Ferguson Proves: Your Vote MATTERS.

[jeff47]

49. Involvement does not equal results.

In theory, involvement in a democratic system yields results.

In reality, that is frequently not the case.

I started a "yay voters" thread, and you immediately minimized the achievement of the voters

You started a "stupid and lazy voters finally did the right thing" thread, dressed up in positive language.

What, exactly, did you think those voters were doing in all the previous elections? Because this thread heavily implies you only have a positive opinion now.

You have since further minimized the voters by insisting that the candidates are more important than the voters

We do not get to choose from every possible candidate. And even if our chosen candidate runs, they can still do a terrible job with their campaign.

Our political system exists. It is not something you can ignore and say "it's all the voters". Because the voters do not have every option available. If you'd like a nice, shining example, take a look at 1968's primary.

The voters are ultimately responsible.

Yeah, I used to think so. Then I turned 18. And quickly learned that voters are only given carefully screened options to choose from. I was told to stop whining and vote for more tax cuts funded by benefit cuts. Because that's what the anointed candidate supported, and we can't have anyone harming party unity.

I strongly expect our difference of opinions is generational. My generation doesn't have enough people in it to even get a name - that's why we're "Generation X". Marketers could be bothered to study us enough to give us a label, because we weren't relevant to the bottom line. And only the younger half of our small generation leans left.

As a result of that small size, we have extremely small political power. We weren't needed to win, and we wanted things that were inconvenient to the generations that were larger. Be as motivated and educated as you want, but when you're outnumbered 2 to 1 you aren't going to get your needs addressed.

Millennials are large enough to start getting some traction on those issues, but the entrenched party leadership is trying very hard to figure out how to not address them and still win. In the long run, that will no longer be sustainable. But the party will try to keep it going for a while. Using tactics such as "stupid, lazy voters stayed home so we lost". You're making the same argument, just using the positive-sounding inverse.

Voters do not have infinite choices due to the structure of our two-party system. As a result, it is not all up to the voters.