Legato wrote:
Regardless of who you like, JUST VOTE DAMNIT!! !!
VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE!! !! I don't care for whom you vote just do it!! !!
Disclaimer: I voted for Ron Paul in the primary, and I'm sad to see him fail so utterly when he had so many donations and such a huge following. I blame it on the laziness and apathy of my generation. VOTE DAMN YOU!
I also voted for Paul. Really, I think his problem was a combination of not having enough experience/hired political handlers to be able to run an effective national campaign and not receiving the media coverage he deserved. Seriously, the guy kept breaking fundraising records, had more support form the MILITARY than all other candidates COMBINED, was the only Republican who opposed the war, etc. From what I see among people I know, pretty much everyone who bothers to look up what Paul stands for ends up supporting him.
But on a side note, your naive idealism is rather touching. First, my vote is completely meaningless, regardless of who it is cast for. Even if you assume that we have fair elections (which we don't) my vote is well within the counting error when they tally the votes. And I'm from Ohio; I have seen openly rigged elections in my home state (that's why W is a two-term President). In New Hampshire and several other states this year, the Diebold executive in charge of counting votes was a convicted cocaine trafficker.
We do not have fair elections; this is a pretty well-established fact. Even if we did, there is still something to be said for non-participation. To vote says that you approve of the types of candidates who are out there, even if you don't. This reinforces the current system. A refusal to vote is akin to a vote of no confidence, and says that you are not represented by the candidates that the media has offered you.
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WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH