Bernie gets it: Disaffected and apathetic voters

[Jumpin Jack Flash]

[Kalidurga]

1. Well that's at least 45% of the US population.

[cantbeserious]

2. Citizens United - Worst Development In My Lifetime

eom

[zeemike]

3. And both political parties seem to like it that way.

Because they do nothing to change it.

[2banon]

12. This!^^^^^^10000! n/t

[raouldukelives]

13. If only they did nothing. They appear to encourage it.

Free thinking, educated voters are the last thing either party seems to embrace these days. Most likely bad for future corporate profits and thus unacceptable.

Generations of children just smart enough to pull the lever for Moses, but never enlightened to the point they question why.

All thanks to the daily and sometimes almost Herculean efforts of so many corporate puppets and lap dogs. Willing to work themselves, to the death if need be, to quench the thirsts of sociopaths & cannibals.

[zeemike]

14. Well that is an interesting way to put it.

But yes it is elitism...they view the masses as an ignorant lot that must be kept ignorant and ruled...thus the destruction of public education and trend toward poverty...poor and ignorant people are easy to control with bread and circus.
And we have plenty of circus in our political system.

[SunSeeker]

17. Bullshit. Only ONE party is passing laws to suppress the vote: Republicans.

Only ONE party is passing laws (when they're not blocked by Republicans) to expand ease of voting: Democrats.

[zeemike]

19. So the Dems are powerless...no wonder people don't vote.

They have no power so they just stay silent and let the GOP do what it want unopposed.

I have not forgotten history...I remember when some house dems objected to the Florida vote in the election joint session and not a single democratic Senator sighed the objection...if just one had Gore would have been president...their they had power and did not use it...they were silent.
And they have stayed silent even when there was evidence of vote counting fraud in every election...there was nothing they could do but let the GOP do it to them and then use the GOP success in elections to scare us into donating to them...so they could "fight"...
Now that is what I call bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

And the problem is so many see it as bullshit and they stay home on election day...why bother?

[SunSeeker]

26. Dems are not powerless. See my post 25.

They can't stop all the shenanigans but they have prevented a lot of it under Obama.

[zeemike]

31. Well as far as "calling for expanded voting and registration

That is a state matter, and you can call for it all you want, but if the state does not act you have done nothing.
And states with democratic legislatures are few and far between and it only means that the ones who do it will vote democratic like they would anyway...so no gain is had...they only get the electoral collage votes like before...total votes do not count.

And voter suppression is one thing and stealing by black box voting is another...and the feds can only do something if there is evidence of a crime...errors on a machine is not a crime unless you can prove it was done deliberety...is DOJ even looking into that?
If the fraud takes place in the counting it makes no difference how many vote.

[SunSeeker]

34. Elections are governed by state law and the US Constitution.

If a state "does not act" based on racial animus, the feds could bring a lawsuit. Short of that, Hillary and other Dems making it an issue will put pressure on the states. Simply giving up and saying it's hopeless, as you are suggesting, will only make people stay home.

[zeemike]

35. I did not say it was hopeless I said it was too little and too late.

Nothing will happen before the next election and after that it will be forgotten like is has been before...and we all know that.
And if it does not act based on racial animus is the key words...you have to show it was that and how can you show it?...find them saying the N word?...not going to happen.

And it is not my talking about it that will make people stay home it is not acting on it that will.

There are things the Dems could do...like a constitutional amendment or change the federal elections to a weekend when people are off work and making it 2 days instead of one...that would be change they could believe in.

[SunSeeker]

38. It is not too late.

If you think "it is too little and too late" and that "nothing will happen before the next election," then you think it is hopeless. It is not. We all can act and do something. Including you. Even if it's just getting your neighbor registered to vote.

[99th_Monkey]

21. Yes, while the Democrats barely notice

much less actually DOING SOMETHING to force the issue of voter suppression, along with the whole GOP bag of dirty tricks to "win" elections. You know the list: false/misleading info to Dem voters, prohibitively long lines at polls in heavily Democratic percents, onerous "voter ID" laws, e-vote hacking by GOP operatives, etc.

If Democrats collectively used their political muscle to FORCE these issues into the light of day, and FORCE effective legal measures to insure they stop happening (without perps going to prison at least); this crap would/could stop on a fucking dime IMHO.

[SunSeeker]

25. Obama's USDOJ filed numerous successful lawsuits to block GOP voter suppression laws.

And Hillary has been calling for expanded early voting and automatically registering voters when they turn 18. As she said, "What is it about democracy that scares Republicans so much?"

[99th_Monkey]

30. Yes, and I applaud the efforts of Obama and Hillary.

Thanks for reminding me of the efforts that have been/are being made by 2 leading Dems.

That said, I think nothing less than a resounding & relentless 24/7 PR/info crusade by ALL Dems in unison occurs,
we'll likely be seeing more of the same GOP dirty tricks in future elections.

[Jesus Malverde]

22. I disagree in as much as the the war on drugs

By stripping the rights of people to vote through felony convictions is supported by both parties. This primarily affects POC.

Probably many more than just those who don't have access to a government issued ID.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

27. That should go away for any case not involving voter fraud or other similar illegal acts.

If you've served your sentence for any non-voting, non-politically related conviction, you should be allowed to vote again after release.

[daleanime]

29. +1

[Jesus Malverde]

33. Everyone should be allowed to vote, including inmates.

I think we are up to 3 million behind bars. That's a lot of people who are disenfranchised.

[hootinholler]

4. That is how he will win. n/t

[Enthusiast]

5. Congress has a 9% approval.

I wonder why.

We should keep that number in their face.

[daleanime]

7. +1

[olegramps]

20. Thfese are the same people who what teachers paid on performance.

If they were paid in accordance with their performance rating they wouldn't be getting one red cent and should have to pay back for all the perks they enjoy for not doing a damn thing.

[Enthusiast]

32. Excellent point.

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[Omaha Steve]

6. K&R!

[hifiguy]

8. His message has the same appeal to those folks

as RFK's had in 1968. There is a rough beast awakening in the masses as they come to realize just how much they have been screwn by the corporatists of both parties.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

16. Yes

[salimbag]

9. People will not vote

As long as they remain convinced that there is no hope. The turnout for Obama was about hope. Many people are discouraged and disappointed, and need to have the fire of hope rekindled. The big money is being spent on dousing that fire. Fight back! Go Bernie!

[Babel_17]

10. And they're frustrated and disgusted by the dialogue

They feel that it's not for them. So, another victory for the %1.

[Jumpin Jack Flash]

24. You know the actor who plays Londo Mollari

is a Republican?

[Babel_17]

36. That would be news to me

Though I knew about Doyle. JMS has been quoted here, so we have that.

[libdem4life]

11. Ever since McGovern, I've had to force myself out to vote. This will be my first time to be

anxious to vote...I voted for Obama, and was hopeful...not excited.

Sanders is realistic, I think. He doesn't say he'll change the world, just maybe tweak the direction we're headed. How the public reacts as we go forward will determine how far it gets tweaked.

[Jefferson23]

15. Reaching these non voting voters, which is in the millions, will be key for Sanders. n/t

[SoapBox]

18. K, R and GOTV!

[dpatbrown]

23. Task

Very simple. That's your task folks, get to those people. Be very aware of what's coming down the road. Get to those people before it's too late.

[orpupilofnature57]

28. " Those People " need only watch and use common sense to

see where the canidates hearts and donors are, who will they owe ?

[dpatbrown]

40. Who?????

That's the problem, what will they watch to determine whom to vote for?. Will it be Koch created ads that will saturate T.V. throughout the country? Or will they hear from Sanders himself, unfiltered?
So many people, especially in the South, continue to vote heavily against their own interest, who do you think these folks are listening to?

[orpupilofnature57]

41. I hope Amy Goodman, Glen Greenwald, Matt Taibbi, and YES

Bernie Sanders the only canidate and one of a few senators who put themselves on the line to say what they will do and stand by what they've done, not in fluffy , nondescript ovations to the middle class .

[dpatbrown]

42. No

Many, many of the people who live in the South don't even know who Goodman, Greenwald, and Taibbi are. I totally disagree. So, to reiterate, how do you get to those voters? That's the trick.

[orpupilofnature57]

43. Show them what Antebellum, and Fox have done for them .

[Go Vols]

37. K&R

[sabrina 1]

39. He's right, but his entry into the race is bringing them back. Seeing it every day now

all over. Signed one up myself, so far, without really trying. She watched a few Bernie segments on TV with me, was impressed, but thought it was the same old political rhetoric. I showed her his voting record, assured he MEANT what he said and VOTED the way she heard him speak.

She is signing up as a Dem just to vote for him.

[orpupilofnature57]

44. +1000 !!!! That's being part of the process !!!

If everybody set out to do that big $$$$$ could be beat .