President Obama is NOT on the ballot.

[MineralMan]

Just thought I'd make a note of that in case anyone was confused just at the moment.

However, 435 House members, and a batch of Senators are on the ballot. The primary season is long over, and the ballots are set. That is what we are voting about on November 2. President Obama isn't running for office this year.

We had our chance to choose which Democrats were on the November ballot. How that is done varies from state to state, but that process is over. Now, it's election time, and we have to decide, individually, whether we vote for the Democrat, vote for the Republican, or whine that we have no choice and stay home or place a protest vote for some clown who hasn't a prayer of winning.

In most cases, there is no other choice who has a chance to be elected to any of those offices. So, each of us must decide how we will affect the next two years, in the case of House members, and 6 years in the case of our Senators. If we decide to do nothing, we do not have a voice in the process. If we decide to vote for some third party candidate in protest, we do not have a voice in the process. We leave it up to others to decide.

That seems a very, very foolish thing to do, as far as I am concerned. In fact, it seems so foolish to me that I'm spending my weekends out talking to the people in my precinct and encouraging them to show up, cast their vote, and be counted. I encourage them to vote for Democrats, because I believe the alternative is unthinkable.

The bottom line is this election on November 2. That's the only thing that matters politically right now. What President Obama does at this point is irrelevant. He can find a new Chief of Staff, and that will not affect who runs Congress. He can speak and encourage and chide voters, but that will not actually set the course for the next 2 years. The only thing that will do that is individuals actively going to the polls and making their choices. Those who do not do that are abandoning the decision to those who will. So be it. Do whatever you wish.

As for myself, I will be there at 7 A.M. on November 2...one of the first in line at my polling place. I will cast my ballot. Then, I will be driving people to the polls who need rides, helping elderly people get into the polling place, and generally trying to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to cast their votes.

At 8 P.M. I'll be starting a vigil in front of the television set and watching DU for results. It matters. It matters very much. The next morning, I will be celebrating or mourning. Which I end up doing is all up to all of you and all of the rest of the population who take the time to do the single most important thing that individuals can do to influence the next stage of history.

If you vote on November 2, here's a hearty Hurrah! If you help convince others to vote, here's a Yahoo! If you help your local Democratic candidates to campaign, you're my hero! If you stay home or discourage people from voting, I have nothing whatever to say to you but Feh!

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. he may not be running for an office

but he certainly IS on the ballot...

sP

[MineralMan]

2. No, he is not. You are incorrect. Your local congress member is,

though. Please read your ballot carefully, if you go to vote.

[11 Bravo]

7. If you really don't understand, you have my pity, If you do understand ...

yet went for the cheap snark, you have my ... I don't know ... indifference?

[MineralMan]

20. I don't need your pity, nor do I care about your indifference.

This is not about you, or your opinion of me. You have missed my point altogether.

[11 Bravo]

26. Perhaps I have missed your point, but I'll stand by mine.

The Repugs, with the assistance of a compliant media, have nationalized this election. Barack Obama IS on the ballot, just as is Nancy Pelosi. At least that's the way I see it.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

32. the man is on the ballot...not in name but in his actions

and in his inaction. as the leader of the party...he IS on the ballot...on every line in fact.

sP

[emilyg]

39. Yep.

[ClassWarrior]

44. I'm sorry, but this person...

is not this person...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TeI_wOA62NQ/SREc_VZESQI/AAAAAAAAAEo/92VkyPIWZUY/s400/President+Obama.jpg

nor is this person.



And I intend to punish neither of the two valiant individuals on the ballot.

NGU.

[Hekate]

46. +1

[ProdigalJunkMail]

48. and neither would I...

but there are people who will...lots of them...and that is a well observed historical fact. a mid-term election is almost always a referendum on the President...this one will be no different.

sP

[hendo]

4. +1 :) NT

[Kahuna]

28. That MIGHT make sense if he were a dictator. But since he is not..

and our government is has three distinct branches, the upcoming election is to vote for your representative to represent you and your interests. You see, that what congress critters are for. They actually enact the legislation. :patriot:

[ProdigalJunkMail]

30. impressed at the people actually missing the point

he IS on the ballot...not directly...but he IS there.

sP

[treestar]

54. Only for people who have no regard for their local interests

And no interest whatsoever in politics or candidates or anything meaningful.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. Well said.

:thumbsup:

[MineralMan]

6. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it, and know that you'll

be there voting. :applause:

[JuniperLea]

5. Hear, hear!

That makes a lot of sense to me.

[MineralMan]

9. Thanks, JuniperLea!

[Codeine]

8. Anybody who doesn't cast a vote for the Democratic candidates

on their ballots should seriously ask themselves why they are here. And the DU admins and community should ask themselves why they allow those people to be here.

[MineralMan]

11. This is not about Barack Obama. This is about the congressperson

in your local district, and maybe your Senator. It's also about a Governor, in many places, and state legislators in many places. It's about city council members and judges and school board members, if they're on the ballot. It's about how our nation functions, from the smallest elected office to our Congress.

Not voting is abandoning the entire process. Encouraging others not to vote is even worse, since you disenfranchise your neighbors.

[Codeine]

12. Your posts should be in huge letters on the front page of DU

until the election. :yourock:

[pocoloco]

29. That attitude is complete fucking bullshit, exactly what the repugs do!!

You can continue to vote the blue dogs in and then shit in one hand and put all the "change" in
the other and see which one fills up first.

[Codeine]

31. I'll take a blue dog over a puke any day.

If those are the choices on the ballot I'm not going to find it a hard decision to make.

[treestar]

53. Baloney. Repukes would never fail to vote for a Repuke even if

he was not a teabagger. They would never even criticize them in public. They might call them rinos occasionally, but that's it.

[xchrom]

10. No but the democratic party is - of which Obama is a central figure.

You're arguing for a compartmentalizing .

That's your right - I would argue you're right and wrong - both
To you detriment.

[MineralMan]

14. Every vote is cast for an individual. Every race is about a

human being who is running. Every vote is a vote for a person who will represent you in some office or another. Every election is local. Every election matters. Every race is important. Most often there are two choices. One will be a Democrat. The other will be a Republican. There's a broad range within both parties, but there are some basics where each party agrees. I prefer the Democratic view of those basics.

All elections are compartmentalized by design. It's the elemental structure of our system of government.

[xchrom]

37. Full of Sound an Fury signifying not very much.

I dare say You have no idea what you just said despite
The flowery rhetoric.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Codeine]

17. Encouraging folks to vote for the repukes or to not vote at all

should be something our posters would be too ashamed to consider.

[MineralMan]

18. Examine those Blue Dogs' votes on every issue, then compare

them to what the Republican running against them wants to do. That should answer your question. Firing a Democrat means hiring a Republican. Are you sure you want what that means?

[MineralMan]

22. Elections are not about teaching lessons. They are far too

important for that. They're about the next 2 or 4 or 6 years.

[depakid]

33. In "real life" -that's often exactly what they're about

a lesson the Australian Labor party learned six weeks or so ago.

[MineralMan]

50. Most of us here on DU are not in Australia.

We have our own system of government here. This is our election, not yours.

[robcon]

13. Bush wasn't on the ballot in 2006; we won then because of Bush's failures

n/t

[Hekate]

47. We won because we got out and voted.

[Cha]

16. I'm very enthused about voting for the

new Democratic Gov to be in my new State that I registered by mail so I can vote after I move there in a few more days! :bounce::kick::party::toast::fistbump:

[MineralMan]

21. Excellent!

[NYC Liberal]

19. Thanks, MM. This election is about what each Congress critter has done and that will

Be decided state by state or district by district.

Big K&R.

[MineralMan]

23. It's late for me, and I have a long day of work tomorrow, so

I'll let this thread fend for itself for the rest of the evening. I just wanted to let visitors to the thread know that I'm shutting down for the night.

[Zax2me]

24. Right here/there with you...!

And to add, hopefully not hijacking the thread, think things aren't going to be so bad at all.
Appears that most undecided (in key races) are Democrats and if true, I don't see it any way but good news for us -
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101001/el_yblog_upshot/in-key-races-majority-of-undecided-voters-are-democrats

[LWolf]

25. No, he's not, and at no time did I consider not voting.

I'll be voting when he IS on the ballot, in 2012. I haven't skipped voting since I turned 18 and could.

[depakid]

27. Midterms are often referenda on the president in office

as well as on the state of the economy and the general perception among constituencies about "how things are going."

[Caretha]

34. I had no idea!!!

Really - he's not on the ballot? Thank you for your wisdom and guidance, without it I would be totally lost.

[HughMoran]

35. Sophisticated analysis

[grantcart]

36. Politics is a team sport

In parlimentary democracies the wining team gets everything.


People are voting for either the Republican Congressional/Senate Caucus or the Democratic one.



Obama is just the quarterback.

[AC_Mem]

38. I will NOT vote for a republican

Because of what they as a party represent to my country. If I saw them trying to work with our president or with the democratic majority - just a little bit, I would consider looking at individuals, however they made the choice to stop progress for the poor, the ill, and the unemployed.

None of them will get my vote, period. To the GOP - I vote NO.

[lumpy]

45. I am a life long Democrat. I have been voting for about 60 years.

I voted for a Republican running for US Senate once and twice a Republican for a state Senate seat ; angry & disillusioned about Vietnam,I voted for Nixon; Gave up that idea of voting on an individual basis when it became apparent those candidates were more loyal to their party than their pledges. After the Nixon vote, of course, I felt I had learned a valuable lesson. Never again.
As it has turned out throughout the years, Democratic administrations have done more for the benefit of this country than any Republican administration.

[Radical Activist]

40. It's too bad he's not.

Democrats would be in much better shape if he was because more people would show up to vote. The problem we're facing rate now is that the people on the ballot are the same members of Congress who failed to enact the agenda we voted for two years ago.

[rug]

41. Neither is McCain or Palin.

[MadHound]

42. Ah c'mon, you know better than that.

Midterms have always stood as a referendum of an administration's performance. That's why the party of the president has frequently lost seats at midterms. That's the nature of the beast.

[smalll]

43. That's why the iPod kids won't vote this time.

:shrug:

[DailyGrind51]

49. Like hell, he isn't!

"Obama" is the de facto reason why the majority are going to the polls, whether they back or oppose his policies.

[USArmyParatrooper]

51. Still, it's worth ruining the country by letting the Republicans take charge.

After all, President Obama said things that offended me and my feelings got hurt.

[OregonBlue]

52. For those that insist that Obama is on the ballot, well Dick Army and the Tea Party is on the

ballot too. So who ya gonna vote for, Dick Army and Freedom Works. The Tea Party is his baby.