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Voting USA 2012?

SquishierCobra

SquishierCobra

Banned
I, myself, am not going to bother voting.... EVER! I think the government is becoming more oppressive. Like Fascism or something.

If you are voting... Who will you choose?
 
think i'm just gonna fart on the ballot paper to the honest

serves those fascists right
 
I don't get to vote since I'm not America, but you could be reasonably sure I'd back Obama over Romney if I was voting. And I would never and will never abstain on a vote. He who is offered the opportunity to participate in the making of a decision and refuses it for no good reason, loses the right to complain about the decision that is ultimately made. And if anyone knows me any bit well at all, they'll know how important it is to me that I protect my sacred right to complain.
 
As much as I dislike Obama, I hate the Republican Party even more.

Oh well.
 
Teh Ebil Snorlax said:
He who is offered the opportunity to participate in the making of a decision and refuses it for no good reason, loses the right to complain about the decision that is ultimately made.
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Whether or not this person voted, there would be no functional difference, at all. Although voting is important, if you truly thing both politicians are horrible, horrible insects then why do you have to pick the lesser of two weevils?

Voting is hugely important at a nation-wide level, but when a person's vote would have changed nothing, why does not voting (due to apathy or a dislike of both contestants or any other reason) invalidate their future opinion on anything in that term?

This is basically all my CSPE teacher ever says about voting and I want someone reasonable to explain to me why.
 
Coroxn said:
Whether or not this person voted, there would be no functional difference, at all. Although voting is important, if you truly thing both politicians are horrible, horrible insects then why do you have to pick the lesser of two weevils?

Voting is hugely important at a nation-wide level, but when a person's vote would have changed nothing, why does not voting (due to apathy or a dislike of both contestants or any other reason) invalidate their future opinion on anything in that term?

This is basically all my CSPE teacher ever says about voting and I want someone reasonable to explain to me why.
Click to expand...
Why does voting make no functional difference?
 
Coroxn said:
Whether or not this person voted, there would be no functional difference, at all. Although voting is important, if you truly thing both politicians are horrible, horrible insects then why do you have to pick the lesser of two weevils?

Voting is hugely important at a nation-wide level, but when a person's vote would have changed nothing, why does not voting (due to apathy or a dislike of both contestants or any other reason) invalidate their future opinion on anything in that term?

This is basically all my CSPE teacher ever says about voting and I want someone reasonable to explain to me why.
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Because squishycobra is not basing his opinion on a) logic/facts or b) the actual current people running for presidency but instead his idea of what American politics are, and thus will 'never vote ever' regardless of who is running.

If, in any given election, someone actually has the opinion that both people running are equally vile, that is perfectly valid. That doesn't actually appear to be the case.
 
Coroxn said:
Whether or not this person voted, there would be no functional difference, at all. Although voting is important, if you truly thing both politicians are horrible, horrible insects then why do you have to pick the lesser of two weevils?

Voting is hugely important at a nation-wide level, but when a person's vote would have changed nothing, why does not voting (due to apathy or a dislike of both contestants or any other reason) invalidate their future opinion on anything in that term?

This is basically all my CSPE teacher ever says about voting and I want someone reasonable to explain to me why.
Click to expand...

I've had this knocked into me by my parents from an early age, but even if you disagree with both/all candidates, it's still important to go along and vote, even if it's to spoil your ballot. It's so important to have a say in something like a national election that 'none of these people represent me' is a statement worth making, because people have died so you can say it.

And, as said previously, if you don't take your opportunity to voice your opinion by voting in an election (even if you don't vote for anybody), you don't have any right at all to complain about whatever happens after.
 
For the record, this is one of the huge problems with the US. Somehow it's always "the lesser of two evils". Somehow nobody ever considers taking a third option.
 
MN's elections were nasty last time around.... the candidates made me want to kills something.

I literally voted Saxon.
 
Music Dragon said:
Why does voting make no functional difference?
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I'm asking why an individual who doesn't vote has their opinion invalidated because of it. The individual's vote doesn't matter in anything more than a symbolic gesture.

Dannichu said:
I've had this knocked into me by my parents from an early age, but even if you disagree with both/all candidates, it's still important to go along and vote, even if it's to spoil your ballot. It's so important to have a say in something like a national election that 'none of these people represent me' is a statement worth making, because people have died so you can say it.
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I haven't actually ever considered spoiling the ballot, and that does seem like a good way to voice an opinion that you don't like the policies of either/any candidate, but of course, in elections (and I could be wrong about this, and please tell me if I am) the total of spoiled ballots isn't ever given, and of course, no distinction would be made between ballots clearly purposely spoiled and ballots accidentally done so. It's a statement that no one can hear. It's only purpose seems to be so that you can say 'I voted'.

And the 'people died for it' argument doesn't really ring true for me-just because people have sacrificed their lives for something doesn't make it an obligation for everyone else. Presumably, people have died for the right to be prejudiced, but that doesn't mean we should all go out and feel guilted into prejudicing. Democracy is hugely important because it is the best guarantee of fairness and equality, not because people died to attain it. As noble as their deaths may be, they should not be used to strengthen the argument.

And, as said previously, if you don't take your opportunity to voice your opinion by voting in an election (even if you don't vote for anybody), you don't have any right at all to complain about whatever happens after.
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But why? Knowing that not voting is functionally the same as spoiling the ballot, why does someone who doesn't vote have their opinion invalidated?
 
Coroxn said:
But why? Knowing that not voting is functionally the same as spoiling the ballot, why does someone who doesn't vote have their opinion invalidated?
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If someone walks up to you and says "you have a choice, you can get punched in the face or the dick" and you say "eh, I don't care enough to make this decision", then you can't complain if they punch you in the face or dick. You didn't even try to stop them. But if you say "no, I don't like either of those options" and actually try to avoid getting punched and then get punched anyway, you at least tried.
 
I can see how someone could see voting is pointless, especially in a US presidential election. It's perfectly possible that the majority of voters could vote for one candidate, but the other candidate ends up actually winning. Also, your vote literally means more if you're in a more populous state. This is all due to a silly but well meant system called the Electoral College in which Congress are the ones who actually cast the votes that matter.

And on corruption: The point of the US system was more or less to stave off corruption and minimize it's influence by constantly cycling people out, keeping checks-and-balances a core tenant, delaying the making of major decisions to let people have a chance to be heard, and making sure the people always had a right to participate. It's mostly that this system is starting to reach the end of it's lifespan as people have found loopholes around loopholes around loopholes, and society's changed in ways that couldn't be predicted by those who penned the Constitution.
 
I know a lot of the dealio with voting (especially in the US with our complex-but-not electoral college) is that people think their vote doesn't matter. Which isn't true, but that's another topic

um, i'm voting for obama because i'm not all that fond of romney (and if by some chance gingrich wins the republican nomination, he's the biggest joke)

EDIT FOR ELECTORAL COLLEGE: The electors swear to vote the way of a state. Doesn't always happen, of course, but more often than not they vote the way a state votes. (also electors aren't congressmen; they just number the same)
 
I'm in a sorta-kinda swing state so I'll vote for Obama, sure! I can provide a barrage of links proving how completely out-of-touch Romney and his equally vile wife are, if anybody hasn't gotten the memo yet.

Xion said:
I dislike Obama
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Why?
 
for a second I didn't really understand what the thread was asking, but then I remembered that you guys don't have compulsory voting for some reason (really it isn't that bad, if you don't feel like voting you can just draw dicks on the ballot or something). tbh idk who I would vote for just because American politics seem to be way more right-leaning than Australian politics (which are sort of right-leaning anyway).
 
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