I get it. Believe me, I get it. Every day I talk to people -- especially progressives -- who are deeply disappointed with the leaders they worked so hard to elect. The litany of letdowns seems endless: Guantanamo. The public option. Don't ask, don't tell. Too big to fail. And, looming over all of it, the battered economy and a sense that the case for more government action wasn't made when it should have been.
Many of the hard-working activists I've met, people who can usually be counted on to encourage others to vote, aren't even sure they'll go to the polls themselves this year. They're saying that we've learned in the last two years just how corrupt the system has become. They're asking, what's the use? Even I, Mr. Glass Half-Empty, have been a little surprised at the level of pain and disillusionment.
The disaffection among core voters is there, and it's real.
Now, this is just you and me talkin' here, understand? I'm not a spokesman for anyone or anything when I say this, but here's what I think: If you're disaffected and disappointed, then as they say nowadays, I feel you. I get the anger, the frustration, the sense that the Corporate Party candidates will win no matter what we do. I understand the "plague on both your houses" reaction. So it's with that in mind that I say this:
Vote anyway. Please. And vote with enthusiasm, if such a thing is possible. I think it is possible.
I know, I know. Our political leaders aren't helping matters much. When the White House Press Secretary bitches about the "professional left," that's hardly an exercise in effective voter motivation. And in my opinion it's not much more useful when Get Out the Vote groups act like cheerleaders, waving their pom-pons while ignoring the disillusionment all around them.
I'm not going to do that. People aren't motivated by insults -- and that includes insults to their intelligence, which is what pep talks can feel like while we're fighting two wars and the economy's still in the tank. Times are still tough, and our leaders won't turn things around unless we act in a concerted way to make sure they do.
I'm hardly the guy to tell other people what to do, but I can tell you how I worked myself out of this psychic snake-pit. Lectures and insults don't work for me, but here's what does: Service. Service, not to a party or any individual, but to a set of ideals and goals. I'll feel better about voting if I do it to be of service. Maybe you're the same way.
Here's something you already know: Parties will let you down. Politicians will, too. But ideals have never let me down. The rewards that come from being of service have never let me down. So I intend to vote with my ideals in mind, rather than carrying an idealized picture of flawed human beings and their institutions. (And we're all flawed, aren't we?)
A lot political consultants think it's insane to ask people to vote by acknowledging that politicians and parties are flawed. You have to excite voters, they say. But my guess is that trust and honesty go a long way, especially during hard times.
As a card-carrying member of "the professional left," I've had my share of disappointments over the past two years. "Don't compare us to the Almighty," says the Vice President, "compare us to the alternative." I have a deep affection and high regard for Joe Biden, but with all due respect: That's setting the bar pretty low, isn't it? Come on, man! You can do better. Those who point out the weaknesses in current policies aren't "whining," to use Biden's ill-chosen word. They're not comparing our leaders' actions to those of the "Almighty," but to the actions they could have taken and chose not to take. They're looking at those leaders' promises, too.
They've got a legitimate beef. Like all politicians, our current leaders have been too eager at times to take the path of least resistance rather than the right path. Whenever a politician says "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good," there's at least a 50/50 chance it's an excuse for letting the "good" -- or the mediocre -- be the enemy of the "better."
But here's the good news -- and damn it, it is good news! While we don't have too many politicians we can follow unquestioningly, there are plenty that we can influence. When I enter the voting booth next Tuesday, I won't ask myself if a candidate is a person who will always do the right thing. I'll ask myself if this is someone who can be influenced to do the right thing, if enough of us make the effort to exert that influence. We'll win some and we'll lose some that way, but we will win some.
Voting is not about them. It's about us. It's about laying the groundwork for effective action in the future by electing leaders who will respond to the right kind of pressure. That means electing leaders who share some common values with us, and who will consider us and our allies key constituencies.
The Social Security coalition in Congress is asking representatives to pledge that they won't support cuts in benefits. But activists' efforts to support them will be fruitless if we don't have representatives like the 200-plus who have already signed the pledge. They've been influenced by an organized citizenry promoting programs that are consistent with their own values as elected officials.
And, while financial reform didn't go nearly far enough, the process included many pleasant surprises. Organized public pressure successfully fought back several attempts to further dilute the bill, and led to a series of successes that included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Franken Amendment regarding rating "agencies," restrictions on food and fuel derivatives, and an audit of the Federal Reserve. At several key moments we saw key Senators succumb to organized public influence and reverse themselves in order to do the right thing.
And when I say "influence" our politicians, I'm talking about simple behavioral modification. I mean straight-ahead stimulus/response stuff: Thank-you calls and generous donations when politicians do the right thing, criticism and other citizen actions when they don't. Of course, that means more work for the rest of us. It means keeping the pressure up. Those terse remarks from the White House are a sign that the pressure is having an impact, even at the highest levels. (Oh, and before we forget: Congratulations, Elizabeth Warren!)
Citizen pressure won't always work, of course, no matter who we elect. But sometimes it will, provided we're able to elect persuadable people. Because, let's face it: Some politicians won't do the right thing no matter what actions voters take. They've been bought and paid for - and not just with a little donor influence here and there, either. They've been purchased outright, lock, stock, and barrel. The banks may not know who holds the title to your house, but we all know who holds the title to them. So I'll be casting my vote on Tuesday for leaders who will sometimes do the right thing on their own, but who will do it more often if I do my job as a citizen and lean on them.
In other words, we don't have very many politicians who will do all the work themselves. But some of them can be our partners, working together with mobilized voters to achieve goals we all believe in. To some of them, that partnership may feel more like a shotgun wedding than a dream romance. But partners are partners.
Now, I've been partly talking to the dark side of my own spirit here. While I've emphasized the negative, a lot of genuinely positive things have happened in the last two years. There are some smart, dedicated, and passionate people in elected office today. We've seen some excellent policies implemented and some talented people appointed. This is a pep talk for myself, as much as anything, so forgive the occasional crack in my rose-colored glasses. But if it speaks to your disappointment too, so much the better.
Sure, the system is broken. The current political process suffers from the chronic disease of offering voters "the evil of two lessers," and that's got to stop. We need to keep pushing for a better crop of politicians. But next Tuesday there's a choice to be made: Vote, or don't vote. Me, I'm going to vote.
Things suck right now. Our leaders could be doing a better job in a lot of areas. Vote anyway. Come to think of it, that's why you should vote. And afterwards, when all the votes are counted and the candidates have been sworn in, the real work will begin - that is, if enough of us vote first.
Follow Richard (RJ) Eskow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rjeskow
Make it easy on yourself by voting early or by mail, if you have the option, but please vote or you'll certainly live to regret it. Surely it's worth a few minutes of your time to keep things from getting even worse.
I see nothing to support in the senior party leadership. If I had an outspoken Progressive, I'd support him. Voting for a bad representative is exactly like giving away the single payer option before negotiations begins.
Franken, Grayson, Sanders, and like-minded members of Congress have to start their own farm teams because we need more elected officials like them. They seem to be among the few who are there not just to get re-elected, but to work for the people.
Believe in yourself. Take risks, work hard and be determined to make a contribution to society. You will be compensated for it.
That is, unless the Democrats control our government much longer.
If you don't believe in yourself, if you are unwilling to work hard and if you are more concerned with taking than producing, then by all means you should vote for Democrats. They will recreate America into a place that failure is rewarded, and you will get more for doing less, or nothing.
However, I believe in you! You are a new generation that is willing to work, to produce and to innovate. You deserve the freedom to give America your best, and the ability to be rewarded for your contribution.
If we let the Democrats turn the country further to the left we will go down the road to greater government control, bigger and more powerful government, more government employees, higher taxes, less private sector jobs and more dependence, less individual responsibility, rewards for failure and punishment for successes.
AND more debt that YOU will have to pay.
If we turn right, we will see a growing private sector, individual responsibility, American ingenuity, innovation, hard work and a meritocracy. In the economy, taxes would be drastically reduced, controls and regulations on small businesses would be drastically limited, and human energy, enterprise, and markets set free to create and produce in exchanges that would benefit everyone and the mass of consumers.
Vote Conservative for America.
The corporations see to it that only the select few they choose who do their bidding will ever see 7 figures and to those they will shower untold riches. The rest of us are waiting for things to trickle down to us.
Young voters learn who is on your side. It's not Republicans or conservatives. They want it all for themselves and their corporate masters. Vote Democratic it's your only hope.
I agree with John Locke (for the liberals - not the smoke guy on Lost).
Human history is a record of irrepressible conflict between Power and Liberty, with Power (government) always standing ready to increase its scope by invading people's rights and encroaching upon their liberties.
The battle is almost always with government. Government grows on its own and we must actively fight the growth of government.
The power of large corporations must also be regulated, but that is a secondary threat when compared to government.
We must rediscover the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and peace.
Is ANYBODY happy with what we've received in the last 30 years from our "two party system"?
If you want change YOU HAVE TO CHANGE. Find and support a third party. DO NOT support the two parties who have worked together for 30 years to dig the hole we're in today.
This site is one of the sites designed to make the Takers feel justified and entitled to what is produced by the Makers.
It is reasonable that eventually The Makers will get tired of The Takers using the coercive power of government to take from them.
While I agree that the two-party system is horrible, it's also what we -have- right now. Throwing my vote away (which in my state means gift-wrapping the election and handing it to the Republicans, if we split the left-side vote) does not seem like a viable answer to this problem.
If you want change then CHANGE. Otherwise admit you are the problem.
Want to scare the hell out of them?
Vote.
If there was a ten percent raise in the voter numbers cross the board, it literally would freak them out. Candidates are being elected on a small fraction of the eligible voters. Vote...send the real message...I'm here fellas....ignore me and next time you won't be.
http://nationalrepublicantrust.com/25_minutes_Breaking_Point.html
Be warned, you don't want to wake up Weds Nov 3rd going, "What the heck just happened!"
Charleymiller2010 Unaffiliated
http://www.charleymiller2010.wordpress.com
After 2008, Liberals got cocky and drove wayyyy too far to the left. The "core" liberal doesn't think Obama went far enough, but a majority of Americans freaked out about how far he did go. This country is run between the 40-yard lines and Obama/Pelosi/Reid tried to govern from the 15 yard line. This is a center right country.
And all voting for the lesser evil does is get you more evil.