Who voted?

[don]

Re: Have you voted today?

election quote (Gary Younge)

Americans have just elected the party they like the least to run the government body they least trust. Ever greater cynicism is the most likely outcome. On Tuesday night, the electorate wasn’t waving. It was drowning.

[charliebrown]

Re: Have you voted today?

I live in illinois (read corrupt, machine, and deep blue), and vote for the party that will extract the least amount of my remaining liberty from me. If the polls say my vote doesn't matter (there is a big leader) then I vote for 3rd party candidates, to try and send a message. When the 3rd party gets 3%, its not a very loud message. I voted mostly R, and one L. Our current gov and legislature are raising every tax and fee trying to balance the budget. Although you should have seen them fall over each other when bidding on a 100M presidential library. They are trying to move traditionally state functions to the counties and villages. Although i welcome the local control, taxation at the state level will not decrease, and will necessarily increase at the local level to support the new functions. I now pay far more in state, property and sales taxes than federal income tax, and it is a close call if you include payroll taxes in the federal mix.

[charliebrown]

Re: Have you voted today?

Although this video had me belly laughing, there are lots of good people in this country including you Shiny! The people do not suck. The problem is that most of the salt of the earth people I know are busy supporting the ones they love and don't have the time, energy or money to run for office. I don't how we get the courageous selfless people into our leadership and not the cowardly, corrupt, megalomanics that dominate our political landscape.

[shiny!]

Re: Have you voted today?

This system is broken. By voting, we are just feeding the monster. We give it legitimacy.

We disrespect our country's Constitution and history when we participate in the current media-fascist central plutocratic puppet show.

IMHO

My feelings exactly. You said it better than I could.

[shiny!]

Re: Have you voted today?

Although this video had me belly laughing, there are lots of good people in this country including you Shiny! The people do not suck. The problem is that most of the salt of the earth people I know are busy supporting the ones they love and don't have the time, energy or money to run for office. I don't how we get the courageous selfless people into our leadership and not the cowardly, corrupt, megalomanics that dominate our political landscape.

Thanks for the compliment, kind sir.

Unfortunately the good, salt-of-the-earth variety citizen couldn't get elected if they tried. Leadership of both major parties, which are really just two sides of the same coin, do not want people like that in office. They will not allow it. They gather their massive resources at the primary level to eliminate any candidates who won't play the game. This ensures that only corruptible candidates end up on the ballots.

We are no different than the former Soviet Union where voters could vote for the Communist candidate of their choice.

I know I'm not alone in feeling such disgust that I can't bring myself to participate in the system anymore. Voting just keeps the thieves in our collective house to ransack the place. Not voting keeps the thieves in our house to ransack the place. I don't think there's anything we can do at this point except try to remain good and survive in spite of them.

[lektrode]

Re: Have you voted today?

and if you'd like to see the national state of disgust with the status quo, here it is in a microcosm (with most the comments on this one the TRUE reaction to MORE OF THE SAME)

[vinoveri]

Re: Have you voted today?

Here's a quote from Thomas Paine that might help some iTulipers refocus. "For it is the nature and intention of a constitution to prevent governing by party, by establishing a common principle that shall limit and control the power and the impulse of party, and that to all parties, thus far shalt thou go and no further. But in the absence of a constitution, men look entirely to party; and instead of principle governing party, party governs principle."

Our founders would not be surprised by what is happening today. Partisan politics drove them from England. In the US party governs principle. We are becoming England of 1750. We ignore our constitution at our own peril.

And even something more recent (and less obtuse at least to my simple-mind)

"a government for the people, of the people, and by the people"

We have a Constitution, thanks to the founding fathers and their posterity. It unfortunately is being broadly ignored as the entire federal system is corrupted - including unfortunately the judiciary. "We" don't count in the system. Only power counts now and we will collapse, with a bang or a whimper, just as every other society that tosses aside the bedrock principles of common sense and rule of law

[shiny!]

Re: Have you voted today?

Here's a quote from Thomas Paine that might help some iTulipers refocus. "For it is the nature and intention of a constitution to prevent governing by party, by establishing a common principle that shall limit and control the power and the impulse of party, and that to all parties, thus far shalt thou go and no further. But in the absence of a constitution, men look entirely to party; and instead of principle governing party, party governs principle."

Our founders would not be surprised by what is happening today. Partisan politics drove them from England. In the US party governs principle. We are becoming England of 1750. We ignore our constitution at our own peril.

Excellent quote, but why are we always in the process of "becoming" but never "have become"?

I think we're not still in the process of becoming a nation where party governs principle, it's already become reality. Likewise, we're not still in the process of becoming a police state, it's already happened.

We comfort ourselves with delusions that the things we dread are always down the road and we can still stop them. Alert for a cataclysmic coup like the Russian Revolution, our country and freedom have been stolen instead by small, incremental policy changes over decades.

I'm not trying to be a pessimist, just a realist.

[santafe2]

Re: Have you voted today?

I tore up my voting card in disgust. This system is broken. By voting, we are just feeding the monster. We give it legitimacy.

We disrespect our country's Constitution and history when we participate in the current media-fascist central plutocratic puppet show.

IMHO

I don't think the system is broken. The system is described by the constitution and overall it works well. The state and federal level is widely controlled by fascists but they won't last for too long unless everyone quits working at it. Today, you can only make real changes at the local level. Voting isn't enough. Work inside the system at a level where you feel like you're making a difference. You can blame or you can make a difference.

[santafe2]

Re: Have you voted today?

Excellent quote, but why are we always in the process of "becoming" but never "have become"?

I think we're not still in the process of becoming a nation where party governs principle, it's already become reality. Likewise, we're not still in the process of becoming a police state, it's already happened.

We comfort ourselves with delusions that the things we dread are always down the road and we can still stop them. Alert for a cataclysmic coup like the Russian Revolution, our country and freedom have been stolen instead by small, incremental policy changes over decades.

I'm not trying to be a pessimist, just a realist.

It is our nature, we never become. The US was on its way to a police state with the 2nd President. Review the Alien and Sedition Acts. They were enacted to enforce national security and acted to suppress voters who disagreed with the Federalists. We are at a low point but not as low as we were under Adams. Take the time to read Jefferson and you will understand the US much better. We're far from perfect but this is not Russia

[don]

Re: Have you voted today?

U.S. Elections have become corporate PR campaigns, with corporations doling money out equally to both parties. This bi-partisan vote buying guarantees that, aside from a couple of fervently debated social issues, a consistent, core economic agenda is firmly in place that favors the 1%.

This is why voters always punish the party in power. The ruling party earns the hatred of working-class voters by proving their love for the corporations and billionaires. The economy — and specifically jobs — has always been a priority for voters, but the economy is used by politicians to enrich the already-rich, who under Obama have received 95 percent of wealth created since he began as president. Such brazen inequality doesn’t happen by accident, but by policy, and no politicians are complaining about it.

During the “heated” debates of the midterm election, there was virtually no discussion of the economy. The two parties have nothing to debate about on this issue; they’re in total agreement.

Neither party complains that U.S. taxpayers have spent, according to a reputable study, $4-6 trillion dollars on the ongoing wars of Afghanistan and Iraq. Bi-partisan consensus prevented the topic from reaching the campaign trail.

The popularity of the U.S. Congress hovers around 10 percent, which means that 90 percent of the population consistently views this body as an alien entity, serving the interests of the parasitic super-rich.

The money that has stolen U.S. elections still provokes quite the fight between the Democrats and Republicans, who have their individual self-interests to protect. This is because the election winners get to reward their party campaigners with government positions and their donors with for-profit legislation ... when the politician inevitably becomes hated by everyone except the rich, the big money injects millions into the politician’s re-election campaign. And if the politician ends up losing he is rewarded for being loyal and is hired and paid millions as a “consultant” for the corporation, in effect a glamorized lobbyist.

What to expect?

As Obama continues to act in favor of the very wealthy, the Republican-controlled congress will give the president a chance to regain his lost popularity among Democrats. The Republicans are likely to use their control of the House and Senate to put forward legislation to appease their Christian fundamentalist base, targeting either abortions, immigrants, homosexuals, etc.

Obama will then get a chance to act as a “progressive” by using his veto power. After doing nothing for working people during his six years as president, Obama can become a “hero” again over a couple of social issues, just in time to re-energize Democratic voters for the 2016 election, which will falsely be labeled “the most important election of our lifetime.”

Eventually the tired game will exhaust itself. Beneath the billions of dollars U.S. elections are lifeless events. The predictable flopping from Democrat to Republican and back again, with voters given no real choice but to punish the party in power — by electing the party that was punished previously. This endless, irrational dynamic is the foundation of the U.S. electoral system.

SHAMUS COOKE

[shiny!]

Re: Have you voted today?

What to expect?

As Obama continues to act in favor of the very wealthy, the Republican-controlled congress will give the president a chance to regain his lost popularity among Democrats. The Republicans are likely to use their control of the House and Senate to put forward legislation to appease their Christian fundamentalist base, targeting either abortions, immigrants, homosexuals, etc.

Agree with most of this, except his assertion that illegal immigration is a Christian fundamentalist issue. It's a constitutional issue, a jobs issue, a tax issue, a public safety issue, an education and health care issue. I don't know any Christian fundamentalists, but everyone I know- hispanics included- is incensed by our border being overrun, aided and abetted by the federal government.

The author is perpetuating propaganda that only mean fringe conservatives are opposed to "immigration."

[don]

Re: Have you voted today?

Agreed, Shiny!

[vt]

Re: Have you voted today?

Fully agree Shiny