Electoral Dysfunction

Yes, it’s a horrid play on words…but I’m tired, and this post needed a title.

It must be said that I am not exactly politically active. I’m not even sure that “politically apathetic” is the right term either. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just the deep rooted knowledge that nothing I do, say or believe will have any impact on the wheels of government.

I think the large blank check that just got handed to Wall Street is a good example of that. That’s how things run over yonder in D.C. – the powers that be decide, despite an overwhelming public opposition, that they know better than the common-folk and pass that little handout along. I wonder how many of them actually read the whole bill that they passed? I’d wager that the ones that read it were some of the ones that voted against it. The other “nay” votes just came from the shrewd politicians who knew it was going to pass but wanted to score brownie points with the simpletons back home.

Think about how the country elects the highest office in the land…the people vote, but the chosen “elite” are actually sent to deliver that vote. Now, less than half of the states have laws that attempt to ensure that the electors actually vote according to the “will of the people.” Only two states even attempt to divide their votes up in a fashion closer to the popular vote. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter if the candidates are split 50/50 in a state – if one gets just one more vote than the other, the whole state goes for that candidate.

What’s the point? That’s hardly fair representation, and does a disservice to anyone with at least one functioning brain cell. This is why I can’t get into presidential politics – my vote doesn’t count for squat unless it was for the winner of my state. Then, even if my vote counts – my neighbor’s might not! The “every vote counts” bullshit that gets rammed down our throats every two years is just to instill some false sense of participation amongst the masses. Just remember next month that your “I Voted!” sticker just means “I made a suggestion, and I really hope someone listens!” when it comes down to it.

Ah, but let’s come down a level. Surely, votes for senators and congressmen count – as they are indeed simple tallies of votes. There’s nothing in between the voter and the result, right?

Well, almost…there’s still the state (and sometimes national) parties getting involved alongside the “political action groups” – which are usually tied back to the parties if you look hard enough. There’s lots of mudslinging and finger pointing and sometimes you didn’t even know that the person running for office in your area even lived there!

Hell, sometimes they didn’t live there until they had to in order to run for office. Sometimes the parties decide the person who should represent you needs to come from outside, because everyone knows you’re all a bunch of idiots who can’t be trusted. Even if the locals muster up a candidate, the party and PAC muscle makes quick work of them in order to clear the deck for their chosen one.

…but, even if you manage to get someone “local” into office in D.C., how long does it take for them to break with “local” interests in order to ride the “party” line, or to appease “donors” to their campaign? Chances are, the person you send favors the easy meal ticket over keeping the po-dunk locals happy. Most people don’t bother to keep track of how their local politician votes, so why should they worry about it until near election time?

What does that leave? Well, it leaves state and local elections – and there, you have a much better chance of your vote meaning something. This is about the only level of elections that I could bother to care about, if I ever decided to. It’s close enough to home where you can make a difference.

Of course, depending on how local the election is and how vocal you are for or against a candidate, you could get into a lot of trouble should the “wrong” side win. In some communities, it doesn’t pay to be on the wrong side of an elected official, because the checks and balances aren’t always there. You just might find yourself or your business getting run out of town for no good reason. It’s only worth it if your side wins, otherwise you run the chance of painting a great big target on your chest.

So, I’m not voting this year. I probably wouldn’t get the chance to either, what with election night being one of the busiest nights of the year. I’ll just sit back and watch everyone around me either jump for joy or jump off the roof.

P.S. – If anyone wants to correct me in the “error of my ways” – feel free. I’d really like to be wrong and a little less cynical, but I can’t really see any cause for optimism.