Everybody tells me how important it is to vote....

[RobertNashville]

You certainly didn't offend me. This is what I was looking for. You are correct. I gave to the Bush campaign, and after seeing how that turned out. I've pretty much soured on the entire political process. I truly appreciate and respect your opinion.

I hate to say it out loud, but I've just about resigned to the fact that this country is screwed. I sure dread the prospects of my childrens' futures. I guess I'm going to have to do some soul searching on this one. I feel the need and desire to do something about it, but I really don't know what to do.

When something breaks, I'm accustomed to repairing it, or at least taking it to someone who will repair it for me. I just don't know where to take my country for repair. I certainly don't know how to repair it myself.

GWB was a disappointment in many ways although I will never regret my voting for him over Mr. Tree or Mr. Ketchup.

[Guest ThePunisher]

When something breaks, I'm accustomed to repairing it, or at least taking it to someone who will repair it for me. I just don't know where to take my country for repair. I certainly don't know how to repair it myself.

It's better to at least give Romney a chance to repair the Obama damage than to give Obama 4 more years to totally destroy the country beyond repair.

[gregintenn]

It's better to at least give Romney a chance to repair the Obama damage than to give Obama 4 more years to totally destroy the country beyond repair.

Yeah, you guys are right, but the situation sure sucks.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Greg, there are some things that can't be fixed until enough people decide to agree what the problem is. I think

most everyone in this country agrees there is a problem, but so many disagree on the fix, and choose to let it

keep getting worse by being complacent, and not voting. It may even have to get worse, but I don't see how it can

get much worse than this without a war on our soil, to make enough people decide to take action and get this

place back on the right track. The problems can still be fixed, but the cure may be painful. I'd rather have my pain

from someone other than a death believing liberal commie.

Hang in there. We still have a country. Vote!

[Guest Lester Weevils]

It's only over if people give up...sounds like you have.

Are you involved with a Tea-Party group or something similar? Have you contributed money or time to any candidate running for anything this year or in the past four years? Have you gone to any of the rallies in D.C or attended a town hall meeting with a legislator? What have you done to show those in office that you are tired of the direction of the country or to encourage better candidates to run?

In some years I contributed quite a bit of money to campaigns, in relation to my income. Other than that, it is difficult just doing my work, paying tax and keeping the house from falling apart. Am not a good time-manager. I even spent a few hundred bucks in the 2010 cycle.

In some periods I would write to the congress critters but it didn't make any difference that I could see except the gov had to spend a little bit of my tax money sending me form letter responses.

Granted it may always be a lesser of two evils thang and due to the nature of politics can never be anything else. Last time I held my nose and spent money and voted for the lesser evil was GWB in 2004. Well that isn't true, also voted for Wamp in 2006.

It was a mistake. If that compleat idiot Kerry had won in 2004 then a republican would have taken the white house in 2008 and Obama would still be an incompetent lazy senator rather than incompetent lazy president. Thats not to say it would be any better now in 2012, but the problems would be of a different nature anyway. I had resisted voting the lesser evil for quite awhile before 2004. That was one of the elections that was gonna be the end of the world if you didn't hold yer nose and vote the lesser evil. It was almost perfect verification that supporting the lesser evil eventually bites you in the butt anyway.

So maybe the lesser evil will get my vote this year, but he ain't gonna get a penny of my money.

If you are tired of the whining, I'll just have to break out the teeny tiny violin in sympathy! [just joking, not picking a fight]

Edited April 11, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[Guest 6.8 AR]

The American election process has NEVER necessarily found the "best and brightest", at least not after the first few.

America will not elect a president more conservative than Romney for a long long time, perhaps ever again, until there is a real breakdown of society including a significant die off of the citizenry.

- OS

Yep, our best and brightest were in some way connected to the beginning and that's something that is impossible

to replicate. Character and conviction has been on the slide ever since, except the wrong kind.

I see Romney as the last chance type of conservative candidate for a long time to come, also. All I see out of the

alternative is trouble that will make it like the October Revolution in Russia. Things will accelerate downhill if Obama

gets a second term. We are already much too fragile a nation to let that happen.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

In some years I contributed quite a bit of money to campaigns, in relation to my income. Other than that, it is difficult just doing my work, paying tax and keeping the house from falling apart. Am not a good time-manager. I even spent a few hundred bucks in the 2010 cycle.

In some periods I would write to the congress critters but it didn't make any difference that I could see except the gov had to spend a little bit of my tax money sending me form letter responses.

Granted it may always be a lesser of two evils thang and due to the nature of politics can never be anything else. Last time I held my nose and spent money and voted for the lesser evil was GWB in 2004. Well that isn't true, also voted for Wamp in 2006.

It was a mistake. If that compleat idiot Kerry had won in 2004 then a republican would have taken the white house in 2008 and Obama would still be an incompetent lazy senator rather than incompetent lazy president. Thats not to say it would be any better now in 2012, but the problems would be of a different nature anyway. I had resisted voting the lesser evil for quite awhile before 2004. That was one of the elections that was gonna be the end of the world if you didn't hold yer nose and vote the lesser evil. It was almost perfect verification that supporting the lesser evil eventually bites you in the butt anyway.

So maybe the lesser evil will get my vote this year, but he ain't gonna get a penny of my money.

If you are tired of the whining, I'll just have to break out the teeny tiny violin in sympathy! [just joking, not picking a fight]

Kerry would have been a very weak president, but you're probably right, Lester. Obama would have been pushed back

and we wouldn't have had the O care issue. Kerry would have been a watered down Jimmy Carter. He would have

gotten a lot of Republicans elected in the senate, also.

That's the trouble with things. You can always look back.

[Worriedman]

So maybe the lesser evil will get my vote this year, but he ain't gonna get a penny of my money.

The lesser evil does not need your money, just your vote.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Worriedman

[E4 No More]

If Obama gets re-elected, it tells me that over 50 percent of the people like getting reamed or they are too stupid to know the difference.

The smartest thing that the left ever did was to convince stupid people that they were smart if they agreed with them.

[daddyo]

I've had about a belly full of all the people who complain about their choices but don't do s**t about it other than complain. If people want better candidates then maybe THEY should get out there and run for office or knock on a few doors and give money to candidates they like but throwing a pity-party isn't going to help and sitting out this election like some are claiming they will is damn stupid....if Obama gets another term we'll be lucky if we have elections again.

Rant off...sorry if I offended anyone (although not too sorry).

And some of us have had a belly full of being preached to about it.

[Caster]

*Purposefully throwing a wrench in the works.*

How do you convince individuals to vote who believe that the system is lost and needs a total rebuild? If you continue to vote for band-aid fixes that only prolong the inevitable it's possible you risk what's left that's worth fixing. I know people who would rather just get it over with. As the afore mentioned metaphor of the band-aid, just snatch it off and get it over with as opposed to slowly peeling it back. I hear from people who'd rather just let things get worse now as opposed to later while we're still strong enough to do something about it.

If it weren't for the neighbors' kids [and yours that I haven't met ] and the retirement home up the road reminding me of WHAT that loss of life would be, I'd feel much the same way.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Caster

[mikegideon]

It's real simple to me at this point. You vote against Obama, or you don't. That's you're only option, and the right answer ain't hard to figure.

[RobertNashville]

...How do you convince individuals to vote who believe that the system is lost and needs a total rebuild?

If they don't want to vote then what is their solution? If their solution is to do nothing then they aren't worth your time to convince them of anything. If their solution is armed rebellion then I respectfully suggest that they are at least borderline insane and, again, aren't worth your time.

We have two ways to effect change in this country, one is peaceful and one isn't...one takes only a very modest amount of effort and the other means destruction and bloodshed and even if the "right" side wins, the country may never recovery from it.

We don't need a "total rebuild"...we simply need to return to the principles and documents the country was founded on and operated on from the mid-1700s until about 1930. We CAN do that with voting and people being involved.

One last thought, if people are too lazy or too cynical to be wiling to vote and get involved in a peaceful process; where do you think such folks would be in a bloody revolution? My guess is that they would be peeing their pants and hiding in the closet. In other words, such folks will NEVER be part of the solution no matter what is required to get to a solution.

Edited April 11, 2012 by RobertNashville

[RobertNashville]

And some of us have had a belly full of being preached to about it.

And I really don't care if you have which I'm sure is exactly how you feel about me.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

And some of us have had a belly full of being preached to about it.

Somehow or another you involved yourself in the discussion. Otherwise you wouldn't "feel" you have

had a belly full of "being preached about it".

[gregintenn]

Yeah! They're preaching to me; not you!!!!

[daddyo]

Some folks are so.... predictable.

[mikegideon]

Sums it up nicely...

[E4 No More]

Sums it up nicely...

Yep! Good one, Mike!

[Guest ThePunisher]

Sums it up nicely...

And he loves America and the founding principles that has made America great. He still believes in a capitalistic economic system that lets everyone have liberties and freedoms to pursue the American dream.

[daddyo]

It's just too bad that he isn't a constitutionalist.

[mikegideon]

It's just too bad that he isn't a constitutionalist.

NOT a Commie is a dramatic improvement

[Guest 6.8 AR]

He's probably more of a constitutionalist than people think. Capitalism thrives in it. He is a capitalist, and

not being a commie helps a bunch, too.

[daddyo]

Anyone who believes in any form of gun control is NOT a constitutionalist.

Don't pee on my head and tell me it's raining.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Who said he believed in it? It's difficult to tell what he believes in. He passed a lot of laws in MA because that's

what the people in that state wanted. Neither you nor I know his core beliefs are, only what he says, and that is

dependent on the crowd he is speaking to.

I've never peed on anyone's head, and, at the moment it's fairly clear outside.