I get disgusted at the people who say you HAVE to vote, or that if you don't vote, you can't complain. what if your complaint is that the system is wrong? nope, sorry, you must support the system by voting, then complain until someone points out you're a hypocrite.
also bad are the people (usually the same people) who say you can't vote your conscience, you have to vote for the guy most likely to win. so, let's get this straight: you aren't allowed to refuse to vote, and you aren't allowed to vote for who you want.
In Singapore, voting is compulsary. If you don't vote, you'll be struck off the electorial rolls until you pay a fine to be re-instated. Of course you can always cast a spoilt vote if you don't like any of the candidates.
I'm trying not to withdraw. My not voting was more a result of apathy and poor planning than of a case of the disgruntles. If anything, i want to be more involved locally, but even that has become a bit of a chore this go-around.
The guy I wanted to vote for dropped out before the primary, so there wasn't much point. I went anyway because I think I may be the most active voter in my precinct and I think there is an absurd charm to this. I don't know if anyone else showed up all day. And I wouldn't have blamed anyone for not showing up; in this sort of situation there's not even a much of a theoretical statistical advantage to voting.
Anyway, I voted for John Edwards sort of by default, and he's dropped out now anyway. Maybe I should have registered a protest vote for Clark or Dean instead. It hardly mattered.
Rest assured, I'll vote in the general election, undoubtedly for Kerry; the system may have its problems, but I'm basically thinking of the current campaign in stark apocalyptic terms. Bush's people, as far as I can tell, are attempting to break the United States, whether they realize it or not. There's a kind of worse-is-better thinking that invites this in order to hasten the revolution, but I don't believe that, because the revolution would probably kill several million people, myself included, and it's questionable that it would lead to anything better, there having been few angelic governments in human history. A gridlocked government with a somewhat sleazy Democratic executive is far preferable.
If it's any consolation, California is a pretty much a dead lock for Kerry (thanks, SF and LA, for monkeyfucking whatever the rest of the state wants), so it's not like rone's unKerry or my Bush vote will matter all that much.
But, you see, I'd like to think that all votes matter (didn't the closeness of the 2000 election prove that? A few thousand Nader votes in New Hampshire, a few hundred votes, period, in Florida...).
I'd like to think that the mere act of voting matters.
I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince anyone not to vote for Bush. If they don't understand the danger he poses by now, there's nothing I can do to change their minds.
But anyone opposed to Bush who does not vote for the Democratic nominee really is wasting their vote, and cavalierly committing the country to four more years of destructive economic and social policies.
If i don't vote for Kerry, he gets m votes. If i do, it becomes m+1. In either case, Bush receives n. In no way is my non-Kerry vote a vote for Bush. That's just arithmetic.
Loss of civil rights? Gee, i think a lot of Democrats voted for the PATRIOT Act.
And i don't need to be lectured on the consequences of my actions.
I vote in every election because I'm in love with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Bill Galvin, and I crave his approval. Also, I like John Kerry. Even his faults seem virtuous to me? Can't make up his mind? Good. He won't try to push through pointless legislation because he can't commit to it. Married to a republican? Good. Political dead-lock in the White House makes me horny like the toad. Anyway, not to digress, but I think you're still allowed to complain regardless of whether you voted in the primaries or not, because the delegates don't really need us to tell them who to vote for.
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For your own damn good, of course.
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-- Schwa ---
Mistaken identity
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also bad are the people (usually the same people) who say you can't vote your conscience, you have to vote for the guy most likely to win. so, let's get this straight: you aren't allowed to refuse to vote, and you aren't allowed to vote for who you want.
I'm glad we have the freedom to vote.
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Anyway, I voted for John Edwards sort of by default, and he's dropped out now anyway. Maybe I should have registered a protest vote for Clark or Dean instead. It hardly mattered.
Rest assured, I'll vote in the general election, undoubtedly for Kerry; the system may have its problems, but I'm basically thinking of the current campaign in stark apocalyptic terms. Bush's people, as far as I can tell, are attempting to break the United States, whether they realize it or not. There's a kind of worse-is-better thinking that invites this in order to hasten the revolution, but I don't believe that, because the revolution would probably kill several million people, myself included, and it's questionable that it would lead to anything better, there having been few angelic governments in human history. A gridlocked government with a somewhat sleazy Democratic executive is far preferable.
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I didn't make the rules, and I don't like 'em, but I'm stuck in the game, and I'd rather not lose.
Lose more of my civil rights, for example.
So, go ahead, vote your conscience. But be aware of the consequences.
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I'd like to think that the mere act of voting matters.
I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince anyone not to vote for Bush. If they don't understand the danger he poses by now, there's nothing I can do to change their minds.
But anyone opposed to Bush who does not vote for the Democratic nominee really is wasting their vote, and cavalierly committing the country to four more years of destructive economic and social policies.
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:: slinks off to divination class ::
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Vote.
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The people who came to other conclusions in 2000 are responsible for our current political and economic situation. They deserve a little demonization.
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Loss of civil rights? Gee, i think a lot of Democrats voted for the PATRIOT Act.
And i don't need to be lectured on the consequences of my actions.
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Also, I like John Kerry. Even his faults seem virtuous to me? Can't make up his mind? Good. He won't try to push through pointless legislation because he can't commit to it. Married to a republican? Good. Political dead-lock in the White House makes me horny like the toad.
Anyway, not to digress, but I think you're still allowed to complain regardless of whether you voted in the primaries or not, because the delegates don't really need us to tell them who to vote for.
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