VOTE NO = NO VOTE
Nope, I’m not voting and you can spare me all of your “then you don’t get to complain” speeches. The fact that you know in advance that you are going to have to complain should be a sign! Not voting is an exercise in democracy, too. It shows that I am not willing to just get in line behind one or the other. My beliefs are not represented well by either of the two money parties, so why should I have to pick one?
I only require two commitments from a presidential candidate to win my vote – just two! All I want is someone who will…
- End campaign financing altogether. We don’t need campaign finance reform, we need campaign finance elimination. All campaigns for federal office should be publicly financed with government money. If you want to run for something, then you need to get enough signatures to earn the public financing. And there won’t be very much of it, so you’ll have to spend it wisely. We might actually get to hear some debate on real issues instead of having to watch stupid commercials about pointless drivel for two years before an election. Oh, and maybe we can stop the whole “I owe this big company or rich person my allegiance since they gave me all that money” crap. Hey, while we’re at it, why not limit a campaign to three or four months before an election?
- End congressional lobbying altogether. Anyone holding a federal office may not accept money of any kind from anyone, period. No “campaign funds”, “re-election funds”, “friends of so an so funds”, forget all of it. Again, maybe it would be a good idea to not let anyone buy the shaping of our laws.
I figure if we can get enough officials elected that would actually make these two things happen, then everything else will just sort itself out.
[...] so many of you may have seen my husband’s blog entry about not voting by now. Let me just say he does not speak for our whole family! Clearly Lindsay believes that [...]
Pingback by Jenny’s World » Blog Archive » Why I WILL Vote — October 18, 2008 @ 12:27 pmYou’ve got my vote! Maybe I will write Jason W. on my ballot instead of pulling one of the party levers!
Comment by Tabitha — October 18, 2008 @ 2:53 pmI agree with you completely, except I am voting.
The gross amount of money being spent on campaigning is sickening. I also support single item legislation and think nothing should pass congress with pork. I can’t understand why lobbyists still control Washington and I will not stand by and watch the government intrude further into our lives. Unfortunately, I think it will take a natural disaster or maybe a revolt to change our obsolete 2-party system. I have never not voted even after living in two foreign countries. I can’t wait to vote!!!! (Go McCain/Palin 
Comment by Tracy — October 20, 2008 @ 12:03 pmAnything that takes money out of the stupid politics game and hurts both sides equally is good in my book. Most of the money and resources invested in campaigning does nothing productive — it buys advertisements and phone calls that annoy people, it produces signs and stickers that are trash on November 5, etc.
However, while I completely agree with the sentiment, I think the problem is a lot more complex than your rant gives it credit — both with respect to campaigning and lobbying. Who’s going to decide if a particular advertisement/etc. is ‘campaigning’? What about donations to the congressman’s favorite charity? Who’s going to decide if a particular entity is “affiliated” with a candidate or not? If it is illegal, then can’t the other side just pretend to buy ads for the opposition to get the opposition in trouble?
“Stop campaigning” and “stop lobbying” sound great to me, but the devil’s in the details…
I’m going to vote. I’m not above writing in “none of the above” on a particular office, or even leaving it blank if I’m unfamiliar with both candidates, but at the least I try to take a look at the comparisons the night before and pick the candidate that will do the best job.
Comment by Chris — October 20, 2008 @ 9:21 pm