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Election 2014 – "Why I Opt Out of Voting"

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by The Dissident Dad via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

Note from Mike Krieger,

Before I get to the Dissident Dad’s latest post, I want to provide my own perspective with regard to this very important debate. While I agree that voting is generally meaningless in our current system, this is because the two choices we are given are 99% of the time captured cronies of the two corrupt political parties.

 

So this begs the question, can we ever get real choices on the ballot? I believe we can, but we need a much larger percentage of the population aware and engaged. While I completely respect the decision to not vote for either false choice (for example, in Colorado both choices for Governor are horrific), I hope people who make this choice don’t altogether give up on grassroots activism and civil disobedience, but rather direct their energy elsewhere.

The Ritual of Voting
by the Dissident Dad

Screen Shot 2014-11-03 at 12.43.53 PM

This year, my wife and I will – for the second time in our adult lives – not vote. Previously, I would have seen this stance as many people do: as an irresponsible act. The ritual of voting is very much like taking communion in church for half of this country.

As a father, I want to raise responsible adults, which is why my wife and I will not be heading to the polls this election.

I want to always help my children understand that they are sovereign men and women, and have no obligation to any government.

When it comes to voting, my wife and I are personally opting out of the system. There are a lot of reasons for us not to vote, but at the core it comes down to not wanting to enforce our will on others. I’m fine with making our voices heard, but when the vote has a direct impact on how much money is stolen from another family, I want nothing to do with it.

Both Democrats and Republicans support militarism, taxation, spying on us, inflation, redistribution of wealth, Keynesian economics and corporatism once they get in office.

My children need not to identify with this group of sociopaths, so to vote would be a bad example for them. Plus, as my friend Doug Casey has noted, voting just encourages them – the politicians, that is. Whether you’re voting for or against someone, winning an election gives the politician a sense of a mandate that they are obligated to create new rules, taxes and redistribution of wealth schemes to satisfy their voting bloc. That somehow they are in the right, because no matter how sick their political philosophy is, the majority has demanded they implement it into the minority’s lives.

The current options for voting within the system has conditioned Americans into becoming busybodies. We’re always given the choice of taking away the rights of others, stealing their property through taxation, and creating new laws for minority groups. Or worse, outright murdering people overseas because they consider our tens of thousands of troops, drones and ships off their coastlines a threat to their own national sovereignty.

I believe that intentionally not voting will serve as a positive reinforcement for my kids that you don’t have to comply with society’s expectations and you never have to take part in the lesser of two evils. The lesser of two evils is still evil.

The oligarchs laugh at all us plebs on Election Day because they know that no matter what we do, they’re going get what they want. If you voted for Bush, you got Ben Bernanke as the master of your dollar’s value and chief of banker bailouts. If you voted for Obama, who was supposed to be the anti-Bush, guess what; you still got Ben Bernanke as master of your dollar’s value and chief of banker bailouts.

Raising responsible adults in a world that is completely upside down continues to be my most difficult task as a father. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, your own personal choice between mainstream and independent thought is the easy part. What becomes far less manageable are your very own loved ones: family, friends, and neighbors who are fully part of the system and who blindly endorse its atrocities against mankind and defend the oligarchs every step of the way.

This is why not voting for my family has to be more than just a political protest, but something I will have to defend and take the time to explain at family gatherings.

For my children, I want them to know that the system is not their friend. It doesn’t mean that people who live within the system are our enemy; it just means that as sovereign people, we have no obligation to it, and it’s not us who should be embarrassed for not embracing it. Instead, it’s the thieves and busybodies who partake in the theft of someone else’s wealth — and even their lives — every time they prop up one these central planners.

Oh, and while we’re on the topic of sham elections and corrupt, insane politicians. Make sure you watch the following:

 

 

 

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Mon, 11/03/2014 - 23:51 | 5409438 Dingleberry
Dingleberry's picture

I have not voted for the main parties.

I know better, and have always known. A two-year old can grasp this charade. If anyone has gone thru 2-3 election cycles as a young adult, you have no more excuses.

But what troubles me most is when I hear people vote say that they vote "for the lesser of two evils".

When one votes, one is giving WHOLEHEARTED SUPPORT for the candidate of choice. There is no box labeled "the best of the worst", or some such.

Voting FOR someone is a deliberate, conscious act (unless a hanging chad gets in the way), and the politician uses YOUR vote as THEIR mandate.

So if you are willing to go stand in the rain, wait for hours, pull a lever...don't fucking tell me you don't 1000% support who or what you voted for.  Because that is exactly what you did.

Mon, 11/03/2014 - 23:56 | 5409452 Seize Mars
Seize Mars's picture

The NSA spies on us throught every single electronic device in our lives.

Then, it sends this data to Israel:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/11/nsa-americans-personal-data...

Then, the US government threatens me with murder if I don't pay them money, then gives this money to Israel. Then Israel takes this money and buys American elections with AIPAC.

Remind me, what exactly are we "voting" on again?

Mon, 11/03/2014 - 23:59 | 5409454 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

You have to stop them before they get to DC...at least vote for local (State level) folks you know. We have a couple of rising Rinos that we hope to stop. ONe was given the 'Conservative of the Year Award ' and double crossed the base...we may not get him this time but he'll never get out of Nevada.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:00 | 5409455 Vidar
Vidar's picture

An excellent article that sums up all that is wrong with voting. It is written from a Christian perspective, but the moral arguments apply to everyone:

http://thirdway.crosstherubicon.us/why-i-dont-vote/

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:14 | 5409474 homebody
homebody's picture

Idiots

When good men and women do nothing.........

 

Get community support and run for office if you have more to offer - quit bitching if you do not participate

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:35 | 5409521 Vooter
Vooter's picture

Blah, blah, blah...we hate you, and your system. And we hope it collapses.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:40 | 5409624 homebody
homebody's picture

Spoken by a weak, cowardly chickenshit - get a backbone instead of hiding in the basement 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:43 | 5410122 Vooter
Vooter's picture

LOL...are you taking up arms? Then you probably shouldn't call other people chickenshits. Oh, wait, I forgot--you're "voting"...

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:38 | 5409526 Polymarkos
Polymarkos's picture

My brother Mike attempted to make it to State Senate in Oregon. He campaigned 3 times. Each time he failed to raise anywhere near the MILLIONS it takes just to make a state senate position.

If you think running for office is a solution, TRY IT. Until you have, you need to STFU about 'participating' and 'running for office.'

 

The system will not allow anyone in not approving of the system and supportive of it.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:43 | 5409535 homebody
homebody's picture

Perhaps a contribution to society at a more local level would be better for Mike - jumping in to the deep end is not always best

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:14 | 5409478 gwar5
gwar5's picture

I'll vote for every conservative GOP I can get my hands on. Don't give me that shit about wars, Dems got us into all the wars of the 20th century; Obama is a black McCain dittohead on that.

 

We're less f'cked up with GOP in office because the MSM tells the truth on them. MSM not the same cloaking device as for the Dems. Ya'll stay home if you want, but it's a warm feeling watching sociopaths' fake tears at concession speeches. In the future I can still say I tried the ballot box before the bullet box.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:25 | 5409498 q99x2
q99x2's picture

There are many options because one thing is for sure:  that the corruption will cause the existing system to implode.

I am voting because I don't believe any politician should be in office more than once if ever.

Maybe it won't matter. Maybe it will.

I'm in college doing what I like and if I do it well enough who knows. There are a lot of connections that lead to things unseen. One glimpse into the UCLA libraries and all the connected libraries that are available is like looking into a completely different universe Connections that can unlock existing social conditions or rebuild them into something new after or before the collapse are all there. Being a good mathematician a programmer or geneticist may give one enough personal satisfaction and position to get them through any social calamities that go on around them. 

I don't think about what other people should do too much. Except for bankers. I think they should jump.

 

 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:27 | 5409500 lordkoos
lordkoos's picture

If you don't vote, then STFU about everything.  There are more than two parties to vote for.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:33 | 5409515 Vooter
Vooter's picture

Make us.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:34 | 5409519 Polymarkos
Polymarkos's picture

Just wait until the Republitards get into office!! THEN we will see some changes!

 

Then we will see EVEN MORE OF THE CRAP WE SAW UNDER OBAMA!! That's the only change: more of the lawlessness and planned destruction of the United States at the behest of the oligarchs running things.

 

Both sides are the same, both beholden to the oligarchs, nothing but sock puppets with different labels. And yet so many STILL  buy off on the kabuki theater of Us VS Them, Dems VS Reps.

 

The human race is doomed.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:38 | 5409527 homebody
homebody's picture

So.. get off your ass and do something

 

If the world is too much for you then off yourself - less useless noise for the rest of us

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 11:08 | 5410405 hootowl
hootowl's picture

 2-Term limits on ALL federal offices.  1 term in office, 1 term in prison, then go home, get a job, and make restitution for fraudulently receiving a salary............NO PENSIONS.....EVER.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:36 | 5409525 css1971
css1971's picture

Every single law which exists is a restriction of freedom. Sure some things absolutely should be restricted, but really 24,000 laws per year? Who does that help but vested interests and lawyers?

Why is the creation of more and more laws considered "productive"? It looks more like a progressive "freezing" of freedoms and accretion of special interest indulgences year after year.

How many laws are there now? At the federal level? At the state level? Shouldn't all laws come with an expiry date?

 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:47 | 5409541 homebody
homebody's picture

I agree - start by eliminating the tax code  - a simple flat or fair tax is needed.  Then go through every department and gut it to the bone.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 11:03 | 5410389 hootowl
hootowl's picture

There should be NO federal tax on individual citizens.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:50 | 5409546 Victory_Garden
Victory_Garden's picture

VOTE OUT ALL INCUMBENTS TOMORROW FOR A REAL CHANGE!

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:51 | 5409548 Hohum
Hohum's picture

If only a party/candidate could have a plan to get more net energy out of economic activity.  Otherwise, meh.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:55 | 5409555 homebody
homebody's picture

By net energy I hope you mean production of useful goods and a sustainable path

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 00:59 | 5409566 cheech_wizard
cheech_wizard's picture

I'm not voting again this time around. That's 4 national elections in a row for me now. The added benefit is I don't get called for jury duty.

 

Side note:

The last jury I was on, they appointed me foreman. As a lark, I kept sending the judge technical questions. We opted to give the sleazy real estate agent and his even sleazier attorney $0.00. I then asked the judge if we could have him reimburse the defendant and the rest of us for wasting our time for a week.

Here's an interesting tidbit I learned from the defense attorney. If the jury doesnt reach a decision before lunch, they expect that they have lost the case, which also means the prosecuting attorney and his client are going to get a huge payday.

I told him we made up our minds in about half an hour, but we wanted the free lunch since they had been sending us to a really great restaurant every day.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:13 | 5409575 homebody
homebody's picture

I hope you love Hitlery, Harry, and Nancy

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:07 | 5410206 effendi
effendi's picture

cheech, that is a benefit of jury duty. You can use jury nullification to fuck with the statists and their thousands of liberty infringing laws. You can also award massive payouts to victims of corporate crime.

The more libertarian minded people who vote and fill the jury pool the harder it is for juries to be stacked with state worshiping twats who do things like letting off JBTs from their crimes.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:11 | 5409581 Mute Button
Mute Button's picture

Both parties are corrupt. But short of armed revolution, it's either allow one to completely transform the system into communism, or allow the other to cronieize corporations and the military.

But I think the republicans, in their portrayal of the false dichotomy, do it as the appearance of constitutionality. And we should hold them to it.

We should make a choice to annihilate one of the parties. We take away the false dichotomy. If no one votes for the most evil of the two--the democrats who're proud in their anti-constitutionality--then we can target the remaining frauds, the republicans.

If we stop voting for the republicans, my fear is that the one surviving party, the democrats, will complete the full transformation.

If the republicans are the survivor, I think they're too cowardly to transform the country completely.

If we annihilate the democrats--no more voting for them--then we can finally set up a rival party to the republicans...one that actually represents the people and respects the constitution.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 16:23 | 5411836 Abaco
Abaco's picture

It is true that the Democrats trash the constitution with their rhetoric while the Republicans support it with their rhetoric. However, the Republicans have no respect for the constitution when it comes to corporate welfare, standing armies, the war on drugs, etc. They can all go fuck themselves without compellng me to endorse either gaggle of shitheads.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:13 | 5409585 roadlust
roadlust's picture

"The redistribution of wealth" is now "Evil???"

Isn't that what trading the stock market does every day?

Isn't that what this site is dedicated to?

Oh, you mean the redistribution of wealth to people besides your family.

Democracy can be a bitch when it doesn't go your own pocket. 

Yes, I can see why you don't vote. 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:22 | 5409598 homebody
homebody's picture

Evil is 50 million on foods stamps - how many are legitimate?

Evil are third and forth generation welfare bums.

Evil are life-long students with 1.5 tril in student loans

etc etc etc work for it and fight to keep the gov from giving it away to the poor because its only fair 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:14 | 5409586 thebigunit
thebigunit's picture

There are good libertarians and bad libertarians.

Bad libertarians are really stuck on narcissism and anarchism.  Live in the wilderness. Do whatever you want whenever you want. It's really "libertine-ism".

Good libertarians are stuck on peace and prosperity.

Prosperity comes from capitalism and free markets.  Capital requires protection from predators.  Free markets require trading partners.

Peace results from the social agreement to protect capital and trade.

Protection of capital and freedom of trade require governance and laws.

Deciding on the parameters of governance and laws involves politics.

Most civilized societies resolve political issues by voting.

Opting out of voting is opting out of civilization and fleeing to the wilderness.

 

 

 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:31 | 5409615 homebody
homebody's picture

Going Galt is gaining in popularity

I would guess that about 5% of the population are preppers to some degree and plan to keep their heads down until the smoke clears.  

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:22 | 5409599 Victory_Garden
Victory_Garden's picture

THE WAR ON TERROR IS A FAILURE.

ANYONE WHO SUPPORTED IT NEEDS TO BE VOTED OUT OF OFFICE NO MATTER WHICH RED OR BLUE MONKEY-PUPPET SUIT THEY WARE.

VOTE OUT ALL INCUMBENTS!

NO MOAR BLACKMAILED PANSY PUPPETS.

NO MOAR WARMONGERING FOR THE PROFITS OF A FEW.

NO MOAR CRONY KICKBACKS LIKE THE WITCH PELOSI GIVES HER HUSBAND.

NO MOAR CORRUPTION AND LIES.

NO MOAR MARKET MANIPULATIONS.

NO MOAR WAR.

NO MOAR!!!

VOTE OUT ALL INCUMBENTS.

JUST DO IT.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:27 | 5409604 homebody
homebody's picture

Dreamer - wake up to reality - have to start small and locally - start the movement - build the movement

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:57 | 5409638 semperfi
semperfi's picture

Give the guy a break - its a step in the right direction.  Almost all of us fell for the lie and started to wake up at some point.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:56 | 5410372 hootowl
hootowl's picture

Don't legally organize.....The Joos/progressives/moneysuckers will infiltrate and take over before you can become strong enough to actually make a difference.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 17:08 | 5412033 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

There's no such thing as voting out only voting scum in. A true "voting out" event would require a ballot on who to remove without a replacement being required.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:52 | 5409633 One World Mafia
One World Mafia's picture

To all the Obama tools and their "Don't Vote" psyop:

Gun Owners of America Voting Guide http://goapvf.org/2014

NOW SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!!

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 07:52 | 5409857 Seize Mars
Seize Mars's picture

The hallmark of statists is that they tell people to "shut up."

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 16:26 | 5411846 Abaco
Abaco's picture

Bullshit.  I m not a statist.  Now shut the fuck up.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:53 | 5410354 Winston Smith 2009
Winston Smith 2009's picture

Guns, gays, and god, the hot button issues they keep using to bring "lesser of two evils" idiots back to the polls year after year while in every other way, BOTH parties massively screw you, your kids, and your kid's kids blind econmically every freaking day. There are so many guns in circulation in the US and the reaction, politically and otherwise, to any confiscation would be so extreme in our gun culture that it will never happen.

WITHDRAW CONSENT! Stop being constant pawns in their SUCKER'S game.

http://www.fredoneverything.net/TACDemocracy.shtml

Plumbing the Depths

How the Gears Turn

Common delusions notwithstanding, the United States, I submit, is not a democracy—by which is meant a system in which the will of the people prevails. Rather it is a curious mechanism artfully designed to circumvent the will of the people while appearing to be democratic. Several mechanisms accomplish this.

First, we have two identical parties which, when elected, do very much the same things. Thus the election determines not policy but only the division of spoils. Nothing really changes. The Democrats will never seriously reduce military spending, nor the Republicans, entitlements.

Second, the two parties determine on which questions we are allowed to vote. They simply refuse to engage the questions that matter most to many people. If you are against affirmative action, for whom do you vote? If you regard the schools as abominations? If you want to end the president’s hobbyist wars?

Third, there is the effect of large jurisdictions. Suppose that you lived in a very small (and independent) school district and didn’t like the curriculum. You could buttonhole the head of the school board, whom you would probably know, and say, “Look, Jack, I really think….” He would listen.

But suppose that you live in a suburban jurisdiction of 300,000. You as an individual mean nothing. To affect policy, you would have to form an organization, canvass for votes, solicit contributions, and place ads in newspapers. This is a fulltime job, prohibitively burdensome.

The larger the jurisdiction, the harder it is to exert influence. Much policy today is set at the state level. Now you need a statewide campaign to change the curriculum. Practically speaking, it isn’t practical.

Fourth are impenetrable bureaucracies. A lot of policy is set by making regulations at some department or other, often federal. How do you call the Department of Education to protest a rule which is in fact a policy? The Department has thousands of telephones, few of them listed, all of which will brush you off. There is nothing the public can do to influence these goiterous, armored, unaccountable centers of power.

Yes, you can write your senator, and get a letter written by computer, “I thank you for your valuable insights, and assure you that I am doing all….”

Fifth is the invisible bureaucracy (which is also impenetrable). A few federal departments get at least a bit of attention from the press, chiefly State and Defense (sic). Most of the government gets no attention at all—HUD, for example. Nobody knows who the Secretary of HUD is, or what the department is doing. Similarly, the textbook publishers have some committee whose name I don’t remember (See? It works) that decides what words can be used in texts, how women and Indians must be portrayed, what can be said about them, and so on. Such a group amounts to an unelected ministry of propaganda and, almost certainly, you have never heard of it.

Sixth, there is the illusion of journalism. The newspapers and networks encourage us to think of them as a vast web of hard-hitting, no-holds-barred, chips-where-they-may inquisitors of government: You can run, but you can’t hide. In fact federal malefactors don’t have to run or hide. The press isn’t really looking.

Most of press coverage is only apparent. Television isn’t journalism, but a service that translates into video stories found in the Washington Post and New York Times (really). Few newspapers have bureaus in Washington; the rest follow the lead of a small number of major outlets. These don’t really cover things either.

When I was reporting on the military, there were (if memory serves) many hundreds of reporters accredited to the Pentagon, or at least writing about the armed services. It sounds impressive: All those gimlet eyes.

What invariably happened though was that some story would break—a toilet seat alleged to cost too much, or the failure of this or that. All the reporters would chase the toilet seat, fearful that their competitors might get some detail they didn’t. Thus you had one story covered six hundred times. In any event the stories were often dishonest and almost always ignorant because reporters, apparently bound by some natural law, are obligate technical illiterates. This includes the reporters for the Post and the Times.

Seventh, and a bit more subtle, is the lack of centers of demographic power in competition with the official government. The Catholic Church, for example, once influentially represented a large part of the population. It has been brought to heel. We are left with government by lobby—the weapons industry, big pharma, AIPAC, the teachers unions—whose representatives pay Congress to do things against the public interest.

Eighth, we are ruled not by a government but by a class. Here the media are crucial. Unless you spend time outside of America, you may not realize to what extent the press is controlled. The press is largely free, yes, but it is also largely owned by a small number of corporations which, in turn, are run by people from the same pool from which are drawn high-level pols and their advisers. They are rich people who know each other and have the same interests. It is very nearly correct to say that these people are the government of the United States, and that the federal apparatus merely a useful theatrical manifestation.

Finally, though it may not be deliberate, the schools produce a pitiably ignorant population that can’t vote wisely. Just as trial lawyers don’t want intelligent jurors, as they are harder to manipulate, so political parties don’t want educated voters. The existence of a puzzled mass gawping at Oprah reduces elections to popularity contests modulated by the state of the economy. One party may win, yes, or the other. But a TV-besotted electorate doesn’t meddle in matters important to its rulers. It has never heard of them.

To disguise all of this, elections provide the excitement and intellectual content of a football game, without the importance. They allow a sense of Participation. In bars across the land, in high-school gymns become forums, people become heated about what they imagine to be decisions of great import: This candidate or that? It keeps them from feeling left out while denying them power.

It is fraud. In a sense, the candidates do not even exist. A presidential candidate consists of two speechwriters, a makeup man, a gestures coach, ad agency, two pollsters and an interpreter of focus groups. Depending on his numbers, the handlers may suggest a more fixed stare to crank up his decisiveness quotient for male or Republican voters, or dial in a bit of compassion for a Democratic or female audience. The newspapers will report this calculated transformation. Yet it works. You can fool enough of the people enough of the time.

When people sense this and decline to vote, we cluck like disturbed hens and speak of apathy. Nope. Just common sense.

This first appeared in shorter form in The American Conservative.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 01:55 | 5409634 Schmuck Raker
Schmuck Raker's picture

OT a little: Can any history buffs tell me which years the US wasn't dropping bombs?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:31 | 5410303 hootowl
hootowl's picture

.....UH,....before there were planes, satellites, or rockets!

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 12:54 | 5410848 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

oh, excellent prompt for thought.

forgive my piggyback:

Can any history buffs share exactly when amrka lost legitimacy as a "sovereign state" (or whatever your preferred descriptive), and how that happened, who was involved.

lots of posts blaming certain "presidents" or certain "leaders" or particular "time periods" - exactly when in history did the narrative shift?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 02:06 | 5409651 Moccasin
Moccasin's picture

Those that vote endorse the corruption. Those that vote often say to those of us who do not vote, that the non-voter has no right to complain. That is a load of crap, after all those folks who do vote are the ones that endorsed the corruption, they are the ones who should STFU. I don't vote because it is pointless, I refuse to endorse criminal syndicates or the tyranny they represent and I retain my right to criticize government. I dream of a future where everyone boycotts the elections and runs the politicians out on a rail. We as a society deserve a better system, I have a few ideas but I am tired of sharing them with people who can not conceive of anything other than the 2 party dissonance that dances in their brain and the right-left political bigoted garbage they spew. I am done. Great article, I will pass it along to a few folks who struggle with us dissidents.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:29 | 5410296 hootowl
hootowl's picture

......And at the same time you pay your taxes, acquire the licenses, and comply with all the fees and regulations that the political criminals impose on you,.....even if you have to use your government check to pay the various ransoms for your "freedoms".

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 17:02 | 5412012 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

Quite a few shall not do so but to remain safe must not voice this publicly.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 02:18 | 5409658 falconflight
falconflight's picture

...And what if anything did the author do to support anti gop establishment candidates in the primaries?  You know there were some candidates who were challenging the Karl Rove, GWB, Mitch McConnell GOP establishment.  They were crushed in Kentucky and North Carolina because again as usual, only about 20 percent of the rank and file voted in the primaries.  

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 03:15 | 5409691 JoJoJo
JoJoJo's picture

Then why not pick the best of the worse? Even God chose an eventual loser like King  Saul. Hope your kids dont turn out to be membets of the Lone Wolf Party.  Im thinking that equating Repubs with Democrats is evil. Hope the kids have better discernment.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 04:26 | 5409737 shouldvekilledthem
shouldvekilledthem's picture

Sorry to break it to you but God do not exist.Fucking  imbecile.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:25 | 5410279 hootowl
hootowl's picture

If you want to a real imbecile, take a quick look in the bathroom mirror,....If your mother will let you go upstairs to the bathroom.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 17:02 | 5412007 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

He only pointed out the real fact there is no god.

Never has been.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 17:01 | 5412005 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

Repubs = Dems is incredibly precise discernment as they receive the same funding, from the same sources, with the same corruption & support the same polices precisely.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 03:55 | 5409711 livefreediefree
livefreediefree's picture

There's 3 Hispanics/blacks/whites beating the shit out of that little 5- or 6-year-old girl about 15 feet from me. I refuse to help because I am as pure and noble and glorious as all those who aren't going to vote in Tuesday's election. The system is corrupt, and I am so very, very, very clean. There's this homeless guy pissing on the 6 little kitties in the cardboard carton that those cute young kids are trying to give away in front of Walmart. I refuse to do anything because look at me! look at me! look at me! I am so fucking wonderful for not voting. All you fuckers looking at the homeless guy pissing on the kitties need to look at me! I refuse, I fucking refuse, to participate in this corrupt system. There's these hodded, robed figures with what looks like Arabic writing on their hoods stuffing cement into the toits of the 10 girls they have hung upside down and tied up, but I fucking refuse to do anything because -- well, look at the transcendant light shining all around me because I am so wise, so omnipotent, so eternal vowing not to vote. I refuse to participate in this corrupt system.

14 shots ring out. The conservative who killed the 3 Hispanics/blacks/whites, homeless guy, and 10 hooded members of ISIS turn to those not voting, and gives them all 8 foot, perfectly square rooms with mirrors completely covering all interior surfaces. "Go on in", the conservative says, "and indulge in your favorite pasttime".

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 04:40 | 5409745 Alvin Fernald
Alvin Fernald's picture

Are you trying to encourage people to vote?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 13:38 | 5411062 livefreediefree
livefreediefree's picture

No. Simply trying to resonate with the negativity of those who won't vote.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:38 | 5410100 Vooter
Vooter's picture

I want the system to collapse--who do I vote for for that to happen?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 13:39 | 5411072 livefreediefree
livefreediefree's picture

Continue to think about it. Eventually, cynical nihilism destroys itself.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 16:59 | 5412001 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

So far in history: never happened yet

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:36 | 5410325 Agstacker
Agstacker's picture

You would kill a homeless guy for pissing on kittens?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 13:40 | 5411077 livefreediefree
livefreediefree's picture

:)

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 03:57 | 5409714 prmths2
prmths2's picture

"I’m fine with making our voices heard, but when the vote has a direct impact on how much money is stolen from another family, I want nothing to do with it."

So what's the problem with not marking a ballot for candidates but voting no on new bond issues or taxes? How many people here have a ballot for this election that does not have a new tax, bond issue, or regulation that is going to increase the cost of government?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 04:29 | 5409732 shouldvekilledthem
shouldvekilledthem's picture

It's the same in every single pretend democracies. (In europe at least)

 

How ironic that you help their scheme if you vote and if you don't. enjoy your  phreedom.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 04:23 | 5409733 shouldvekilledthem
shouldvekilledthem's picture

Double post

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 05:03 | 5409754 Batman11
Batman11's picture

I think this is the idea of bringing democracy to the world.

Not real democracy, but controlled democracy where all available parties represent the interests of the 1%.

 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:20 | 5410261 hootowl
hootowl's picture

Keep paying the ransom for your right to work and pay the ransom and you will get more of what you have been getting.

You are financing the greatest enemy the American People have ever faced,.....the United States Government.

Stop whining,....YOU are the root of the problem.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 06:18 | 5409785 Don in Odessa
Don in Odessa's picture

What a shameful pity. Change begins with the people. If not now, when? if not with us, then who. A vote for a third party candidate may not win the election, but as our numbers grow and the the message that possibility of change grows closer, perhaps we will start an exponential slide away from the two party slavery and back to the people. What a shameful, shameful pity you would not, at the very least participate in the attempt at true change.

 

A quitter is a never a winner.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 07:51 | 5409855 Pee Wee
Pee Wee's picture

Don you show yourself as totally clueless when it comes to buying elections.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:45 | 5410137 AE911Truth
AE911Truth's picture

The "vote counters" will never alllow a 3rd party to win an election.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:23 | 5410271 effendi
effendi's picture

In many countries a 3rd party has sprung up from the grass roots and fucked with the status quo. The grass roots made darn sure to have scrutineers ensuring that the vote was fair and accurate. What is so fucking exceptional about America that you can't do the same?

Just get enough of the apathetic non voters to vote in enough candidates at the local level and then use that as a springboard to the federal level. You have more non voters than voters so you can be bigger than either team red or blue or you can vote your candidates into those parties primaries.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 16:50 | 5411964 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

And in many more they've been assassinated or rigged vote counting has eliminated them, and in the USA it's all rigged.

Do you deny it's rigged?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 07:09 | 5409808 Spartacus Rex
Spartacus Rex's picture

Simply amazing how many nihilistic Neotards are posting on this thread.

No worthy candidate on the Ballot? Here's the solution:

Get your own name on the ballot, or otherwise get out and support a third party candidate willing to do so.

State the policies and principles which you stand for, and what status quo bull sh*t you absolutely will not stand for, so that ordinary working people in America can at last, and at least finally have a no bull sh*t and common-sense choice!

Those who won't /don't Vote, F* YOU & GTFO of America!

Go move to some sh*thole Country / Dictatorship where the Right to Vote is simply not available, or otherwise STFU and quit bitching about this clusterf**k that we're in right now.






Tue, 11/04/2014 - 07:57 | 5409866 TalkToLind
TalkToLind's picture

I'll live here for as long as I want and if I don't feel like voting, I won't.  Heck, I don't feel like voting for your comment either...no +1s or -1s for you.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:39 | 5410329 Agstacker
Agstacker's picture

So you're saying that I don't have the right NOT to vote?  You're starting to sound like a dictator to me.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 12:10 | 5410694 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

Voting got us into the shithole mess we are in right now.  Voting did not work/has not worked/will not work.  In the history of the world, no populace has ever successfully voted themselves more freedom, more liberty, less corruption, smaller government, or lower taxes.  Voting is truly the opiate of the masses.  You are deluding yourself.  You are a fool.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 16:50 | 5411954 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

Idiot, you can't get on the ballot without buying someone off - and the only ballot that counts is the electronic one you can't even see as they are tallied.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 11:29 | 5409838 Pee Wee
Pee Wee's picture

What about Citizens United?

 

 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 08:05 | 5409853 withglee
withglee's picture

Both Democrats and Republicans support militarism, taxation, spying on us, inflation, redistribution of wealth, Keynesian economics and corporatism once they get in office.

It is true that our government has been captured by just two parties that  actually work in tandem ... they serve the same masters ... kind of like the Harlem Globe Trotters and the Washington Generals. It's a fake contest.

But look at a ballot. There are other choices.

Do Libertarians support militarism, taxation, spying on us, inflation, redistribution of wealth, Keynesian economics and corporatism once they get in office? They claim not to. Vote for them. You don't have to worry about them winning and thus finding yourself guilty of supporting their adopted policies (politicians always seem to adopt polices alien to their asserted policies once in office).

But if everyone who feels like you, and they are legion, cast their votes for Libertarians it would at least smack the two dominant parties in the face. Once smacked, others would join in and do so in subsequent elections.

Another alternative would be to write yourself in for the position. If everyone feeling your way did this, it would create pretty major chaos.

Pretty soon the tipping point is reached.

If the only people who vote are the supporters of these  two (actually one) parties, we're going to have these parties and their nonsense forever.

In my opinion we need a new structure. Democracy is just plain stupid and always delivers unstable results. We need a defined and rigorous republican form of government. This means you choose representatives of  like mind and action who dedicate themselves to furthering your agenda. You choose from people you actually know and can converse with ... rather than someone who represents 500,000 others and couldn't care less about you.

Say such collections of like minded people at the top contained 50 members each. Their job is to deal with all issues that the level above them cannot handle (the top level being the individuals). These groups select one of their number to be part of the next lower level of 50. This continues to the bottom where all problems that fall through this sieve and are still not handled get handled.

50 raised to the 6th power is over 15,000 million. This form of representation could easily be expanded to the whole world's population without adding another layer. Only 7 levels of service (remember the individual is at the top and must deal with his own issues if possible) in the hierarchy and at every level, everyone knows everyone else they need to deal with.

Just a thought.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 07:51 | 5409854 fountainhead
fountainhead's picture

I don't understand what Dissident Dad is trying to do.  There is a political party that would uphold almost all of the things he writes about...the Libertarian Party.  I do not see Dissident Dad's views on the political landscape very unique.  In a lot of ways, his "protest" to not vote harms more than the idiots who will only vote along their party line.  The Libertarian Party would become the serious alternative choice if more people stopped acting like Dissident Dad.  

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 12:52 | 5409871 Pee Wee
Pee Wee's picture

The Libertarians are not prepared to be crucified for booting special interests (big money) and rolling all the top administrative heads across Washington, as in every "department."

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 08:39 | 5409937 nickt1y
nickt1y's picture

Why is the Libarterian party silent regarding their stance on Private Property, Taxation,etc. When I hear about libertarianism it is all about legalizing drugs and open borders  ... I vote Libtard and send them money but their myopic message is their downfall. Want traction with the Hoi Poloi get busy talking about property rights vs property taxes start talking the Constitution a Libertarian document IMHO.

 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 08:52 | 5409969 22winmag
22winmag's picture

Voting has done one thing for sure... it's gotten us where we are today.

 

So don't blame me. I didn't do it.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 08:56 | 5409974 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

For my children, I want them to know that the system is not their friend. It doesn’t mean that people who live within the system are our enemy; it just means that as sovereign people, we have no obligation to it, and it’s not us who should be embarrassed for not embracing it. Instead, it’s the thieves and busybodies who partake in the theft of someone else’s wealth — and even their lives — every time they prop up one these central planners.

To Dissident Dad

Do you live in some remote part of the woods without an address and don't file a W-2 or 1099?  Because if this isn't the case, and if you pay Federal taxes you are THE SYSTEM!

P.S.

The people who live within the system ARE INDEED YOUR ENEMY, and if you're unwilling to say it or change it then you're the enemy too!

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 16:47 | 5411946 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

Those who rob are the system, everyone else is a prisoner in it.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 20:27 | 5412606 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

Those who rob are the system, everyone else is a prisoner in it.

True. But only if you choose to be a "prisoner in it".

 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:17 | 5410024 Stares straight...
Stares straight ahead's picture

The founders knew that non-participation advances tyrranny more rapidly.
Those that expouse non voting as some sort of idealistic stance are being misled to some degree. Though most political "choices" are not really choices, some political contests do matter. Even a write in vote for Mickey Mouse is better than not voting at all.

Get creative. Run for your local school board and stop mismanagement of revenues. Join the libertarian party. Become an EC for one of the larger parties and subtlety cause havoc at their monthly meetings.

Do ANYTHING other than making excuses for your laziness and helplessness.

Be less helpless, weakling!

http://libertytreeprecinctproject.wordpress.com

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:30 | 5410064 d edwards
d edwards's picture

All I have to say is if you're so fucking STUPID to not vote it's probably better that you don't.

 

Of course, you have NO RIGHT to bitch about the gov't, OK?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:35 | 5410079 Vooter
Vooter's picture

"Of course, you have NO RIGHT to bitch about the gov't, OK?"

LOL...yeah, okay. Please pass along your copy of the "Rules of Complaining" when you get a chance, will you?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 16:47 | 5411940 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

If you vote in scum knowing all choices are scum then only the people who didn't vote have a right to complain - because they're not at fault for voting in scum.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 21:20 | 5412787 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

You have it wrong my friend.  If you DO vote, you have no right to complain if you are not happy with whomever wins because by voting, you are signing a contract to agree to accept the winner whomever he might be.  By NOT voting, you agree to no such contract, you are under no obligation to conform, and you are free to bitch and complain all you want.

 

If you are so fucking STUPID as to think that by voting you are exercising any influence over your own future or your country's future, get in line with all the other deluded sheep and focus hard on the asshole of the sheep in front of you as you follow him over the cliff.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:31 | 5410072 Vooter
Vooter's picture

"The founders knew that non-participation advances tyrranny more rapidly."

But that's the whole point...

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:45 | 5410127 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

SSA

You forgot to mention that part about the "lazy and helpless" that make excuses which is correct by the way also fulfilling their patriotic duty by taking the money out of the political machine and starving the beast by not paying your taxes!  Other alternatives?...

Boycotting your place of work for a few weeks and heading to the Nation's Capital that made this monstrosity what it is today along with your acquiescence and camping out for a month and saying "we're not leaving until you leave"!...

This is the only way we will see real change moving forward and  we all pretty much know it!

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:33 | 5410074 Beowulf55
Beowulf55's picture

Stop feeding the beast........don't pay them your hard earned money..........they will go away if everyone grew a pair.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 09:55 | 5410158 Bumbu Sauce
Bumbu Sauce's picture

Next to suicide quite the cowardly act of selfishness.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:13 | 5410230 Farmer Joe in B...
Farmer Joe in Brooklyn's picture

Reading these comments doesn't give me much hope for change.  I think the Dissident Dad makes very good points.

I'm disappointed, ZH'ers.....

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 11:35 | 5410520 Vooter
Vooter's picture

Hope left the station long ago. Where were you?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 21:09 | 5412747 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

In the gent's, shaking hands with the unemployed.  Why?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:24 | 5410272 smacker
smacker's picture

"Falling Skies"

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 10:25 | 5410276 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

I vote the questions that are on the ballot and don't vote for any candidates.  When the vote totals come in and nothing adds up, I hope someone gets the message.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 11:06 | 5410407 stiler
stiler's picture

by not voting, you're assuring that the worst scum rises to the surface. Case in point: the last election.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 11:35 | 5410515 Vooter
Vooter's picture

NOW you're getting it...

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 11:58 | 5410651 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

How can you tell which one is the worst scum?  Very often the only way to know if an apple is bad is by biting into it.  Sometimes, the only way to tell if a pond is deeply frozen is by walking on it.  You can't always know whether you will enjoy a book until you have bought it, brought it home, and read the first couple of chapters and by then it's to late to return it.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 16:45 | 5411925 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

Surface of what?

It's scum all the way down.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 11:51 | 5410602 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

Voting is like picking the cleanest dirty shirt out of the basket, no matter which one you get, it's still a dirty shirt, it smells, it's wrinkled, it has gravy stains, and no amount of deoderant and waving in the air will fix it.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 12:20 | 5410730 stiler
stiler's picture

the lesser of two weevils.

 

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 21:04 | 5412734 Who was that ma...
Who was that masked man's picture

The lesser of two evils is still evil.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 11:52 | 5410612 Vooter
Vooter's picture

Well, it's clear that choosing not to vote sure pisses a lot of people off! That tells me that non-voters are on to something. Carry on...

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 13:07 | 5410919 redux2redux
redux2redux's picture

Every ballot needs a 'None of the above' option.

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 14:01 | 5411153 Ace Ventura
Ace Ventura's picture

OK. Some good arguments back and forth on the 'to vote or not to vote' issue. For me, the reason I am withdrawing from this charade is exceedingly simple.....and surprising that it has only been mentioned once or twice in this ongoing thread.

ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES.

Do we really need to engage in all this philosophical huffing and puffing, in the face of that single factor? Voting is nothing more than a side-show. The results are predetermined by TPTB. Even if you mobilize a titanic grassroots effort, the 'Diebold' effect will subvert you at every critical juncture. And if necessary, TPTB will simply resort to the sort of blatant shenanigans they pulled on the Ron Paul campaign in both 2008 and 2012. By that I mean, they will simply change their OWN rules on the fly as needed to circumvent the will of the people (should that will not be aligned with their predetermined outcome).

So, rant on if you wish....rationalize the merits of the 'vote them all out' idea (which I love, BTW). But as long as ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES are in play, it is all for naught. In parting, I will leave you with two thoughts:

1. As one ZHer mentioned on a previous thread (sorry I can't recall).....how do you explain incumbents winning 90% of the time.....while the political body they constitute has an approval rating of 12%?

2. Go to a 7-Eleven or a WaWa.....buy a cup of rotgut coffee. What do you get along with your change? A RECEIPT. What do you NOT get when you VOTE?

Need this discussion go any further?

Tue, 11/04/2014 - 17:43 | 5412124 SameAsItEverWas
SameAsItEverWas's picture

Last night there was a get-out-the-vote robocall that surprised me.

It said that "public records indicate that a member of your household has not yet voted."

WTF!

How the hell did they know that?  I didn't give them a phone number on the voter registration card.  And my phone, while not unlisted, shows up as F LASTNAME with no street address.

The robocall urged me to vote Yes for the bogus "marijuana decriminalization" ballot measure here which is meaningless because it would supposedly change our city ordinances to decriminalize the simple possession of small amounts of marijuana ... but the proponents all overlook the fact that if you're busted for marijuana possession they charge you under state law, not under any city ordinance.  And almost everyone here stupidly thinks it'd change the legal penalties for marijuana possession.  Not so.  State law governs.

I may still go vote against all the incumbents and also vote NO on that stupid marijuana measure.

There was a TV debate between Tom Udall and Alan Weh for US Senate.  Alan Weh in talking about what's wrong with Obamacare mentioned the IRS being the "enforcer" threatening all who dare not go along with the lates new fascist program ... and Tom Udall seemed to not know anything about the IRS collecting the $95/$395/$695 annual fines/taxes.

How is it that almost everyone is retarded these days?

 

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