do you vote?

[Pheonix]

if yes, what do you look for in a candidate
if no, why not.
are you one of those people that bitch about the government but don't do anything to fix it.

 

[Gudj]

I think alot of us complain and know it can't be fixed.

I vote on local issues if I have a house at ballot time.
I don't ever vote to elect people though.
I don't have a problem with voting for town level positions, however no-one ever seems to be worth voting for, and they all seem to be worth voting againt.

 

[cranberrydavid]

I vote in every election. If it's local I vote what I believe. For others I cast a "contrary vote".

For example if I think a Republican's going to win I might vote Socialist or Green. If I think a Democrat's going to win I might vote Libertarian or something completely off the wall. If you read the indy party's statements, there's always somebody you can support. Even if everybody knows the indy's aren't going to win, it makes the political machines nervous that not everybody votes 2-party, and I kinda like that.....

 

[Pheonix]

I vote in every election. If it's local I vote what I believe. For others I cast a "contrary vote".

For example if I think a Republican's going to win I might vote Socialist or Green. If I think a Democrat's going to win I might vote Libertarian or something completely off the wall. If you read the indy party's statements, there's always somebody you can support. Even if everybody knows the indy's aren't going to win, it makes the political machines nervous that not everybody votes 2-party, and I kinda like that.....

I agree I'm against both mainstream parties the democrats do have some good points but lack the balls needed to get the job done and the republican have big balls but little brains that make no sense at all

 

[Gudj]

Even if everybody knows the indy's aren't going to win, it makes the political machines nervous that not everybody votes 2-party, and I kinda like that.....

What are you talking about? Who get's nervous that a tiny percent of people (much much smaller than the amount of people who don't vote at all) vote for some third party?

 

[cranberrydavid]

Campaign managers and political strategists, to name a few. They're watching every statistic and demographic with a microscope to try to predict trends so they can spin their messages. I know people in the game.

If people believe there are only two choices, the strategists can calculate with amazing accuracy how many votes they will gain or lose by moving their platform to the left or right on any given issue. For the purposes of message, they tend to dismiss nonvoters as apathetic. They mostly lump them by demographic as Red or Blue and ignore them except for "get out the vote" campaigns where they figure they can and sway them by a few catch-phrases.

But the independent parties are a threat because they represent a segment of the electorate who reject what the 2 parties are selling. They can, and occasionally do, split the Red Vote or the Blue Vote. There are Democrats who are still pissed at Nader and the Greens for splitting the Blue vote in Bush's favor, and the Republicans now are worried about a Tea Party candidate doing the same thing to them. Here in Washington State the Democrats and Republicans have spent 10s of millions of $$$ working together (!!!) to challenge the open primary election and its alternatives to keep the "independent variable" out of the equation.

My opinion FWIW.

 

[Pheonix]

Here in Washington State the Democrats and Republicans have spent 10s of millions of $$$ working together (!!!) to challenge the open primary election and its alternatives to keep the "independent variable" out of the equation.

My opinion FWIW.

they did that here in oklahoma too with only obama and mccain on the ticket and no option for a write in vote.

 

[cranberrydavid]

no-one ever seems to be worth voting for, and they all seem to be worth voting againt.

I think we're on the same page here. By not voting you're not voting "for", and by voting indy I'm voting "against".

 

[cranberrydavid]

they did that here in oklahoma too with only obama and mccain on the ticket and no option for a write in vote.

Sounds right. I hear the national parties are trying to encourage this in every state.

 

[Pheonix]

Sounds right. I hear the national parties are trying to encourage this in every state.

sounds like the best way to go is join a party to get elected then change to indy when your already in office. I know some politician have changed to indy when the were in office.

 

[stanktank]

I dunno how accurate this is or if it changes by locality, but I've got a couple friends who are real into the whole political machine thing, but they've said that historically voting third party is effectively a vote for the republicans. I don't know why they say this or anything (could be a sentiment from the democrats blaming the green voters for handin bush the election, as said earlier). Just wondering if anyone esle had heard this, or if they have evidence otherwise. Personally, I'll vote for local issues if I know what they're about, but not in presidential elections. The way I see it, dems and reps are all lying bastards. Maybe all politicians for that matter.

 

[cranberrydavid]

I dunno how accurate this is or if it changes by locality, but I've got a couple friends who are real into the whole political machine thing, but they've said that historically voting third party is effectively a vote for the republicans.

I bet your friends are democrats!

In Idaho they'll tell you that a vote for the Libertarians is a vote for the Democrats.

The party that's in power always assumes that anybody who took the trouble to vote indy would have voted for their party otherwise.

 

[Pheonix]

silly me, I'd think a vote for the libertarians is a vote for the libertarians, but politicians do crazy stuff I heard that during the primaries in ohio the republicans told their people to change parties and vote for hillary cause mccain already won the primary by then and they felt obama was more of a threat then hillary was.

 

[cranberrydavid]

Yeah it's pretty crazy. More like pro sports than a government.

But hey, if your interested in this shit you really ought to join whichever party you want to spy on and go to some meetings. I don't know if your state does caucuses, but they're actually pretty cool and you can learn a lot about how the Machine works and what it's doing for and against you.

 

[stanktank]

I bet your friends are democrats!

In Idaho they'll tell you that a vote for the Libertarians is a vote for the Democrats.

The party that's in power always assumes that anybody who took the trouble to vote indy would have voted for their party otherwise.

haha yes they are democrats! Very much so. Is Idaho a very republican state? I only know them for their potatoes...but that's okay I love potatoes. I'm from Ohio and it is a pretty bizarre place poltically. And to the comparison between politics and pro sports, my cousin in really into politics for that very reason. I'm not into either. Maybe if I'd like one, I could get into the other. Hahaha. But in reality it's pretty twisted that you can even make that logical connection.

 

[Pheonix]

I'm living out in the country with no transportation to get to any meetings but maybe I can get them to send my some literature. but I've been told that if you join a party that your vote automatically goes to that party regardless of who you vote for. I don't think that's true but it wouldn't surprise me either.

 

[Jive]

you all pretty muched summed up how i feel. local voting is great, going to meetings and actually doing something is good. but voting for a president, not so much.

its like being in an abusive relationship for 500 some years. yeah at first he was scrawny and small. but now he's beefed the fuck up. and every 4 years its like "he wont hurt me this time. he's gonna change"

 

[BUMJUG]

aye....local voting that has direct effect on your vincinity? why not??? but i still stand by "if voting could change anything id be illegal".....in regards to "activism" or solving problems...

 

[cranberrydavid]

Is Idaho a very republican state? I only know them for their potatoes...but that's okay I love potatoes.

I think they usually vote maybe 20% democrat and most of those live in Boise and Pocatello. Back when Kerry was running for pres, Carol King held a rally for him in Canyon County. In Seattle she would have filled a stadium. In Idaho she couldn't draw 20 people. Would probably have been the same for a Bush rally here in Demo country.

But whatever. It's all a game. An old Wobbly once told me, "The difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is, the Republicans are the pro-life party of Big Business, and the Democrats are the pro-choice party of Big Business."

 

[little_owl]

I don't vote for people. I don't believe in the U.S.'s faux-representative democracy setup.