Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Conversation >

Get out the Post!

17:30 / 04.11.02

Every two years, the first Tuesday in November is a special time for Americans. It's when they can make their voices heard, loud and clear across the nation. I invite people of all nations to share in this tradition, here on Barbelith, tomorrow.

So, get to your posting places, and post early, and often! Let's make this the highest poster turnout of the past decade!

Note: People in Florida might want to read the posting instructions very, very carefully before they attempt to post.

Oh, and residents of the United States, please remember to vote tomorrow. Pretty please?

Matthew Fluxington

17:44 / 04.11.02

I'm really stuck on who I'm going to vote for in the NY gubernatorial race - there's no way in hell I'm voting for Golisano, I don't like George Pataki, and I'm not too crazy about Carl McCall, it's one of those races where I can't really begin to fathom who is the least of those evils. Pataki's going to win, so maybe I'll just go for whatever Green party candidate is listed, but I don't know.

Any advice, Todd?

17:54 / 04.11.02

It's a tough one, Flux. As you say, the three main candidates are all distasteful for individual reasons. Part of me, althoug I'm repuled by the man, wants to vote for Golisano so that I'm entirely ruled by the super-wealthy. Another part of me wants to vote for McCall because of democratic party loyalty.

I'm leery about encouraging the Greens too much. In this "50-50 nation", in order to counteract the Bush agenda, the Democrats, for all their spinelessness, are the only hope (right now).

So I think I'm gonna vote for the marijuana guy. I haven't smoked pot in probably 2 years, but at least he's honest about why he wants to legalize, unlike Golisano.

18:55 / 04.11.02

If the Greens "steal" lots of votes from the Democrats, it sends a message to the Dems that a substantial bloc of voters would prefer more progressive candidiates: and to court the Green vote, Democrats may adopt a more progressive stance.

In time, this may reverse the trend of creeping conservatism that's dogged the Democratic party since the Reagan years--and may lead to a two-party system in which the two parties actually show substantive differences.

That's why I'm voting Green (Jill Stein) for Massachusetts governor: I'm looking at the big picture, here.

Matthew Fluxington

19:38 / 04.11.02

See, that's a logical theory, but I just can't imagine that the Democratic Party as it is now really cares about that "substantial bloc of progressive voters" when the prospects of getting the votes of a much larger number of dissatisfied and/or disillusioned Republicans and moderates can be gained by moving the party further to the right.

19:38 / 04.11.02

Or, it may move the Dems further to the right, putting forward candidates like Lieberman. 'dunno until we try it really, so good luck.

16:24 / 05.11.02

I don't particularly want to rehash the "Democrats: same as Republicans" argument here, as although, you're right Jack, the party is certainly to right of where it should be (according to my personal preferences), but the idea of the Republicans gaining control of the Senate today is certainly giving me the willies. So, yeah democrats! today, even though my vote will do little to affect than national scene today.

Voting Issues-
Aside from the ridiculous gerrymandering both parties engage in during redistricting, which makes the government much less responsive to the people, (I've read that there are only 50 truly competitive House races this year, due to redistricting. I believe only Iowa has a non-partisan committee drawn up congressional districts, but anyone with info to the contrary, post, post, post) people are truly worried about GOP tactics to lower turnout (see here for examples,voter fraud watchers from both parties are out in full effect today. We probably won't know the true results for several days, barring lawsuits.

And Drudge reports that in Florida, some of the new computerized voting machines are not registering votes for Bill McBride .

19:16 / 05.11.02

Oh God, no.
Let that be rumor.

19:18 / 05.11.02

My machines worked fine this morning, although the senior citizen next to me needed lots of help figuring out the technology. Typical.

20:16 / 05.11.02

Fuckin' old people, huh? Always the ones that screw up democracy.

Matthew Fluxington

20:30 / 05.11.02

Well, it's not just old people, Jack. The people in the "fly-over states" aren't helping democracy much either.

Matthew Fluxington

02:45 / 06.11.02

Good god - the results are so soul-crushingly depressing.

I'm starting to think that my country really is opting for the mass-suicide route.

04:40 / 06.11.02

Don't blame me, I voted for the Libertarian...

No seriously, it was either him or the Republican for the US House seat.

I even went over my ballot to make sure that the proper chads were cleanly popped out.

Well, on the bright side, when the Rapture happens, they will all be whisked away, and we can have the planet to ourselves.

06:13 / 06.11.02

Yeah, when Satans rapture happens.

wembley can change in 28 days

11:51 / 06.11.02

Well, I'm depressed about the uber-Republique now and I'm neither American nor living in North America. Good point on BBCWorld, though - the democrats didn't exactly rise to the occasion on this campaign, blundering opportunities to capitalise on such issues as drug prices for seniors, the economy in general, and large corporate scandals.

if all y'all survive the next two years, maybe it'll turn out to be a blessing in disguise as people get all mobilized-like for action.

12:17 / 06.11.02

No reports on voter turnout yet - but if history is any guide, 35% of our nation voted.

Um...silver lining, silver lining, where are you? well, at least Daschle and Gephardt won't be running for president in 2004. Hopefully, there will be some changes to Democratic leadership. Who knows who? Anyone except for Lieberman,,,

Who is probably the big Democratic beneficiary of this - with polls likely to show that Bush's "war on terrorism" is what galvanized 18-20% of the country to go out and vote Republican this year, Big Joe is gonna be even more conservative to help his chances in 2004. Good god.

-----

I'm going to try not to read anything political for a week or two...I really need this horrible vomitty, bile taste washed out of my mouth.

12:33 / 06.11.02

"Can we who man the ship of state deny it is somewhat out of control?"

If memory serves me correctly, a Reagan quote from the very early 1980s. Though I think he meant it as criticism, not a political goal ...

12:51 / 06.11.02

Jack Fear: Fuckin' old people, huh? Always the ones that screw up democracy.

Hey, as long as the Century Village residents aren't voting for Buchanan, I'm happy.

Matthew Fluxington

12:57 / 06.11.02

Um, well, I heard one smug Republican pundit on CNN say that at least if things go horribly, terribly wrong over the next few years (which I would thing is an inevitable), the Democrats can't be blamed for it. Not directly, anyway.

if all y'all survive the next two years, maybe it'll turn out to be a blessing in disguise as people get all mobilized-like for action.

I don't know. If that hasn't happened already, I'm not hopeful it will in two years. It seems like the whole Democratic party has been castrated and set in defeatist mode, and all the lefties have abandoned the party to vote for independent parties that chip away at Democrat votes, ensuring Republican victories.

14:14 / 06.11.02

...while rank-and-file Democrats turn to the Republicans and their perfidious promises of tax cuts, proving that, no matter what their stated political affiliation, most people are money-grubbing, self-centered fuckheads.

Don't even fucking talkk to me today. The only upside to the Massachusetts elections is that at least peoplke weren't stupid enough to vote to abolish the state income tax.

And the defeat of Democratic Georgia Senator Max Cleland just sickens me. His challenger, a spoled riuch maggot with thbe archetypal spoiled-rich-maggot name of Saxby Chambliss, ran ads featuring the face of Osama bin Laden, painting Cleland as unpatriotic and "soft on terror" because he wasn't beating the drums for a costly and illegal invasion of Iraq. And it worked, damn them.

Max Cleland lost two legs and an arm in Vietnam: he knows the price of fucked-up US foreign policy, and I'd be inclined to respect his opinion on the matter more than some overprivileged tosser whose name makes him sounds like he should be sharing mint juleps with Ashley Wilkes on the verandah of the old plantation.

Why do these bastards keep winning? Because they will do anything to win. Because being a bastard works.

16:24 / 06.11.02

John McCain mentioned how sad he was to see that Cleland lost on last night's 'Daily Show' live election night coverage. Did anyone else watch it? McCain seemed a bit unhinged, even moreso than usual.

12:17 / 07.11.02

I'd be happy about this bit from our local elections except the fucking thing shouldn't have even been on the ballot.

This world sucks.

12:49 / 07.11.02

Showed up to vote in the morning (about an hour after the polls opened), and the election people were all like "Sorry, the machines haven't arrived yet. You'll have to come back later." Since I was working late, I asked if I could vote in a different neighborhood, and they said that would be illegal. So no democracy for me this year...

13:31 / 07.11.02

Why do these bastards keep winning? Because they will do anything to win. Because being a bastard works.

The right, at it's worst, makes an appeal to those who will cling to everything they have, with no sense of compassion or a sense that they are members of a larger society. The greedy rat bastards.

The left, at it's worst, makes an appeal to those who feel entitled to things without having to work for them. The lazy bastards.

Getting off one's ass to cast a ballot is, of course, performing work of a sort, and the lazy bastards can't be bothered. So, while both sides also, no doubt, have appeals to people of good faith who believe that they are doing the right thing for their community/state/country, the right pretty much has the bastard vote sown up.

17:19 / 08.11.02

Something we all think about in these trying times:

thank you, Aaron McGruder!