So disappointed in American politics

[SeaConquest]

I made donations to both of the candidates in my party's race this week just to see if how the website and fundraising system workes would illuminate me on their campaigns. No such luck each was just as annoying as the other.

 

At this point I may flip a coin. For me each of the candidates in my party has some pluses and some big fat minuses. I've never been undecided this late in the season. I am the person who convenes my caucus here and I may cast my vote for undecided (which is in fact an option here, lol).

I think the bird was sending you a message.

[LucyStoner]

I think the bird was sending you a message.

I admit I am either too tired or too dim to know what this bird is.

 

I certainly won't be shifting parties. Can I vote for a platform instead of a person?!

[ktgrok]

I admit I am either too tired or too dim to know what this bird is.

 

I certainly won't be shifting parties. Can I vote for a platform instead of a person?!

 

A small bird landed on the podium of one of the candidates during a rally in a giant stadium. Just fluttered down and hung out there, like he wanted to be friends. It was pretty cool. 

 

Mind you, there is video going around of another candidate being attacked by an eagle...so the bird vote is pretty clear. 

[LucyStoner]

A small bird landed on the podium of one of the candidates during a rally in a giant stadium. Just fluttered down and hung out there, like he wanted to be friends. It was pretty cool.

 

Mind you, there is video going around of another candidate being attacked by an eagle...so the bird vote is pretty clear.

Ah.

 

It's usually not a good idea to assume a raptor will comply with your wishes during a photo shoot. #thinkaboutit

[6packofun]

That would be giving away your vote, and potentially standing by while a candidate you feel is wrong for the job - perhaps VERY wrong - gets into power.

If you don't like the top two candidates, and there's not a third-party candidate to choose, then at least write in someone else.  

 

Wouldn't not voting be more like withholding one's vote?  (And one's approval?)  Writing in someone who will absolutely lose sounds like throwing away a vote more to me.  

 

I have a problem with people saying that not voting is more than just not voting.  When one votes according to one's moral principles and the only 2 candidates fall who can possibly win fall WAY short, the "values voter" don't have much of a choice without compromising.  To some people refusing to compromise one's principles is more important than voting for the lesser of two evils.  My vote goes TOWARDS the hiring of a person for one of the most important jobs in the world.  I refuse to be told I MUST hire one of two rats.  (I'm not saying you are telling me this, justasque, it's simply my reaction to a lot of the rhetoric about this topic!)

[SeaConquest]

A small bird landed on the podium of one of the candidates during a rally in a giant stadium. Just fluttered down and hung out there, like he wanted to be friends. It was pretty cool.

 

Mind you, there is video going around of another candidate being attacked by an eagle...so the bird vote is pretty clear.

That bird was also a sign. You know it's bad when the very symbol of our country is telling you to buzz off. Birdnie, on the other hand, looked like freaking Snow White today.

[SKL]

When I vote, I leave most of the bubbles blank.  I normally don't vote if there's only one option, or if I don't know enough to form an opinion, or if I know the lesser of two evils is gonna win but I still don't want to endorse the lesser evil.

 

I don't believe I've ever been in that situation on the presidential ballot so far.  Even if I'm not thrilled with either choice, the consequences of one party winning are a lot bigger than just the one individual "taking the reins."  Though, maybe not so much if the winner doesn't have a lot of political debts to pay.

 

I don't really consider it a moral question whether one should withhold a vote on a specific seat / issue.  I do think we should show up at the polls though.

[LucyStoner]

I'm glad I don't have to show up at the poll. Hooray for all-mail in voting.

 

Oddly, I enjoy the caucuses but really love voting in the general election from the comfort of my own home.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Debates are supposed to be on a theme. Candidates and current events tend to derail that.

 

I definitely don't want to see more debates. A short campaign season and fewer debates that are aired on multiple media platforms (none of this only for cable subscribers stuff) would be better, I think.

I agree I don't want to see anymore of the current style debates. I want to see the League of Women voters host the debates as they used to do. 

[Amira]

I'm glad I don't have to show up at the poll. Hooray for all-mail in voting.

 

Oddly, I enjoy the caucuses but really love voting in the general election from the comfort of my own home.

I loved voting at home in Washintgon. Dh and I would sit down with our ballots and the voter info pamphlet and have a great discussion while we each decided who to vote for. It was so much better than going to the polling place.

[QueenCat]

So you have to be registered as a something?

 

It seems so strange to me for voting to be non-compulsory but affiliation to be mandatory.

 

Depends on which state you live in......... some don't require registration but you do have to choose which ballot you want in each primary.

[Farrar]

If you don't register for a certain party here, you lose your say in 90%+ of the elections. The primary is the election because it's so overwhelmingly single party. So I'm in that party. Because I want to be able to vote for something, even if it is still taxation without representation. Sigh.

 

On the one hand, I think you should have to register for the party to vote in their primary or caucus or whatever they use. The parties are not the government. They're private organizations. It's absurd to think you should have a say in voting for the head of your rival school's PTA. I mean, come on. And hate voting really does happen (when people in open primaries vote in the opposite election for the candidate they think their party has the best shot at defeating). On the other hand, well, look at my city. When it's single party, it gets a little undemocratic. Not that anything here is democratic. I mean, literally. It's all a farce. Oh, DC. Support DC voting rights, guys. Seriously.

[HomeAgain]

You know, the debate platform is one thing I adored about the show The Newsroom.  I saw that episode and was just floored - why can't we have that instead of our current circus??

[MEmama]

I loved voting at home in Washintgon. Dh and I would sit down with our ballots and the voter info pamphlet and have a great discussion while we each decided who to vote for. It was so much better than going to the polling place.

I felt cheated when we had to vote by mail in Oregon. It's fine to offer the choice, but I really felt like something was stolen. I loooove going to the polls, I love the lines, I love the energy and excitement. Filling in a few bubbles at my kitchen table felt so anticlimactic.

[justasque]

Wouldn't not voting be more like withholding one's vote?  (And one's approval?)  Writing in someone who will absolutely lose sounds like throwing away a vote more to me.  

 

I have a problem with people saying that not voting is more than just not voting.  When one votes according to one's moral principles and the only 2 candidates fall who can possibly win fall WAY short, the "values voter" don't have much of a choice without compromising.  To some people refusing to compromise one's principles is more important than voting for the lesser of two evils.  My vote goes TOWARDS the hiring of a person for one of the most important jobs in the world.  I refuse to be told I MUST hire one of two rats.  (I'm not saying you are telling me this, justasque, it's simply my reaction to a lot of the rhetoric about this topic!)

 

No.  If you withhold your vote, no one knows what you want - they don't know if you are not voting because you don't like the candidates, or just because you don't care.  

 

But you DO care.  If you vote third-party or write-in, you make it known that the two main candidates are not what you want for our country.  There's a difference between a candidate getting the most votes of all the people who ran, vs. getting more than 50% of the total votes cast.  It's important for us to know whether a candidate has the support of more than half of the voters, or just more than the next-lowest guy.  

 

The goal is not to vote for the winner - it's to make your voice heard. 

 

And if you don't bother to vote this time, the candidates won't feel like they need to listen to you (or, more practically, people like you) because you might not vote in the next election either. 

[Valley Girl]

No.  If you withhold your vote, no one knows what you want - they don't know if you are not voting because you don't like the candidates, or just because you don't care.  

 

But you DO care.  If you vote third-party or write-in, you make it known that the two main candidates are not what you want for our country.  There's a difference between a candidate getting the most votes of all the people who ran, vs. getting more than 50% of the total votes cast.  It's important for us to know whether a candidate has the support of more than half of the voters, or just more than the next-lowest guy.  

 

The goal is not to vote for the winner - it's to make your voice heard. 

 

And if you don't bother to vote this time, the candidates won't feel like they need to listen to you (or, more practically, people like you) because you might not vote in the next election either. 

 

Yes! If I want to send a message, that's what I need to do. It's really the only way to say "I cared enough to come out and cast my ballot for the other races. But I am specifically saying in the only way that counts that I don't think you are worthy of my vote." Take that, politicians and parties. I may still end up with someone I despise being elected. But I will have sent a message that will be received loud and clear when the votes and voting patterns are analyzed by those at the top.

 

[JadeOrchidSong]

No. If you withhold your vote, no one knows what you want - they don't know if you are not voting because you don't like the candidates, or just because you don't care.

 

But you DO care. If you vote third-party or write-in, you make it known that the two main candidates are not what you want for our country. There's a difference between a candidate getting the most votes of all the people who ran, vs. getting more than 50% of the total votes cast. It's important for us to know whether a candidate has the support of more than half of the voters, or just more than the next-lowest guy.

 

The goal is not to vote for the winner - it's to make your voice heard.

 

And if you don't bother to vote this time, the candidates won't feel like they need to listen to you (or, more practically, people like you) because you might not vote in the next election either.

This makes total sense to me. I wll vote so that the percentage will be more accurate. I hope everyone will vote to have his or her voice heard.

Thanks for the clarification!

[Pawz4me]

I like our registration system here in NC -- I'm registered as unaffiliated, which means in our primaries I can choose which party ticket I want to vote on.  I bounce back and forth between them, depending on the circumstances.  Twice in recent years I have chosen the ticket of the party I don't normally identify with the most so I could vote against someone.  The first time was in a local race.  This year it was presidential.

[SKL]

I enjoy going to the polling place too.  It's like going to a ball game - getting with people we don't even know because we're all excited (usually) about the same thing.  I feel like it builds community.  :)

[TranquilMind]

Unfortunately, it isn't "politics" it is people in politics.  And this is the best we got?  

 

It is frightening.

This is true.  It is the people.

 

Mostly, the best people don't want to run, or don't have years to devote to this, or aren't backed by major corporations, so they don't have the money.

 

Politics aside, I'm kind of seriously impressed with Bernie Sanders' stamina!  I'm decades younger and couldn't keep up that pace! 

[MistyMountain]

What really gets to me is the conversations people have. The comments on my local new sources are really bad for anything political. It is not that the area is more conservative and people hold those views. The comments are full of insults and sound bites. They say Bernie supporters are freeloaders just looking for free shit and he is a socialist/pinkie/commie. Then when someone says he for a social democracy not socialism they laugh because obviously they are the same thing ad how can people not see this. Then they show memes that say the nazis were socialist. The political spectrum is huge and socialism, the nazis and social democracy are not at all the same thing and they are not near each other. It is like that from the posters that are liberal too. They just call each other stupid. Not much real conversation goes on where both sides hold different opinions but listen to the other side and hear them out and have actual conversations on why you hold the views without insulting. I just seems like some people just want to tear each other down.

[HRAAB]

What really gets to me is the conversations people have. The comments on my local new sources are really bad for anything political. It is not that the area is more conservative and people hold those views. The comments are full of insults and sound bites. They say Bernie supporters are freeloaders just looking for free shit and he is a socialist/pinkie/commie. Then when someone says he for a social democracy not socialism they laugh because obviously they are the same thing ad how can people not see this. Then they show memes that say the nazis were socialist. The political spectrum is huge and socialism, the nazis and social democracy are not at all the same thing and they are not near each other. It is like that from the posters that are liberal too. They just call each other stupid. Not much real conversation goes on where both sides hold different opinions but listen to the other side and hear them out and have actual conversations on why you hold the views without insulting. I just seems like some people just want to tear each other down.

 

I think this is what has bothered me the most.  I do hope for more out of our politicians, but don't always expect my hope to be realized.  It's the people around me that have me depressed.  Friends, family members.  I 'almost' want to go back to the pre-social media days.  I've seen a side to people close to me I wish I hadn't seen.  Honestly, I don't believe they're really like that.  I think they've gotten caught up in the emotion and furor.  If they could step back and view themselves, I think they might be embarrassed.

 

And this behavior is not exclusive to one party!

[Rosie_0801]

This makes total sense to me. I wll vote so that the percentage will be more accurate. I hope everyone will vote to have his or her voice heard.

Thanks for the clarification!

 

Over here, particularly witty comments written on ballot papers sometimes get read out on the telly.

 

So be creative.  :laugh:

[LucyStoner]

So you have to be registered as a something?

 

It seems so strange to me for voting to be non-compulsory but affiliation to be mandatory.

This varies from state to state depending on their primary or caucus structure. In my state no party affiliation is recorded on one's voter registration. Also in every state that does put party affliation on the voter registration form, people have the right to indicate "no party affiliation" or "independent." So affiliation is far from mandatory. Edited March 27, 2016 by LucyStoner

[MaeFlowers]

I don't know if I am disappointed in American politics or the American people. The fact that we have the front runners we do in both parties makes me think that people have lost their minds. I kind of wish we could scratch this bunch and start over. Maybe if everyone refused to vote and stayed home?

 

I blame the media in many ways. There appears to be no accountability in journalism anymore. I have been frustrated by the reporting this go round. Apparently you can flat out lie and it doesn't matter.

 

However, I don't think the American people are as polarized as the media portrays. I feel like both parties have become caricatures of themselves and neither is really representing their voters well. I know I have felt this way for a long time about my party (and have for years) but this election has really cemented it for me. I've heard this from others as well.

[Deb in NZ]

This is the first year I am really excited in supporting a candidate since I began voting in '84 & this is the first year my dc are old enough to vote.  It's been a pain to make sure we're registered to vote from overseas & for the first time ever I declared a party, mainly as I wanted to make sure my vote in the primaries was counted.  I more rightly identify as an independent & always have.  One of my ds refused to register as he is completely disgusted with the political system both here in NZ & in the States.  My other 2 dc vote in both NZ & the States, as do I.  

 

I do feel that the primary system could be improved.  Dh (a NZer) sees it as rigged from the beginning & I can't find much to change his mind this year.  Here in NZ our national elections are every 3 years & we get 2 votes each.  One vote is for the candidate we feel would best represent our electorate.  The second vote is for the party we feel best supports our views.  Often people split their 2 votes (i.e. voting for a different party in their party vote than the one that their candidate is a member of)  The party to rule parliament is the party to get the most seats (determined by both candidates elected & the % of the party vote they received.)  There are 2 main parties & at least 6 other smaller parties represented in the current parliament.  It isn't a perfect system, but at least most people feel that their views are represented to some degree, even if only very marginally.  

 

I have tried to educate my dc in that the president isn't the one who truly holds the power in passing laws & running the country in the States.  Congress does this, except in special circumstances.  I believe we need a president who can work with both parties to get anything meaningful done in his/her 4 year term.  The president isn't the leader of the party as the prime minister is in the parliamentary system.  

 

The American people seem to be calling for change, for a move away from the way things have been done now & in the recent past.  The big support for extreme candidates on both sides shouldn't be surprising.  The fact that the young voters have been voting in bigger numbers should be noted a bit more by both parties as these voters are the future of the country.  The world is watching & is concerned & confused.  Concerned at the extreme views & violence on one hand (by one candidate.)  Confused at how policies (of another candidate ) that are normal for most of the developed world are viewed with contempt or fear by many.  It will be a year to remember.

 

JMHO,

Edited March 28, 2016 by Deb in NZ