So, Pres. Orange Hair won the election; by about 1.4 million votes of 150 million votes cast by the electorate. A very thin margin of victory, indeed. VP Harris lost the election with fewer votes for her and her party, the democrats. beset by infighting among party leaders, the Dems saw this margin as a shift in sentiment by middle class voters, those voters who were registered as Dems but switched their party when it came down to the candidate of choice. They voted for the party least likely to favor their own interests.
That would be the Republican Party, the Conservative Party, the Libertarian Party of the Koch Brothers, and the Independent Party of disaffected grumps. It came to a disturbing trend that has been going on for decades. Voters don't show up at the polls. They stay home; in many ways a vote in itself: they don't trust the candidates of either party, and they don't want to favor any policies related to either party. They stay home and sulk.
These voters often complain to others about the outcome of the election. They complain they are not adequately represented by the candidates. Their needs go unfulfilled, unmet, and they continue to suffer a score of maladies caused by government inaction and neglect. Woe is me; woe is us; nobody cares; woe,woe,woe.
The missing 90 millions
Who stayed home? 90 million eligible voters, that's who stayed home. Almost 45% of eligible voters decided they would not participate in the outcome of the 2024 election. All of the punditry surrounding the outcome-the 2nd election of Crazy DJT, revealed a nation wide malaise, a contrary citizen who mocks politics as a remote game played by wealthy insiders without regard for the populace. This is not new, this attitude. What's new is the effect of the disaffection: the election of the grossly incompetent; the grossly inexperienced; the most gross person(see term No.1).
It's time to recognize the severity of the outcome when so many stay home and so few eligible voters show up at the polls. Time to make them pay for their inaction. Time to show them the importance of participation. Perhaps they were ill on election day-vote absentee. Vote by mail; have your ballot delivered by family or friends. All methods offered are designed to assist those voters in casting a ballot.
Let's fine them all: $10. This would equal about $900 millions of dollars. Hmmmmm. Would it help? One thinks that some would respond to the fine; few would care about $10. Let 'em try to get it some might say. How about $100? This would equal $9 billions, enough to buy a few fighter jets, or pave a highway a few miles. Many more might vote instead of facing this minor irritation.
Perhaps a free meal would encourage participation. Or- 10 lottery tickets-this would really bring out the voters: a chance to win a few hundred millions. I'd think about it myself. Maybe Putin would vote here. Or Viktor Orban. Or Mark Carney. Or Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico. A little research would supply the weight behind this method, and it needs to be done. Statisticians tell us more is better in voting. We believe them.
No comments:
Post a Comment