Do You Vote?

[Biochemist]

i don't like any of the parties...

This is precisely the reason to vote.

[Biochemist]

I always vote, but I think its a shame we have such a boring political system. Bipartisan politics is either a race for the middle or a race for the extremes depending on the decade.....

I am participating in a movement to help make Oregon primaries "open" so that all voters can vote for any candidate. Unfortunately, it will not apply to federal candidates. But it will work for state office. Washington has open primaries, and it does tend to actually surface the best candidates.

[Queso]

This is precisely the reason to vote.

it's not, it's not at all.

maybe you're right, but i'd like to see what you mean by this because as of right now you are making no sense.

 

i don't want any part in this wacked government, i just want to temporarily live here until maybe someday i find somewhere else in the world i can call home. republican, democrat, green party, they all suck-to me.

especially living in a republican family with mostly democrat friends.

[Fishteacher73]

One of Washington's biggest directives when he left office was that it not fall into the trap of political parties. Perhaps you have not found a party that you connect with, Orb (I personally find a diehard allegeance to any party absurd. One must vote on the issues and support those that most closely match what you think would be the best possible outcome).

 

The two-party system is supported by those that do not vote and straight ticket voters. To say nothing is to acquiesce to the status quo.

[Queso]

i agree with you there fish. from what i have learned about the parties over the years, (which i must say isn't a lot, but it's enough) is i just don't like what either party has to offer, and if i do, can i trust them? one party will never offer everything we want out of a government, so that is why i just stay out of it, leave it to the people. (i'm just a ghost)

now, if somebody came along and promised something epic, i would vote for him/her.

for example, the legalization of marijuana.

 

that's all an opinion, and that's why people vote. to get those somethings that the parties have to offer. and well, i guess i just don't want any of that stuff right now. i'm pretty sure my views will change, they always do as i get older.

[Biochemist]

i don't want any part in this wacked government, i just want to temporarily live here until maybe someday i find somewhere else in the world i can call home....

There are not a lot of places in the world where the opportunities for success are as broad as they are here, and the opportunities for free expression are broad as well (although there are a lot of interesting palces in the world to live). It is good that you have discomfort with the major political parties. Decide to convince others that your perspective is valid. That is how democratic systems improve. Meanwhile, the process of interacting with others that do not agree with you will improve you.

[Queso]

yeah, everybody tells me:

 

There are not a lot of places in the world where the opportunities for success are as broad as they are here, and the opportunities for free expression are broad as well

 

i guess i just want to go and see for myself.

[bumab]

As much as it may seem to suck, the quickest way you can change a place is to stay there and work from the inside.... or invade, kill, destroy, and set up puppet governments with illegal arms, of course.

 

Weren't you running for prez, Orb? :(

[Buffy]

I am participating in a movement to help make Oregon primaries "open" so that all voters can vote for any candidate.

We had one election here in California with open primaries. It went away instantly because the political parties (yes, both of them) hated it. It was only there at all because we have this wacko system in California of Referendum and Recall that lets us put anything on the ballot (like Ahhhnold!) with enough signatures. The legislature has gotten good though at figuring out how to bypass even "constitutional amendments"...oh well!

 

We do have term limits here, but they are suffering from the Law of Unintended Consequences: the legislature has no leadership and no institutional memory, so some old mistakes in governance that had gone away long past in political history are now popping up all over the place. And of course we've got senior politicians forced into retirement who've gotten back into local politics, like the "Brown Brothers"...

 

Cheers,

Buffy

[Queso]

trust me i will. i'll be running in the 2020 elections. :( i have a LOT to learn, and 15 years to do so.

[Fishteacher73]

trust me i will. i'll be running in the 2020 elections. :( i have a LOT to learn, and 15 years to do so.

 

 

You will have to wait a bit longer Orb.... :( You must be 35 to run for prez...

[Queso]

oy i calculated wrong. 2024 it is. thanks fish.

[niviene]

Where's the poll? I really can't imagine not voting myself and I really enjoy rubbing it in to the losers that didn't vote. No vote = No right to complain...

 

 

I love that saying... and I use it often.

 

Also, as others have said, when I vote lately it's not voting for who/what I want in office, but rather the lesser of two evils...

[Queso]

i dont understand!!!! vote for the less of the 2 evils??? why not not vote for anything evil. i think you can complain all you want if you don't vote. anyone can complain about anything, it's just annoying and a waste of time. instead of complaining, go out and fix it. and i don't believe going out and voting for the less evil of the 2 evils is actually doing any good.

 

ok i understand, i see your perspectives, i just don't agree with them at all.

[niviene]

i dont understand!!!! vote for the less of the 2 evils??? why not not vote for anything evil. i think you can complain all you want if you don't vote. anyone can complain about anything, it's just annoying and a waste of time. instead of complaining, go out and fix it. and i don't believe going out and voting for the less evil of the 2 evils is actually doing any good.

 

ok i understand, i see your perspectives, i just don't agree with them at all.

 

 

I do... because I'd rather the less bad one win than the worse one.... one of them will obviously win.

 

I agree with you, though - I think you need to have a hand in fixing something before you can complain (which is what I meant to say). I don't think anybody has the right to complain about something they are doing nothing to fix. Unless they are complaining in their own head... because I don't want to hear about it. :hihi:

[selky]

who ever voted for never just voted so if you don't vote than you never vote

 

but if you do vote even once than you can't say you never voted can you

 

 

if you get what i mean :) :( :( :D :( :( :D :) :( :D :D :( :)

 

selky 8)

[Skippy]

i havn't been of age but i can't see myself voting because i don't like any of the parties...they all have their ups and downs. and i hate that saying "if you don't vote you can't complain"

Don't vote for the Party, vote for the candidate (or against a candidate, you choose). We all yell at the umpires in a ballgame, even when we are not a particpant in the game. I think what people mean when they say, "you don't have the right to complain if you don't vote" quit your whining if you do not want to get involved in trying to make a change, whether your involvement is running for office, writing political commentary or yes, voting. i know that is what I mean when I say it.