There are few things that get me faster onto my high horse than seemingly intelligent people who gleefully exclaim that they do not vote in Presidential elections. Especially those who set themselves up as an staunch conservative makers of opinion. But this is the single-most stupid sentence I have ever read. When asked by a follower who he was considering in the primary...
When I read that my head began to spin around and the green soup was about to spew forth.
But this is what confounds me. I have casually followed him since the early days of Big Hollywood. He spends countless hours wittily admonishing his readers and Twitter followers in an endless stream of who we should and should not vote. He has an opinion about every candidate and every issue. But in that one tweet, all of his opinions and witty political reparte became just so much hot air and meaningless noise because he does not vote. Which translates to me that he is not brave enough to cast his vote and be wrong.
But then showing his true ignorance of history, he went on:
He fails to recognize that those who died to win him that right to vote that he so arrogantly throws away, all died not having the right to vote.
I am not saying that the act of voting is the solution to all of our problems. But when people so cavalierly toss aside their right to vote and deem it a worthless exercise, what other rights will they be willing toss aside as worthless because they are just too lazy or scared.
.@igerner none of them. I haven't vote for a presidential candidate since 1984 and I won't this year either.
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) February 13, 2016
When I read that my head began to spin around and the green soup was about to spew forth.
I vote specifically so that I CAN complain. And as you know, I do it loudly and proudly.@iowahawkblog @TurtledoveJB if you don't vote, you give up your right to complain...period.
— BevfromNYC (@BevfromNYC) February 13, 2016
But this is what confounds me. I have casually followed him since the early days of Big Hollywood. He spends countless hours wittily admonishing his readers and Twitter followers in an endless stream of who we should and should not vote. He has an opinion about every candidate and every issue. But in that one tweet, all of his opinions and witty political reparte became just so much hot air and meaningless noise because he does not vote. Which translates to me that he is not brave enough to cast his vote and be wrong.
But then showing his true ignorance of history, he went on:
.@TurtledoveJB They also died for my right not to vote.
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) February 13, 2016
He fails to recognize that those who died to win him that right to vote that he so arrogantly throws away, all died not having the right to vote.
I am not saying that the act of voting is the solution to all of our problems. But when people so cavalierly toss aside their right to vote and deem it a worthless exercise, what other rights will they be willing toss aside as worthless because they are just too lazy or scared.
17 comments:
I'm with you on this, Bev. I have never missed a vote.
I don't get it, either. Though, if Trump is the nominee I might make this year a first.
I've voted in every general election since 2008 and in every Alabama primary since 2010.
Bev......I've had the same thoughts. I've been voting since Nixon and 1) Never voted for a Dem, and 2) Only Rep I voted for was Romney.
I've always felt my vote was inconsequential, much less obviated by the Chicago style of voting I first heard about with Kennedy/Nixon. So, if my vote was to be overridden by fraud, then I'll just vote for the policies I mostly believed in...not the "Party Uber Alles."
Both major political parties are run like either a good old boys club (Reps) or the German Social Democratic Party (Dems), where you must follow what the party line is. I've never been that loyal a follower much less a cult of personality drone.
So, what's a voter to do when there is no political entity that they agree with? Pick the lesser of two "weevils," vote your beliefs, or don't vote at all due to the calibre of the entrants?
We all have our reasons for why we vote, or not, yet I understand the sentiment from Iowahawk and others. And I don't think it prevents them from voicing their complaints or opinions. That more than anything is what "we fight for." The right to do - not do, choose life - or abortion (btw, as a male can I give voice to my opinion on that issue since I can't have a child?), or vote - not vote.
I think there is a cohort out there that are disgusted with our political class (yet know it's better than almost every other one out there extant) that cannot bring themselves to vote for the crooks. Trump might have tapped into this disgust.
And don't get me started on how the 19th amendment brought this country a"progressive" government in the first place.
IowaHawk's argument is an absurd distortion. I will cede that the right not to vote is a right, but people don't fight for what they already have. It's not like they were fighting against compulsory voting. (And somehow, I don't think the Australian Revolution is coming any time soon.)
In terms of actual, legal rights, IowaHawk is well within his in everything he does, but I understand what Bev is saying. His public abnegation of his vote renders all his sermonizing in the realm of electoral politics hollow. He would be better to throw his principled support behind an unlikely underdog--and as a media fig'r, he can still attach as many caveats to that support as the internet will hold--because then observers can at least say he's willing to place his ideals above victory. As things are, he's painted himself a coward in the battle he works to rouse: eager to wave the banner but afraid to take up the sword.
Even if this election comes down to Trump vs. Bernie, I'm going to place my vote. I may toss my ballot down the 3rd party hole in protest, but dammit, I'll be among the counted.
Patriot, things were on a solidly progressive trajectory prior to the 19th amendment. The 16th - 19th amendments are progressive fruit, not seeds. It just so happens that fruit bears more seeds.
(Look at me, I'm all metaphorical today.)
Tryanmax - you stated my case much better than I did. With poetry and prose! The other thing that confounds me is that if Burge didn't crow about not voting which apparently he does often, no one would know. Points for honesty, I guess..
Btw, when I say "right", I don't mean Constitutional. I mean you lose credibility to complain because you chose not to participate. And I get that the choices can be hard, but we're not making a choice between Stalin and Hitler here.
And many of us DID cast our support to Perot in 1992. Btw, only 55% of the registered voters voted in 1992...
I look at Burge (Iowahawk) like I look at most of all the commenters on the web. He's there for comic relief. Like Trump, who is starring in his own reality show "Trump For Preezy." Stay tuned tomorrow when The Donald says something else asinine to keep his ratings high and people watching!
Most of these folks are there to entertain, not provide serious discourse on the current situation. With Burge it's "clicks." With Trump it's eyeballs and media attention. With Coulter it's outrageous comments to keep her in the spotlight. I take all their statements lightly.
Who I do take seriously are actual politicians. These bastards can, and have, muck it up for most of us. Human nature being what it is, there are very few Churchills out there who wanted what was best for the country and its people. Politicians are motivated by one thing only.....POWER and the gifts that that power brings them and their cronies.
A tale as old as time... to quote a real Beauty.
Bev: You hit this one on the head. "But in that one tweet all his opinions and witty political repartee became just so much hot air and meaningless noise because he does not vote." Bingo.And was he in the service? Because if he wasn't his smug, flippant response "They also died for my right not to vote." was obscene. Burge is a coward and a lazy one besides. I'm no fan of Mitt Romney, but I'm a lot less of a fan of Lord Hussein and the stay homes in 2012 are the ones who put him on the throne. Not voting against your opponent is the same thing as voting for him.
And I have no patience for all this blather, "It's rigged, they cancel each other out. one vote doesn't matter, the elections are decided by the illuminati,"etc,etc. That's all a rationalization for apathy and laziness.
Look at Bush v Gore. Every vote counts, even if only for the effort to cast it. I'm out of the political mainstream. I'm rarely happy with the choice of candidates I'm faced with but I vote against the one I like least. I really don't think getting off your ass to go to the polls once every four years is too much efort to make. Guys like Burge are cowards, afraid to try in case they lose.
GypsyTyger
Patriot - I agree with you about all of these people are just reality show entertainers. And I am all for bringing a little levity and humor to politics, but he and his followers complain to no end about how stupid and ignorant the voters are for voting for [it doesn't matter]. I wonder if they feel the same way about jury duty?
Kit - I am grappling with the idea of Trump may be the nominee (GOD HELP US!!!) But I will still vote.
I was part of the first generations of 18 year olds who could have voted for the President in 1976 (I was one month shy of being 18 for the Pres. election), but my friends took it all very seriously. Lunchroom discussions were fun...
All very well stated above, so I will add only this, and with no apologies to Neal "I'm no Stewart Copeland" Peart, if you choose not to decide, you've made a shitty choice.
Bev and tryanmax, I'm going to give a slightly different opinion on this. I think Iowahawk is right that when you fight for something like Democracy, you are fighting for the right of self determination, and that necessarily includes the right to have opinions I don't like or even the right to have no opinion.
BUT don't mistake that, as Iowahawk does, for some noble stand. Not voting is being worthless to the process. And the fact that others let you be worthless is evidence of how amazing those people are... it is not evidence that you are doing something principled or noble. Believing that is just a delusion to try to make a negative trait (laziness) sound good and to elevate yourself to being significant even though you are worthless.
All those people who didn't vote for McCain or Romney because they weren't perfect, well, we got 8 years of Obama...talk about not perfect. I am not real crazy about the GOP right now, but you can bet that I will make sure my vote is against Hillary or any or Dim, then I'll fight it out with my choice if they win.
Andrew - I wholeheartedly agree. Anyone has every right not to exercise their right to vote, or to opinions. By the word "right", I meant access to credibility, not that anyone who chooses not to vote has no right to a voice. But, yes, it not a noble act of sacrifice. Just the opposite.
I agree with this whole conversation. He may have the right not to vote but it makes his opinions carry less weight with me because he is a coward. Many run around like Diogenes looking for an honest man or the bastard child of Reagan and Coolidge; the perfect conservative. Since this person never has or will exist, they can sit back and smugly tell us how stupid we are to fall for the party lines. The democrats stopped looking for the magic negro and went with Obama. With this alone they have probably shored up the black vote for at least another generation.
I vote in the generals but I' m unbothered by people that don't vote. If someone is that indifferent or hostile to the process, their sullen, half assed contribution probably wouldn't improve anything.
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