# People Who Follow Politics And Vote Are Morons.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [January 15, 2008, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585 "2008-01-15T05:42:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Zambini57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zambini57)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/1 "2008-01-15T05:42:42Z")
Jesus, don’t you people ever learn? I can’t believe anyone follows politics these days, or expresses any interest in any of the candidates. Why bother? They’re not going to do anything close to resembling what they told you they would do.
Why be a sap?
Did you support William Jefferson Clinton? Remember when he was elected and TIME magazine depicted him as a knight riding in on a white horse on it’s cover? Can you honestly say your expectations were met? If you can, then you are a deluded ass.
Did you support Shrub? Congratualtions, you helped elect a president who got us into a useless war in the name of his evangelical bullshit, and who will go down in history as the worst foreign policy president ever.
Was that on the ballot?
You NEVER know what you are going to get when you support any of those assholes. So, why get involved? You think it will be different this time?
It won’t. You’ll support some asshole, he may get elected, and if he does, he will pull some shit you didn’t expect.
You fall for it every time.
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### Author:  [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/2 "2008-01-15T05:46:09Z")
Okay. So what do you recomend your fellow Americans do instead?
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### Author:  [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/3 "2008-01-15T06:04:44Z")
Well, it’s true that all the mainstream, major party candidates are bought and paid for by the same interests. Our entire system is in a shambles because actual human beings do not run anything important anymore.
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/4 "2008-01-15T06:24:10Z")
So it’s meaningless to elect the person who will pull the least amount of shit? And what are people who don’t follow politics and still vote?
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### Author:  [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/5 "2008-01-15T06:26:28Z")
But people who don’t vote are bigger morons. Except you. You go right ahead with your plan. Meanwhile, I’ll be over here, voting. Because even if whichever Democrat winds up getting the nomination disappoints me, they won’t disappoint me as badly as whichever Republican will.
Will I get what I want? Probably not. But I bet I can try to get something that’s at least better than the alternative.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/6 "2008-01-15T06:32:41Z")
Damn dude, who pissed in your cornflakes [today](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9369199&postcount=4)?
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/7 "2008-01-15T06:44:00Z")
Yeah. If only we just voted for nobody, that would show 'em!
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### Author:  [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/8 "2008-01-15T06:55:02Z")
I would have to say that people who follow politics and don’t vote are just masochists.
I’m not sure what the OP’s problem is. He(?) sounds like somebody who was just stood up by their prom date. What’s the matter **Zambini57** , you’ve voted for the Dems and the Pubs and you still have to work for a living?
Sure, democracy is a deeply flawed process. After all, it gives people like you the same number of votes as people like me. 😃
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/9 "2008-01-15T06:59:05Z")
Democracy only requires two things to work. One is that you have a choice. Because both candidates will then have to try to be a marginally better choice than their opponent and once they start competing on that there’s nowhere to go but up.
The other is that you have to make a choice. Because if you don’t care why should the candidates? If you accept their mediocrity, you deserve it. Politics has been ruined by people like you who think it’s not worth the effort.
There are people who have died fighting for the chance to vote and you’re having it handed to you. So get out there and do your job. Pick whichever candidate is better or whichever one is the lesser evil and vote for them.
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### Author:  [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/10 "2008-01-15T07:01:49Z")
So what? We should passively accept the shit that will get elected if we don’t vote? Our options for change in this country are 1. vote the bums out or 2. violent revolution. We’re not at 2 yet.
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### Author:  [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/11 "2008-01-15T09:11:50Z")
Less than half the US citizens who are eligible to vote actually do so. What happens? For the last 2 presidential elections, the citizenry has elected a moron. All he had to do was keep mentioning God, visit Bob Jones University, appoint lawyers from Pat Robertson’s Law School, state that he believes that the “jury is still out” on evolution, etc. This must work because it appeals to the people who actually do vote. That in itself is enough to convince me that a Hell of a lot _more_ people should vote.
Okay, now let’s suppose only 5% of US citizens voted, or .5% or even .05%, what kind of delusional moron would we get for President? A Neo-Nazi who believes in a flat earth and who wears a tin foil hat? Something to think about huh?
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### Author:  [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/12 "2008-01-15T11:06:38Z")
None of the Above! None of the Above!
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### Author:  [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/13 "2008-01-15T11:09:50Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders]
So what? We should passively accept the shit that will get elected if we don’t vote? Our options for change in this country are 1. vote the bums out or 2. violent revolution. We’re not at 2 yet.
[/QUOTE]
Let me know when you get to 1.
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### Author:  [@Aquila\_Be](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquila_Be)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/14 "2008-01-15T11:21:01Z")
[QUOTE=Zambini57]
Jesus, don’t you people ever learn? I can’t believe anyone follows politics these days, or expresses any interest in any of the candidates. Why bother? They’re not going to do anything close to resembling what they told you they would do.
[/QUOTE]
Have you never actually experienced the pleasure of voting?
In case you haven’t, after the voter cast his/her vote the most common reaction of the voter is to feel satisfied because the voter usually says to him/her self: -
1. I have exercised my political power over politicians.
2. I will soon have an expert politician to represent me in an assembly of the people.
3. My expert politician, who now represents the people, will develop expertly devised laws on my behalf and that of my fellow citizens.
4. I am confident that any laws passed by the lawmakers will not conflict with the will of the people because they have been formulated by representatives of the people.
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### Author:  [@Zambini57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zambini57)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/15 "2008-01-15T11:34:39Z")
[QUOTE=thelurkinghorror]
So it’s meaningless to elect the person who will pull the least amount of shit?
[/QUOTE]
That’s just it. You don’t know who will pull the least amount of shit. People voted for Bush because they wanted someone they thought was “Mr. Morality” after the shit Clinton pulled. And look what they got, and look what he’s done.
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### Author:  [@Zambini57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zambini57)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/16 "2008-01-15T11:36:37Z")
[QUOTE=Brainiac4]
But people who don’t vote are bigger morons. Except you. You go right ahead with your plan. Meanwhile, I’ll be over here, voting. Because even if whichever Democrat winds up getting the nomination disappoints me, they won’t disappoint me as badly as whichever Republican will.
Will I get what I want? Probably not. But I bet I can try to get something that’s at least better than the alternative.
[/QUOTE]
You have no way of knowing if that is true.
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### Author:  [@Zambini57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zambini57)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/17 "2008-01-15T11:38:12Z")
[QUOTE=Aquila Be]
Have you never actually experienced the pleasure of voting?
In case you haven’t, after the voter cast his/her vote the most common reaction of the voter is to feel satisfied because the voter usually says to him/her self: -
1. I have exercised my political power over politicians.
2. I will soon have an expert politician to represent me in an assembly of the people.
3. My expert politician, who now represents the people, will develop expertly devised laws on my behalf and that of my fellow citizens.
4. I am confident that any laws passed by the lawmakers will not conflict with the will of the people because they have been formulated by representatives of the people.
[/QUOTE]
This is sarcasm, right? Because if it is, it’s very good.
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### Author:  [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/18 "2008-01-15T11:56:28Z")
[QUOTE=Aquila Be]
Have you never actually experienced the pleasure of voting?
In case you haven’t, after the voter cast his/her vote the most common reaction of the voter is to feel satisfied because the voter usually says to him/her self: -
1. I have exercised my political power over politicians.
2. I will soon have an expert politician to represent me in an assembly of the people.
3. My expert politician, who now represents the people, will develop expertly devised laws on my behalf and that of my fellow citizens.
4. I am confident that any laws passed by the lawmakers will not conflict with the will of the people because they have been formulated by representatives of the people.
[/QUOTE]
Number 4 contradicts the rest of them, unless you’re in lockstep with “the people”.
ETA:
Also, you’re making the naive assumption that these wonderful benevolent angelic lawmakers who do all that they do on behalf of others and seek nothing for themselves will keep their fucking promises.
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### Author:  [@Aquila\_Be](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquila_Be)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/19 "2008-01-15T12:10:51Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal]
Number 4 contradicts the rest of them, unless you’re in lockstep with “the people”.
ETA:
Also, you’re making the naive assumption that these wonderful benevolent angelic lawmakers who do all that they do on behalf of others and seek nothing for themselves will keep their fucking promises.
[/QUOTE]
I make no naive assumptions.
Number 1 has a transient existence, like the last snows of Spring.
Numbers 2, 3 and 4 are based on faith alone. A faith based belief can safely ignore reality in the political context and any apparent contradictions can have no power or influence over such beliefs.
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### Author:  [@Aquila\_Be](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquila_Be)
#### Post date: [January 15, 2008, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-follow-politics-and-vote-are-morons/433585/20 "2008-01-15T12:26:28Z")
I forgot to mention that in my location (see above) you’d actually be a moron (or very unwise) to forget to vote.
If I don’t vote I get tagged with the modern equivalent of a freshly painted red rope and It’ll cost me $60. 🙂
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