Finally had a chance to get back to something I been wanting to write up since the said phone conversation happened.
Thought I’d put it up see if anyone wanted to beat it up any?
<span style="color:green]Well, I think I’ve got it honed down as well as I can and have sent it to the able eyes of
Why bother to vote?
http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2014/10/looming-us-midterm-election-disaster.html
Recently I received a call from a local Democratic Party worker that went something like this:
Hey Pete, how’s it going? Haven’t seen you around this campaign, we could really use some help at the office,
any chance we can count on you coming down to lend a hand?
You see I’d been a slightly active Democrat, particularly the past decade, even attending the State Assembly
and Convention thrice, twice as a delegate representing Hermosa, La Plata County, but this year nothing.
My friend was curious why the depression and lack of interest, what happened to me?
Well, Obama happened, yet another crushing disappointment for those who believed in his campaign talk.
The man made assurances to We The People, but seldom fought for them once in office.
Admittedly, I believe that had we the people - I’m talking about regular educated citizens who possess
humanist and rationalist instincts - been busy putting pressure on the President, he’d have acted more valiantly.
After all, it’s the votes and vocal grassroot voters who put The Backbone into our representatives
but it seems we the people abandon our newly elected leaders as fast as our government abandons
it’s peaceful commitments. Reminds me of the saying, “we get the government we deserve."
Of course there’s also the Republican Party, our one time loyal opposition which has morphed into
some malicious hulk possessed by the single-minded desire to wreck Democratic Presidencies and
to heck with our nation’s problems.
Think I’m exaggerating? For an introduction to the GOP’s disregard for our nation’s best interests
you’ll find Robert Draper’s “Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives" an interesting read.
Well then… having written all this, why am I not marching down to the Democratic Office to lend a hand and some cash?
My ‘out’ is I’m tremendously busy this year - but I do toss in some cash when I can and now I want to reach out to folks
who share my love for liberty and being an American citizen and member of my community. Folks like me who have
broken free of blind dedication to other’s interpretations of ancient “holy" books. Folks who believe in experiencing
their lives on this wonderful home planet of ours. Folks who are so disgusted by our political process that voting seems a farce or worse.
I’d like those Americans to consider the real world consequences of not adding their (your?) vote to the final count.
I’m haunted by the 2000 election and all the jaded civil libertarians and rationalists and humanists and environmentalists
and such enlightened citizens who chose not to vote. Or even more hideous, sacrificing their vote by giving it to that
vainglorious has-been fool Ralph Nader.
I often wonder if those too busy to vote in 2000 ever ponder the direct consequence of their abandoning the Democratic Party?
I say this because it was the “I won’t votes" that gave our government over to a tribe of faith-based self-interested zealots.
Where were the loud concerted demands of worried citizens telling the Supreme Court to “leave it be, allow the votes to be counted"?
We turned away, too busy with our daily lives, abandoning the meek liberal to the ruthless right-wing bullies to work it out
and they certainly did.
The “I won’t votes" gave President Bush, Cheney and their Neoconservative mentality our government.
Then these God fearing people proceeded to display nothing but contempt for their national security advisors,
reacting with equal dismissal towards all rational objections to their sophomoric Rambo war schemes.
I won’t even get into their utter contempt towards our planet’s life-support system and scientific observations
and our accumulating knowledge or all the irreparable harm that has been inflicted on the world, and indeed the
course of history, since that fateful 2000 election, when so many good Americans were too good to vote.
Here we are fourteen years later, has anyone learned anything? Have the Reaganomics masters-of-the-universe
made the world a better place to live and raise our children? Have they learned anything from their mistakes?
Do they even recognize any mistakes? How do you feel about your future?
The thing is, we live in America a nation that still follows Democratic Principles which includes relatively open elections
that install the representatives and law makers who will govern us through the next years.
Yea, sure you laugh, the system is corrupt, my response: cry me a river.
The fact remains, it’s the system that sets all the rules and exports our soldiers and
treasure and weapons out into the world to multiply their miseries.
What I’m driving at is that no matter how disappointed or even disgusted I feel towards the Democratic Party,
I’m a humanist and believe in the Scientific Enlightenment and personal freedom. I reject people who literally
believe they understand God Almighty the creator of time and life.
I mean really, what are we to make of politicians who are so full of themselves they are convinced they’ve
tapped into God Almighty’s Mind - it boggles my imagination.
What happened to good old time religion? When faith was personal and between you and Jesus or the God of your choice.
Back when your faith was reflected in how well you lived your life and handled its challenges.
The Democratic Party no matter how weak at least continues to represent the “intellectual enlightenment" which ushered in
today’s rational understanding of our world. Democrats appreciate the scientific process and the need for us to listen to real experts,
unlike the Republicans with their political and religious absolutism and their “litmus tests" for whom or what to pay attention to.
Tuesday, November 4th, Election Day, is coming up fast, another chance to participate.
It is the one time your opinion can make a difference and the Democrats sure could use some extra help,
buddy can you spare a vote?
It's been printed in the October, Four Corners Free Press so I've adjusted the title.
:cheese:
There are many reasons that I vote, all of them can be argued, except the fact that it is the only chance I get to have my voice officially counted. No matter how bad things get, if I can vote, I’ll vote that for that reason alone.
Finally have a chance to get back to a project I been working on on'n off.
Thought I'd put it up see if anyone wanted to beat it up any?
Recently I received a call from a local Democratic Party worker that went something like this: 'Hey Pete, how's it going?
Haven't seen you around this campaign, we could really use some help at the office,
any chance we can count on you coming down to lend a hand?'
You see I'd been a slightly active Democrat during the elections of the past decade.
Even attending the State Convention thrice, twice as a delegate representing Hermosa, La Plata County, but this year nothing.
My friend was curious why the depression and lack of interest, what happened to me?
Well, Obama happened, yet another crushing disappointment for those who believed in his campaign talk.
The man made assurances to We The People, but seldom fought for them once in office.
Admittedly, I understand that if We The People - by that I'm talking about regular educated citizens who
possess humanist and rationalist instincts were busy putting pressure on the President, bet he'd have acted more valiantly.
After all, it's the votes and the vocal "grassroots" that put The Backbone into our representatives and it seems
We The People abandon our newly elected officials as fast as our government abandons it's peaceful foreign commitments,
reminds me of the saying, "we get the government we deserve."
I also appreciate USA's so-called "loyal opposition" is focused on destroying the man's Administration and
couldn't care less about the our national problems. I mean it, incredible as it seems Republicans openly
committed themselves to scuttling the Obama Presidency. For an introduction to the GOP's disregard for
the nation's best interest see Robert Draper's "Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/25/robert-draper-anti-obama-campaign_n_1452899.html).
Well then... having written all that, why am I not marching down to the Democratic Office to lend a hand or some cash?
My "out" is that I'm tremendously busy this year - plus I do toss in some cash regularly. But, more than that,
I want to reach out to folks like me who also love their liberty and being an American citizen and part of a community,
folks who have broken free of dogmatic "faith" in ancient "Holy" books and scriptures, folks who believe in experiencing
their lives on this wonderful home planet of ours. Folks who are so disgusted by our political process and the behavior
of our elected Representatives that "voting" seems a farce or worse.
I'd like those folks to consider the real world consequences of not adding your vote-count to those slim Democratic margins.
I'm haunted by the 2000 election and all the jaded civil libertarians and rationalists and humanists and environmentalists and
such "enlightened" citizens who chose not to vote. Or even more hideous, sacrificing their vote by giving it to a foolish vainglorious has-been.
Do those 'I was too good to vote in 2000' liberals ever ponder the direct consequence of their abandoning the Democratic Party.
I say this because it was the "I won't votes" that gave our government over to a tribe of faith-based self-interested zealots.
Where were the loud concerted demands of worried citizens telling the Supreme Court to 'leave it be, allow the votes to be counted'?
We turned away, too busy with daily life, abandoning the nice guys to the ruthless bullies to play it out and they certainly did.
The "I won't votes" gave President Bush and Cheney our government. Then these "God fearing" people proceeded to display
nothing but contempt for their national security advisor, reacting with equal dismissal towards all rational objections of their
sophomoric Rambo war schemes. I won't even get into their utter contempt for our planet's life-support system and scientific
observations and our accumulated knowledge and all the irreparable harm that has been inflicted on the world and the course
of history since that election - when so many were too good to vote.
Here we are fourteen years later, has anyone learned anything? Have the Reaganomics masters-of-the-universe made the
world a better place to live and raise your children? Have they learned anything from their mistakes? How do you feel about your future?
The thing is, we live in America a nation that still follows "Democratic Principles" which includes open elections that install the
representatives and law makers who will govern us through the next years.
Yea, sure you laugh, "the system is corrupt." My response: "cry me a river." The fact remains, it's the system that sets all the
rules and exports our soldiers and treasury and weapons out into all the world to multiply their miseries.
What I'm driving at is that no matter how disgusted I feel towards the Democrats, I'm a humanist and believe in the "scientific enlightenment"
and personal freedom over a group of people who actually believe they understand God Almighty the creator of time and life.
I mean really what are we to make of a person who thinks so highly of his own wisdom that he/she has figured out God - it boggles my mind.
I keep asking myself how can people have so little appreciation of their own pettiness infinitessimalness, to actually believe they have figured out God
(well at least enough to fight about http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19921026&slug=1520818).
{What happened to good all time religion when it was between you and Jesus and God and your faith was reflected in how well you lived your life?}
The Democrat Party no matter how weak at least continues to represent the "intellectual enlightenment" which ushered in today's rational
understanding of our world. Democrats appreciate the scientific process and the need to listen to real experts, unlike the
Republican with their political and religious certitude and their "litmus tests" for whom/what to listen to.
Tuesday, November 4th, Election Day, is coming up fast, another chance to participate. The one time your opinion can make a difference.
Please consider adding your vote in defense of rationality.
:cheese:
It's not the Democrat Party, it's the Democratic Party. The Democrat Party is the name Republicans use to put it down, which only makes them look more like fools than they already do. But they're excellent at that.
Lois
These planks alone should be enough to cast your vote for a Democrat in your area, be they governor, state legislator or National representative let alone the party stance on gay marriage, gun control medical care and freedom of choice for women, all of which have been actively fought against or blocked by the Republican Party.
Curb the influence of lobbyists; no to Citizens United. (Sep 2012)
Your vote should count; no voter ID laws. (Sep 2012)
Meaningful campaign finance reform to restore public trust. (Nov 2006)
Line-item veto to root out pork-barrel spending. (Jul 2004)
Ensure accessible, independently auditable, accurate voting. (Jul 2004)
Support McCain-Feingold bill for campaign finance reform. (Aug 2000)
There are obviously many more but these hit home to me. Like you CC, I’ve been politically active for over thirty years and am a member of our County’s Democratic central committee. I campaigned for Obama both times and was frustrated as he was forced to compromise on various issues but detractors fail to remember that he represents all of the electorate, so that plus the stonewalling conservatives in the House have derailed the Obama train so to speak. It just adds to the frustration of those progressives who want action now. But that in itself is absolutely no reason to label politics (and politicians) as bat shit crazy and bow out of the arena by not voting or running for office. By all means don’t leave the field to those who want to drags us back into the fifties. I lived it and there’s no way in hell I ever want to go back.
Cap’t Jack
What a trip watching this writing process unfold. I had the conversation about a month ago.
I wrote some notes a couple days later. Got side tracked and took a couple weeks before the moment
seized me and I wrote my first brainstorming draft, a thing that by the time I got finished with it was so
flaming hot, I was exhausted and afraid to read through it again. That version got folded up to be slept on for a few
days that turned out to be over a week, and in fact was never opened up again.
Second go around was toned down, and I stayed miles away from the Clinton wormhole that started me down the slippery sliddy slope last time. Now I like what I’ve written and it’s time to get back to life and let my gal know I still love her.
I feel exactly the same way. I remember the Clinton Administration as the first time I felt as if my vote had Counted! But we got the same old business as usual. And you’re right about Republicans. Judging by their ads all the Republican candidates down here are running on the “We Can Still Bring Down Obamacare!” platform. That’s pretty much it. The feeling I get is that they only oppose it because they didn’t think of it. But like Lausten, I vote because it’s the only thing I can do.
There are many reasons that I vote, all of them can be argued, except the fact that it is the only chance I get to have my voice officially counted. No matter how bad things get, if I can vote, I'll vote that for that reason alone.
Actually your vote doesn't count. The Elector's votes in the Electoral College count, and technically they can vote however they want, including against the majority in their state. I think with the Tea Party craziness getting bolder this is bound to happen sometime soon. Oh and that assumes you live in a state whose voting systems AREN'T controlled by a Republican or his company, for example Diebold.
Actually your vote doesn’t count. The Elector’s votes in the Electoral College count, and technically they can vote however they want, including against the majority in their state. I think with the Tea Party craziness getting bolder this is bound to happen sometime soon. Oh and that assumes you live in a state whose voting systems AREN’T controlled by a Republican or his company, for example Diebold.
No, actually your vote does count as the electoral votes are tied to the popular vote. Whichever party's candidate gets the most votes enables the electors to vote and not the losing party's electors. However, an elector may change his/her vote, but that is very rare and frowned upon by the member's party. If you do then kiss your position as an elector goodbye. And if the tea party chooses to bolt the Rep. fold then it will weaken the conservatives. There are several seats up for grabs this off year election and if they know what's good for them they'll stay with the mainstream Reps. Personally I hope they split off.
Cap't Jack
I don’t care much for conspiracy theories about Diebold or run away electoral colleges. We have actual recent history of a candidate winning the electoral vote and losing the election, that’s bad enough. I come from the land of Michelle Bachmann, so I see the big problem of Gerry-meandering. There is no way that crazy person would have become a national representative if not for computers figuring out how to engineer a district filled with loonies. I suppose you could say the real problem is that there are that many loonies concentrated in one are, but still. I say we erase all the current lines and draw a square grid over Minnesota and make them start over.
Our state is one where the minority party gets the power of to engineer the districts. There are states that use a system that is not controlled by parties at all. That should be federal law.
And now I’m bumping it back to the top, since it looks like it’ll be my only contribution to this election season, and I want to give it some more mileage.
and dammit more rational thinking people need to vote - no matter how futile it seems -
After all it’s the abandoning of our election process that has helped the Faith-based, Profits Obsessed GOP get their strangle hold on our government.
And they are going to do everything to keep it, unless We The Rational People get off our collective duffs and VOTE !
Republicans Are Trying to Make Sure Minorities and Young People Don't Vote This November
Control of the Senate could hinge on a few crucial court battles over voting rights.
—By Stephanie Mencimer | Wed Oct. 8, 2014
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/voting-rights-november-voter-suppression-states
For someone such as I (who has come to find Republicans in general to be utterly disgusting) voting in Texas seems to be an exercise in futility. Yet I did my civic duty and voted early.
I refused to obey the law requiring presentation of a picture ID. I presented registration card and told the poll workers I would not show a picture ID because the law requiring this is unconstitutional. After some deliberation, I was allowed to cast a provisional ballot. I don’t know if my vote will be counted, but at least I stood up for the Constitution (which is more than I believe the Supreme Court did).