Why do people keep acting like voting matters?

a reply to: xuenchen

And in Iran...lolz.

Voting is for suckers. It could work but currently, and has been, a broken system.

a reply to: deadlyhope

The trouble that many people have, is when it comes to something as simple as figuring out who to vote for. The left in my nation particularly, have no proper representation in government, and have not had for at least two decades. The Labour party of today is a withered, gnarled, broken thing, which represents the interests of working people about as effectively as I reach orbit by jumping, really, really hard. And little surprise can be found there, since the fact is that there are no working people in the Labour Party. Since the New Labour era of Tony Blair and friends, the overwhelming majority of Labour MPs have been privately educated, hugely monied, and utterly removed from the traditional Labour values. One might wonder then, why it is that they see fit to attempt to represent those that they know NOTHING about.

I must reiterate a point that I have made before. Unless you have worked your fingers to the bone, sweated, wept and bled, LITERALLY, to keep a roof over your head and that of your family, burned calories just doing your job, you have no business representing working people, because the chances are that you have not DONE any damned work, meaning that you have not got a hope of understanding the trouble that people face when doing something as simple as LIVING! These fools are deluded hypocrites at best, and at worst, actors in a role and little else.

And then of course, you have the Conservatives. The political equivalent of Satan, these self interested, entitled, money grubbers have not a care in the world about the majority of people in the country, except in so far as they need them to vote for them. Once that has happened, they will feel free to throw ANYONE under the bus, in order to make sure they can continue to reap the rewards of access to the coffers of the government, to fill the pockets of their cronies, no doubt in return for a fat payout when their terms of office end. They are, as far as I am concerned, theives, cads, total scallywags whose only interest is money, and should be summarily thrown off a cliff, into a quarry.

Next, we have the Liberal Democrats, an organisation which once seemed to be worth a shot, if only because their policies made a damned sight more sense than either the Labour, or Conservative strategies, like taking the poorest working people and making them exempt from some taxes until such time as their situation improves for example. And thats all very well and good, but they went and eliminated their legitimacy as a voice for the people, by getting into bed with the bloody Tories, and forming a coallition with them, in total conflict with both the wishes of the people who voted for them, and indeed the principles upon which their party was founded, which run entirely counter to those of the Conservatives. So, a set of backstabbing, glory seeking bastards, and entirely beneath the notice of anyone looking to vote.

Of course, there IS UKIP to consider.... for precisely as long as it takes to discount Nigel Farage and his collective of halfwits as the borderline xenophobes they are. They might well be a useful bullhorn in the European Parliament, but I refuse to put anyone MORE right wing than the Tories forward, as a good choice for a leadership role in the UK. In short, they can occupy a pulpit in the EU parliament for us, but as for power here in Britain? I would not put that sorry mess of a party in charge of anything more vital than the contents of a sock drawer.

And next, you have the outliers. The parties who are so far from capable of winning an election, that to vote for them at all IS a wasted vote. This number has included the Green Party, the extremist right wing parties, the far out left, and God knows how many other tiny parties with no exposure, about whom only a tiny minority of people are even aware, let alone convinced by.

Now, given that the only parties which have held a majority in living memory, are both utterly incapable of acting in the interests of the people, because they do not truly represent us, we here in Britain face an impossible choice. Choose either one of two parties which do not represent your beliefs, interests, or principles, or even directly oppose them, and live with the consequences, or choose from a wider list of parties which have no hope of collecting enough votes at ballot, to gain any position worth a crap, and make zero difference to the way things work out for you and yours.

Heres a lark! Since the last election, the British people are now more aware than ever, that no matter who they vote for, they will not be allowed a government that works for them, for their interests to the exclusion of all other considerations, whether they be financial, political, or otherwise. Now, with the best will in the world, how can anyone choose from the list of entirely inappropriate possibilities before us? How can anyone make a choice in this political landscape, without giving tacit approval of the hegemony that assails us? The people, in a democracy, must retain the power. In this country however, we have no route to take back that power, because no matter how we vote, the BEST we can hope for is an unacceptable compromise.

I disagree that voting is useless. Voting at the local level matters a lot (America but may apply to others too). There are many local & county elections that only have several hundred votes cast. Many people would be surprised to see how little money you'd have to spend & how few votes you'd need to "overthrow" many local govts. There are many positions that don't even get challenged b/c people don't run for them. So (depending on the size of your city/county) you & some friends could theoretically form a group, have each person run for a different position, then go around promoting yourselves like a band would. The requirements for most state & local positions are usually laughably easy to meet (years of residency, age, etc).

As the money gets bigger (national level & some state elections), that's when it starts getting scripted. But even then, it's not completely useless. I can't remember exactly, but I think political party's have to get 5% of the vote in a previous election before they can qualify for matching public funds. So if you don't care for any of the major candidates, vote for a 3rd party, even if just to get them closer to that 5% goal. Also, all of the celebrity candidates are going to vote, so you can at least vote against them to neutralize their vote lol.

Until such a time it is proven it doesn't matter we should continue as if it does.

originally posted by: ChesterJohn
Until such a time it is proven it doesn't matter we should continue as if it does.

Words of the truly conditioned.

Don't drink the KoolAid, bro, there's fluoride in it.

Well...voting? does it matter? Probably not

But to think that it isn't our fault is premature

Remember that all of society is made of people. You, me, him, her, the Senator, the POTUS, SCOTUS...we are all people

And we are all greedy...heck myself included. I'm working on fixing it...but it's true. We can't even stop the petty BS at even the most micro of micro levels...what good are we trying to stop it at the highest levels?

Voting would be a more powerful force if...

A. we had more legitimate options that weren't squashed by lobbyists

or

B. People actually kept to their word

We may as well write in "bozo the clown" on any ballot we cast. This is after all a circus.

a reply to: KyoZero I'll take "b" for two hundred Alex. how about them apples.

a reply to: deadlyhope

The same reason they think religion money and material bs matter....they don't have a clue.

a reply to: kenzohattori69

well let me know when you find a politician who will perform "b" and I'll get back to thinking we have a chance

a reply to: Eunuchorn

I will happily, nay, PROUDLY, never register to vote. Ever.

Having seen your posts; I will be sleeping easier tonight.

well....it doesnt cost anything to actually go vote so what do you really have to lose by doing so?

Is voting rigged? Maybe. Then again there is a lot of money being spent on fraudulent voting schemes and the USAs entire immigration policy is being distorted.... for a larger voting block.

Personally I think people that dont vote are somewhat lazy and hide behind "It doesnt matter" as an excuse. It absolutely matters who becomes elected. You can cherry pick issues politicians have in common while ignoring the differences all you want. It does matter though. politicians set policy...what Obama sets is not what Bush set.

I dont think the voting system is rigged. Candidates are chosen by the people IMO. They just have to be "Approved" before they are allowed to get that far. Thats why you will never see a Ron Paul type get elected nor will you his son. its a libertarian wet dream but libertarians have zero importance on elections for the most part. I like libertarians by the way.

But hey...If your too lazy to endure the 10-30 minutes it takes to go vote its probably better off that you don't vote at all. Chances are you are going to vote for free handouts because...your lazy.

a reply to: agenda51

It is the peoples responsibility to vote. But it is the responsibility of parties and candidates to be worth voting for. Why accept a hegemony? If there is no acceptable candidate, why vote for one, just to fulfil an obligation you allegedly have to a system which fails at the outset, by providing no acceptable candidate for your vote?

If you vote, and the person for whom you voted gets in, and then spends a term screwing your nation into the ground, what good did the vote do you?

I can't tell you how frustrated I am when it's time to vote. It's like having to choose between Curly, Larry and Moe. I don't agree with any three but that's all we have and so I'll pick the best out of the three (after having done my homework the best to my ability).

But then I think if no one were to vote what do we have? It just means someone worse than the one I have chosen will most likely get picked and we'll be worse off than ever.

I wonder what would happen if NO ONE, and I mean no one voted and then I think the powers that be would just rip all choices from us.

So I do my best and vote. I choose to use the little bit of voice I have.

It's controlled by the electorial college and corporate america.

Sorry everyone! I forgot I even made this thread. To sum up

- I believe local voting matters, possibly even state. You can ensure voices be heard especially on the community level, you can choose people you actually like, possibly know.

-Any statistics on voting is worthless in my opinion. Maybe 2% showed up, maybe 90% show up and vote - We will never know. Any numbers you post, I'm bound not to believe - Sorry, I just don't trust voting statistics.

-I agree that nothing is worth voting for. Even if 100% turn out, could vote for whom we want - I don't want Bush or Hilary in there next time, and if those are my choices... Why would I want to vote? Two people from corrupt names, likely to get the majority of votes.

a reply to: TrueBrit

The thing about liberal this, or conservative that, is that the people in office rarely, if ever represent what the people of the parties actually want. Just as an example - The average conservative I know? Desires to live in a place where business, especially small business ( not billionaires! ) can flourish. That's not the same as saying they desire for the rich to be richer and the poor to be poorer.

a reply to: deadlyhope

I would say that conservative presidents of the past easily grade better in terms of letting businesses flourish that liberals. Even Bush.

some of those here saying nobody is worth voting for probably wouldn't vote for even themselves. This is how we end up with people like Obama and his corrupt administration running things. Its called apathy and people are consumed by both it and Jealousy.

I suggest people figure what the hell it is they believe in and support the candidate that is closest to that belief.

Or you can just sit in your prison die a slow death, living life through alternate realities, whatever. You wont convince me it doesnt matter though because your to lazy to go vote every two or four years. After over six years of Obama tearing down this nation I can tell you it matters.

politicians are slime though no doubt about it. This is the system we have though and there is no alternative.

But hey...if your on food stamps, lazy, welfare, scamming the system etc. etc. please don't vote.....It doesn't matter LOL.

a reply to: TrueBrit

if thats the case you didn't do your research before voting for the candidate. I cant say I have been surprised by many politicians. its not like the patterns are not there. You can see who funds them. You can see what promises they make.

I guess bush kind of surprised me a little his second term. First term he was fine.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Eunuchorn

I will happily, nay, PROUDLY, never register to vote. Ever.

Having seen your posts; I will be sleeping easier tonight.

LoL! Brilliant. The world would be a better place if everyone was like me. But, as it is,
I stand alone.

Which is far better than standing in line for a voting booth.