Does voting matter anymore?

[Sterling]

I can't see any reason to believe voting in this country is real. Convince me to vote much less vote democratic after this last election.

I have a feeling there will be far more voter apathy in the next election and I personally cannot think of one reason to try to convince anyone that voting matters or that their votes are actually counted.

[pnutchuck]

1. I feel the same

I can't see how all of the effort to bring out the young vote failed so miserably. Are there that many Christian Fundamentalists? Or soldiers? or idiots? in this country.

[Tamyrlin79]

5. Failed? I hear it was quite successful.

Just averaged out to the same percentages once other age groups increased, too. The thing is that participation DID go up.

The problem is that most people don't UNDERSTAND what is really at stake here. Why? Because the DEMOCRATS won't call a spade a spade and are just too damn polite to straight up TELL them what is going down in D.C. Did Kerry ever call Bush a LIAR? No. And Bush sure as hell won't tell them. It is the opposition party's JOB to point out these things, and yet they are miserable failures at it. And if someone isn't straight with people, then you can't expect them to magically come to the truth of the matter on their own, not with the Repubs blowing so much smoke out their ass and obscuring everything.

[pnutchuck]

20. That's exactly what I meant by "failure"

The candidates weren't the only voices on the campaigne trail. The dems had their own subversives out there, and they failed, miserably. I would hope, by now, Americans were aware of political spin and would start to look elsewhere for their information. I guess my hopes are fruitles, and we are left with only a flock of a country.

[mhr]

2. No - Politics Is Dead In Amerika

The only recourse is revolution.

However, fat, dumb, lazy Amerikans have no stomach for that.

[UNIXcock]

4. it's that exact attitude that will keep coming-of-age new voters and ...

... fence-sitting democrats from the polls in 2008. Thanks guys, just what the republicans ordered. All you vote-fraud theorists are what is going to kill us in the next elections unless you change your tune and snap out of your misery and self-pity party soon! :mad:

[Sterling]

6. If they don't count the peoples votes who cares if people go to the polls?

If we let a private comapny that is owned by supporters of one party wtf should anyone bother. Especially if our party wont try to do anything about it. Seriously, I give up.

Unless I see some serious leadership in this area it is no longer about "we" it is about me and getting my ass as covered as possible from here on out. Game over.

[UNIXcock]

11. Give up? - That's exactly what the republicans want

... look, admittedly by all, it was a close race. I say fuck the close race, we should have energized the masses to bring on a landslide.

... we are our own worst enemies

[Sterling]

14. How do you know it was NOT a landslide?

Yes I am sure that Republicans want us to lose hope and ghuess what. They win.

If the people we are voting for don't give a fuck if the election is free and fair I you have to be delusional to keep spending your time trying to get them elected.

[UNIXcock]

15. You need to loosen your tin-foiled hat, it's a bit too ...

... snug, it's choking off your oxygen. We LOST because we didn't have the votes to WIN - PERIOD

No conspiracy
No widespread fraud
No act of God
No tossed ballots
No aliens zapping up democratic voters
No BBV hacking

... Quit denying the fact we need to do better next election - not blaming red-herrings and waddling in self-pity!

[Eric J in MN]

17. No tossed ballots? Yes, lots of ballots were tossed.

A person may be in the RIGHT ROOM but the WRONG TABLE.

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=193617&Category=9&external=&newCookie=yes&userID=124067

Board rejects more than 500 provisional ballots
Saturday, November 20, 2004
By KELLI YOUNG Repository staff writer

CANTON — Janet Gross of North Canton went to the Knights of Columbus Hall to vote this year like she does every year. When she got there, the poll workers didn’t have her name listed.

They told her that she had to fill out a provisional ballot, which would be verified after the election. Gross, who has lived on Circle Hill Road SE for 40 years, found out Friday that her vote won’t count.

Her vote was one of 505 provisional ballots rejected by the four-member Stark County Board of Elections because the vote was cast at the wrong precinct.

Gross may have been at the right polling place, but she went to the wrong precinct table. The Knights of Columbus had three precincts in the hall. Gross was supposed to vote in precinct 3D, but she voted in precinct 3C. The provisional ballot of her son, David Gross, also didn’t count because he was at the wrong precinct.

[Sterling]

24. Sorry you are living in la la land.

Act of god , no, aliens? Maybe Bush is one of those lizard people but not required to steal an election. Go ahead keep telling yourself that the election was legit.

I for one will not waste my time keeping you from your folly. I wont be voting either, and if I do it will not be for frat brother #1 or frat brother #2 it will only be a vote of conscience only a fool would think your vote is an issue any more in terms of who gets to govern.

[jdj]

18. it was close, but not too close, and it was far enough

to not trigger recounts. Just like they planned it.

[UNIXcock]

22. Here we go again with the conspiracy theories ...

... :eyes: :freak:

[Sterling]

26. Yes we all know that good christians like Bush and friends always play

fair. What are you smoking anyway? Maybe it's one of those perscription drugs Bush's friends are peddling on people these days. They tend to make people accept things and not ask obvious but hard questions.

[mhr]

10. We Went To The Polls In Droves November 2nd - What Did It Get Us?

I personally volunteered over 1000 hours of my time to my local congressional race.

I also worked early vote and election day as a clerk.

Bitching at me will get you nowhere.

I call it the way I see it.

[UNIXcock]

16. Sorry to inform you, but the repugs went to vote in droves too ...

... more so than us - face it

[Sterling]

27. Yes especially the guys that own diebold and the other BBVs.

They really maximized the turn out for Bush.

[UNIXcock]

29. Denial, it's just a river to you huh?

... Move on with it man. It's Over. Dead. Going nowhere. Done. Finished.

... You're spinning your wheels for a lost cause. Might I suggest you get active by working in favor of the Party as opposed to whining about something the huge American majority views as sour-grapes.

... Look, go down to your State Party headquarters and inquire on how best to support the liberal cause. Then please get back to me with their response.

[Sterling]

30. You are right it is over and finished

that is what I am saying, you are a little slow on the uptake, no surprise you think everything is above board.

"Look, go down to your State Party headquarters and inquire on how best to support the liberal cause"

Sorry been there done that. I've got more recreational activities in mind these days. By all means keep beating your head against the wall.

You might want to catch up on your reading though. It seems you are willing to have your opinions spoon fed to you by the corporate media:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2739723

[UNIXcock]

31. You're right, I didn't realize you were a QUITTER right off the bat ...

... bye bye, don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya :kick:

[mhr]

32. My Response Was To The Earlier Insinuation That I Had Not Done

Enough personally.

[natrat]

25. more like the 10 hour waits in lines will discourage voting

[seafey]

3. NO- that's why activism is so much more important now than it ever was.

Get involved!

[yellowdogintexas]

7. God we have to at least keep our side alive

how is anyone going to know we are out here?

I for one will never give up!

[Sterling]

9. But seriously why?

So we can all pin our hopes and dreams on an entity that has 0 chance of success? Work our asses of for another four years only to have our votes tossed out and told we need to get better morals if we want to win in next time? Sorry I don't think so.

I don't yet have a plan but I won't pretend the "we" we thought we had going on is anything but a program to pacify the half of the population that does not want to invade the world.

[yellowdogintexas]

19. look voter apathy for the past 20 years or so is part of

what allowed the Repuklicans to creep in under the radar and get this much power in the first place.

They co opted the religious right because they knew they could manipulate this particular group to vote their way.

So the opposition needs to stay out there, be vocal, and vote ..(early and often)

Get those locals elected, work your local precinct.

I for one intend to sit for precinct committee the next primary that rolls around.

[Sterling]

23. And now there is a great reason to be apathetic

Since the votes are not really counted and our side wont make them count them.

Look I would have benn better of playing playstation all summer than wasting my time on a fake election.

[Bongo Prophet]

8. We must try to make it matter.

If we succumb to the situation by just not voting, we make it easier for them.
Game over.
By pushing and challenging the voting system, we might get some change.
We HAVE to get changes, BIG changes to get any transparency into the system.
Only by pointing out how F'd up it is now can we educate and prompt the changes. It also de-legitimizes the side most resistant to reform- i.e. the GOP, whose "mandate" gets undermined, and suspicious results act as a constant cloud over them. So the people who think it's all "conspiracy theory" or whining don't get it at all.

Just keep saying a bi-partisan transparency is good and FAIR. Why would you guys be against it, huh? Got something to HIDE?
We will be calling them on their hypocrisy a LOT over the next years, so let's BURY their crooked sanctimonious asses with the scorn and derision they deserve!

Aaaaaaurgh! Listen to da Prophet!

[Sterling]

12. So what is the answer. I can't support any pol that does not take this on

head first. That leaves out almost the entire democratic party.

I know one thing for sure I am not in the same party as those that want to move to the right and refuse to acknowledge we are dealing with a criminal opposition not your run of the mill conservatives, but a well organized band of fundie thugs that will and have lie cheat steal and murder to advance their agenda.

[Neoma]

13. Voting matters in other country's,And it SHOULD in this country

every year they count the votes sloppier and sloppier,and the fraud from BBV should be out-of-line!

If they counted properly we'd all be happy i suppose.
But they are going to recount so thats good enough for me for now...

[superconnected]

21. it hurts

because we know we were cheated.

If we quit fighting, they will have won.

[Sterling]

28. So where do we fight.

The only legit peacful method of handing over power has been hijacked. Some in the dead party we used to be part of are chiding us for refusing to trun a blind eye.

I don't even want to be in the same country with douche bags who are willing to let their votes go uncounted mauch less a party.