Your one, single, lonely, solitary vote MATTERS

[Stinky The Clown]

Obama is not on the ballot come November, but thousands and thousands of nameless, faceless people are. They're running for the jobs at the very bottom of the ballots in every jurisdiction in the country. These people are more likely to be pure of motive than anyone who has served a term anywhere. Check them out. Call them up. Do some research. Support them with money, time, door knocking, envelope licking, phone canvassing, allowing a sign in your yard, whatever you can do.

Your vote in this cycle may well pay off years down the road. You never know. That thirty year old mother running for state delegate or county school board, who you get to know now, may someday be governor or Senator or who knows what.

It ALL starts at the bottom.

Be there!

[provis99]

1. a single vote hasn't changed any significant election in America.

Voting is pointless.

[LargeGreenSpider]

3. I stopped voting in 2000

Seems I had to be on SCOTUS to have a vote that mattered.

[MineralMan]

6. Really? Good thing the folks in Minnesota turned out.

Just 300 or so of them made the difference for Al Franken. A pity you don't participate.

[provis99]

10. you just made my point.

Franken won by 300. A single vote wouldn't have made any difference.

[MineralMan]

12. Each of those 300 votes was a single vote.

If that particular 300 people had not voted, out of the 2 million or so who did, the outcome would have been different. Each cast an individual vote. I don't know how much clearer I can make it than that.

[provis99]

14. You don't get 300 votes. You only get 1. and one vote wouldn't have made any difference.

[MineralMan]

5. No, but about 300 votes got Al Franken into the Senate.

Every vote counts and contributes.

[LanternWaste]

8. Great bumper sticker philosophy.

"Voting is pointless."

Great bumper sticker philosophy.

I don't blame you though... seems these days that's about all many people can digest-- thinking, reading and evaluating based on 30-second commercial spots and rhetoric emptier than my wallet on prom night.

Looking forward to the book. Hope they make a movie out of it-- maybe starring Pauly Shore and Kelly Ripa. (Laugh-track sold separately).

[geek tragedy]

9. Yes, whining on message boards is much more productive. nt

[provis99]

11. actually it is. Gibbs insulting us proved that.

[TBF]

18. And here you are in every thread. nt

[geek tragedy]

20. What are you going to do about it?

[TBF]

23. I just find it amusing that while you complain about whining you are

always there in the middle of it. Carry on...

[Morning Dew]

16. I try to stress that point

to Republican voters. Voting doesn't matter, why bother?

On the other hand, I encourage Dems to vote like only their vote will take their candidate over the top.

Check out the Franken election in Minnesota

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/30/franken.ruling/index.html

razor thin margin.

[LWolf]

2. I will be there with bells on. nt

[MineralMan]

4. Good advice. Recommended.

I went to my polling place at 10 AM today.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

7. Election Day is the one day when everybody is truly equal.

A janitor's vote counts the exact same as a CEO's vote. I've never understood people who just abstain from the process entirely.

[TBF]

17. They abstain because in their daily lives it doesn't matter who is elected.

If you are wealthy it matters, particularly on cultural matters. If you are a laborer scraping by week to week do you really see much difference? Please explain to me in economic terms how an average worker is doing better under this president. Are the unemployment rates lower, how safe is social security, how about those unemployment benefits - explain how someone making minimum wage is doing better now than they were in 2007.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

19. The stimulus prevented the loss of many jobs that would have otherwise been lost.

And unemployment benefits were part of that package, not to mention additional extensions added since then.

What some people fail to realize is that Obama can't completely fix Bush's eight-year rampage halfway through his term, particularly with Blue Dog and Republican obstruction. But given what he was handed, I'd say he's doing a good job overall.

And I have no sympathy for people who don't vote at all. If you don't vote and are able to, you can't complain.

[TBF]

21. I worked on Obama's campaign & voted -

but I have the luxury of not working. Many hourly workers can't even get time off for voting (they may be allowed to go but they are not paid for the time). Many don't have vehicles to get to the polling places. When I was calling voters we tried to work that into conversations, just in case it was a factor.

Telling someone "even more jobs would've been lost is xyz wasn't passed" isn't the best argument. It would be nice to be able to point to the unemployment rate going down. And it's hard to accept the obstructionist stuff when there is a majority of dems in both. Put pressure on the blue dogs if that's the problem, cut stuff for their districts. There's got to be a way to pull them in line.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

25. That's why I put "are able to" in my post.

Because I knew you'd pull out the "What about the people who don't have cars, etc.?" card. I'm referring to people who have the means to get to the polling place yet are too apathetic to actually vote.

Telling someone "even more jobs would've been lost is xyz wasn't passed" isn't the best argument. It would be nice to be able to point to the unemployment rate going down. And it's hard to accept the obstructionist stuff when there is a majority of dems in both. Put pressure on the blue dogs if that's the problem, cut stuff for their districts. There's got to be a way to pull them in line.

Technically, it did go down because of those saved jobs. It would be several points higher if not for the stimulus. And a majority of Dems doesn't mean anything when people like Nelson, etc., keep throwing a monkeywrench into the works. I remember when the Republicans threatened members over the Medicare expansion a few years ago. We were all aghast by that, but apparently it's okay for Obama to be the bully now, huh?

[TBF]

26. As opposed to letting the repubs and blue dogs bully him -

yes, I'd rather see him fight back a little.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

27. No, you want him to threaten them over their funding.

Big difference.

[asdjrocky]

13. And that's the big lie. nt

[laughingliberal]

15. That's exactly how the right took over our government-one city councilman, BofE rep, dog catcher...

at a time.

K&R

[Ignis]

22. K&R

We all have the ability to effect real change at the local level, even when we feel ignored/betrayed/castigated by the party leadership in DC.

[End Of The Road]

24. Gotta hope the Diebolds are working correctly, tho. n/t