US Presidential Election 2016

[NWguy]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

I'm not criticizing. It's your choice. Just wonder why it wouldn't be preferable to pick the candidate who comes closest to your desired view. Wouldn't that be better than letting those tho do vote -- and may/may not feel anything close to your views -- determine things?

Choosing a candidate who comes closest, but still not entirely sure about, feels like settling to me. That would be like getting married to someone who is almost what I'm looking for, but not quite.

In past elections, not only did I vote, I also planted signs in my yard for the candidates I was supporting, or even donated money. There was pride in doing so. I haven't felt that kind of enthusiasm this time around.

[PiKA2001]

One of my Facebook friends posted, "bring your souls to the polls" in reference to the voting in AZ today. I replied to his post with, "did you mean to say sell your souls at the polls?"

He didn't find it as funny as I did.

[NWguy]

My friend in Arizona said it was a one hour wait to vote where she went, in the hot sun. They only had 5 booths available. So, she left and is going to try later today.

[DubaiSis]

So using the marriage example, you know you're getting married anyway, right? By not voting you just walked into a blind marriage. At least by voting you've expressed an opinion on who you get to spend the next 4 years with. But hey, you do you. You can bet the white supremacists and women haters will be voting. They finally have a candidate they can get behind.

[NWguy]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

So using the marriage example, you know you're getting married anyway, right? By not voting you just walked into a blind marriage. At least by voting you've expressed an opinion on who you get to spend the next 4 years with. But hey, you do you. You can bet the white supremacists and women haters will be voting. They finally have a candidate they can get behind.

By not voting, I've also expressed my opinion --- I didn't side with any of the candidates.

White supremacists and women haters have probably voted in every election; I can't imagine they stayed home and sobbed into boxes of Kleenex during the past two elections.

And yes, I'll be me. I'm an American and have the right to vote - or not - and the decision belongs to me.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

One of my Facebook friends posted, "bring your souls to the polls" in reference to the voting in AZ today. I replied to his post with, "did you mean to say sell your souls at the polls?"

He didn't find it as funny as I did.

I can likely understand why he wouldn't. In many states, churches, primarily African-American churches but perhaps there are others, have organized efforts to get church and community members to polling locations -- often after Sunday services, thus the phrase "Souls to the Polls." I know many AA churches, here in Ohio, the broader Midwest, East Coast and South who are very serious about this.

Particularly in the face of past and current efforts -- largely by the GOP to be honest -- to tamp down the AA and other minority vote with false charges of voter fraud, trying to limit the length of early voting, etc..

Souls to the Polls is part of larger efforts undertaken by churches and other organizations to make sure the right to vote, earned at a terrible cost by previous generations, is able to be exercised.

That may be why dude didn't find your comment funny.

[AZTheta]

“Surely from this period of ten months, this is the lesson: Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

Winston Churchill said it, and I believe it.

I think that not voting is indicative of a lack of "convictions of honor and good sense." Or, to put it another way, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Quit bitching; go out and make a difference. Do something. Get off your a$$, stop whining, and exercise your Constitutional right to vote. There are a lot of races, so much at stake in this election cycle. Write a check to a candidate you can support. I'm focused on the Congressional races, since that is where I see a huge potential for change.

In Arizona there is no reason to stand in the hot sun. We have mail-in early voting. Have had it for years. I submitted my ballot as soon as I got it a few weeks ago.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

I can likely understand why he wouldn't. In many states, churches, primarily African-American churches but perhaps there are others, have organized efforts to get church and community members to polling locations -- often after Sunday services, thus the phrase "Souls to the Polls." I know many AA churches, here in Ohio, the broader Midwest, East Coast and South who are very serious about this.

Particularly in the face of past and current efforts -- largely by the GOP to be honest -- to tamp down the AA and other minority vote with false charges of voter fraud, trying to limit the length of early voting, etc..

Souls to the Polls is part of larger efforts undertaken by churches and other organizations to make sure the right to vote, earned at a terrible cost by previous generations, is able to be exercised.

That may be why dude didn't find your comment funny.

Thanks for the insight. He's neither AA or religious but volunteers for the Clinton campaign so he could have picked that up from the work he does for the campaign.

But speaking of voter suppression, how about those AZ primaries?

http://usuncut.com/politics/5-exampl...izona-primary/

[TonyB06]

South Carolina's Lindsay Graham now says he will meet with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland but still opposes hearings and a vote.

Graham has to be privy to some polling indicating just how toxic the GOP stance is on this issue.

[NWguy]

I mentioned this in another thread, but also here...took some time to research and have decided to vote for Johnson.

I wasn't going to vote at all, but voting for a third party candidate seems the best way to let Democrats and Republicans know that I'd fed up with both of them.