U.S. Did you vote today?

[ShivaFan]

Not only did I vote on Tuesday, but I convinced three other coworkers to vote as well.

No I do not talk politics in the work environment, actually I frown on that in a big way. In fact, it could be considered a form of harassment and should not be tolerated if it continues. So when I say I convinced others, these were discussions that happened during a visit to a tea (coffee) house, or sometimes I drive another home as a favor.

But there are some loud mouths who are really annoying, one old Boston lady hag starts saying on her way out on Tuesday night (purposely loud) "Vote! AND you all vote Blue!". A nice Hindu I know asked, "what do you mean blue?" - the hag says "It means I'm a (blank), and you better be too!". That witch should be fired in my opinion.

The Hindu voted my way however. The "other side" would be in big trouble if I had my own radio show.

 

[Tarheeler]

I have every right to complain because there was no one worth voting for. Yeah, I could've went and voted for some third candidate I've never heard of, but why? Had gay marriage, right to work, or some other major been on the ballet I would have voted, but that wasn't the case. It's really just a choice between corporate sycophant A and corporate sycophant B.
Too bad Marxism has been unfairly demonized and hardly anyone actually knows what it is. An anti-state, pro-community, pro-worker, pro-family and pro-education movement that actually worked to deflate corporate control would probably really rake in votes from everyone except the religious far-right. The Marxist party would probably also channel the women's vote much easier than any other party. If people knew what it really is, I don't think that many people would disagree with many of the core values. And as much as we love individuality, it would allow for many individual freedoms that Capitalism inherently steals from us.

I think this is spot on.

I'm pretty much done with the big two; I had stayed affiliated with one of them so I could try to work for the more progressive factions, but that isn't really feasible in my area. Even the "progressives" are pretty damn conservative.

I think it's time to bring in a local third party chapter (I was originally thinking the SP, but the NC Green Party has a solid platform that looks good), and work towards finding support for proportional representation and finance reform.

 

[bobhikes]

Well, I got depressed after the election but it finally pushed me to the point of doing something about it. I am going to some different party meetings with the intention of picking one to work with for the next election.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

How does my not voting make them the same?

I'm not sure what you mean.

In Indiana, the two parties are very similar in more ways, and the Democratic party tends to lean to the right, even when it comes to social issues.

That's unfortunate....

Why should I vote for someone who is going to pave the way for large multinational corporations by throwing money at them when education funding has been hacked and slashed?

I haven't seen a party yet that doesn't do that. Some do it more than others.

Prison education programs have been ended, food banks do not enough or are shutting down, there is quite abit of improper police behavior in the state that doesn't get the official attention it should, medical insurance from the state is ridiculously hard to get, and crime, especially murder, is actually on the rise here; these are local issues that are important to me, but our politicians barely, if at all, even acknowledge them.

I agree with you but this isn't a reflection on the party overall nor is it an accurate representation of the individual party member. I work with various social organizations that are embraced by the Democratic party and other social oriented parties that the GOP wouldn't touch with a ten foot poll.

So, I can choose between one of the two, knowing neither one has anyone's interests except their own and their largest donors, vote for a third party knowing they will not win, or just save my time.

Tis your right....

 

[Dirty Penguin]

The way I see it, the problem isn't those who don't vote, it's those who did vote and cast a ballot for either a Republican or a Democrat.

I respectfully disagree. Your statement doesn't represent the views of all people in all areas of the country. Democrats in my area, most not all, are in support of many social issues and focused on the working men and women, heavily invested in early childhood education and public education, focused on dealing with income inequality, LGBT rights..as well as other areas such as the jobs and the economy. So when the choice to cast my vote arose it was perfectly clear where my vote was going to go. The other party wanted nothing to do with many of these issues.

It's undemocratic to not vote, but at least not voting doesn't destroy the democracy of America like voting for the Big Two does.

Personally I feel that not voting gives a big win to the party that want's even less to do with social issues. It's no secret because many in that party has been vocal about suppressing the vote because it helps them win elections. Now that they have it...from the state to the federal government...they have come right out and said that they are focused on the KXL pipeline, reducing corporate tax rate and trade agreements...trade agreements that so far has cost of billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs...but nowhere in their talk of governance was there anything about minimum wage, the environment, jobs or social issues.

 

[Dirty Penguin]

Well, I got depressed after the election but it finally pushed me to the point of doing something about it. I am going to some different party meetings with the intention of picking one to work with for the next election.

I have been looking into some third party platforms as well...specifically the Green Party. I belong to a few social groups and a few members are from the GP. I looked at their platform and much of what they advocate is progressive...so I'm always interested how people govern vs. party affiliation......

 

[Dirty Penguin]

What do you all think about Alternative Voting with perportional representation? I'm still trying to learn more about it. It sounds interesting but seems to have its own issues and sort of suceptable to some of the same issues in a two party system.

 

[Tarheeler]

I'm a proponent of proportional representation. But, as always, the devil is in the details; there are a lot of different ways to achieve it, with each having strong points and weaknesses.

Personally, I'm a fan of true proportional voting with large multi-seat districts that eliminate gerrymandering. Alternative voting (aka instant-runoff voting) isn't my favorite, but it is certainly preferable to first-past-the-post voting in single-seat districts.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Um... no. The parties that exist in this country are all corrupt because we have a system that rewards corruption and every single politician, no matter what party they come from, all end up corrupted by the system we have in place. That's why people vote for the lesser of the evils, because there are no good candidates from any party, anywhere.

I'd be happy if there actually were decent candidates out there, there just aren't.

That's the problem. The system is now designed for corruption and politicians are going to make sure it stays that way.

 

[Cephus]

That's the problem. The system is now designed for corruption and politicians are going to make sure it stays that way.

But how do we fix it? The same way the legal profession is corrupt and the lawyers are not going to allow anyone to fix it without a hell of a fight. They benefit from the corruption. How do the rest of us override the people we've placed in charge? We've allowed the fox to guard the henhouse for far too long.

 

[bobhikes]

I have been looking into some third party platforms as well...specifically the Green Party. I belong to a few social groups and a few members are from the GP. I looked at their platform and much of what they advocate is progressive...so I'm always interested how people govern vs. party affiliation......

Green party is one that I will be visiting

 

[Twilight Hue]

But how do we fix it? The same way the legal profession is corrupt and the lawyers are not going to allow anyone to fix it without a hell of a fight. They benefit from the corruption. How do the rest of us override the people we've placed in charge? We've allowed the fox to guard the henhouse for far too long.

I always figured a citizen lobby backing up a candidate. Corporate and special intrest groups work that way and look at the success they enjoy. Bought and paid for. Citizens should do the same thing by using the same tested and true type of tactics to put their own "special" politicians in power willing enough to rout out the corruption and change the system enough in order to champion back responsible governing.

 

[Cephus]

I always figured a citizen lobby backing up a candidate. Corporate and special intrest groups work that way and look at the success they enjoy. Bought and paid for. Citizens should do the same thing by using the same tested and true type of tactics to put their own "special" politicians in power willing enough to rout out the corruption and change the system enough in order to champion back responsible governing.

Which just means that the most wealthy citizens, the ones that have the most money and the most power to throw at a particular candidate that will do their bidding, will win elections. Is that honestly the way to root out corruption is to have people be just as corrupt as the current system?

 

[Dirty Penguin]

Green party is one that I will be visiting

Look, I don't have a problem with people switching parties. Frankly I'm all for it. I like many of the principals of the Green Party. Deep down they're a lot like the Democratic Party....at least in principal when it comes to various issues. But I don't believe that for one moment that simply injecting another party or even totally replacing a party with a new one will solve the political problems we're having. There's too much money in politics now. Why?

Because a lot of the people agree with their party on that principal..And you know what...That's on the Left, the Right and even in the middle With Libertarians (some, not all)....I believe what we have going on is a Corporatocracy after Citizens United. So how do we stop this beast? It's not going to be easy now that all the parties have been or will be in the pockets of big donors to do essentially their bidding.

Yes. We need some grass roots parties not interested in big donors but when the people overall have become jaded with the political system I think it's going to be difficult. And I'm sorry for being partisan but IMO republicans have done a great job selling the American people on the notion that government is broken while they themselves crawl all over each other to get into government.

 

[Renji]

Well I'm an Asian with dual citizenship in South Korea and Philippines and has nothing to do with the US. Why expect me to vote for the US election?