This is what's wrong with this country! (a rant!)

Grayfox

New member
Today was election day here in Tennessee. It was a primary for U.S. Senate and House seats plus a general election for a number of local offices. For the most part it was pretty much cut and dried. Nothing major on the ballot, but there were a couple of important Judgeships up for grabs.
Here in Shelby County we have a bit over half a million registered voters. So how many bothered to exercise their most precious right to vote? 15%! That's right! ONLY 15% Out of 500,000 people only approxamately 83,000 got out and went to the polls! Only 15% thought enough of their government to participate in it. Only 15% were willing to take ten minutes out of their day to voice their opinion. Only 15% cared about the future. Only 15% of the citizens of Shelby County where willing to take on the responsability of being a citizen.
Meanwhile, 417,000 voters sat on their lazy asses too busy, in too much of a hurry, not paying attention or maybe just too damned stupid to do the one thing that truely gives them a voice in government. And what do you wanna bet that these will be the very same people to bitch and gripe about what the politicians are or aren't doing?
Come November get off your ass! GET OUT AND VOTE! And more importantly get evrybody you know to get out and vote. Cause if you don't, you best just shut the hell up! You got no right to complain.

BTW: I voted.

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Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

[This message has been edited by Grayfox (edited August 03, 2000).]
 
I again Grayfox. There should be a minmum of 80 million (The supposed number gun owners) non-Democrat votes this November 7th.....but there won't be.
I have a some what related rant about this myself. Since I am disabled I vote absentee. I also live in the country and my mail box is not on my house but rather at the end of my driveway. Every election my ballot is mailed to me via certified mail requiring my signature. Each election I get a pink card in the mail with the words, "Sorry we missed you....blah, blah, blah." Well they missed me because the mail carrier did not do their job and bring the mail to the house as they are supposed if they have a letter requiring a signature. I don't stand at my mail box daily anxiously awaiting the arrival of the mail. Each time I call, complain and the letter is brought to the house. (Except in one case in which it was delivered the day after the election! :mad: ) (It should also be noted that my mail runs any where from 10:00am to 3:00pm...a long wait at the box)
Last Tuesday I get a pink card telling me they missed me again. I knew it was my ballot and checked the box asking that they redeliver it the next day. Wednesday, same thing. Card...they missed me, yada, yada. Now I'm cranked. The election is Tuesday and I'm still trying to get a ballot.
I call the number on the card, no answer. I call again later, no answer. I call post office number in phone book, recording they are too busy to come to the phone. I call another number in the book. Person acts as though I am stupid and tells my that the number on the card is no longer a good number. When I ask why it is still on the card they say they want to use all the cards up before printing new ones. When asked why they do not request a recoring on the old number directing a person to the new number they get mad. I ask for and am given a supervisor. I explain that this happens every election and I want to exercise my right to vote. I then ask, very politely, if he can speak with the carrier and tell them to bring the certified mail to the door as they are supposed to. His answer? I don't have to listen to any more of your sh!t and hangs up. (I was being polite.)
I make a long distance call to San Fransico (why the big boss is there is beyond me) and raise Hell.
Today I got my ballot. And I hope the supervisor is wearing a paper hat to his new job next week.

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Gunslinger

[This message has been edited by Gunslinger (edited August 04, 2000).]
 
Here is an idea..... if you want to get the people out to vote ,make it a law for a $10.oo fine for failing to vote!

THEN.... Watch election turn out tripple !!
 
A fine for not voting?

I don't know about that -- to be honest, there's a lot of folks out there I'd just as soon *didn't* vote, seeing as how they never bother to so much as even read up on candidate positions before going in the box and pushing the buttons. My own father, much as I love him, pushes the "Democrat" buttons straight-ticket, even when the candidate is *literally* a bleach-blond nitwit who can barely read her cue cards, much less hold an intelligent debate. I'd rather have someone I disagreed on some issues with, but a head on his shoulders, than that any day.

Truth be told, I'd not be too sad to see a basic civics exam (you know, like "list the Bill of Rights and explain their significance") before folks could get into the ballot line. Besides the fact we'ld actually have an informed electorate then, the sheer fact of some kind of barrier might inspire more folks to give a flying fig about voting. I mean, how folks do you know that go after a certain weapon because "they don't want us to have 'em"?

Look at it this way, if they can license and register the RKBA, surely it's also fine to license and register voting, right? ;)

Of course, if you really want to ruffle some feathers, you could even put in a little bit about needing to be functional in English and off public assistance first.
 
I agree that not everyone who goes to the polls is a truly informed voter. I've no doubt that many vote strictly along party lines...regardless of the issues.

At the same time, it's a sad state of affairs when a MINORITY of the registered voters in this country decides who our leader will be. Apathy and indifference have been and continue to be our worst enemies.

Get out and vote!



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"The only good hands for my guns are my hands!"
 
Done and done and done!

This Nov will be my first pres election!

I registered online and signed the form they mailed me. It was too damn easy!

I also take advantage of congress.gov to mail my reps and actually get responses on the issues I discuss with them. People need to exercise their rights more often and use the tools available today to help them do it!

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Try to take away my gun...and you will see my 2nd Amendment Right in ACTION!!! -Me

FOR THE CHILDREN!!!!
 
One of the truly biggest problems in our country is that the average American is more likely to know the words to a Britney Spears song than the the Bill of Rights.

A huge issue is the fact that most people find it very confusing getting into politics. Most people don't know who their state and local reps are, and have no way to really research them. Some also have no time for all the various candidates and all their bs political infighting.

Simplifying our system greatly would work wonders in this regard, but I don't see that happening anytime soon :(

It wouldn't hurt if TFLers would get REALLY involved in thier local politics. It is important. If you talk louder, and more logically than the crowd, you will be heard and respected. Get out, get involved.

Here's an idea. Print up a copy of the first through tenth ammendments and have at the top of it, "Do you know what your rights are? Do you know who chooses if you keep those rights? Get involved, and vote."

It might open some eyes. Maybe even leave contact information on it.

Part of a neighborhood watch? Wouldn't be a bad place to hand out copies of the supreme laws of the land...

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The Alcove

I twist the facts until they tell the truth. -Some intellectual sadist

The Bill of Rights is a document of brilliance, a document of wisdom, and it is the ultimate law, spoken or not, for the very concept of a society that holds liberty above the desire for ever greater power. -Me
 
What I do at work is allow my staff to take off one hour early on election day to vote. They do have to show me their voting stubs the following day to get paid for that hour. Those who are not registered to vote can take it off, but without a stub they don't get paid for it. Everyone under me is now registered and votes. All but one are voting for Bush.... and I still have a couple months to change their mind.



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Richard

The debate is not about guns,
but rather who has the ultimate power to rule,
the People or Government.
RKBA!
 
Rather than a fine for NOT voting, how about this: When you vote, you're given a voucher that you can attach to your next tax return for a credit. How much we'd have to work out, maybe $500 or so?

IMHO the low turnouts are because people realize that we aren't given much in the way of choices. Usually you get to pick between a candidate that whores themselves to special interests and a candidate that whores themselves to special interests.

BTW, I have voted in every election since I became eligible back in 1973. I even voted absentee when Uncle Sam sent me on "vacation" to Korea.

[This message has been edited by David Scott (edited August 25, 2000).]
 
Historically, low turnout favors conservatives because they generally vote no matter what the election is about. They tend to be more well-informed. High turnouts favor the liberals who don't pay attention to the issues, or to the seniors who unfortunately tend to vote Democrat out of fear. That's why off-year elections such as '94 give us a better shot. And it's also why I pray to God every other November for a snowstorm.

Having said that, I get red with anger when I
confront a gun owner who doesn't vote, or who doesn't vote RKBA. I'd like to take a sledgehammer to their fine double shotgun and say, "so what? You're going to let it be destroyed anyway. I'm just saving you a trip to the cop shop."

Somebody here summed up those folks the best when he described them: guns and golf trap-shooting apoliticos.

Dick
Want to send a message to Bush? Sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/monk/petition.html and forward the link to every gun owner you know.
 
greyfox;
amen brother.I agree with everything you said.
Getting paid to vote?Bulls***t.This is part of our responsibility as citizens.
One thing I would like to see is anyone that doesn't vote gets their citizenship revoked.
I can't get some my gun friends out to vote period.I don't think I want them as friends anymore.They are rideing on my coat tails and I am getting sick of pulling them along.
I am 59 yrs old and I have never missed a election,even off year ones.I take my responsibility as a citizen very seriously and I will continue to do so till the day I die,be that from natural or unnatural causes.

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Bob--- Age and deceit will overcome youth and speed.
I'm old and deceitful.
 
I'm originally from Australia.

Trust me, you don't want mandatory voting. Australia has it - and like someone says, it favors the socialists (who have an easier time getting the misinformed and the useless, as their message is shorter and easier to understand).

Another thing that happens with mandatory voting is what we call the "Donkey" vote (since the Donkey is the symbol for the dems maybe it means a similar thing). Australia has preferential voting, e.g. you put preferences, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" - i.e. under this system you could vote Perot 1, Bush 2 - when Perot bombs you default your vote to the next guy, and so on, by doing it this way. Thing is, some people literally just (because it's mandatory voting punishable by fines) put 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Since they're in alphabetical order, someday some dude called Aaron Aardvarkson will make it all the way to the top!!


Serious, though - you don't want people to get out and vote. Look at the MTV "Choose or lose" etc. - do you really think the kind of chimp who watches MTV (err. . . . myself excluded) will vote Bush?


Battler.
 
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