# Pitting My Wife (We vote today) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 14, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871 "2008-10-14T14:51:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/21 "2008-10-14T16:20:39Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > As you seem to be having a problem putting my pitting in perspective, let me make it simple for you. It makes no sense at all for two people who have the opportunity to affect the outcome of the election at home to embark on an effort to produce exactly the same outcome by driving to the polling station. Sure, but it makes even less sense for you to travel separately. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/22 "2008-10-14T16:22:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Correct, although **polls show** that the particular riding in which **Dutchman** and his wife are voting is a close vote between the Conservatives and the NDP. The others may be too far back to catch up. > > Anyway, doesn’t one vote on their own conscience, and not based upon who anyone else votes for? If I thought my candidate was way too far out of it, I wouldn’t care. If my ideals and philosophies were aligned with that candidate or party then why do I even care who anyone else votes for? > > I didn’t ask my wife this morning who she was voting for, even when she told me she hadn’t made up her mind yet. It’s, quite frankly, not my business who she votes for: and vice versa. Polls **might** show, that is. Sorry, I have no idea what riding we’re really speaking of… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/23 "2008-10-14T16:22:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Sure, but it makes even less sense for you to travel separately. Didn’t I say I would take her? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/24 "2008-10-14T16:23:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > …Obviously, so is she, but two wrongs don’t make a right, etc. According to the OP, they do.. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/25 "2008-10-14T16:32:45Z")
Consider taking her to dinner and a show rather than cancelling her. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/26 "2008-10-14T16:32:48Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Didn’t I say I would take her? So you did. I stopped reading at the part where you were thinking of not taking her. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/27 "2008-10-14T16:43:28Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Polls **might** show, that is. Sorry, I have no idea what riding we’re really speaking of… Here’s a profile of my riding [Vancouver Island North](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/riding/300/index.html) Its going to ber tight ! ---
**Author:** ![Sonnenstrahl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Sonnenstrahl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonnenstrahl)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/28 "2008-10-14T16:44:22Z")
Why don’t you do something else while you’re out? Pick something up that would would otherwise have had to drive for? Or is your polling station in the middle of nowhere? That would mean it’s not a useless trip. But asking someone who they’re voting for, and making a big deal over a six mile drive sounds kind of passive aggressive to me. At least, that’s the kind of thing my extremely passive aggressive father would do with my mother - he’d agree to drive her to the store, then when he finds it’s to buy something he doesn’t approve of, suddenly it’s too far, the car will melt in the rain, etc. etc. As long as you’re not doing that. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/29 "2008-10-14T16:53:33Z")
It could be worse. My sister suddenly announced that she was thinking of voting Marxist-Leninist. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/30 "2008-10-14T16:55:08Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Consider taking her to dinner and a show rather than cancelling her. I’m still stuffed from Thanksgiving dinner, and would rather watch the election returns Thankyou. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/31 "2008-10-14T16:58:23Z")
My aunt was talking about something similar over Thanksgiving dinner. She was annoyed that in her riding the incumbent party (I forget which) gets about 80% of the vote, so she feels that her vote won’t make a difference. She decided that she’s going to cast a vote for the Greens or somesuch anyway, because even votes that don’t contribute to a win still contribute to the level of federal funding that said party receives for the next election. Besides, even if you feel like a jackass casting your vote, you’ll feel like a much bigger jackass by not voting, and I reckon you’ll feel that way for a lot longer. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/32 "2008-10-14T17:02:54Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > It could be worse. My sister suddenly announced that she was thinking of voting Marxist-Leninist. Well if my wife could and wanted to vote communist, we wouldn’t be having this issue. I’d have no problem with that. I have a friendly neighbour who sports a Che Guevara tatoo on one shoulder and a Lenin tatoo on the other. Comepletely harmless. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/33 "2008-10-14T17:06:16Z")
[Latest polling from Vancouver Island North](http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/node/31) (based on ‘best available data on Oct 12’) says > [@](#): > > This will be an incredibly close NDP/Conservative race. NDP incumbent Catherine Bell won by only 616 votes in 2006 over the Conservative. The Liberals and the Greens together have only about 10,000 votes." Disclosure - this website has an explicitly pro-environment and “anything-but-Harper” agenda. But it has the most up-to-date polling data I am aware of. In any event, the $1.75 per vote means that your votes won’t cancel each other out. If you vote, your Conservatives and her NDPs will get additional funding; if you don’t, they won’t. The coffers of the Liberals and Greens are pretty empty, so you’ll both be gaining an advantage there. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/34 "2008-10-14T17:15:36Z")
I wish I could vote. Similar to what Leaffan said, it’s nobody’s business who I vote for. Things in the US are very different - I had a neighbour DEMAND to know. I told her it was none of her business. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/35 "2008-10-14T17:21:44Z")
Do day care centers have much to do with that election as an issue? I was confused by that in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/36 "2008-10-14T17:34:11Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Do day care centers have much to do with that election as an issue? I was confused by that in the OP? For my daughter it does. The NDP promises to spend 1.5 billion dollars on a national day care network if elected. For Americans, putting that in perspective is like Obama promising to spend 15 billion on daycare. I like the Conservative approach by giving tax credits so parents have more choice . ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/37 "2008-10-14T17:35:15Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > It could be worse. My sister suddenly announced that she was thinking of voting Marxist-Leninist. Ah, the good old days at U. of T. in the late 70s / early 80s, when every fall the Marxists and the Lennists would each set up booths across form each other at Sidney Smith Hall, and inevitably end up in fist fights with each other and get hauled off by the police. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/38 "2008-10-14T17:42:24Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Ah, the good old days at U. of T. in the late 70s / early 80s, when every fall the Marxists and the Lennists would each set up booths across form each other at Sidney Smith Hall, and inevitably end up in fist fights with each other and get hauled off by the police. Ah, yeah, the Marxist-Leninists, with love of all things Albanian. I wonder if they can still be found on university campuses, and, if so, who they worship today. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/39 "2008-10-14T17:45:27Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > You may call me petty but not my wife. she merely cherishes her right to vote. My respects to your wife. As for you, you are incredibly petty. If everyone voted the same way, we’d be in a dictatorship. Cherish the fact that you disagree politely about this. CHERISH IT. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871/40 "2008-10-14T17:45:46Z")
If you do not vote, I promise to make a 12-mile drive to cancel out your carbon footprint gains… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-my-wife-we-vote-today/467871.md?page=3)