I'm Voting For America

[RestoreGore]

To those who are now questioning Americans who post here because they have lost faith in the political process and think we won't vote or are telling people not to vote, you are wrong. Perhaps you should also try to inquire as to why that has occurred for many Americans. Firstly, how are campaigns run in this country? On issues? Not really. Most campaign ads I have seen are thrity second shots at the opponent and not discussing real issues and I tune them out because I am TIRED of them.

And as far as discussing real issues Americans WANT discussed, I was even told that to discuss issues such as poverty were useless because they don't win elections. And don't even think of talking about 9.11 or asking questions, because that just makes you a "conspiracy theorist" on either side of the political spectrum. And it must be true, because in the debate between Menendez and Kean in my state, it was more important for each candidate to rate BUSH and trash each other, than it was to talk about healthcare. (Big sigh and rolling my eyes in Al Gore fashion)

So perhaps one other reason why Americans have become disillusioned with this process is because they see it as nothing more than a phony self aggrandizing system that does not put the people first and stifles our voice. Are they wrong to believe that? Are the working poor in this country wrong to believe that? How many times are we going to be promised quality affordable healthcare, quality jobs, a minimum wage increase, etc. just to be disappointed because even the Democratic Party plays the "war on terror" game when campaigning?

Secondly, the selection of 2000. Up to that point even I had pretty good faith in the process as far as counting votes. That fiasco and theft of our Democracy however, laid bare for me the real face of this system. However, what truly brought me to the point where I lost faith was that it was allowed to stand, and has stood almost seven years since with people even in the Democratic Party telling us to "get over it", and to "stop crying in our teacups." Not a very good way to instill faith in a system they should have been fighting to preserve.

The introduction of machines into this process as a result of the election theft of 2000 (which I do think was deliberate) has also greatly eroded my trust in the system. These machines are hackable, simple as that. So what I would love to see is a mass movement wherein on election day NO ONE votes on them. EVERYONE asks for a paper ballot. They would have no choice but to count them then. But once again, no one from any Party has stood up strongly to denounce the corporatization of our Democratic process, where it was proven that 80% of our votes are counted by companies beholding to Republicans. Are we not to talk about that? Why then is there not one Democrat standing strongly to rid our system of these electronic voting machines even knowing they can be hacked? Again, not a good way to instill faith in people.

And also, the last six years of this country's history have been years when the American people have seen both Parties (even though yes, it has been the Republican traitors who have done more to hurt this country) acquiescing to the politics of fear perpetrated by people who should never have been allowed to gain as much power as they have in the first place. How does it restore faith in this process to then see that it is made up of thirty second sound bites that attack rather than inform, machines that are hackable, and a Congress that falls in line, even on suspending habeus corpus? Do you not think the American people are just plain WEARY of the political posturing? How many times do we have to be told to keep fighting and still see the same ending?

However, through all of this I have voted in EVERY election since 2000, (even though I honestly had to hold my nose in 2004) making very vocal claims at the polls that I expected it to be counted PROPERLY. Was it, I don't know, and I SHOULD KNOW and that is the point of all of this. But I do know one thing for all of my disillusionment and loss of faith in this system, and that is that my love for this country transcends it. This is still my country, and I love her. Therefore, even though I have lost faith in this system, am not too happy with the candidate I have no choice but to place my vote with next month, and generally do yes, have a dark feeling about where this country is heading right now because Bush will remain until 2009, I'm voting next month.

But I'm not doing it for the Democratic Party. I'm not doing it for the candidate on the ballot. I'm not doing it to stick it to someone else. I'm doing it, because if I don't do it it would be admitting defeat of our Democracy and telling those who think they have the right to abrogate my rights that this is one right they WILL NEVER TAKE FROM ME.

Therefore, no matter how you feel about this shitty, corrupt, corporate voting machine, thirty second sound bite, military industrial complex of a system, you must go out and vote. If for no other reason than to honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives and sacred honor 230 years ago to give us this America. I'm then voting for Thomas Jefferson... For Benjamin Franklin... For George Washington... I'm voting for America.

[LWolf]

1. Well said.

I don't know that I'm voting for our founders, although I like the ideals that influenced the writing of our Constitution.

I'm voting because I can. Because I will not be silenced. I vote for the issues, and for the candidates I think represent those issues. When a party runs on issues, I support that party, or members of that party. When the party IS the issue, my vote goes elsewhere.

[RestoreGore]

2. Thanks for your response

And I am definitely voting for the ideals that forged the Constitution. So sad that we now live in a country where those ideals have been sacrficed for fear, apathy, and diversion.