Why do people in the US vote? - Page 24

On March 02 2012 11:59 BluePanther wrote:


I don't mean to be rude, but the US elections are not at all "rigged" and are democratic at the heart. We just have a system that is not direct democracy. It doesn't mean that our votes don't matter.

On March 02 2012 13:20 Dryzt wrote:


not rigged? How about bush 2000 decision in florida or 2004 in Iowa? Look at the GOP vote in Maine, blatant election fraud by Mitt Romney's handlers. But its also vote rigging for two parties that are essencially the same anyway.

Those Diabold voting machines are vote rig central, a programmer testified under oath to congress about being asked to write a program to flip the vote: http://www.examiner.com/nonpartisan-in-national/virginia-declares-emperor-has-no-clothes-ndaa-nullified

On March 02 2012 12:09 dAPhREAk wrote:

as long as we are talking conspiracy theories, you left out the banks, the pharmaceutical companies and the weapon manufacturers who also have extensive lobbying efforts.

On March 02 2012 13:25 Dryzt wrote:


was going to add banks specifically and yes aside from your slandering use of the word it is a conspiracy. You should take a look at the mandate and operations of the Federal Reserve alone.

On March 02 2012 12:04 HardlyNever wrote:
This thread is depressing. There are kids who died in Vietnam who couldn't vote. Enough people spoke up and took action to make the voting age 18, not 21.Women couldn't vote for the first 130 or so years of the United States' existence. They didn't sit around with bullshit excuses about "how their vote would never matter." They took action and faced social persecution so future generations could vote. If you are an American citizen that is anything than a land-owning adult white male, chances are people suffered for your right to vote, and you piss that suffering away because you're too goddamn lazy to go put a fucking slip in a box. "My vote doesn't matter, I read something on the internet that says it." What a waste. If the country is fucked up, it is because too many people are too lazy to do anything about it politically, voting or otherwise. This is why extreme positions in this country are so over-represented; moderate voters are too damn lazy and unmotivated to do anything about it. It is hard to get fired up and passionate about comprise, moderation and understanding, but that is what good government is.

If you don't vote, fine. But don't come here and tell me voting is stupid. It only makes you look like a basement-dweller that is too lazy to take any action to change the world they live in.

You and I effectively have no more say in what our government does than a peasant in China.

On March 02 2012 13:22 dAPhREAk wrote:

if there was any truth to it all, the courts and FEC would have thrown out the election results.

unless the investigators into it were murdered. There isn't a controversy unless the media reports on it and authorities investigate. If neither happens or those that do investigate are threatened or murdered (Investigator Raymond Lemme) then the story goes away. Raymond Lemme was a few days away from presenting his, as he put it, damning evidence, then guess what, he is found dead in a motel in a different state with all his files on the case gone and the police rule it a suicide. The crime scene pictures leek to the internet show mass bruising and other anomolies. That is a powerfull dis-incentive, and a clear example of how deep corruption runs in the US.

On March 02 2012 13:32 DeepElemBlues wrote:


If you really believe this, I have not only one, but multiple bridges in Brooklyn to sell you. Very cheap. Great deal for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_US_election
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_us_election
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_for_the_legalization_of_abortion

All of these are either movements that were mostly bottom-up, or elections that were determined by large numbers of regular citizens becoming hugely dissatisfied with the status quo and voting as such.

How and why politics works is so incredibly complex that these simplistic (and largely self-serving) arguments about how 'corporations control everything' or how you have no more say than a peasant in China just have to make one shake his head and want to give up.

When you don't manage to gather support and exercise the political power to execute the decisions you want, it's the easy way out to whine and QQ that the deck is stacked against you.

On March 02 2012 02:47 mynameisgreat11 wrote:
Only considering national elections. President, senator, etc.

I live in the USA, and I have never voted, though I've been of age for the last three presidential elections. At first it was because I lived in a state which has always been completely lopsided for one party. I felt like my vote didn't matter, which I realize is a point that many will argue. But, fu, the fact is that my state would elect republicans for national offices no matter what, period.

In the past few years, however, my reasons have changed a bit. Now I realize that I just have no faith in the electoral system. As much as I hate sounding like a long-boarding, clove-smoking,, hipster douche, I feel like the fact of the matter is that the wealthy elite of the country really do control everything. Business moguls and celebrities become senators, governors, and president. Our laws, regulations, and taxes are thought up and created by people who are wealthy and powerful. They've proven time and time again that they're willing to use their position to advance their own ends.

And of course, lobbyists. Whatever company, group, or individual has the most money can trade that cash in for political influence. Oil companies wine, dine, and bribe for the rights to drill in previously protected environmental areas. Religions collect hundreds of billions annually, tax-free mind you, and then turn around and pump that money right back into congress to support bills that they find morally correct.

I know that this is nothing new. Classes have existed since the beginning of civilization. What's infuriating is that Democracy is touted as a government of the people, where decisions and policies are made based on the will of the general public.

It's not. That's why I don't vote.

Is this a blog?

On March 02 2012 13:36 Dryzt wrote:


unless the investigators into it were murdered. There isn't a controversy unless the media reports on it and authorities investigate. If neither happens or those that do investigate are threatened or murdered (Investigator Raymond Lemme) then the story goes away. Raymond Lemme was a few days away from presenting his, as he put it, damning evidence, then guess what, he is found dead in a motel in a different state with all his files on the case gone and the police rule it a suicide. The crime scene pictures leek to the internet show mass bruising and other anomolies. That is a powerfull dis-incentive, and a clear example of how deep corruption runs in the US.

On March 02 2012 13:42 DeepElemBlues wrote:


Why are Brad Friedman, the editors and publisher of Hustler magazine, and others who have written extensively about Raymond Lemme's 'investigation' still alive?

It must be nice to present 10% of the story to push your narrative and leave 90% out.

On March 02 2012 13:47 Defacer wrote:


If you don't vote, you shouldn't be allowed to complain about your government. Again. Ever.