There is categorically no excuse for not voting…this means you

I have never heard as much bitching and moaning over the political situation in the decades I have been voting as I do today.  The public is convinced that all politicians are either dishonest, incompetent or just plain stupid.  Just maybe all three.  According to an August 2012 Gallup Poll, one in ten people approve of the job Congress is doing.  This gang of “incompetents” passed only 61 laws which are the fewest since 1947.  All because of ridiculous partisan bickering.

And then there are the presidential candidates who probably bear the most extreme feelings of whether or not they are fit for office.  The love/hate relationship voters have with Barack Obama is guided in many cases by just a dislike for the man, which I have a very hard time understanding.  If you watched the President on Dave Letterman recently and then can tell me what there is to dislike about him, I would probably wonder about your acuity.

You may not like Obama’s politics but that is an entirely different matter.  There are some who don’t but that is why you get off your butt and go to the polls in November.  I talked to someone recently that had been so against Barack Obama that this person would never vote for him.  But she told me that now she was going to vote for the President because she doesn’t like Mitt Romney’s politics.  But the point is she is going to vote for the better of two candidates.



Pres. Barack Obama

That’s the American way.  Not sulk and pick up your ballot and go home.  That’s what Susan Page of USA Today says 90 million Americans will do in November.  At best a USA Today/Suffolk University Poll says there’s a 50% chance these laggards will go to the polls.  These slackers “back Obama's re-election over Republican Mitt Romney by more than 2-to-1. Two-thirds of them say they are registered to vote.”  Excuse the name calling but you deserve it.

And here are the reasons the poll found for not voting: “They're too busy. They aren't excited about either candidate. Their vote doesn't really matter. And nothing ever gets done, anyway.  Let’s analyze these one by one.

• Too busy.  That kind of excuse reflects the caliber of the Congress who is to busy trying to get reelected, establish a power base, fill their pockets while in office or all three.

• Not excited over either candidate.  Any individual who cannot do the simple homework to find out which candidate has the most ideas that represent their position is just plain lazy and perhaps dull-witted. 

• Vote doesn’t matter.  Not only is this a stupid attitude, it is mathematically impossible when you consider the popular vote does impact the Electoral College vote.  How the hell do these people think we arrive at a majority?

• Nothing ever gets done.  Well, you know, this viewpoint does have some validity when you consider the Congress we are currently stuck with.  But this attitude fades in comparison with the fact that the way to get something done is to get rid of the current Congress.  To do that you must vote.

Susan Page found one mother of three, Jamie Palmer of St. Joseph, MO, who is 35 and has never voted.  This is incredible, the example of the worst kind of American citizen, who should be placed last on the list in order to enjoy the benefits of this country.  She, of course, should have no say in local, state or federal government.  For anyone to even admit this shows a mentality that would certainly bring the U.S. down if there were too many like her.

The demographics of poll respondents are as follows:

“Only a third calls their household finances good or excellent. Close to half say their annual household income is less than $60,000 a year. They tend to have lower levels of education than likely voters; nearly six in 10 have no more than a high school diploma.”

I was serious about throwing out all the incumbent bums in Congress and bringing in fresh blood, perhaps even less politically oriented in Washington’s ways.  Of course I am biased and would favor those who are progressive, but if you aren’t, you still must vote. 



Mitt Romney

As far as the candidates for president, you do have a choice between two distinct kinds of government.  Barack Obama represents the kind that is beginning to work today as is portrayed by all the upturn signs in the economy.  It’s been slow but his approach is working and shows resilience along with progress.

Mitt Romney represents the kind of government that fostered the financial meltdown resulting in record home foreclosures and jobs loss.  I am talking about George W. Bush’s administration which left President Obama with the worst mess since the Great Depression.

You do have a choice but you must vote to decide just what kind of government the majority of the American public wants.