Americans, will you answer my plea?

Question

I am asking everyone who reads this question to please, please, PLEASE do just a little bit of research on candidates before you blindly vote. You may come to find that your political party is taking advantage of you and not truly representing you. Just look at their track records and make an informed vote. Do not just vote for the party the people around you vote for. I am not saying the other candidates in an election that did not get voted in would have done any better but if the common person smartens up and possibly starts voting for people other than the two mainstream candidates, the Libs and Cons may realize that they really are nothing without your support and they might start actually DOING something for you in office. You never know until you try.

I have to figure there are a pretty good mix of people on this site and so far 4 out of 5 gave answers that were anything but liberal or Conservative. Maybe this percentage will be reflected in future elections.

Perhaps ram should read my question, you think?

Thank you all for great answers. You are all what make this site fun and informative.

Andy G, that is great to vote on what YOU believe and not what rich, greedy partyliners tell you to believe. I applaud you.

Answer 1

voted for thirty years and finally understood it to be a waste of time. dem and rep are one in the same. voted for libertarians every time because i did study up on who does what. i did not evrn bother to read much of your question because i just knew you were suckered into the dem or rep line of thought which means you need to study on who to really vote for. it sure aint the same old rep or dem that is ever going to change anything

Answer 2

That's a very good point. I have to say that I voted for the best possible candidate that had a chance in **** of getting elected. No I wasn't going to vote for an independent who could not win.

Answer 3

In response to another commenter and not really you:

Yea, its a democracy and people can vote according to their own beliefs but it just sucks when people are uninformed about issues. If your stance on something was against it and you didnt research your candidate until after voting for him and realizing he is actually FOR whatever you're against then...that was a vote wasted and it didnt help either side. No one represented that vote that you just made because now you realize that vote doesnt represent you.

Answer 4

Who's the Libertarian candidate? I might give him a look.

But you're right, people should vote for a candidate, not for a party.

The last two elections showed just what might happen when people vote accross party lines. Incompetent leadership forms.

Answer 5

I got an absentee ballot and voted with help from my computer, looking up what I could about the candidates I hadn't already heard of...

it didn't help with the judges, though... the only information I could find is what law school they went to

Answer 6

I always make sure I am informed on each Presidential candidate...... I definitely made no mistakes on who I voted for the last couple of times!!

Answer 7

Excellent idea. Almost no one bothers to do this. Vote for the person - don't vote blindly down one column on a ballot sheet.

Answer 8

Good point -- I work in a school, and although my students aren't old enough to vote, I hear them parroting whatever they hear their parents say in regards to politics. Sometimes I will ask, "Hmmm, why do you think that?" or "How do you know that?" and without exception there is nothing there to back up the opinion.

Answer 9

This is a great point.. Thank you. I hope that you influenced a few more people into knowing what they are voting for. Even if it was just one or two. Thank you!

Answer 10

OK, you need to get a life. That's what's so great about democracy....people vote for different reasons and with different levels of knowledge. That's great. Why would you want to quash that?