If you don't vote, you can't bitch about the elections........

[ABikerSailor]

You know, it was brought up in another thread (the official I Voted thread), that if you don't vote early, then you should quit this board (no, I didn't say it, it was another poster), because this is a political message board and everyone on here is supposed to be political junkies that like to talk about their views.

Well.....................not only do I agree with that poster, but I'll take it a step further. If you don't vote, don't bitch about this election, because you didn't participate, you were only a spectator.

Now, granted...............the selection of candidates this year is probably the least best that we've had in a long time, but it doesn't negate the fact that you should vote and participate in the process.

If you hate Hillary? Fine. Vote for Trump.

If you hate Trump? Fine. Vote for Hillary.

If you hate both of them or can't bring yourself to vote for either? Fine. Vote 3rd party or write in Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, or (my favorite) Marvin the Martian.

But the bottom line is to vote. Yeah, you might be on the fringes and your voice may not be heard, but then again it might.

Vote.

You may hate both parties but find one less reprehensible than the other.

Vote.

Participation in a democracy is one of the foundations of this country. And..........it's one of the reasons that I served 20 years in the military.

I don't care who you vote for, I just care that you vote and keep this democracy alive.

If you really appreciate the military defending this country and it's democracy, show them..............vote....................it's one of the things they fought for.

 

[Ozone]

if you don't vote, you got even more right to bitch about politics because you are not to blame for any of it.

 

[Moonglow]

I can kvetch about anything, really.....

 

[ABikerSailor]

if you don't vote, you got even more right to bitch about politics because you are not to blame for any of it.

That would be like bitching that your team didn't make it to the Super Bowl or World Series while watching them through the television.

You didn't show up at the stadium to cheer (you didn't vote).

You didn't participate in the game (you didn't vote).

All you did was sit on your ass and bitch about those who actually tried to make a difference while doing nothing yourself.

If you don't vote, you didn't do anything to try to make a difference, and therefore have no reason to bitch about the changes that others made while you did nothing.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

I vote for president. I don't vote in any local or state elections. I vote no on all initiatives. Simple really.

 

[Onyx]

This isn't a democracy and I do not believe in the system.

I reserve the right to bitch. Try and stop me!

 

[Moonglow]

This isn't a democracy and I do not believe in the system.

I reserve the right to bitch. Try and stop me!

It's easier to ignore you, just like I do my wives and kids....

 

[Auld Phart]

I'm not voting for Trump or Hillary, and if I want to bitch, I will.

However, I am more likely to laugh at both sides, the losers for being foolish to vote for an idiot, and the winners for electing an idiot

 

[Moonglow]

I'm not voting for Trump or Hillary, and if I want to bitch, I will.

However, I am more likely to laugh at both sides, the losers for being foolish to vote for an idiot, and the winners for electing an idiot

I am getting the abacus ready to count all the voters that die from a heart attack over the loser of the two main parties...

 

[my2¢]

If you hate both of them or can't bring yourself to vote for either? Fine. Vote 3rd party or write in Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, or (my favorite) Marvin the Martian.

I don't consider writing in somebody that isn't registered with the state to be any better than not voting. They'll just skip those write-in you mentioned just as if you didn't vote. For write-in's to be counted they must be for somebody who is registered with the state and has provided the names of his/her electors for the electoral college.

 

[Brynmr]

I'm voting on election day and I assure everyone here, I won't be bitching about the outcome.

 

[ABikerSailor]

I'm voting on election day and I assure everyone here, I won't be bitching about the outcome.

So, either you know something the rest of us don't and you feel like you're on the winning team, or, (unlike Trump) you are willing to accept the outcome because it's the will of the people.

 

[Onyx]

You statists are so silly with these cute rituals of yours.

 

[Brynmr]

I'm voting on election day and I assure everyone here, I won't be bitching about the outcome.

So, either you know something the rest of us don't and you feel like you're on the winning team, or, (unlike Trump) you are willing to accept the outcome because it's the will of the people.

If Trump wins, I party down. If Clinton wins, it's over. The fat lady sang and there's no point bitching about something that ain't coming back.

 

[ABikerSailor]

I'm voting on election day and I assure everyone here, I won't be bitching about the outcome.

So, either you know something the rest of us don't and you feel like you're on the winning team, or, (unlike Trump) you are willing to accept the outcome because it's the will of the people.

If Trump wins, I party down. If Clinton wins, it's over. The fat lady sang and there's no point bitching about something that ain't coming back.

You know, I feel the exact opposite.

 

[MisterBeale]

When the system is corrupt and out of control, sometimes the best thing that can be done, is to have very low voter participation. Low participation in the system DE-legitimizes the whole system. As we have seen with various leaks and whistle blowers, from Snowden to Wikileaks, the system IS corrupt and illegitimate. This raises the question of whether the people should actively participate or support a dying and corrupt system that doesn't give a shit about them any more. It's clear from how the DNC treated their supporters, they don't give a shit about the people. It's clear from how the RNC is treating the people, they don't give a shit about the people, they haven't given Trump one bit of support.

In fact, if it hadn't been for abysmal voter participation, the S. African apartheid regime would have never fallen. You should be educated about the benefits of not voting. . . .

You've Got to Stop Voting - by Mark E. Smith
You've Got to Stop Voting - by Mark E. Smith | FUBAR AND GRILL
The most common activist strategies, such as street demonstrations, protests, etc., rarely seem to bring about any change in government. There is only one nonviolent tactic that has been proven to work. Recently I asked the new president of a local activist group that had banned me from speaking, if I would be allowed to speak under the new leadership. I explained that I'm an election boycott advocate. The reply I got was:

"So my question is - how does NOT voting change anything? I can see actually writing in someone you believe in - but not voting simply is giving up."


I decided to answer the question as thoroughly as I could. Here's what I wrote, which I'm posting here with the person's name removed:

South Africa endured many years of violence under the Apartheid regime. Many people and countries worldwide boycotted Apartheid, but the US government insisted on supporting the Apartheid regime, saying that while the US abhorred Apartheid, the regime was the legitimate government of South Africa. Then the Apartheid regime held another election. No more than 7% of South Africans voted. Suddenly everything changed. No longer could the US or anyone else say that the Apartheid regime had the consent of the governed. That was when the regime began to make concessions. Suddenly the ANC, formerly considered to be a terrorist group trying to overthrow a legitimate government, became freedom fighters against an illegitimate government. It made all the difference in the world, something that decades more of violence could never have done.

In Cuba, when Fidel Castro's small, ragged, tired band were in the mountains, the dictator Batista held an election (at the suggestion of the US, by the way). Only 10% of the population voted. Realizing that he had lost the support of 90% of the country, Batista fled. Castro then, knowing that he had the support of 90% of the country, proceeded to bring about a true revolution.

In Haiti, when the US and US-sponsored regimes removed the most popular party from the ballot, in many places only 3% voted. The US had to intervene militarily, kidnap Aristide, and withhold aid after the earthquake to continue to control Haiti, but nobody familiar with the situation thought that the US-backed Haitian government had the consent of the governed or was legitimate.

Boycotting elections alone will not oust the oligarchy, but it is the only proven non-violent way to delegitimize a government.

A lot of people here are complaining about the Citizens United decision. Some want to amend the Constitution because there is no appeal from a Supreme Court decision (their edicts have the same weight as the Divine Right of Kings), but getting enough states to ratify is a long drawn out and not always successful process, as I'm sure you recall from the ERA. But suppose that the corporations spent ten to fifteen billion dollars on an election (they spent at least five billion on the last midterms, so that's not unreasonable) and almost nobody voted. Do you think their boards of directors would let them do it again?

Here are some of the most common canards that political party operatives use to argue against not voting:

1. Not voting is doing nothing. . . . "

 

[Onyx]

Voting is how the state manufactures consent to its proclaimed right to rule.

Personally I never cared much for rulers, so the ruling class can suck my cock.

 

[ABikerSailor]

If you don't vote and some idiot that you don't like is in office, you have nobody to blame but yourself.

And oh yeah...............because you said nothing about the election by not voting, you kept silent then, so you should keep silent until the next voting cycle.

Besides..................lest any of you forget, there is a whole lot more on the ballots than just Trump and Clinton. There are also state and local elections (which have a much larger impact on you), as well as voting for tax increases and the like.

Shoot.....................write in a candidate for president if you can't hold your nose long enough to vote for one or the other, but you should go, if not for the presidential election, then at least go and vote for or against the local officials and for or against tax increases.

And...............remember...................if you don't vote and your local taxes go up, you have no reason to bitch. You could have stopped it but didn't.