So, you want my vote, do you?

[illusionofjoy]

I have to be honest: it doesn't take very much to piss me off and these days there is very much to be pissed off about. I try to avoid conflict because, let's face it, fighting the world is a time and labour consuming chore with little to no reward. And once you've defeated all of the morons of the world, who are you going to brag to about your victory anyhow?

The 2012 election season began sometime in the middle of the summer. That alone was enough to be annoying, seeing as how it overshadowed any regional and local elections which were held this November. Yes, Virginia, there's an election every year, though I know you can't be bothered to vote in the non-glamorous non-presidential elections. Anyway, the media has been focused on the laugh-fest that has been the contest for the republican nomination. Last I checked, their frontrunner had been turned into a Newt...and it won't get better...

Of course, the Obama campaign hasn't been inactive. Not a day goes by that I don't get an email from their operation requesting a donation. They are under the mistaken assumption that just because I am a registered Democrat I am not just a reliable Democratic vote, but also a reliable cash cow. Newsflash for Obama and his sycophants: I'm unemployed and what money I do have won't be going to help keep someone in the White House whom I didn't want there in the first place.

I still remember the 2008 campaign and election. People will still tell me to "get over" the fact that Obama stole the nomination from Hillary Clinton. Sure, I'll get over that when I get over Bush stealing the election for Al Gore in 2000. How'd that end up working out? But more to the incising was the arrogance of Obama's supporters and members of his campaign staff. Before the age of Obama, I'd never been called a stupid racist for daring to question a politician. I and many others had those direct insults hurled point blank along with a plethora of slightly more subtle psychological warfare.

Well, if you loved that bullshit in 2008, it's coming back for 2012! The suck-ups and sycophants have been giving their marching orders. The following ended up in my Twitter feed because it was retweeted by Dan Savage:

pari_passu Casey
If GOP win in 2012, they might appoint 2 to Supreme Court; giving them a 7-2 majority. Remember this when saying you won't vote. #p2 #p21

I heard that one in 2008 too - the old "gotta vote Dem because of the Supreme Court" mindfuck to try and whip us liberal kitties into line. I couldn't hold back:

illusionofjoy Seth Warren
@pari_passu It's so cute when the Obots try and scare me into voting for Barry the DINO. What didn't work in 2008 won't work in 2012.

illusionofjoy Seth Warren
@pari_passu And while I'm feeling pissy, stop calling them the GOP. They're the republican party. Or raging lunatic assholes, if you prefer.

If the Washington Post won't call the republicans the GOP then why should any of the rest of us? I've been trying to get people to stop using GOP for years. I'm still trying to get people to stop calling the anti-choice crowd "pro-life." But I digress...

I used to buy into that whole dictum of settling for the "lesser of two evils so as to not waste my vote" too. Now I'm older, more cynical and even harder to impress than ever. If the Democratic Party wants my vote, they have to earn it (or in Obama's case at the 2008 Democratic National Convention: steal it). You can call me names, you can threaten me, you can do all sorts of stupid shit to try and get me to "fall in line," but this is the United States of America and I'm free to not fall in line. If I don't like the direction the Democratic Party is taking, why should I endorse candidates which espouse what I disapprove of?

I'm not deluded: the system we use to elect our so-called representatives has been manipulated into being a duopoly and is in dire need of an overhaul. But if you tell me I'm wasting my vote for refusing to pull the lever for a Democrat in favour of a non-mainstream party candidate or a write-in of "none of the above," I can only say that my vote would have been wasted regardless. I may as waste it in a way which sends however small of a message to the bean counters at the board of elections.

It's simple: if you are going to vote for Obama or any other Democrat because you are scared of the republicans being so much worse, then you are a coward and a fool. A government with a frightened citizenry - especially one willing turn against one another - is not a democracy. The best government is that which is frightened of its citizens. I refuse to be scared and I refuse to vote for Barry the DINO or any other candidate who does not reflect a good majority of my political alignment. If you want my vote, you'd better get on your hands and knees and fucking beg for it!