I'm Not Voting Tomorrow, And Here's Why

[Howie Felterbush]

Yes, if you were the best choice I'd vote for you.

Right on. Thanks for being honest.

Now, you're willing to trade your electric car desire for our Cadillac Law and some plans for some other good stuff you believe in. What if after we get elected, we realize that making a fuel efficient Cadillac for everyone is a real pain in the hump, so instead we make everyone buy an old Buick that gets ten miles a gallon and has leaky valve guide seals. Oh yeah, and all that other stuff we promised? That's a bit of a bother, too, so we're just going to shelve that for now. Maybe if you vote for us next time, we'll get around to that stuff. We promise.

The government has done this to you for years, nay, decades, but you keep rolling down to the voting booth with a big smile on your face, secure in the knowledge that people like me, who refuse to participate in this farce because they feel strongly there is no good choice, are just "losers".

It's like rooting for a sports team. You're all emotionally invested but the players on the field don't even know you exist and couldn't care less if you died tomorrow, as long as they get paid.

Now, get out and vote. Just to show that I'm not a hard hearted man, you can have my vote, too. It's never done me any good.

 

[Piscivore]

It's like rooting for a sports team. You're all emotionally invested but the players on the field don't even know you exist and couldn't care less if you died tomorrow, as long as they get paid.

Spot on.

 

[Almo]

I am not voting tomorrow because I already voted.

Tomorrow I will be rounding up procrastinator's and dragging them to the polls.

Rounding up procrastintor's what? Why people don't finish their sentences is beyond me.

 

[BobTheDonkey]

BUT (and this is why I am in favor of adding a "No Confidence" option), how is anyone to know if you have purposely chosen none of the presented options vs. simply not caring enough to vote.

In the absence of a "No Confidence" option, I would say purposely turning in a blank ballot would be the most rational thing to do for someone who refuses to choose between the available candidates - it's actually communicating your decision to not vote back into the system.

Hmm, I must have missed the count of blank ballots report. Could you direct me to where the count on those is reported?

 

[Mr.D]

Hmm, I must have missed the count of blank ballots report. Could you direct me to where the count on those is reported?

Might be different in your area.

Election reports here generally have total ballots cast as well as total votes for each candidate for each race. (IIRC there used to be a spoiled/invalid/unreadable count as well, but I'm not sure with electronic voting.) After that it's just a bit of arithmetic.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Election news update!!!

Jade Dragon gave me ELEVEN dumplings, even though they only charged me for the regular order of TEN!!

Democracy works, people!

Oh, and some candidates something something, whatever. Damn, those were good dumplings.

 

[Howie Felterbush]

Election news update!!!

Jade Dragon gave me ELEVEN dumplings, even though they only charged me for the regular order of TEN!!

Democracy works, people!

Oh, and some candidates something something, whatever. Damn, those were good dumplings.

Send me that extra dumpling and there's an extra-special Cadillac in it for you.

 

[FattyCatty]

P.S. I'm holding you both personally responsible for any teabaggers who are elected (because I don't know where you vote, I'll attribute everywhere to you)

Horicon, WI.

Feel free to hold me responsible for whatever you like. I hold you responsible for the Titanic sinking.

Congratulations on helping Ron Johnson win the Senate race. I can't believe you weren't willing to vote against him.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Johnson_(Wisconsin)

According to The New York Times, he said he "did kind of spring out of the Tea Party" and is glad to be associated with it.

Johnson opposed a Wisconsin bill that would have made it easier for child sex abuse victims to sue their abusers. The bill would have eliminated the time limit for future victims to bring a lawsuit, and would have opened a three year window to sue for past victims whose time limit had already expired. <snip>
At the time of his testimony he was on the Finance Council of the Catholic Archdiocese of Green Bay, a committee that meets only three times a year, and his argument supported that position of the Catholic Church.

Johnson has called scientists who attribute global warming to man-made causes "crazy" and has said the theory is "lunacy." He has said the source of the climate change is "sunspot activity or just something in the geologic eons of time."

Johnson believes marriage should be between one man and one woman and he supports the present military policy of "don't ask, don't tell".

He opposes abortion except in the case of incest, rape, and when the mother's life is in danger.

He opposes research funding for embryonic stem cells. Johnson has stated he disagrees with it morally and also eliminating funding would help balance the federal budget.

You picked (by default) a doozy.

 

[Howie Felterbush]

You're quite welcome.

I had a wonderful day of not voting. Got up early, went fishing then had some chicken for lunch. I had the whole day off, I live three blocks from the polling place and I didn't even think about voting. It was awesome. Feel free to rail against me for anything else you like. Won't affect me a whit, just like the election.

Hope your guy won.

ETA: Coffee. I also had coffee.

 

[R.Mackey]

I don't understand the bragging, the gleefulness of shirking your responsibility.

Seriously, what do you think would happen if we took your advice?

Damn kids.

 

[Howie Felterbush]

Kids?

I'm three years older than you, son.

The gleefulness was just for FattyCatty's benefit. He/she seems to think that if I were to vote I would automatically vote the way he/she thinks is correct.

I'm not giving you any advice at all; vote all you want. I seem to recall telling you people this in several previous posts. Now, shut your cakehole and revel in my stupidity. I have to get back to the business of not having voted.

 

[R.Mackey]

Reveling in stupidity sums it up pretty well.

You have the right not to vote, sure. Maybe you shouldn't vote. Maybe, for instance, you're completely uneducated about government and lack the self discipline to learn about it. Maybe you're in deep depression, feeling that you can't possibly have any impact on the world, and have given up. Maybe you're a sociopath.

There are many reasons not to vote, but none of them are things to be proud of.

 

[Howie Felterbush]

Reveling in stupidity sums it up pretty well.

You have the right not to vote, sure. Maybe you shouldn't vote. Maybe, for instance, you're completely uneducated about government and lack the self discipline to learn about it. Maybe you're in deep depression, feeling that you can't possibly have any impact on the world, and have given up. Maybe you're a sociopath.

There are many reasons not to vote, but none of them are things to be proud of.

So, you insult people that don't agree with you? That's pretty cool. Kind of sociopathic. I dig it.

I have explained my reasons for not voting numerous times and you still don't get it, so perhaps it isn't me that's stupid after all. Other people in this thread seem to understand what I was saying, so it's not like I'm not being clear.

Let's go back a couple of posts to the part where you shut your cakehole and get busy feeling superior to me. That seems to be what's working for you. One more time for the cheap seats: I chose not to vote because there were no candidates I felt comfortable voting for. I will not take the "lesser of two evils" option. Get it? Now, write it backwards on your forehead so you can read it in the mirror tomorrow morning when you shave.

 

[R.Mackey]

So, you insult people that don't agree with you? That's pretty cool. Kind of sociopathic. I dig it.

Obviously, hence the references to a "cakehole" that keep appearing in your posts.

I have explained my reasons for not voting numerous times and you still don't get it, so perhaps it isn't me that's stupid after all. Other people in this thread seem to understand what I was saying, so it's not like I'm not being clear.

I get it just fine. But it's not something to celebrate, as you are doing. Your claimed reason for not voting -- assuming I believe you -- is a tragedy.

Let's go back a couple of posts to the part where you shut your cakehole and get busy feeling superior to me. That seems to be what's working for you. One more time for the cheap seats: I chose not to vote because there were no candidates I felt comfortable voting for. I will not take the "lesser of two evils" option. Get it? Now, write it backwards on your forehead so you can read it in the mirror tomorrow morning when you shave.

You don't have to take the "lesser of two evils" option. Nobody said you did.

Not voting does not solve the "lesser of two evils" problem.

Voltaire has some advice for you -- his more positive slant is this: "Never let 'perfect' become the enemy of 'good.'" The other, more cynical perspective: "Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do."

Frittering away your rights is no way to live, son.

 

[Howie Felterbush]

Jesus, I hate last word freaks.

I'm going to bed; not voting wears me out. Glad I only have to not vote every couple of years.

Have a good one, R.Mackey. You're a persistent one, that's for sure.

 

[Damien Evans]

I won't be voting tomorrow because our election is on the 27th.

 

[DavidJames]

I don't know where you live Howie but my ballot in Colorado was multiple pages with dozens of things to vote for. Governor, senator, representatives, judges etc. along with a myriad of propositions affecting my taxes, health and welfare among other things. Maybe where you live the election was limited to voting for a couple people.

I don't give a crap if you vote or not, that's your decision. I do find it fascinating, however, that you spend so much time here celebrating your decision.

 

[dudalb]

I disagree.

The right to complain is fundamental and shouldn't be restricted by whether or not you voted.

The privilege of having your complaints taken seriously on the other hand ought to be revoked upon your refusal to participate in the process. (NB: I favor having a "No Confidence" option for the Howie Felterbushes out there)

Exactly. THose who do not vote have a perfect right to complain, but we have a perfect right to think that their refusal to vote damages their credibiliy.

 

[dudalb]

I don't know where you live Howie but my ballot in Colorado was multiple pages with dozens of things to vote for. Governor, senator, representatives, judges etc. along with a myriad of propositions affecting my taxes, health and welfare among other things. Maybe where you live the election was limited to voting for a couple people.

I don't give a crap if you vote or not, that's your decision. I do find it fascinating, however, that you spend so much time here celebrating your decision.

The Colorado's Governor's Race is a perfect example of if you don't have someone to vote for, you sure as hell have somebody (Tancredo) to vote against.

 

[arthwollipot]

...I do find it fascinating, however, that you spend so much time here celebrating your decision.

No, it's quite understandable. There is generally a lot of... public encouragement for people to vote. This thread isn't anything more than a reaction to that.