I'm far from being a Howard Stern fan, but I'll cite him in this instance. He and his crew went out walking the streets of Harlem to interview people about who they plan to vote for in November. The ignorance of these people is truly stunning.
Howard Stern interviews Obama supporters.
In that one interview, we have people who think that Paul Ryan is Obama's running mate, people who think that John McCain and/or Sarah Palin are running against Obama this year, people who think that Obama is Pro-Life, and people who think that Mitt Romney is black. Oh, and not one of them knows that bin Laden is dead yet. Seriously. None of them know that Osama bin Laden is dead.
This sums up the problem with elections today. There are whole communities out there where no one listens to the news or reads a paper. Harlem, NY is a good example but most big cities have ghetto neighborhoods that are just like that, and I'm sure there are a few rural patches like that out there somewhere, too. And while I support the right of people to be as ignorant as they want to be, the sad fact is that each and every one of these morons gets a vote that is equal to (and usually cancels out) your and mine. As you can hear in the interview, every one of these virtual retards is an enthusiastic Obama supporter, and believe me, Obama and the Democrats know how to find them and get pretty much each and every one of them to the polls on election day even if it means going out in vans, picking them up, driving them to the polling places and handing them a list of people to vote for. They do it every election and in close races it makes a difference.
Our Founding Fathers never meant for every single person in the United States to have a say in elections. They limited it to white male land owners originally. Now while I'm not that saying that we go back to those standards, I would support a system by which only those who are functional, contributing members of society be allowed to vote. I'd be open to restricting the vote to the following:
People with at least a high school diploma or GED.
People who are serving or have served honorably in the military.
People who have a job and pay taxes.
It goes without saying that I'd want them to prove that they are actual US citizens as well.
I would also specifically bar people who are on welfare, people who are in prison or jail, and people who have been convicted of a felony. These aren't the ones that I want determining the direction that our country takes as it moves forward into the 21st century.
It does us no good as a nation to the the counsel of the least-intelligent, least-fit among us. Eventually they become a voting bloc or even a majority of the voters (like we're starting to see now) and then the rest of us are screwed. We need reforms, and we need to keep the lazy, the stupid, and the criminally-inclined people away from the ballot box.
Of course this will never happen when the Democrats have a say, because these people are their core constituency and they know it and pander to them to keep and keep their votes.
It's times like this that I fear for my country.
At least some of the people interviewed were obviously ignorant, uneducated people who really are too stupid to vote. That I can deal with.
ReplyDeleteWhat really bothers me are the people who are educated, are old enough to see the problems that a welfare state creates and still insist that Obama's vision of the United States is the proper course for the nation to take.
I suspect that the second person interviewed doesn't like Romney because he isn't black. I could be wrong, but that's what it sounds like too me. That doesn't matter to me, but I wish she would be honest about it.
As far as your requirements for voting eligibility go, I have to disagree with #2. The military simply isn't large enough to accept all of the people who want to vote. Nor are all people physically able to serve in the military.
The citizen thing goes without saying.
Glad the new dog is working out, thanks for the post.
To be clear (I hate that phrase), I didn't say that voters should have to be all three of those things. Any one should be sufficient. But at least one of them should be required in order to have a say in the direction of this country.
ReplyDeleteAnd yep...Murphy's working out just fine.
Hell, I'd go so far as to say that honorably finishing one term (whether by discharge - even an early honorable release like medicaled out of Basic, re-enlistment, or extension of existing obligation) of military service should be an automatic qualifier for immediate citizenship & franchise (unless subsequently stripped by conviction). Same thing for any combat vet, even if they haven't finished ther first contract yet.
ReplyDeleteI don't give a damn where you came from, how you got here, how long you've been here, or how old you are -- if you signed that IOU that reads, "Payable to the People of the United States, for the amount of anything up to and including my ass", you earned your citizenship and franchise.
As for welfare recipients, I like the franchise requirement I read in a Sci Fi novel -- pay at least ONE dollar more in taxes than you receive in unearned taxpayer funds. (Unearned, because an earned paycheck or compensation isn't "welfare". Not nonrefundable tax credits, because letting you keep your own money isn't "welfare".)
They asked Charlie Wilson -(R) Texas - what he did and why he was serving in the House of Representatives... [Tom Hanks played him in "Charlie Wilson's War"] ...Charlie - you're a Whiskey drinking man who loves chasing the floozies - should you be in the House? Answer: yes, Whiskey drinkin' poon-hounds need to be represented. So does the Ghetto, so do trailer parks & if anyone should be disenfranchised: Ivy League douche-bags & lawyers & College-educated twerps of all stripes. Go read a book... I recommend Finnegan's Wake by Joyce: she's my favorite writer. Also, the phony tough, the crazy brave, bloogers, the sick, lame, lazy, stupid, dumb & crazy and cops.
ReplyDeleteCops, Russell? Usually when people gratuitously start bashing cops, I start wondering when their last arrest was and what it was for. Just saying...
ReplyDeleteDang - that's disheartening. If Acorn just keeps the vans rolling, and the supply chain for MD 20/20 and Night Train flowing - the incumbent could have it in the bag.
ReplyDeleteCan't we at least get some old Tahoes and Crown Vics from the auto auction, let Earl Scheib paint them with INS and Parole Officer insignia, and circle the block around the polling places?
I'm definitely in the RAH camp on this. Citizens and residents.
ReplyDeleteBTW Russell. WTF is a blooger? Is it similar to a troll with one finger knuckle deep in his booger pit?
Good points, but I always put on my skeptical-face whenever one of those "look how ignorant ____ is" videos is played, whether it be Jay Leno trolling the streets, or Howard Stern, or the local news. Its so easy to edit out the interviews that don't support your theories that most competent video technicians can do it over their morning breakfast, and not even let their Cookie Crisp (tm) get soggy. So take those sorts of "polls" with a very VERY large grain of salt.
ReplyDeleteThat being said...yes...there should be some sort of requirements to enter the voting booth. Citizenship should be priority number one, and I agree that at least one other requirement must be met in order to check the ballot. Will it happen? Probably not. Too many bleeding hearts just waiting to get their underoos (tm) in a wad over "free speech" or "gestapo tactics" for anyone to ever seriously consider those steps. But the country, I fear, is at a point where only a very firm hand will ever get us steered back towards where the country needs to go. Unfortunately...that firm hand may need to be grasping a firearm at the time...