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Nov. 7th, 2006 11:30 am
Vote or lie!
Every year I ask myself, "Why isn't 'None of the Above' on the ballot?" This year more than most, since everyone I've talked to is disgusted with both major party candidates for the highest office in play, state governor, and they'd rather floss a possum than vote for Mr Red-Green-Colour-Blindness third-party candidate, even as a protest.
For years, I've tried to understand the viewpoint of boycotting the booth as a legitimate form of protest, but I really can't. It doesn't send the message that you think democracy is a sham and we'd all be better off with anarcho-syndicalism or that you consider them all crooks and liars who shouldn't be trusted with a Starbucks reward card, much less your hard-earned tax dollars. At least, no more than it sends the message that everything's so hunky-dory that you don't need to worry who gets into office.
Every year, I vote for the offices I feel strongly about and ignore those where it makes no difference. (Particularly in the "real" elections, since most of the city and county offices were decided back in the Democratic primaries and the sacrificial lambs tend to be so right-wing that--again--even as a protest, I couldn't stomach giving them my vote.) But what I really want to do is find some way of saying "All y'all suck." If I simply don't vote for you, you can chalk it up to ignorance or laziness. But if I make a concerted effort to make it to the polls expressly so I can declare you persona non grata, well, that's a different story, isn't it? It'd be a lot better than treating the absence of support for an opponent as some kind of mandate for more of the same.
For years, I've tried to understand the viewpoint of boycotting the booth as a legitimate form of protest, but I really can't. It doesn't send the message that you think democracy is a sham and we'd all be better off with anarcho-syndicalism or that you consider them all crooks and liars who shouldn't be trusted with a Starbucks reward card, much less your hard-earned tax dollars. At least, no more than it sends the message that everything's so hunky-dory that you don't need to worry who gets into office.
Every year, I vote for the offices I feel strongly about and ignore those where it makes no difference. (Particularly in the "real" elections, since most of the city and county offices were decided back in the Democratic primaries and the sacrificial lambs tend to be so right-wing that--again--even as a protest, I couldn't stomach giving them my vote.) But what I really want to do is find some way of saying "All y'all suck." If I simply don't vote for you, you can chalk it up to ignorance or laziness. But if I make a concerted effort to make it to the polls expressly so I can declare you persona non grata, well, that's a different story, isn't it? It'd be a lot better than treating the absence of support for an opponent as some kind of mandate for more of the same.