good as ... Zombies!

Mitchell said...

"If you tend to vote one way and the majority of your state votes the other, then in essence you voice isn't going to be heard."

How does this majority happen?

Slippy said...

It all goes back to zombies, doesn't Nora?

Anonymous said...

I voted, it's my civic duty. It is done.

Anonymous said...

Let me make it clear that I believe in the voting process and understand it's importance. The presidential election, however, is an entirely different animal itself. There are flaws in the system that cannot be disputed. The candidates realize this and use it to their advantage.

Look at California, the polls and voting history of the state dictate that Obama is going to win the state by a rather large margin. Last I checked, he was projected to take it by 20% points. That is enormous. Now this has multiple repercussions. For one, candidates do not bother campaigning in such states because the outcome is essentially decided. This goes both ways mind you. McCain wasn't campaigning in California because he accepts his defeat there and Obama didn't have to campaign there either because he accepts that as a win. Due to this effect, you will notice how voting turn outs are much less in these places than that of a swing state.

This makes swing states such as Florida or any other state where the estimate is 5% or less vitally important and this is how the election will be decided. If you look at the projected electoral college numbers you will see that McCain will need almost every single swing state to go his way in order to pull this thing out. Whereas, Obama, on the other hand, only needs to take one or two of the swing states to win. People in those states are going to decide the winner. That is a fact.

A straight up popular vote has it's pros and cons too but I'm not going to get into that. One thing I don't care for, in this whole election season, is the animosity directed at those who don't vote by those who do. Just because you are voting doesn't make you better than someone who isn't. Some people are out there voting for McCain because they don't like Obama's middle name, so the insults can go either way. Lastly, my Bill of Rights privileges weren't contingent on me voting, so with that being the case, I will say what I want, when I want.

Mitchell said...

I think the best way to avoid the animosity received from having not voted is to abstain from indignantly declare that you won't/didn't vote, then cite the same old "electoral college is bullshit" points.

We all know that, but it's the extent of involvement we've got right now, and if we don't work on taking steps in the right direction, we're not going anywhere.

If the complete lack of regard for personal freedoms and well-being we were subjected to through the last eight years wasn't enough for you to feel good about voting for the president just ON PRINCIPLE, then that's all fine and dandy.

But don't try and kill other people's buzz with that electoral college, swing state shit, because we all took remedial government class in high school, too.

Seacrest OUT!

Anonymous said...

Rather than prolonging this out further, I'll put my thoughts out quite simply. I didn't vote. You don't have to like that or my reasons for nothing do so. You can say and think what you want regarding it as well. Keep in mind, however, that if someone chooses to defame me for my beliefs, I will not always stand idly by and say or do nothing.

Anonymous said...

DARTH VADER 2012
"TOGETHER WE WILL RULE THE GALAXY!"

Nora said...

Ok, crazies. Reel it in.