I see a lot of people saying that it is imperative that I vote
tomorrow, but when I look at the candidates it’s the same old list of
unattractive positions on both sides. As is often the case, I’m not
sure I can bring myself to vote for any of these twits. I’m sure all
of them will perpetuate the political game, and I’m not convinced any
of them are notably better than any other.
candidate will make an ACTUAL difference on, a difference so important
that it might override any other less-favorable aspects of the
candidate? And when I say “actual difference”, I mean something they
have a real chance of effecting change on, not something that they
will just ineffectually stand up for. Go!
If you want to encourage change and vote for people who are not just part of the political machine, vote for third party candidates. It doesn’t really matter which third party you choose. There may be some exceptions, but in most cases these people are not career politicians, are not in anyone’s pocket, and are really interested in changing the way government works in one way or another. Increased representation of third party politics in our system of government will give people more options in the future, instead of locking them into the old democrat or republican choice.That said, your voice really does count in the case of local elections. Generally speaking people holding local office aren’t career politicians either. Focus on your local candidates, learn about them, and figure out which ones can make the changes in your community that you would most like to see made.
Being an informed voter means doing some of the leg-work yourself. I don’t believe in being a one-issue voter, so I’m not going to take you up on your challenge here. I just wanted to point out that if you don’t think the Governor of Pennsylvania has the ability to enact change in the state…well, you’re WAY too cynical. The next Governor WILL change some things, for good and for bad, whether you help to select him/her or not.If you’re looking for a short-term miracle solution to some problem, I can’t point you towards any candidate. It takes time and hard work to effect real change. In legislatures, you can vote for an idealistic political newcomer, but if you do you must have a lot of patience and be convinced of that candidate’s determination. Or you can vote for a long-standing incumbent who has more power and influence, but if they haven’t already been fighting for the change, you’d have to trust that they are willing to (for whatever reason) start now.It’s much easier to assume all candidates on your ballot are ‘twits’ than it is to try to get to know them individually, but I really disagree with such a pat dismissal of all of them. I don’t recall if you were able to attend the #ThinkDrink with candidate for PA House of Representatives Metta Barbour, and I know you weren’t there for our meeting with candidate for Congress Ryan Sanders, but I can say with conviction that neither of them are ‘Twits.’ They are human, and therefore not perfect…they are not Avdi Grimm, and therefore will not agree with you on every issue…but they are reasonably intelligent and committed people. I don’t endorse either of them, but I have enjoyed getting to know them both.Some politicians are irredeemable fools, just like some non-politicians. But most are not so bad as all that. If you have to vote for the lesser of what you consider to be two evils, then do that. Or take Jamie’s advice and vote for a third-party candidate (though I disagree that it doesn’t matter which third party. Some third-party candidates are far, far worse than the usual Reps and Dems.). Or write in the name of someone you think would do a better job. Put your voice out there.How can you legitimately complain about government if you won’t lift a finger to change it? You have to vote in order to later have the right to complain to your elected representatives that they aren’t representing you properly.
It doesn’t matter who you vote for. You’re still electing a politician and even if they don’t start as one they will end as one. What matter is the pressure you put on them after they’re elected to do what you want. Your vote means nothing, your letter and the letter you get many other people to send are what will actually scare them into an action you want. There’s no such thing as electing a good politician.