Election rant
AKA Who does your vote belong to?
So, tomorrow is the general election. And there’s been a lot that has pissed me off about the campaign.
First of all was the Tories suggesting that if you vote Lib Dem, it’s time to come home to the Conservative Party, as well as their suggestion that if the Lib Dem’s didn’t exist then my vote would belong to them.
In the past 24 hours, Gordon Brown has suggested that any floating voters should come home to Labour.
And the one that really gets me, as a Lib Dem supporter and voter. The suggestion that if I vote for anyone other than the Tories or Labour then my vote will be at worst wasted and at best actually a vote for the Tories/Labour (delete according to which party the person I’m speaking to supports).
BULLSHIT!
Pure, unmitigated, grade A bullshit.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll let you into a little secret. It’s one that Labourservatives don’t want you to hear, but this is it:
The only wasted vote tomorrow is one that is not cast at all. Your vote does not belong to any one particular party. It belongs to you. You and you alone. Your vote is not the automatic right of any one particular party. It is a gift, a privilege that the parties have to convince you to grant them. And, no, if you vote for anyone else that Labour/Tories, it does not mean you want the other one of those two parties to get in. It means that you want the person you voted for to represent you in parliament.
So, have a look online. Check out the candidates. Find out how they feel about matters that are important to you then cast your vote.
In The West Wing there’s a phrase that shows up a couple of times. ‘Decisions are made by those who show up.’ Get informed, if you’re not already, then decide.
Will
P.S. request for help <—<—thataway<—<—
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As somebody who has put in hours of work and research in deciding what box I am going to put a cross in tomorrow I completely agree with you here Will. I do often wonder if we should be like Australia where voting is compulsory, but if that were the case it may mean voters were not as well informed. Electoral reform is the best answer I think, and I certainly know which party would makethat happen. But to me, that isn’t the party that I think is best for our country, or for me, right now. If I voted on just a single issue, it would be an easy choice, but thinking about the bigger picture, the three main parties seem to enter a ‘rock, paper, scissors’ scenario: Economy – Labour beats Tories Education – Tories beat Lib Dem Taxation – Lib Dem beat Labour To name but a three. Its a difficult choice, and I feel an important one. Wish there were more people who felt the same.
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As somebody who has put in hours of work and research in deciding what box I am going to put a cross in tomorrow I completely agree with you here Will. I do often wonder if we should be like Australia where voting is compulsory, but if that were the case it may mean voters were not as well informed. Electoral reform is the best answer I think, and I certainly know which party would makethat happen. But to me, that isn’t the party that I think is best for our country, or for me, right now. If I voted on just a single issue, it would be an easy choice, but thinking about the bigger picture, the three main parties seem to enter a ‘rock, paper, scissors’ scenario: Economy – Labour beats Tories Education – Tories beat Lib Dem Taxation – Lib Dem beat Labour To name but a three. Its a difficult choice, and I feel an important one. Wish there were more people who felt the same.
Warning Comment
As somebody who has put in hours of work and research in deciding what box I am going to put a cross in tomorrow I completely agree with you here Will. I do often wonder if we should be like Australia where voting is compulsory, but if that were the case it may mean voters were not as well informed. Electoral reform is the best answer I think, and I certainly know which party would makethat happen. But to me, that isn’t the party that I think is best for our country, or for me, right now. If I voted on just a single issue, it would be an easy choice, but thinking about the bigger picture, the three main parties seem to enter a ‘rock, paper, scissors’ scenario: Economy – Labour beats Tories Education – Tories beat Lib Dem Taxation – Lib Dem beat Labour To name but a three. Its a difficult choice, and I feel an important one. Wish there were more people who felt the same.
Warning Comment
As somebody who has put in hours of work and research in deciding what box I am going to put a cross in tomorrow I completely agree with you here Will. I do often wonder if we should be like Australia where voting is compulsory, but if that were the case it may mean voters were not as well informed. Electoral reform is the best answer I think, and I certainly know which party would makethat happen. But to me, that isn’t the party that I think is best for our country, or for me, right now. If I voted on just a single issue, it would be an easy choice, but thinking about the bigger picture, the three main parties seem to enter a ‘rock, paper, scissors’ scenario: Economy – Labour beats Tories Education – Tories beat Lib Dem Taxation – Lib Dem beat Labour To name but a three. Its a difficult choice, and I feel an important one. Wish there were more people who felt the same.
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Every time I hear someone say in America that they’d be wasting a vote if they voted for a 3rd party I think, “if everyone who said that voted for a 3rd party then the 3rd party would get elected”
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Every time I hear someone say in America that they’d be wasting a vote if they voted for a 3rd party I think, “if everyone who said that voted for a 3rd party then the 3rd party would get elected”
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Every time I hear someone say in America that they’d be wasting a vote if they voted for a 3rd party I think, “if everyone who said that voted for a 3rd party then the 3rd party would get elected”
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Every time I hear someone say in America that they’d be wasting a vote if they voted for a 3rd party I think, “if everyone who said that voted for a 3rd party then the 3rd party would get elected”
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Your first noter makes an excellent point. I can’t vote in this but I am trying to stay alert about the election as it will affect me as I pay taxes and so on. I do urge everyone who can vote to do so.
Warning Comment
Your first noter makes an excellent point. I can’t vote in this but I am trying to stay alert about the election as it will affect me as I pay taxes and so on. I do urge everyone who can vote to do so.
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Your first noter makes an excellent point. I can’t vote in this but I am trying to stay alert about the election as it will affect me as I pay taxes and so on. I do urge everyone who can vote to do so.
Warning Comment
Your first noter makes an excellent point. I can’t vote in this but I am trying to stay alert about the election as it will affect me as I pay taxes and so on. I do urge everyone who can vote to do so.
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Indeed, I start from the principle that all of the candidates have zero votes until we vote for them. 🙂
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Indeed, I start from the principle that all of the candidates have zero votes until we vote for them. 🙂
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Indeed, I start from the principle that all of the candidates have zero votes until we vote for them. 🙂
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Indeed, I start from the principle that all of the candidates have zero votes until we vote for them. 🙂
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Very well said. I voted Lib Dem today too!
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Very well said. I voted Lib Dem today too!
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Very well said. I voted Lib Dem today too!
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Very well said. I voted Lib Dem today too!
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Yeah, the term “wasted vote” is a goddamn stupid teminology. There is no such thing. VOTE. that’s all people should do. Just vote. Good luck.
Warning Comment
Yeah, the term “wasted vote” is a goddamn stupid teminology. There is no such thing. VOTE. that’s all people should do. Just vote. Good luck.
Warning Comment
Yeah, the term “wasted vote” is a goddamn stupid teminology. There is no such thing. VOTE. that’s all people should do. Just vote. Good luck.
Warning Comment
Yeah, the term “wasted vote” is a goddamn stupid teminology. There is no such thing. VOTE. that’s all people should do. Just vote. Good luck.
Warning Comment