So today here in Racine, Wisconsin is voting day. We are trying to elect a new mayor after our former mayor, the less than honorable Gary Becker got caught with his hard drive exposed...give it a minute, you'll laugh.
Anyway, when stepping to the polls today I was kind of torn. Dickert or Turner. Or maybe writing in Harding. Well, first off, I'm not going to write in Harding. You don't live in a city as long as she has and then decide to run for mayor. Sorry, you just don't understand the city.
So Dickert or Turner. I feel in this election like a lot of people felt during the Presidential election between now President Obama and Sen. John McCain. You couldn't get behind either one of them. That's how I felt today.
I can completely understand why the voting turn out has been less than stellar for this particular election.
I will leave you with a quote from the late great George Carlin.
"I don't vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, "If you don't vote, you have no right to complain", but where's the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain.
I, on the other hand, who did not vote -- who did not even leave the house on Election Day -- am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created."
1 comment:
First, Obama kicked ass. He's the only politician I've ever had real confidence in. Sadly, he is only one piece of a much larger machine. At least he's a significant one.
Second, I remember Carlin making those statements and have always vehemently disagreed with them. Many people make excuses for why they don't vote, but it really boils down to laziness. We have a responsibility to weigh in on who we want representing us. It's a fundamental part of the Democratic process. Those who don't inform themselves and live up to that responsibility undermine the integrity of our Democracy. I specifically say "inform" because it is equally as ass-backward when someone doesn't inform themselves and votes based on bullshit.
You have the right to bitch if you vote because it can go one of two ways: 1.) the person you voted for doesn't get in, in which case you didn't support the winner in the first place, or 2.) the person you wanted did get in, but they're not living up to their promises and are no longer representing you as they should. If you didn't bother to vote at all, then you pretty much said "fuck it -- I don't care who wins" taking away any legs to stand on when you bitch. You had the opportunity to affect things and you squandered it.
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