I live in a pretty progressive part of the country. I think that might have attributed to the great experience I had voting this morning. The parking lot was packed so I had to park on the street. The Black Panthers were directing traffic and helping little old ladies cross the street to the polling station.
Once inside all the volunteer poll workers were wearing ACORN tee shirts. The young man who signed me up walked with me to the voting machine. The older lady at the machine winked and stuck the card in so I could vote. I said, "Here's one for Bernie!" She chuckled and said don't rush out after you finish.
I cast my ballot and started to leave but the poll worker said, "Don't you want to vote again?"
I said, "Sure!"
So she unlocked the machine again. "This is great!" I exclaimed. She said, "It feels really good. Let's do it again."
I said, "Cool."
She unlocked the machine for me 5 times. I figured that was enough, thanked her and the other volunteers and started out to the car. That's when I noticed the guy with the Trump tee shirt being stopped from voting because he didn't have proper ID.
I thought to myself, "Wow. This is really a good day."
Go Vote People!
If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.
~Jay Leno~
The problem with political jokes is they get elected.
~Henry Cate, VII~
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office
~Aesop~
If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these State of the Union speeches, there wouldn't be any inducement to go to heaven.
~Will Rogers~
Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.
~Nikita Khrushchev~
When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it.
~Clarence Darrow~
Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel.
~John Quinton~
Why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for you.
~Author unknown~
Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.
~Oscar Ameringer~
I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them.
~Adlai Stevenson, 1952~
A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.
~ Tex Guinan~
I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.
~Charles de Gaulle~
Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.
~Doug Larson~
There ought to be one day -- just one -- when there is open season on Congressmen.
~Will Rogers
Lets see if Bernie can get the turnout.
Its tough translating all those Birkenstock wearing young hippies that attended his rallys into actual votes.
Those are some great quotes Heineken!
I'm really surprised that the Republicans didn't mount a strategy of voting for Bernie. The primary is their best opportunity to get Hillary out of the race. I know it worked to get rid of Cantor.
I suppose the establishment of the Republican Party is too set on getting rid of Trump.
I live in Georgia - one of several states with "open primaries". I'm not making a political statement here, just an observation followed by a preponderance.
I've talked to a lot of people - supporters of both parties - who decided to do "cross-over voting". In their minds, WHOEVER wins their party's election is better than the current leader in the opposition party. For instance, I talked to several (actually many) Democrats who signed up to vote Republican in the primary so that they could vote for (their words) "ANYBODY but Trump". I talked to several (many) Republican who crossed the line to vote for Bernie rather than Hillary.
This seems like a very strange election year. This is beyond "choosing the lesser of two evils". This is like choosing the candidate that you don't want the least. Double negatives here. I'll elaborate later, as I am late for a dentist appointment.
I always thought to do what Rusty described is wrong and a mess, but in all reality - how different is it than choosing your candidate just because he/she is the lesser of two evils?
This is the sorry state of our elections.
I always thought to do what Rusty described is wrong and a mess, but in all reality - how different is it than choosing your candidate just because he/she is the lesser of two evils?
This is the sorry state of our elections.
This kind of strategy has gotten a lot of coverage/discussion this cycle, but it isn't new especially in states that have open primaries where someone who isn't enrolled in a party can vote in either primary. Here in Maine we have closed primaries you can only vote in a primary if you are enrolled in a party, and some people enroll just to vote in one primary or the other and then unenroll later (after some minimum required amount of time passes, can't remember what it is). I am currently not enrolled in a party so can't vote in either primary unless I enroll in one or the other...not planning to this time around, but have enrolled in both parties at various times in the past (but always to vote for someone, not against).
[Edited on 3/2/2016 by gondicar]
Every. Vote. Counts.
I'm proud I voted against Cantor. There is no way he would have lost in the General Election. David Brat is probably further Right than Cantor but he doesn't have the power of tenure that Cantor had.
In that case Brat had a far smaller war chest than Cantor, so money really didn't matter. It was momentum. I know the people I called that day on the phone tree were adamant about getting Cantor out of office. None of these people were Republican.
In that election Cantor's campaign spent $168,000 at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Washington DC to wine and dine contributors. David Brat spent $122,000 on his entire campaign.
Note that Cantor was a Virginia Representative yet he was doing his fundraising primarily in DC. Clearly he was serving the best interests of lobbyist and not the best interests of the Commonwealth.
Post Dentist:
So, it seems that in the crossover voting, voters are seeking to seat the candidate that they think is the least electable in the party that they do not intend on voting for in November.
Personally - over the years I have at various times sworn by, sworn at and sworn off Republicans and Democrats. I have been guilty a time or two of "choosing the lesser of two evils". Voting for the party or candidate that I was least offended by.
My true feelings are that I am a Libertarian - at least on paper. I plan to vote my conscious and my personal needs and feelings this time by voting Libertarian. Honestly, I'm not even real sure who the candidate is.
I wonder how many other voters might have similar distaste for "the big two". I wonder which of these parties will lose the most votes -either to the opposite part or to the Libertarians. Will the Libertarians be the Ross Perot of 2016?
I've been a registered Independent for decades. I think I have changed a time or two just to vote in primaries where Independents don't get a voice. There was a time I registered Republican but that was just so I could get more party information to see what the enemy was doing.
In my mind both parties are nefarious. They are way too powerful. I wouldn't be surprised if they even had back door deals.
For example, after David Brat beat Cantor, the Democrats didn't put any money behind the candidate running against Brat. It was as if they had ceded the district to the Republicans.