I have already shown my photo ID and voted. Are you going to participate in our

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   Perspycaciousposted 9 years ago

   I have already shown my photo ID and voted.  Are you going to participate in our democratic process?
   
   The time for complaining about seated Democrats and Republicans is nearly over.  The time to take the lazy elephants and stubborn mules to the slaughter house is here.  If you can't stand to see your expensive pet elephant or mule thrown out, don't expect 2015 and 2016 to be anything but a re-run of what they've wasted, namely another $8 trillion since 2008, while your neighbor is on welfare because he can't find a decent job, your military is under-funded because nobody accepted the plan to avoid the sequester, and the borders still leak like a sieve.

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   AJDonkinposted 9 years ago

   Great question...unfortunately I feel there is no real choice at the ballot box. I'll be sitting this one out

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      Perspycaciousposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Chances are your decision will make you part of "the Silent Majority" of Americans this year, making it almost certain that most Americans will get what they didn't want.  Not voting is your right, part of free agency.

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      Old-Empresarioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Perspycacious, you probably won't get want you want either because you didn't contribute a substantial amount of money to any candidate's campaign.

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      Robert the Bruceposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      We need to stop feeling good about ourselves when we take some small, token part in government. We must realize that the government is out of control and growing more powerful. This is NOT the free society the Founders imagined.

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      AJDonkinposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Fair point. But what I meant to say, as Old-Empresario so accurately stated, is there is no real choice at the ballot box. Everything else is media hype

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   lisavollrathposted 9 years ago

   I voted first thing Monday morning. If you don't show up to vote, and participate in the process, you're part of the problem with the government, and not part of the solution.

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      Perspycaciousposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I could understand, if there were only two candidates up for your vote and you could be sure your spouse's vote would cancel out your vote, and so you both agree not to vote.But there are few elections in which only two candidates are being voted on.

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      MizBejabbersposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Not necessarily a cancel-out vote. Do you realize that the votes might not actually cancel each out because one of their votes could throw a candidate over the hump and make a difference as to whether there would be a runoff.

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      Old-Empresarioposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      lisavollrath, you seem to have a very innocent view our electoral system and our main parties

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      lisavollrathposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hah! That's the first time I've ever been called innocent. I don't think our process is perfect, but we're stuck with it for now, so I'm not going to let my chance to have my say go to waste.

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   MizBejabbersposted 9 years ago

   Yes, we plan to vote during early voting so we won't have to stand in line for hours at the polls. Although the voter ID law has been thrown out, I don't mind showing a photo ID. I don't see any racial discrimination in requiring a photo ID because in my state dead white people have been known to vote. We've had to show photo IDs at the polls for the last 20 or 30 years because one year at least 30 white people in one cemetery rose out of their graves and cast ballots in a general election.

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   Old-Empresarioposted 9 years ago

   People have been saying that for 50 years and no matter who we vote for, nothing changes. Remember in 2008 when Barack Obama was considered to be the "peace candidate"? In 2006 and 2008 were "threw the bums out" with the electoral process you suggest and nothing changed. In 2012, we "threw the bums out" again and nothing changed again. The reason people don't vote today is because they have lost faith in the democratic system. They know there is no point to voting because the two political parties both act identical to one another (in spite of what they may say in speeches). Deciding between a Democrat or a Republican is no different than deciding between two sports teams. The parties both complete against each other, but they both represent the same things. The rest is just media hype and typical lying politicians giving speeches. Politicians who might make a difference in something are always sidelined during primaries or during political campaigns. My non-vote is a vote of No Confidence.

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      Perspycaciousposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I was tempted to write "When in doubt, vote them out!"  But here locally the incumbent is head and shoulders more capable (Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Republican) than his opponent.  So such an idea is not a panacea.  If both choices are poor, vote the best

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      Robert the Bruceposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Very insightful answer, Empresario. The two parties thing is a big joke...and the American people are the suckers. The nation is run by groups and individual far more wealthy and influential than the politicians.

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