To all those who are already pledging NOT TO VOTE next year.

[Bicoastal]

Not Repbulican, Third-Party, or Write-In. You people are OK.

I'm talking to the Despair Donkeys on this site who are ALREADY making noise about staying home in one year's time. Congrats, you people are officially lower than the Freepers in my estimation, if you're not Freeper Trolls to begin with, which would surprise me not one iota.

I suggest you find another message board to write on--woeisme.com or something--that does not have a root of the word "Democracy" in the title.

Sincerely,

Bicoastal

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. I have never sat out an election, and have no plans to do so next year

I greatly value my fundamental duty as a citizen in a democracy. That does not mean I will just give my vote away to whomever the party orders me to give it.

[gateley]

6. My mother used to work the polls on election days. One day she dragged me

along because they were short people.

I remember an older man who was from Russia who came in to vote. He said he couldn't understand that people in the U.S. don't value their privilege to vote. He said it is such a gift for the people of a country to be able to have their say in who they want to lead. I can still see him in my mind's eye. He spoke with passion and awe, and I felt a bit ashamed at taking such a privilege for granted.

I will always vote.

[Milo_Bloom]

2. I don't understand NOT voting at all.

It doesn't make any sense.

[unpossibles]

5. I don't either

the easiest way to let the people whom you seem to hate win is to not vote.

How hard is that to figure out. You may not like your choices, but abstaining from voting sends one message only: "I'm too lazy to care." At least, that's how it gets played and perceived. No one looks at the low voter turnout and says, "gee, these tens of millions of folks just don't like the options!"





now, if someone offered me an iPod.... just kidding. My foreign friends are often shocked at how many Americans don't vote and don't appreciate what we have apparently.

[tavalon]

59. I'm going to vote anyway

but I've come to gravely doubt the integrity of the voting system and whether anyone in Washington really cares who votes for whom.

[TwilightZone]

3. "Despair Donkeys"

That's hilarious.

[Bicoastal]

7. I rather like it myself.

:)

[monmouth]

4. Wow, not voting???? Cardinal sin..n/t

[NightWatcher]

8. which is worse an ignorant vote or a non-vote?

[Bicoastal]

9. An non-vote, of course.

An ignorant vote is in the eye of the beholder.

A non-vote is ignorant in the eyes of everyone.

[NightWatcher]

11. good position, but it's hard for me to say that

I have a terribly ignorant family who most years dont even know when the election is or who is running til they get to the pole.

[sam sarrha]

28. only ignorant vote is for a ReThug or no vote at all,only a troll would advocate giving the election

away to the F'n mafia again

[dysfunctional press]

10. i'll go to the polls...i may even serve as a judge, as i have in past years- before we moved...

and i will vote- but i absolutely CANNOT cast a vote in any particular race where i can't support ANY of the candidates...sorry :shrug:

i only vote FOR a candidate, not AGAINST another.

[Blashyrkh]

12. Not voting is an acceptable form of social dissent.

Who are you to judge?

[Bicoastal]

15. It isn't dissent at all.

How can it be? It's completely anonymous and no one ever hears your "opinion."

I call it cowardice, frankly.

[Blashyrkh]

26. See post #24.

[TomInTib]

16. I agree.

Registering to vote in CA guarantees jury duty.

Who is going to run my business if I am sitting on a jury for a couple of weeks?

There are other ways to contribute.

And my Precinct and County are probably 99% Dem, anyway.

Heck, I don't even know who my Representative is.

[Milo_Bloom]

18. Supposedly they pull Jury Duty from DMV Records now.

My fiance got summoned last year and had not yet registered to vote at our new address.

I hate the freakin jury system. I taught her how to get out of it and she only had to go for a few hours one day.

[TomInTib]

23. I don't drive, either.

All of my ID is from Texas.

I registered to vote the first year I lived in California and received a Summons right away. I just ignored it and they still give me grief about it. Tell me I could be charged with a crime and all that.

Screw 'em.

[Milo_Bloom]

25. I hear ya.

I hate the system.

I think if a candidate came forward suggesting we make the jury system voluntary I would vote for them no matter what else they stood for... Okay maybe not, but hell, i would love to hear it!!!!

[TomInTib]

36. No kidding.

Then there are those who think serving on a jury is some sort of civic duty and I am a scumbag for not wanting to do it.

Maybe they would like to trade their future time in the jury box fr my 39 months of non-volunteer combat.

[Bicoastal]

19. Wait--let me get this straight.

You don't want to vote AND you refuse to serve on a jury?

What the hell do you think a democracy is all about? Nattering away on a message board in your spare time?

"There are other ways to contribute." Well, here's one way to contribute right here--self-education.

Do yourself a favor and look up your congressman. It'll take you 2 minutes tops.

[Milo_Bloom]

31. Please don't compare voting with jury service.

as a former attorney I could go on for hours about the idiotic jury system and the fact that somewhere along the way this country got its priorities completely mixed up.

If anything should be mandatory, it should be VOTING, not jury service.

We are required by law to report our income to the government each year, even if we don't make anything, but voting... nah, do it if you want to and skip it if you don't.

[Bicoastal]

39. Hey, did you look up your Representative yet?

I mean, how can you protest the system if you don't know exactly who's running it?

[Milo_Bloom]

46. Wrong Dude!

I know my represenative.

Henry Waxman...

I don't vote for him anymore because he voted FOR the IWR, so if there is a green option (there hasn't been lately) I vote for them or I write in "None of the Above" and vote for other areas, but I NEVER miss a voting opportunity.

[Bicoastal]

D'oh!

Sorry, wrong person.

Incidentally, he's my congressman, and I couldn't be happier with him. This definitely a case of the good far, far, far outweighing the bad.

[Milo_Bloom]

50. I hear ya.

I called his office and (on a different occasion) spoke with one of his people before the IWR vote and told them that if he voted for the war I would NEVER vote for him again.

I was ASSURED there was no way he would ever vote for it.


Imagine my surprise.


Of all the war votes that I felt was a betrayal, his was one that stung the most.


He does some great work, but since that vote I haven't sent in .01 and I used to donate something every year... I had them remove me from his mailing list and refuse to give him my vote.

[Redstone]

30. Tom: They do NOT make you sit in a jury for weeks if you are self-employed.

At least not here in Connecticut, and I bet it's the same in California.

I've answered the summons three times, and each time they told me "we're not here to put anyone out of business." I just had to go for the one day and make my case, and they sent me home.

Redstone

[Milo_Bloom]

34. Here they try to make you prove it...

You USED TO be able to send it in a form stating that your employer didn't pay for Jury time or that you ran your own business and couldn't afford the time away.

Now they want tax records, pay stubs, financial statements and even then they don't promise.

The only thing that can get you OUT w/o hassle here is a medical excuse.

[Redstone]

45. Like I said, I had to go sit in the courthouse for a day until I got interviewed;

there was no option of sending in a form in advance. And, in the county where I used to live, you couldn't bring a laptop computer into the hang-out room either. (Though in the county where I live now you can.)

Actually, I wish I had the economic luxury (and the physical ability to sit in a hard chair for a whole day without needing to be taken out on a stretcher at the end of that day) to be able to serve on a jury. I think it would be a fascinating experience.

Redstone

[Milo_Bloom]

47. I think those who WANT TO should be allowed to...

And those who have no interest in doing it, should be allowed to opt out without being harassed.

There are TONS of people who would love to serve on a jury, but never get called and others (like me) who find it a crazy waste of time and energy and think the entire jury system is pretty much a sham and thus, do not wish to serve.

My point was that if anything should be mandatory in this country, it should be voting and not having to go into a jury room and either participate or come up with a good enough reason why should be excused.

[Redstone]

49. Mandatory voting? I'm with you on that.

Redstone

[Milo_Bloom]

51. Just make it part of the dang tax returns!

LOL. I know, there are huge problems with that concept, but there has to be a way to make it easy to do and as required as tax returns. You can choose to leave your ballot blank, but you at least have to turn it in.

[TomInTib]

37. Really?

I'll check into that.

Thanks, Friend.

[Redstone]

48. Also, here in CT, the juror pool is chosen from car registrations, not voter registrations.

I'd say more here, but I went to a damn doctor today, and he poked and prodded my shoulder as usual, so I got major aggs right now. I need to stop typing and dip into the vikes.

Redstone

[nadinbrzezinski]

54. Wrong, if you have a finantial distress you are excused from jury duty

that is complete BS

And anyway JURY DUTY IS ONE OF THE DUTIES of a citizen

Damn it folks, gime, gime, gime, but don't make me do a thing in return...

[TomInTib]

60. If we could back up about 40 years.

I would trade anyone's future jury duty for my 39 months of "civic duty" in SE Asia.

I've done mine.

And I am very involved locally.

Why is jury duty a civic responsibility?

I don't care to sit in judgement of people who don't fit in, who do not get along. I am not smart enough to deal with my own problems, much less someone else's.

[Milo_Bloom]

17. What message does it send?

To dissent in any reasonable form one must send a message. What message does not voting send?

When candidates/parties lose they look and say what did I do wrong... They start by DISMISSING people who did not bother to vote and instead look at the people who DID VOTE and decide, how can I better attract them to me??

There are, in reality, a dozen or so choices on the ballot. Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian, Reform, etc... etc... and I have no doubt that for those who are choosing not to vote, there is a candidate who actually does represent what they think, but they don't vote because they think their candidate/party doesn't have a chance, thus, their vote won't count, so why bother?

Guess what... If everyone who thought the Greens had the best platform voted for them and they received 5 or 10% of a national vote, democrats would be forced to look at that platform and wonder "what can we do to attract that voting block".

But, if you don't vote, you aren't considered. Your position doesn't matter and you haven't dissented... You've acquiesced.

[Bicoastal]

20. Liked your post.

Thanks.

[Blashyrkh]

24. How can you protest the system by participating in it?

Non-voting gets portrayed in the media as the bastion of stupid, ignorant imbeciles who just don't give a fuck. That's apathy. They're not making a statement, and they are the people you describe.

But for politically astute people to not vote, it's a refutation of the system itself. My vote is mine to decide to whom I give it. If none of the candidates inspire me to want to vote for them, why should one of them get it arbitrarily. My vote needs to be earnt. If none of the candidates earn it, I keep it.

That's what I don't get. People want more from their politicians, but they settle for less.

[Milo_Bloom]

29. By not voting, you are protesting the wrong system!

The SYSTEM (giving people the ability to voice their opinions) is good...

When you don't vote THAT is the system you are protesting. You are not protesting the candidates.

If you really can't think of anyone, write in "None of the above"... start a movement to do the same.

I guarantee you if there were 1 million votes nationwide for "none of the above" written in, it would make the news and it would tell politicians/parties that there are millions of people who WANT to participate, but aren't having their views heard and then an effort will be made to find out what those people want and try to appeal to them.

[Bicoastal]

33. Vote for those who would rather tear down the system, then.

Like the Worker's World Party. Or the Libertarians. Or SOMEONE.

If there isn't a single person on the ballot that fits your criteria, than the problem may lie with you, not the system.

In a way, settling for less IS what Democracy is all about--not holding your breath until the whole world serves your needs.

[Blashyrkh]

57. Then you will get the democracy you settle for, not the one you want.

[johncoby2]

13. GREAT POST!!!!!!!!!!

DU will get back to normal.

[Bicoastal]

14. No, of course it won't.

But this is one case where I'm welcoming a confrontation.

[DemGa]

21. I'd rather fix the party while in power

And the way I see it, the first job is to marginalize Republics wherever they rear their heads.

I haven't seen too many of these "non-voters," but I suspect many of them will come around anyway once things really get rolling. No matter who the Democratic candidate may be.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

22. Huh?

1. I haven't seen anybody say they wouldn't vote, they just wouldn't vote for a dangerous, unfit candidate.

2. People who don't vote are worse than freepers who vote conservative?

Nice priorities you got there.

[Bicoastal]

27. Two answers.

1. I have already seen a few "We're all doomed/Staying home next year" posts. I'll give you that there haven't been many, but I felt like addressing it now before it spreads.

2. Absolutely, they're worse. Say what you will about conservatives (and I've said my share many, many times), but if they're voting, they're getting involved above the chatter-on-a-message board level. People who don't vote are quite literally all talk, no action.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. Baloney.

1. They only say that on the condition that somebody unacceptable gets nominated.

2. So you're saying that instead of staying home, people should go out and vote Republican?

Did you think this through much?

[Bicoastal]

35. No, no, no.

Where on Earth did you get the idea I was advocating voting Republican?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

38. When you said it was better than staying home.

[Bicoastal]

40. I never meant to imply that voting Republican was the best alternative.

In fact, I'd say it's the WORST alternative, all things considered.

But yes, it's still better than staying home. Anything's better than staying home.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

41. No, you're saying it's a better alternative.

Which is still a hilarious thing to say.

[Bicoastal]

42. Yes, voting Republican is a better alternative than staying home.

What's hilarious about that?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

43. LOL

:rofl:

Oh my god, it keeps getting funnier every time you say it.

[Bicoastal]

44. Well...I guess we're done, then.

[LaurenG]

52. Wow, I had to check the web address after reading that - I was

afraid I'd logged on to Dramatic Underground for a second.

Are you trying to limit and control free speech? Doesn't that remind you of republican website?

[greendog]

53. I'll vote, but I harbor no illusions that it'll accomplish anything.

The Montana Senate race will, no doubt, offer us the choice between two free trade freaks. I plan on writing in the Mayor of Bangalore.

I always sez: If "we gonna outsource", then "we gonna outsource".

For Preznit: I'll do what seems most appropriate, given the choices (or lack thereof).

I'll vote for Schweitzer again. He hasn't been too bad.

[nadinbrzezinski]

55. I'll vote but I KNOW it will not be counted

[stevedeshazer]

56. Just like all the Yankee fans who turned in their season tix cause they fired Joe Torre

Back.

No worries.

[desi]

58. K&R

But it's no different than '04. "Your candidate sucks and I will absolutely not vote for him/her no way no how as I am pure as the driven snow."

Error: You've already recommended that thread.

[bonito]

61. I respect everyone as well as those who decide not to choose

It is you right as a free citizen and I applaud you!

[Perry Logan]

62. I've got my hopes up, but I'm worried they were just bullshitting.