I have voted in every election since I turned 18...some of them twice. I do live in Chicago after all.
I believe that as we have a right to vote we should use it even if you spoil your ballot paper, this was a hard won franchise and should not be treated lightly as there are those who would happily see normal everyday folks striped of the right to vote. You have it so use it To be honest I would make voting compulsary if I could De Orc :kewl:
Why make voting mandatory? Half of the American public under the age of 30 probably does not know the name of the Vice President or the capitol city of their State. There are huge numbers of recent "Americans" that hate America. I think there should be a qualifications test to vote. There would not be as many ballots to count. Take away the dead people and multiple votes per citizen in the big eastern cities and we could probably count all the legitimate ballots in the United States in a couple of hours.
I voted Other, but what I really wanted was a Yes with a qualifier. I try to vote every time I have the chance. However, I sometimes have a hard time finding out about when votes are being held. I can't find a good source of voting information around me. So, then I'm not able to vote. Also, I must say that around where I live, it's hard to find out about local candidates for all of the different offices and about local issues. If I vote for someone just based on a political party, I feel bad about doing it. For all I know, that person could be a complete idiot. I sometimes would rather vote for someone in a party other than my own typical party if I think that person will do a better, more competent job.
I vote with an absentee ballot. It's the way to go. No waiting lines and you can take your time and READ the ballot. Since I travel, I can't be positive I will be home for every Tuesday election. BTW...You know those absentee ballots...they are the very ones that liberals like to throw out (along with the military vote) because most people that vote absentee are the producers and tax payers of this country...not the scum that sits home and watches Springer and "Slip-n-Fall" attorney commercials.
While we're at it, we mind as well not allow stupid or uninformed people a vote. That way, all votes could probably be counted in a matter of minutes.
You see Midas, this is what drives me to drink when I read your comments (not really). "Liberals", as you call them, championed absentee ballot voting in the first place and it was Conservatives that were opposed to them because they feared that increased voter turn out would favor Democrats. I remember not so long ago not being able to vote absentee and the ferocity with which the Conservatives fought and lost the battle to keep absentee voting from being legal. Just out of curiosity, which side were the Conservatives on during the civil rights battles of the 1960's? Or have you already re-wrote that chapter of history in favor of the Conservatives? Conservatives have consistently been opposed to any measure that would make it easier for people to vote because they are well aware of their minority status in this country. Republicans vote in greater numbers percentage wise than do Democrats and are a much more homogeneous voting bloc- you know, mostly white. None of this is in dispute but again you see the world the way you want to see it and not the way it really is. So what else is new? Your ability to stereotype anything from people to political parties so that they fit into your world view never ceases to amaze me. Vote-by-mail has created some controversy. Some conservatives fear that more low-income working people will vote, diluting conservative influence. Some oppose changing the tradition of going to a polling place to vote, but many appreciate the ability to vote at a time and place more convenient for them. Some people fear vote fraud, but most claims of fraud are alleged for partisan reasons and very few actual cases have been found. Some question how much voter turnout is increased in using vote-by-mail but certainly many more people have the opportunity to vote and others point out that when they can vote, more people will vote.
No. I would bet anyone legally immigrating to America loves your country a hell of a lot more and works a hell of a lot harder to pay taxes than some idiots drinking their buttwiper beer and smokin maryjane and collectin' welfare.
I am speaking of the millions of "Americans" that live here, and are Americans by location only, may even vote, but many have no long-term vested interest in the welfare of the United States.
First of all, it was REPUBLICANS that pushed through the civil rights acts during the 60's. Even Al Gore's father (Senator from TN) was against this legislation. It was democrats who flew Confederate flags as part of this protest. If it wasn't for republicans, the bill would have died. Second, why is it so bad to have a voter show a PICTURE I.D. in order to vote? Democrats are against that idea as well. Being from Chicago, I am sure you can understand. Third...it is liberals who are against the idea of moving election day to the weekend (Saturday) because they know that most producers and tax payers will have more time and access to vote. Since election day is NOT a federal holiday, the voting window for tax payers and producers is in fact limited. Liberals are DEAD SET against giving producers and tax payers more access to vote. Fourth, I am all for LEGAL citizens to pass a test before they vote. Do you know how many people (especially women) who voted fo Clinton because he "looked nice" or had "nice hair?" It is one of the reason why our founding fathers set up the electoral college because they were worried about the "village idiots" who could vote. Everytime Jay Leno hits the street, I just shake my head because many of these people prove my point. Also, it is only liberals that complain that voting is "too difficult" or "hard to understand" or "lines are too long". If you think about it, when a liberal politician caters to the most stupid and government parasite dependent gimmee-gimmee-gimmee people, you have to accept the fact that they may not be able to read the ballot or follow basic instructions. After all, that is the base of the liberal left...people that are dependent on the government for ALL of their needs and existance at the expense of somebody else. That is why we tried to simplify the voting process for liberals here in Florida...just having them vote once is bad enough.
Revisionist history is always so entertaining Midas. I like the comical pictures you throw in for support too. You know the Christian Nation Movement is also doing some pretty extensive revisionist history but they go all the way back 6000 years to when the world was creared. I bet they could use a guy like you that isn't interested in facts so much as they are interested in a seeing things the way they want, and know, things really are. Check them out, fill out an application, have an interview. You are first class Christian Nation material. You're just plain wrong. I am as you say a liberal and I have plenty of liberal friends and not one of them would do anything that would decrease voter turn out in any way. That is so contrary to democratic values that and so well established that it is just comical to suggest otherwise. Again, you have you view of the the political parties carved in stone and you don't need messy well established facts to get in your way. You seem to like things the way they were 50 years ago and no matter how much time passes, you see things in the same way. I guess that makes you the best little Republican out there. Well good for you. Happy sailing!
Actually...today's republicans are "yesterday's democrats" and today's democrats are nothing more than hard-core socialists! I am very disappointed with today's republican party. Instead of sticking to the "Reagan Doctrine" and its core principles, today's republican leaders made a HUGE mistake by trying to reach out to the liberal socialists across the aisle. Liberals were smart, they smiled and never gave up their liberal beliefs while republicans surrendered many of their core beliefs. What happened? Liberals still beleive in income tax redistribution and more government programs while compromising our defense and republicans abandoned their base...and p***ed me off! I am all for a 3rd party. A party that is strong on defense (which is the #1 function of the federal goverment), fiscally conservative, and moderate on social issues. This sums up what liberals are all about:
I think you are forgetting Moen that the democrat party of the eastern establishment was a far cry from the southern Dixie democrats during the civil rights movement days. There was fractional politics within both parties during that time period. Gov. and former Democrat Presidential Candidate George Corley Wallace would be one well known example of one Dixie democrat. Another famous Governor would be Hollings of South Carolina (before he became senator), Ernest F. Hollings personally led the fight against lunch counter integration in his state. The New York Times reported that Hollings "warned today that South Carolina would not permit 'explosive' manifestations in connection with Negro demands for lunch-counter services." The Times reported that Hollings called a news conference on the subject where he "challenged President Eisenhower's contention that minorities had the right to engage in certain types of demonstrations" against segregation. Hollings told reporters at the press conference that Eisenhower was "confused" and had done "great damage to peace and good order" by supporting the rights of minorities to protest segregation at the lunch counters. (SOURCE: "Warning by Hollings." New York Times, March 17, 1960.) Then we have the bigotted past of former Ku Klux Klansman Robert Byrd (D-WV), who used a racial slur on television around 2002. The list goes on and on but to really make the point all one has to do is look at the roll call of votes to see how the civil rights legistlation was passed.
The problem I have with Republicans in general is that they believe that big corporations built this country into what it is today. That is just plain BS. It was the average hard working American that put in long hours sacrificed family and health and came to work everyday and turned this country into what it is today. There is no harder working people on this planet than Americans. Over the last couple of decades, Republicans have successfully changed the emphasis from the worker to the corporation as the engine of success in the social lexicon. I'm not talking about the average small business owner or the guy who employs a couple of locals in his neighborhood, I'm talking about the companies that pay their CEO's a half a billion dollars in retirement income. The companies that default on their pensions through legal chaper11 reorganization programs written by the same congress that laps up money from big business lobbyists. The companies that get us involved in foreign wars for oil, rubber, sugar, and natural gas while destroying our environment and reaping huge profits. The same companies that topple governments that aren't friendly to U.S. businesses and damn the long-term consequences for the rest of us. Big business is destroying this country and causing the rest of the world to see us for what we've become. And it's not the lovable American tourist that used to be envied by foreign hosts but rather the spoiled self-indulgent sheep sucking on the corporate leavings that are getting more sparse every year while our corporations cause more wars, instability, and hatred of America. The American worker in being anesthetized into complacency and subjected to fear mongering because they are the only group that can rise up and put an end to the abuses of corporate corruption and greed. And it is the Republican party that is their defender with a blind eye, a quick wink, and an out stretched hand always ready to defeat any legislation that addresses any environmental safety issues, any restriction of public land use, any regulations that curtail oppressive business practices, minimum wage standards, or any other legislation deemed as unfriendly to big business or should I say less profitable. Agencies like the EPA and OSHA are regularly gutted by Republican administrations and deregulation of entire industries is a common occurrence. In my opinion, if you are a hard working American and a Republican, you are only aiding those that would see you poor, destitute, and living like a third world citizen. Within the next 10 years, American corporations will have defaulted to the tune of 450 billion dollars in pension funds that were promised and paid for by average American worker. So if you have a pension right now, don’t count on it being there when you retire. Again, the hard working American gets shafted. Thank you GOP for helping to rape this country so that you and your 1% can live in nice homes and send your kids to private schools. You help make the term class warfare a lot more palatable. I think you should push for anothe tax break. Send my 5 bucks to the same place as you did last time you screwed the American workers.
I got sucked into that third party political suicide pact with that little Texan back in 1988. We got 8 years of Clinton because so many disgruntled Republicans voted for Ross Perot. G.W. Bush is doing exactly what his father did in 1988. I assume that it is cultural arrogance derived from several generations of significant wealth and political power that casue these guys to treat their long-standing conservative base with such disrespect. Schwartzenegger is doing the same thing in California. The only practical (possible) solution to the problem is to vote for true conservatives in the Republican primaries. No conservative third parties.
