This is what democracy looks like

[Reader Rabbit]

I live in Oregon, and our primary is not until May. Because of this, the media and many fellow Democrats feel that it is acceptable to disenfranchise me and other late-primary voters.

Last I heard, it was still the right of every American citizen to vote for whomever he or she wanted. Unfortunately, this formerly inalienable right is being steamrolled by the corporate-media-driven carnival that primary season has become.

When I vote, I don’t just vote for a person. I vote for ideas and issues that are important to me. The primary election, in particular, is a chance for all Americans to have a voice in how our country is run. It’s our chance to say, “This is what is important to me. This is what I think America should be. This is the direction I think our country should be headed.”

My right to say these things, to stand up and be heard as a citizen in a democracy, is being taken from me. The media fails to provide equal time for all candidates to discuss the issues, or to explain their position on said issues. Whether this is by design or simply due to shallow outlook and mental laziness is irrelevant. Democracy is being thwarted either way.

Similarly, many supporters of the more popular candidates refuse to respect my right to have a voice, simply because it inconveniences their candidate. They tell me to give it up, because my candidate “has no chance” and “can’t win.” They may not realize it, but they are essentially telling me that my voice as a citizen is irrelevant. By their words and actions, they are telling me to sell out my beliefs and ideals.

Sorry, I won’t do that. Nor should anyone expect or ask me to.

This is the United States of America, and we are a democratic republic. As a republic, citizens make their voices heard by voting for an individual who will best represent the beliefs they hold dear. I don’t care if my candidate isn’t as popular, or as flashy, or as media-accessible as yours. My candidate fights for causes that I believe in, and that is how my voice gets heard along with the voices of all the other Americans.

In refusing to quit, despite the increasing volume of nay-sayers, my candidate is respecting democracy. He is respecting me as a fellow citizen. He is respecting my right to have a say.

To tell me that my candidate should drop out, or that I should vote for someone else because my candidate cannot win is to disrespect me as both a fellow citizen and as a fellow human being. It disrespects my opinions, my ideals, and my values, and it is not how America should be.

Democracy is messy and inconvenient. Tough. Suck it up and work for your candidate, but don’t mess with my right to have a voice in what happens in my own country.

[acmavm]

1. And that is why the democrats could still blow this election. The arrogance

of the Hils/Barrie camps that think that OUR votes belong to them.

This is the first election in my life, and I've been voting for a LOOONNNNNNGGGGG time, that I may have to sit out.

[mondo joe]

2. To be fair, part of that same democracy is that people will say things you don't like.

People telling you things you disagree with isn't messing with your right.

You can say what you want, they can too. Even when people feel disrespected. And everyone can vote as they want as well.

[Muttocracy]

3. differences between general election and primaries

The media helped kill my candidate's campaign so I understand your feelings. The only energy I have is to figure out what I can do about election reform for the presidential race or within the Democratic party.

We do have the right to vote for whoever is on the ballot in November. The problem is everything that goes into who ends up on that ballot ( money + media -> media + money -> repeat). By then most Americans aren't going to be crazy about either choice.

[mac2]

5. They are all part of the Congressional frat club

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. It's the hierarchy of the Democratic party who are your problem, not the media

If you want a way of choosing a Democratic candidate that is fair to all Democrats, then they need to change it so everyone votes on the same day (or a few days, with no votes counted until all voting has closed).

[MissWaverly]

6. I think there should be a national primary

My state is having a primary on 2/12, does anybody care, nope, it's the same way in the general, we are ignored becuz we are
not a swing state, why should a handful of states determine the candidate that runs the entire country. We desperately need
to change the election process. The old party hacks running the machine might have worked in the 1880s but it's not working
now.