The ONE Political Post...

So, Super Tuesday came, and being the model citizen I am, I visited my local polling place and cast my vote. I am going to tell you who I voted for in a second. Let me first preface this by saying that this is the ONE SINGLE time I will post my political opinions on this blog. I don't want to demean anyone else's candidate or the voting process, or the right to vote that has been fought for and died for by men and women braver and better than I.

However, I believe the political system is flawed. Severely. Flawed.

I am not trying to shit on the country, or the great people in the country. What I am shitting on is the two party oligarchy known as our political system. I saw this photo posted on Slice of Humble's wall today:

Tyson/Nye have more intellect than everyone else on the ballot, combined.

Notice anything? I sure as hell did. I noticed that two sets of these candidates weren't even on my ballot. Were they on yours? Come to find out that there were a PLETHORA of candidates that weren't on some state's ballots. I'm sure it has been like this for a while, but this is the first time I've actually noticed....or cared to notice. 

So, my question is...why haven't we heard from these candidates in the mass media? All the politicians tout "informed voters", but how informed can we really be if we don't hear everyone's argument? I know that hearing EVERYONE would be time consuming, and impractical, but there is a Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, on pretty much every state's ballot. Why was he not at the debates? Why haven't I heard his platform? 

Sure, a lot of this falls on my shoulders for not following through and doing my homework. I accept that. What I can't accept is the fact that even if I DID do my homework, I might not have been able to vote for who I truly wanted to. I could have written in, but you get what I'm saying (I hope).

I tire of career politicians. I tire of mudslinging. I tire of dancing around during the campaign with no concrete platform or plan on how or what the candidates will do in office. If someone walked up to me with a docket full of answers and plans; if I agreed with them or not, I would have to give that candidate an advantage for being intelligent enough to put together a coherent plan. Sticking to it would prove another challenge....

Back to today's election. This brings me to share with you who I voted for. 

I wrote in Ron Swanson, a fictional character from the NBC sitcom, Parks and Recreation. 

Why on Earth would I "waste" my vote this way? Let me explain.

Neither of the two major donators candidates appealed to me. I didn't like many aspects of either of their campaigns. Swanson, however, as a FICTIONAL CHARACTER, exemplifies what *I* want in government....

"My idea of a perfect government is one guy who sits in a small room at a desk, and the only thing he's allowed to decide is who to nuke. The man is chosen based on some kind of IQ test, and maybe also a physical tournament, like a decathlon. And women are brought to him, maybe...when he desires them."

"I've been quite open about this around the office: I don't want this parks department to build any parks because I don't believe in government. I think that all government is a waste of taxpayer money. My dream is to have the park system privatized and run entirely for profit by corporations, like Chuck E. Cheese. They have an impeccable business model. I would rather work for Chuck E. Cheese."

So...I usually hate the "no vote is still a vote" malarky that some people espouse, but today, that is EXACTLY what I did. Chalk it up to a change in attitude, but I am disgusted by the whole political machine in this country. 

Again, this opinion is mine, and mine alone. If you don't agree, then that is your right. However, if you don't treat your fellow readers humans with respect regarding their opinions, then how do you expect them to respect yours?