Does the act of not voting invalidate one's political opinions?

[toomuchtime_]

This thread is in response to a post by Grampa Murked U.



I decided several months ago that come November I was not going to bother to vote in the general election. I can't vote for either Obama or Romney, since they're essentially clones of one another, and while I might throw Gary Johnson a vote if there was another race, such as Senate or House, that had a candidate worth supporting he isn't good enough on his own to warrant taking the time out of my day to go vote for him.

So should my opinion be invalidated despite the fact that my decision not to vote is as principled as anybody's decision to vote, and not simply motivated by apathy?

Not voting does not make your opinion invalid, but it does make it irrelevant. Even when you believe both candidates suck, it is always possible to decide one candidate is at least marginally better than the other, if not in his stated positions, then in your estimation of his ability to deal effectively with the difficult decisions the next President will have to make, and if there is a better choice, imo, it is your civic duty to make it. To not vote is to embrace the idea of your political impotence.

Neither candidate is marginally better than the other. It is literally Tweedledee vs. Tweedledum.

No matter how long you hold out, your Mommy is not going to come to your door and say, XXXXX Grow up. You can make a real choice for a real candidate

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Not voting does not make your opinion invalid, but it does make it irrelevant. Even when you believe both candidates suck, it is always possible to decide one candidate is at least marginally better than the other, if not in his stated positions, then in your estimation of his ability to deal effectively with the difficult decisions the next President will have to make, and if there is a better choice, imo, it is your civic duty to make it. To not vote is to embrace the idea of political impotence.

Neither candidate is marginally better than the other. It is literally Tweedledee vs. Tweedledum.

No matter how long you hold out, your Mommy is not going to come to your door and say, XXXXX Grow up. You can make a real choice for a real candidate or you can continue to pout and be irrelevant.

Nice.

In all seriousness though, Romney might be marginally better than Obama on economic issues, and I do mean marginally, but Obama might be marginally better than Romney on foreign policy, and, again, I do mean marginally. So from there I'd have to conclude which of these two is marginally better more than the other on their respective issue, and then I have to conclude which issue is subjectively more important to me than the other. That's a lot of deciding for such minuscule differences.

However, let's say I conclude that, hypothetically, Obama is marginally better than Romney, thus, in your opinion, making him more worthy of my vote. There's still the fact that Obama murdered Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, and countless other innocent civilians, a 16 year old American citizen who was suspected of no crime whatsoever, and he refuses to answer for this crime on the basis that it's top secret information. So despite, hypothetically, being better than Romney on the issues I find important, he's still a despicable human being and I'll be damned if I'm going to cast a vote for a murderer.

 

[thanatos144]

This thread is in response to a post by Grampa Murked U.

No vote = keep your opinion to yourself imo

I decided several months ago that come November I was not going to bother to vote in the general election. I can't vote for either Obama or Romney, since they're essentially clones of one another, and while I might throw Gary Johnson a vote if there was another race, such as Senate or House, that had a candidate worth supporting he isn't good enough on his own to warrant taking the time out of my day to go vote for him.

So should my opinion be invalidated despite the fact that my decision not to vote is as principled as anybody's decision to vote, and not simply motivated by apathy?

Not voting does not make your opinion invalid, but it does make it irrelevant. Even when you believe both candidates suck, it is always possible to decide one candidate is at least marginally better than the other, if not in his stated positions, then in your estimation of his ability to deal effectively with the difficult decisions the next President will have to make, and if there is a better choice, imo, it is your civic duty to make it. To not vote is to embrace the idea of political impotence.

No no no no no you have it all wrong!!!! The proper thing to do since Paul didnt win is stay ;locked up in my room that my parents still allow me to use and throw a tantrum on election day!!!! Just me and my bong.

 

[Katzndogz]

I have elected not to vote numerous times. Sometimes it's because I have no interest in the issues under discussion. Sometimes it's because it really didn't matter who was elected because they could not possibly affect me. I have not voted in a school board election for 30 years. A good friend of mine does not vote in presidential elections because she doesn't pay any attention to what's going on and feels that the decision should be made by those who are knowledgeable.

A non-vote is the same as saying I don't know and I don't care. So, the best thing is to let others make the decision for them.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

This thread is in response to a post by Grampa Murked U.



I decided several months ago that come November I was not going to bother to vote in the general election. I can't vote for either Obama or Romney, since they're essentially clones of one another, and while I might throw Gary Johnson a vote if there was another race, such as Senate or House, that had a candidate worth supporting he isn't good enough on his own to warrant taking the time out of my day to go vote for him.

So should my opinion be invalidated despite the fact that my decision not to vote is as principled as anybody's decision to vote, and not simply motivated by apathy?

Not voting does not make your opinion invalid, but it does make it irrelevant. Even when you believe both candidates suck, it is always possible to decide one candidate is at least marginally better than the other, if not in his stated positions, then in your estimation of his ability to deal effectively with the difficult decisions the next President will have to make, and if there is a better choice, imo, it is your civic duty to make it. To not vote is to embrace the idea of political impotence.

No no no no no you have it all wrong!!!! The proper thing to do since Paul didnt win is stay ;locked up in my room that my parents still allow me to use and throw a tantrum on election day!!!! Just me and my bong.

I probably won't stay locked up in my room, or bother throwing a tantrum. November 6 is a Tuesday, so I've got to go to class in the afternoon at the very least. Then I'll probably come home and watch the returns while the losing team whines and cries on these boards all night. Should be a good time.

 

[uscitizen]

The act of not voting?

Not doing something is not an act.
this entire thread is invalid.

 

[thanatos144]

Not voting does not make your opinion invalid, but it does make it irrelevant. Even when you believe both candidates suck, it is always possible to decide one candidate is at least marginally better than the other, if not in his stated positions, then in your estimation of his ability to deal effectively with the difficult decisions the next President will have to make, and if there is a better choice, imo, it is your civic duty to make it. To not vote is to embrace the idea of political impotence.

No no no no no you have it all wrong!!!! The proper thing to do since Paul didnt win is stay ;locked up in my room that my parents still allow me to use and throw a tantrum on election day!!!! Just me and my bong.

I probably won't stay locked up in my room, or bother throwing a tantrum. November 6 is a Tuesday, so I've got to go to class in the afternoon at the very least. Then I'll probably come home and watch the returns while the losing team whines and cries on these boards all night. Should be a good time.

Are you even old enough to vote?

 

[mudwhistle]

This thread is in response to a post by Grampa Murked U.

No vote = keep your opinion to yourself imo

I decided several months ago that come November I was not going to bother to vote in the general election. I can't vote for either Obama or Romney, since they're essentially clones of one another, and while I might throw Gary Johnson a vote if there was another race, such as Senate or House, that had a candidate worth supporting he isn't good enough on his own to warrant taking the time out of my day to go vote for him.

So should my opinion be invalidated despite the fact that my decision not to vote is as principled as anybody's decision to vote, and not simply motivated by apathy?

Heh....heh...heh.......you must enjoy getting kicked in the nuts.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

No no no no no you have it all wrong!!!! The proper thing to do since Paul didnt win is stay ;locked up in my room that my parents still allow me to use and throw a tantrum on election day!!!! Just me and my bong.

I probably won't stay locked up in my room, or bother throwing a tantrum. November 6 is a Tuesday, so I've got to go to class in the afternoon at the very least. Then I'll probably come home and watch the returns while the losing team whines and cries on these boards all night. Should be a good time.

Are you even old enough to vote?

I hope so, since I voted in the Republican primaries. That'd be embarrassing for the state of Ohio and their poll workers if I wasn't old enough.

Word of advice though, if you don't want people to judge and mock you for working at Circle K then perhaps you shouldn't go around judging and mocking other people for frivolous things that you make up as you go.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

This thread is in response to a post by Grampa Murked U.

No vote = keep your opinion to yourself imo

I decided several months ago that come November I was not going to bother to vote in the general election. I can't vote for either Obama or Romney, since they're essentially clones of one another, and while I might throw Gary Johnson a vote if there was another race, such as Senate or House, that had a candidate worth supporting he isn't good enough on his own to warrant taking the time out of my day to go vote for him.

So should my opinion be invalidated despite the fact that my decision not to vote is as principled as anybody's decision to vote, and not simply motivated by apathy?

Heh....heh...heh.......you must enjoy getting kicked in the nuts.

Must I?