Vote or…Don’t
posted at 10:10 am on July 19, 2006 by Bryan
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Right on!!!
Shmo on July 19, 2006 at 10:25 AM
Michelle, you’re getting better and better. Laughed out loud a couple of times. Keep bringing it.
ZULU on July 19, 2006 at 10:28 AM
I have DVR. I really need to be recording South Park.
Richsamg on July 19, 2006 at 10:34 AM
I still think it’s better to convince people to take an active part voting in elections. People SHOULD be responsible enough to research the issues, compare candidates and make informed decisions when casting their ballot. But there are some people who just don’t care, and want their 2 hours from work paid while they go throw some random switches and the wolf down a couple Mickey-D’s Big Macs.
I continue to vote because I know there are these idiots out there who are like that, and do you think I’m going to leave the fate of this country’s future to their hands alone? I have a daughter who is going to live in that future…there’s no way in hell I’m going to just sit back and take my chances.
DakRoland on July 19, 2006 at 10:37 AM
Great vent folks. How ridiculous is it to vote just for votings’ sake; let alone being bribed to vote. Why not have actors or rappers tell us to vote though. They’re my primary source of information on the issues; they’re REALLY in tune with the issues.
One complaint… by having the sappy “get up and vote” song (by Madonna?) you’re going to get Professor Blather into one of his rants about the theme music again :-)
dalewalt on July 19, 2006 at 10:39 AM
So the Democratice / Liberal strategy to win an election is: get lots of stupid people to vote!
You know, that might actually work.
KCSteve on July 19, 2006 at 10:40 AM
KCSteve nailed it. GET LOTS OF STUPID PEOPLE TO VOTE is about the only way, other than cheating, that liberal minded socialist human debris can get the power they think they not only deserve, but can wield for the “good of mankind”(read: pay people to vote for us with other people’s money).
All any sane person need do is read the message forums at democraticunderground.com for a few days to understand just how mentally ill these people truly are.
NRA4Freedom on July 19, 2006 at 11:01 AM
I sent a few of my friends an article about this a week or so ago. The most telling part, however, was the statement made by the Dem behind this lunacy.
Paraphrasing: The lottery will encourage people to vote and if they’re going to vote then they’re going to go research the candidates and the issues.
That’s just….wow…. if that idea doesn’t necessitate the inclusing of “and then a miracle will happen and all the people who were too lazy/apathetic/both to get off of the couch and drive several minutes to even randomly flip a switch in the first place will suddenly develope a sense of civic responsibility” then I’m a garden gnome.
kaseiryu on July 19, 2006 at 11:03 AM
Michelle, thank you for bringing this topic to light… I am in fact trippin’ about health care… and I certainly wouldn’t want sean “puffy” combs to deliver a shotgun blast to my chest… I am headed to 7-11 to buy a lottery ticket/voter registration straightaway….
angry_mike on July 19, 2006 at 11:11 AM
This almost brings to mind the days of local machine politics. (”Vote or Die”? In those days, some people voted WELL AFTER they’d shuffled off their mortal coils. With help from the “Boss”, of course.)
Voter registration drives are nothing new. The celebrity element is just an annoying byproduct of them. If they serve to wake up some of the youngsters out there to take some form of stand in their lives, they might actually be useful. The best part in that, and what some of these face players don’t get, is that not all of their targets might AGREE with their views…Horrified though they may be to find that out.
Voting is the one true way to make sure that if you have an opinion, you’re not keeping it to yourself and taking some small resposibility for it.
52Ranger on July 19, 2006 at 11:47 AM
Hmmm… voter turnout? 60% in a large turnout election…
Sooo.. ya need 30% + 1 Vote to win an election…
Hmmm.. that by definition half of the population is of below average intelligence…
Sooo… if you can find the 30% STUPIDEST people and convince them to vote for you??? Can you say long term Congressman???
Romeo13 on July 19, 2006 at 11:54 AM
Lotteries are one thing, but the ultimate motivator for most of these types would be a marijuana legalization referendum. Or Reefer-endum. You get mostly liberals who are motivated to vote for a pet initiative…and since they’re already there they may be able to concentrate long enough to vote for John Kerry or whomever the latest stiff the Democrats are running.
pistolero on July 19, 2006 at 12:01 PM
That’s cool, but I can’t get excited about Ehlrich for continued Governor in Maryland. I think it was his passing of the Stem Cell Funding Bill that did it.
I will vote but that’s it… no grass roots efforts. Went to his $500 dollar dinner… that’s all… Good Luck Ehrlich, you need it with Democrat Felons voting in MD.
ar_basin on July 19, 2006 at 12:21 PM
Thanks for a common sense look at a major problem. Your closing comment was right on – and it stung. I have voted regular for many years. There has always been a nagging guilt about voting on candidates I knew nothing about. In Texas there is usually about 20 or more races to be decided. I won’t have a clue about 2/3’s of them. On those candidates I vote by party. The problem is much worse when voting in primaries – which is probably more important than voting in the general elections.
The worst races involve judges, and they are probably the most influential officials affecting our daily lives. The only campaigning I see are signs saying “VOTE FOR YYY”. I spoke with a local judge candidate once and got the impression that he could not give his position about critical issues because that would make him “biased”. And judges are not allowed to be biased.
Hopefully the internet will change all that. In the election coming up I plan to find out who will be on the ballet and google each name so I can make a better decision.
roydee43 on July 19, 2006 at 12:35 PM
That’s right. If you vote party line and the judges are non-partisan, ask your county party committee to find out who your party candidates are. They know even if it’s not publicly known.
ScottG on July 19, 2006 at 1:04 PM
I totally agree with the message here – if you don’t want to pay attention to the issues and don’t want to take time to learn abou the candidates, STAY HOME!!!!
This all ties into why Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein (which bears little resemblance to the “Melrose Place in Space” movie version) is one of my favorite novels. The right to vote in their society was only granted after you had done service – in other words, you had to earn it. While I don’t necessarily think that would be a good idea in practice, I think it expresses the point nicely about the fact that people take the right to vote for granted when they are merely given that right by attaining the age of 18.
thirteen28 on July 19, 2006 at 1:49 PM
Thanks for the reminder that the military draft is supposed to be back. I’m sure my draft notice will be arriving in the mail aaaaanyday now.
Dave Shay on July 19, 2006 at 1:56 PM
democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess of the public treasury. From that time on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the results that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence:from bondage to spiritual faith;from spiritual faith to great courage;from courage to liberty;from liberty to abundance;from abundance to selfishness;from selfishness to complacency;from complacency to apathy;from apathy to dependency;from dependency back again to bondage.
–Sir Alex Fraser Tytler (1742-1813) Scottish jurist and historian
Read it… learn it… those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it…
And Thirteen28… SST is one of the greatest thought provoking novels of our time… wonder if he may not have an idea which will make a democracy work.
Romeo13 on July 19, 2006 at 2:14 PM
I’ve always felt that if your were on the public dole you shouldn’t get to vote. With the possible exception of social security, after having contributed over an entire lifetime. Otherwise the scenario described by Romeo13 is unavoidable.
pistolero on July 19, 2006 at 2:21 PM
If there is ever a HotAir required reading list, I would definitely nominate this book to be on that list.
Absolutely. If taxation without representation is considered unjust, then representation without taxation is unjust for those of us that pay taxes.
thirteen28 on July 19, 2006 at 2:31 PM
I am going to take a look at this from the perspective of my 19 year old daughter. She has NO interest in politics. She could care less who the next president is, or her next congressman. She has zero interest in voting. However, she loves her country. She loves the American way. She firmly believes in our military, and what they are doing. To the extent that she has joined them during wartime. She is a patriot. She knows she may well be sent to war, but is willing to take that chance, and hopes she can make a difference if that in fact happens. She understands and takes on many of the values I raised her on. She makes me very proud to be her father. If she is goaded or bribed to vote, well, so be it, I do not think that the party goading or bribing her will be particularly pleased with her choices as a candidate.
MalkinFan on July 19, 2006 at 2:31 PM
Cook County, Illinois, we I live, has Chicago — the DemoRat controlled “most corrupt city in America” — and a strange attitude toward voting and votes.
Here, if you are elected, or re-elected like, say, current Cook County Board President John Stroger (who suffered a debilitating stroke before the DemoRat primary but was re-elected anyway), and you cannot or will not complete your term, you simply give the seat to your son or daughter. Stroger has bequeathed his seat to his son, Todd, a political nothing and virtually anonymous.
Or at least that’s what we’re supposed to believe, although it’s hard since no one has seen Stroger since his stroke, except some hack named William Beavers, and, of course, Todd. Letters expressing the heartfelt wishes of Stroger keep popping up with a scrawled signature, but no one sees Stroger sign them.
The hilarious corruption of Chicago politicians, leftists, DemoRats, and the lower form of life known here as Alderman continues unabated, despite the “No Shenanigans” reputation of Straight Arrow U.S. Attorney Pat Fitzgerald, who is, apparently, invisible.
On the race front, Stroger and his political allies have declared that Cook County Board President is now an entitlement of the black political class, despite the fact that Cook County is only 26% black. “We” whites apparently “owe” blacks this office, which will remain in the Stroger family like a broach for some generations.
Gangster Richie Daley, duh Mayr, needs to continue to control those black votes to hold off the illegal aliens who would run for Mayr against him, so he is pulling all the levers over there behind the curtain.
Hey, but maybe we’ll get the Olympics!
Jaibones on July 19, 2006 at 2:37 PM
where I live…
Jaibones on July 19, 2006 at 2:38 PM
MalkinFan…
SALUTE! to your daughter
You may be suprised in a year or two how politicaly astute your daughter becomes… I watched the transition of many young men and women from political innnocents, to knowledgable voters in my Navy Career. You tend to take things VERY seriously when you suddenly realize the people you are voting on can send you to foreign countries and get you killed.
Romeo13 on July 19, 2006 at 2:40 PM
I’m 37 years old. I’ve neer missed voting in any election since I turned 18 and registered to vote for the first time. Michelle, you need to submit this as a P.S.A. for local and national T.V. broadcast commercial breaks. There are enough stupid people out there that are too apathetically ambivolant to vote. We most certainly DO NOT need them turning out on electioni day because someone promised them some free hempwear.
Yiddish Steel on July 19, 2006 at 2:50 PM
Excellent Vent. Here in the Peoples Republic of Washington (state) the Dead, Felons, and Imaginary Friends voted in our current (democrat) Governor literally.
Personally I think if you can’t get off your lazy ass and vote at a polling PLACE then you shouldn’t vote. Unless someone has a physical disability OR is physically out of the state they should be REQUIRED TO VOTE AT A POLLING PLACE.
CrazyFool on July 19, 2006 at 2:56 PM
Being a resident of Arizona, I know specifically who this approach is targeted at. They are the last persons we need having input into who runs this nation. With all the kooky ideas and approaches to getting citizens to the polls, I am waiting for that free trip to Disneyland for simply doing my civic duty. Folks, it’s all part of the “entitlement” mentality.
Chief1942 on July 19, 2006 at 4:07 PM
Michele, I love you, (NOT in a Stalker Way)
I’ve been telling people for years not to encourage voting. If you would like to help, encourage people to read the United States Constitution, The Federalist Papers. Or a news paper (not the New York Times).
If you want to influence those around you encourage them to educate themselves.
Specify places they can find relevent information.
When you have discussions with friends, insist that sources of information are verifyable. (Anyone who objects is a lost cause)
Above all make sure you can site sources of information. If your unable to do so, you might as well say “your just following your heart” and that’s stupid.
Richard Karnes on July 19, 2006 at 4:51 PM
romeo13, at 2:14pm, said, in reference to Starship Troopers by Heinlein:
Look for a copy of Heinlein’s Take Back Your Government (wegrokit.com).
BTW, I like to consider myself an informed citizen; the fact that I read Michelle should attest to that. However, I have rarely found anyone that I could, in good conscience, vote for; nearly all votes that I have cast have been votes against.
Rusty Bill on July 19, 2006 at 5:27 PM
Great Vent, Michelle!
Here in Atlanta, we’re no strangers to the abysmal choices some voters insist on making – Cynthia McKinney, anyone?
redcard on July 19, 2006 at 5:33 PM
While all of Michelle’s vents are interesting and ‘bitey’, I agree with Richard Karnes, that encouraging voting in this country will be detrimental to conservatives (see the Herculean effort to enlist legal and illegal Latinos to vote this Nov., almost as a threat to those not working on the immigration bill).
Promising to rob Peter to pay Paul, will always garner Paul votes in the long run – result what Romeo13 wrote.
thirteen28 and Pistolero are absolutely right – no one who doesn’t pay taxes should have a right to vote! I can feel the ACLU coming already…
While many countries in Europe and Central- and South-America have mandatory voting laws, and some ask citizens to not drink a couple of days before voting (Mexico), we should stick to our not-so-perfect system.
Education and success in life are the only two factors which enlighten citizens/voters, ultimately.
Sad, but true, voting against someone or for the ‘lesser of two evils’ is often still better than not voting (if one is legal, can prove so, pays taxes and is half-way capable of discerning).
Entelechy on July 19, 2006 at 5:59 PM
Am I the only one waiting to see which liberal troll is going to start shrieking that Michelle Malkin is attempting to suppress the vote? Or did someone ban Vanya and his ilk while I was in Germany? Great vent…
austinnelly on July 19, 2006 at 6:04 PM
…for the Illinois and Washington state commenters, I forgot to add (…and if one is not dead), in all seriousness…
Entelechy on July 19, 2006 at 6:11 PM
Great Vent Michelle,
Hey can anyone tell me if it’s true that Georgia and another state doesn’t require ID’s to vote ?
I think everyone should have a piece of ID with a picture and info on it..
alyce on July 19, 2006 at 9:19 PM
alyce, no one asks for IDs in California.
Entelechy on July 19, 2006 at 9:24 PM
How to increase voter turnout? How about voting directly on issues? You probably wouldn’t like the results of that either, since you’re in the minority on most of them.
In Oregon they have vote-by-mail. It works well. No hanging chads, no computers to hack, no butterfly ballots. Increases voter turnout. Oh, wait, that’s not good for conservatives either. Oh well.
Vanya on July 20, 2006 at 12:04 PM
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