If all you do is vote in the elections, you will be just a good little Republican or Democrat. If you sit out elections, you won't appear on the radar at all.Or I can go vote for McCain like a good little Republican, and they think I am one of them. That doesn't accomplish anything either.
On the other hand, if you do more than simply vote in the elections, you will be more than just a good little Republican or Democrat, and you will be on the radar.
If my forefathers could separate themselves from hearth and home, and pick up a musket, I can separate myself from my couch and pick up a phone.
You have to do more than vote, because no candidate, no matter how much you agree with him, will give you everything you want. Even if he tries to, he can't do it by himself. If you really want to get want you want, you have to stay involved. Anyone too lazy to work for what he wants is too lazy to deserve getting what he wants.