Should I even bother voting in Nov.?

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I live in the wonderful state of Texas (I’m not being sarcastic). Come election time in November, no matter who I vote for, McCain will win the state. Knowing who will win prior to elections takes the whole point out of voting, and makes me wonder if I should vote at all. What do you think and why?

7 ounce wonders, music and dogs that are not into beer

[jcd11235 0]

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I live in the wonderful state of Texas (I’m not being sarcastic). Come election time in November, no matter who I vote for, McCain will win the state. Knowing who will win prior to elections takes the whole point out of voting, and makes me wonder if I should vote at all. What do you think and why?

Is there not going to be anything else on the ballot besides the Presidential election?

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[Amazon 7]

Of course you should.... I still like to believe that every vote counts.. no matter what Diebold does for its "friends"

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I live in the wonderful state of Texas (I’m not being sarcastic). Come election time in November, no matter who I vote for, McCain will win the state. Knowing who will win prior to elections takes the whole point out of voting, and makes me wonder if I should vote at all. What do you think and why?

Is there not going to be anything else on the ballot besides the Presidential election?

Thanks for catching that. I was referring specifically to the Presidential election

7 ounce wonders, music and dogs that are not into beer

[jcd11235 0]

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I live in the wonderful state of Texas (I’m not being sarcastic). Come election time in November, no matter who I vote for, McCain will win the state. Knowing who will win prior to elections takes the whole point out of voting, and makes me wonder if I should vote at all. What do you think and why?

Is there not going to be anything else on the ballot besides the Presidential election?

Thanks for catching that. I was referring specifically to the Presidential election

Well if you're going to cast a ballot anyway, and you truly don't believe your vote for president will be the least bit consequential, you could always, on principle, vote for someone who you feel is actually best suited to be POTUS, assuming of course that you're not one of the rare few who believes one of the two major candidates is actually the very best the country has to offer. That vote wouldn't mean anything, either, but it might offer some small amount of personal satisfaction.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

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I live in the wonderful state of Texas (I’m not being sarcastic). Come election time in November, no matter who I vote for, McCain will win the state. Knowing who will win prior to elections takes the whole point out of voting, and makes me wonder if I should vote at all. What do you think and why?

Is there not going to be anything else on the ballot besides the Presidential election?

Thanks for catching that. I was referring specifically to the Presidential election

Well if you're going to cast a ballot anyway, and you truly don't believe your vote for president will be the least bit consequential, you could always, on principle, vote for someone who you feel is actually best suited to be POTUS, assuming of course that you're not one of the rare few who believes one of the two major candidates is actually the very best the country has to offer. That vote wouldn't mean anything, either, but it might offer some small amount of personal satisfaction.

Well Ill tell you this....if I do end up voting it will not be for more of the same . And no I dont think 2 separate points of view on how to run a government is a legitimate ground for options. Most either think one way or the other (Dem vs. Rep). You HSVE to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The bigger picture requires a combination of the two points of view (and then some) rather than separation.

7 ounce wonders, music and dogs that are not into beer

[jcd11235 0]

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You HSVE to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The bigger picture requires a combination of the two points of view (and then some) rather than separation.

I agree. I don't think any of the three candidates currently in the running are the best our country has to offer. I live in a state that may well be a close call, so I feel obligated to vote against the worst candidate of the to major parties.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[TheAnvil 0]

Write in me!

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[jcd11235 0]

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Write in me!

But your sig line clearly shows you support the Democratic party.

Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials!

[TheAnvil 0]

Wrong kind of jackass. I am a JACKASS and not a jackass.


I am 35 years young now, and am a US citizen.

NONE OF THE ABOVE!!! JACKASS '08

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

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Wrong kind of jackass. I am a JACKASS and not a jackass.
I am 35 years young now, and am a US citizen.
NONE OF THE ABOVE!!! JACKASS '08

If there would be a "none of the above" box, I would check it. Therefore, hurry up, sign up..you just might win

_________________________________________

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Wrong kind of jackass. I am a JACKASS and not a jackass.


I am 35 years young now, and am a US citizen.

NONE OF THE ABOVE!!! JACKASS '08

I know you on a personal level. You'd make a good president....of a tequila tasting organization!!!!

7 ounce wonders, music and dogs that are not into beer

[kelpdiver 2]

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I live in the wonderful state of Texas (I’m not being sarcastic). Come election time in November, no matter who I vote for, McCain will win the state.

Of course you should vote. There's a big difference between winning with 55% versus 65%. The margin of victory in CA in 2000 gave Gore his entire popular vote margin for the country. Irrelevant to the question, your vote still has political value for your preferred candidate, even from one of the joke parties (yeah, you Libertarians). And no one can doubt the significance of the Green vote in 2000, though apparently it wasn't enough for the Democrats to reach out in their direction on policy matters.

Short answer - stop whining. I moved from Orange County to the SF Bay Area. I've rarely seen a race where my district is closer than 60/40. It's a lame excuse not to participate anyway.

But leaving a particular office blank on the ballot is perfectly acceptable too.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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I live in the wonderful state of Texas (I’m not being sarcastic). Come election time in November, no matter who I vote for, McCain will win the state. Knowing who will win prior to elections takes the whole point out of voting, and makes me wonder if I should vote at all. What do you think and why?

There are usually local issues on the ballot where my vote maymake a difference; I at least vote for that.

In national elections where I favor a third party candidate who won't win I cast my vote anyway, and hope that the Democrats or Republicans (who have won or lost with < 1% popular vote margins in recent presidental elections) try to snag some of the votes that went to the third party with policy changes.

[likearock 1]

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I live in the wonderful state of Texas (I’m not being sarcastic). Come election time in November, no matter who I vote for, McCain will win the state.

Probably, but Obama could make it a lot closer by going after the Hispanic vote in a big way (which should be a priority item on his agenda). You should vote, you never know.

[idrankwhat 0]

I think you should vote. I think everybody should vote, and I hope that they do.

[livendive 8]

If half the Democrats don't vote because their votes won't count, the Republicans will win in a massive landslide that prompts further Democrats to skip voting in the next election, and the DNC will at some point reduce their efforts to token at best. Similarly if a substantially higher percentage of Democrats vote than Republicans, the results will be closer than in previous elections and will encourage other Democrats to vote in future elections. Basically, if you don't vote, you're conceding the state in perpetuity.

I live in a VERY Republican region of Washington state. In the last couple of election cycles, the Democrats haven't spent any real campaign money here, and in the last congressional election, they didn't even bother with a candidate. I've voted for myself as a write-in in the last two or three elections because I was as viable as anyone else running against our US Representative (the dishonorable Doc Hastings).

Presumably there are also states that are almost guaranteed to swing for the DNC...and I think the GOP voters there should also make sure their voices are heard in every election. What makes democracy great is that the government is shaped by the people. If the people quit shaping, the government grows in an uncontrolled manner, thriving for its own purposes rather than the greater good of the constituency. Look at our government as it currently exists and try to tell me we don't have some serious weeding and pruning to do. If all the disenchanted choose to sit on the couch rather than pitch in, the tide will never turn.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[Lastchance 0]

It may not make a differance, but if you don't vote you have no reson to bitch about whats going on. Not that being able to bitch about it will change anything either. The whole thing just sucks.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[shropshire 0]

That "If you don't vote, you've got no grounds to bitch" is such a crock of shite. In the free west, the freedom not to vote does not loose you the freedom of speach.

In fact not voting for crap candidates may very well show them (if they cared to look) how weak their mandate actually is.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Amazon 7]

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In fact not voting for crap candidates may very well show them (if they cared to look) how weak their mandate actually is.

The problem is the crappy politicians ASSume they have a mandate anyway.

We have fairly low numbers in most elections with voters being completely apathetic. They stay home in droves and cant be bothered.

[kelpdiver 2]

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That "If you don't vote, you've got no grounds to bitch" is such a crock of shite. In the free west, the freedom not to vote does not loose you the freedom of speach.

no, it just loses any respect the listeners will have for your speech.

Be clear - voting a blank ballot for the President is still voting. But not showing up at all...you give up standing on the matter. If 100M vote and the two candidates only get 90M votes, that sends some sort of message. But the 100+ M other eligible voters who don't register or show up, those people are ignored entirely.

[shropshire 0]

That's all true over here too

Was that always the case? or is it a recent trend?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Lastchance 0]

Freedom of speech is one thing. Complaining and bitching about something that you are to lazy to get off you fat ass to try and change or do something about is another. Sometimes when I vote I may not be voting for someone as much as voting against some crooked asshole.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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That "If you don't vote, you've got no grounds to bitch" is such a crock of shite. In the free west, the freedom not to vote does not loose you the freedom of speach.

In fact not voting for crap candidates may very well show them (if they cared to look) how weak their mandate actually is.

Yeah, the bad feelings that go with being elected by a small margin within a small fraction of the population speaks much louder than the power which goes with spending $3,000,000,000,000 each year.

Not voting sure sends a message to those politicians.