Posted on 11/08/2011 5:30:57 AM PST by wolfman23601
Conventional wisdom is that if you don't vote, you can't complain. I have come to the conclusion that I disagree. By vote voting, you are in fact voting for none of the above. In the Virginia House, my race is between a liberal democrat and an establishment GOP puppet who has no accomplishments of his own and has never stood on his own two feet. The incumbant retired and the new candidate is a handoff ripe for more graft. In the Virginia senate, it is a liberal democrat against a restaurant owner that wants more toll roads. I simply can't vote for any of these people. Would it send a better message to cast a blank ballot or sit it out completely?
Thanks... I think I’ll cast the blank ballot. Unfortunately, there aren’t any third party candidates or ballot initiatives this year. I am in SE Virginia and it is a good ole boy network of politicians. The republicans are easily going to win both races, but frankly, there is no difference between the parties at this level.
Too late for this election, but double your efforts for the next one, and network with others to quadruple the effort.
I and my group have handed out flyers, gone door-to-door, rented space at county and state fairs, sponsored speakers, sponsored radio ads, shown videos to the general public, and more.
You can't just give up.
Is McDonnell trying to push a conservative agenda? All I am seeing are toll roads and high speed rail. He has done a great job selling the state for jobs with companies moving in, but I am not convinced he has a conservative legislative agenda.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
“Unless a race is decided by one vote, your vote is meaningless anyway. I’ve never cast a meaningful vote. I could have stayed home every single time and nothing would be different”
That is a horrible attitude to have, every vote does count and imagine if everyone thought the same way? A big problem with the election of 2008 was that people stayed home instead of going to the polls.
We are lucky to live in a nation that protects our right to vote.
Concur. Legislating is a team sport, and with a GOP majority in the state senate, the Governor’s reforms will fare better.
More importantly, even a moderate Republican will pull the entire caucus to the Right. And put one more RAT off the public payroll.
Those are the only offices on your ballot?
We live in Fairfax in a district so blue the GOP hasn’t even fielded candidates for the County Supervisor or School Board. BUT there are other positions, i.e., Sheriff, School Board at large, Water and Soil Conservation. And there is a school bond.
And, even if your only GOP choice is a “RINO,” his/her seat could spell the difference between the Dems retaining their majority in the Senate or the R’s taking over. Whether or not an individual R is more liberal than you’d like, the majority position strengthens the conservatives who would take over committee chairmanships and the agenda, and Gov. McDonnell.
If you don’t like the choice, why not become involved enough that you can be a candidate in the next cycle?
Well said, Longbow. Exactly right.
TC
Sometimes you have to follow your own beliefs. I did not vote in the last election for president because I believed that McCain would have compromised us into the same position that Zero finds him self in today and we would be blamed. I believe today that I was right.I won’t do it this election because the country has seen what the dims are actually like. If they elect the dims again they deserve what they get!!!
I’m proud to go to the polls today, and to support the candidate(s) who will support Governor McDonald. Today I’m only voting for a Board of Supervisor, and Sheriff. It’s still important enough, and I want to exercise my right. It’s your civic duty man, do it!
You tell them! Make the people of VA pay.
Just those two and sheriff... and I am totally unqualified to cast an informative vote for sheriff. I suppose I would vote for the incumbant as I know of no problems and the election is not partisan. Our school board and city council elections are held in May.
The Constitutional Republic ended the FIRST time obama was elected and illegally installed in the whitehouse.
You are an idiot!
You can write in a different person to vote for. Better than not voting at all. Vote for yourself. :)
Most of all, don’t let this happen again. Organize a district Tea Party and put up decent candidates with an agenda you and your neighbors are concerned about. Our Republic is not a spectator’s arena, right?! Take over the State’s GOP machinery.
Every vote counts, but an individual vote totally inconsequential. That's why exit polling works with 5-10% reporting.
and imagine if everyone thought the same way?
First, they don't. Second, if they did, then there would be a lot less votes, and one vote might count. But probably not. Statistically, the additional volume of votes merely follows the statistical trend apparant after 5% have voted.
A big problem with the election of 2008 was that people stayed home instead of going to the polls.
Not here in NJ. I had no cause to bother. One vote wasn't going to make any difference at all.
Bill Clinton set the stage for not voting. He said by people voting for him they were giving him a “mandate”. Well, that is exactly how politicians see winning, a mandate. If I cannot support that candidate I will not vote for them. If the Republican party wants my vote they had best produce a candidate that is not the least of two evils.
It's only my belief, but an awful lot of folks have sacrificed an awful lot in the past 240 years or so in order that we may responsibly manage our own government. I will at least go through the motions if but only to make the statement that I am involved in the process.
For those of us who live in New York State, the situation is far worse. Last time around, about 6.5 million votes were cast for major party candidates in New York state and 63 percent of them went to Al Gore. Assuming an electorate of similar size with a similar bias, my chance of casting the deciding vote in New York is about one in 10 to the 200,708th power. I have a better chance of winning the Powerball jackpot 7,400 times in a row than of affecting the election's outcome. Which makes it pretty hard to see why I should vote.The traditional reply begins with the phrase "But if everyone thought like that ... ." To which the correct rejoinder is: So what? Everyone doesn't think like that. They continue to vote by the millions and tens of millions.
Even for the most passionate partisan, it's hard to argue that voting is a good use of your time. Instead of waiting in line to vote, you could wait in line to buy a lottery ticket, hoping to win $100 million and use it to advance your causes—and all with an almost indescribably greater chance of success than you'd have in the voting booth.
source: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/everyday_economics/2004/09/dont_vote.html
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