So last election when I went to the pools to vote I discovered what to me was a startling and disturbing occurrence, only the incumbent candidate was running for congress. No competition, no chance for change, no options. Admittedly I was voting in Rep. John Boehner's district due to college, but I still find it to be wrong in so many ways that a country that prides itself on the election of our representatives has places where there is no way for citizens to vote against the incumbent, regardless of his/her party. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Either you vote for one guy you hate, or another that you hate slightly less. Elections are a joke. - - - Updated - - - Either you vote for one guy you hate, or another that you hate slightly less. Elections are a joke.
Don't take this personally (this is a general issue) but do you think a factor in the problem could be shown by the fact that you only became aware of this in the actual voting booth? Even if there had been other candidates, you'd likely know little or nothing about them at all. If the public aren't willing to engage in actual politics (rather than party politics), why would you expect prospective candidates to try to engage with the public?
There's something to that, but also something to Steady Pie's post, too. The lack of pluralism in the US electoral system is a big issue for democracy there. Not only does it only give you only 2 realistic choices at most, but it causes the 'us v them' and 'we're good, they're evil', and 'if you're not for everything we stand for you're against everything we stand for' kind of stuff that we see all over the forum. That in turn leads to a cosy arrangement for the elite (a very distant and remote elite in such a big country) to simply swap 'power' back and forth between themselves, which is very, very bad for democracy. What that creates is a poisonous combination of 'they are all the same' combined with 'we must resist the other side at all costs' among the electorate, and the political elite can just play those for all they are worth to hold on to their power - that's not at all good for having positive dialogue and sensible discussion to actually get things done, and not at all good for 'liberty' either.
I think the lack of pluralism is caused by voters who see elections as some kind of competition where they have to *win* and because the *other guys* will *destroy the country*. This myth creates mainstream parties and keeps the political environment confined for those wishing to exploit it. I am very proud to have vote for parties who got 1% in elections for not legitimising anyone of those filthy mainstream losers with my vote .
