Go Get The Government You Deserve
Posted November 3rd, 2008 by Howard TaylerIt has been said that in a democracy the voters get the government they deserve. Ah, aphorisms. So touching, so simplistic…
Still, if you want something to happen, vote for it. If you want something to not happen, vote against it. Vote your conscience. Vote your inspiration. Vote your ideals. Vote your hopes, your dreams, and your passions.
Don’t let the big picture scare you. Act locally, and vote for wise people with integrity on your city and county councils. Vote courageously. Vote out of the love for your neighbors, community, and nation, not out of the fear nor hate you’ve been shown in campaign ads. And don’t forget that you’re voting for people, rather than those aggregate monsters of compromise we call “parties.”
Yes, this timely public service announcement mostly applies to citizens of these great United States of America. Netizens from other great nations looking for something positive to do today need look no further than the button under Tuesday’s strip. Because you know that donating to your favorite webcomic is also a vote of sorts. You’re saying “keep on doing it,” and rest assured, I will. I’m not sure you’re going to get the comic you deserve (because someone as generous, wise, and tasteful as yourself must be very, very deserving), but I’ll keep working hard to make it the best comic I can.
Just as soon as I’m done voting.
Explore posts in the same categories: Politics, Public Service
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:31 pm
i’ve already voted, with the vermont freemans oath firmly in mind. i’ve heard some fancy promises about “sharing the wealth” but my vote is NOT for sale.
“gunner”
http://www.usconstitution.net/vtconst.html#Section42
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Tomorrow will be the first Presidential election I’ll be eligible to vote in. I’m very excited (even though my state is VERY much decided already…unlike our neighbor to the south).
Thank you for the PSA, Howard.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:38 pm
With the firm belief in mind that I have the CHOICE to vote, not the responsibility, nor the obligation, nor the duty, I have made MY choice. I have made the CHOICE to NOT vote, having considered my choices for the leader of this country, and found all of them wanting. Even you, my dear web cartoonist, without any political experience short of entertaining the masses, would make a better president than the current pool of candidates, in my opinion.
Let’s hear it for Howard for President in 2012!
-Ambush
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I’m all for fiscal responsibility myself. It’s disheartening, though, because nobody seems to be willing to raise taxes and cut spending. That’s the only way to dig out of national debt. More taxes, and less services for those tax dollars. Or less taxes and NO services. That would work, too.
Or, you know, we could just foist the whole mess off on our kids. They’ll be able to use their Certified Green Flying Car mortgage-a-trons to print money on tree leaves. From the moon.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Oops. I just lost the 2012 race by announcing I’ll be raising taxes and cutting services.
@Ambush: Please vote for local folks, at least. Abstaining from voting in the presidential election is one thing, but usually in local politics you can empower the causes and the people who will make a difference in your day-to-day life.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Make that “any political experience ‘that we know of’ “
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:43 pm
I guess I can vote locally. I know most of the people personally.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
@Howard: New ideas always scare people but sometimes work in the end. Look at the great inventors and minds of history. Tesla, both Patton and Rommel, multiple artists in history; Ben Franklin. All amazing minds. :P News ideas that work in the end, but scared the crap out of people at first. And raised taxes scare people. Fear breeds anger. Cut the services to raise money to be able to pay the people that the services employed. Am I the only person this makes sense to?
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:43 pm
I vote, because I don’t care if they get the government they deserve.
I, however, DO NOT WANT the government they deserve.
For future reference, primaries are more important. If the people on the ballot don’t appeal to you, see that other people get on the ballot next time.
Of course, at one level, voting is rather pointless. No matter how you vote, a politician is going to win.
Instead…VOTE FOR ME! http://www.MadMikeIn08.com (shameless self-serving not endorsed by Howard Tayler…that I know of)
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I voted yesterday (absentee ballot). Sadly, for the most part, I voted against candidates I don’t want running my country. I had a plitical science teacher who said he always voted against the incumbent, because he believed in spreading the graft around.
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:48 pm
I already mailed in my absentee ballot. I’m not saying who I voted for but at least I voted.
Ona
November 4th, 2008 at 12:27 am
When we do not have to vote anymore, we’ll have democracy. In the meantime, we have an elective monarchy with popular representation, just like the rest of the world.
Yes: a monarchy.
Elections are a monarchic principle: they are made to choose the one guy that will manage things in the people’s place (instead of the democratic principle of the people managing its own affairs). Historically, all the monarchies in the world were started with an election. Hugh Capet, starting the long line of french kings ? Elected. Pepin the Short, father of Charlemagne who first united Europe since the roman Empire ? Elected. Arnulf of Carinthia who took over the East part of the former’s empire ? Elected. Conrad the Younger, founder of Germany ? Elected. The Holy German Emperors were all elected, and so were the kings of Bohemia and many other East Europe kingdoms, over and over for centuries.
Also, keep in mind that your voting for one of the candidates makes you directly responsible for this candidate’s actions during their mandate, if elected. Should he start a war or keep the War on Drugs going or pilfer everyone’s retirement savings, you will be guilty of the resulting mass-murders, constitutional rights violations and thefts.
That’s why I won’t vote, and why you shouldn’t either.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Above all, DON’T waste your vote. There are millions of people in the world who don’t get the chance to have any say in their government, through voting, either because they simply don’t have a chance to voter or because their government goes through the motions of an election but ignores the result.
so PLEASE don’t refuse to vote. Sure, it’s likely that all the candidates will be found wanting in some respect, none of us is perfect. But of a bad bunch, there will still be “not so bad” and “worse”, even if there’s no “good”. So go decide which is the least bad candidate, but don’t waste that vote – in the UK and the US we’re lucky, we have some chance that by voting we can actually change the outcome.
and remember what Heinlein said (dunno if it was original): Democracy is far from perfect, but it’s about the best system we’ve got.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:41 am
I think your aphorism is a paraphrase of a quote from H.L. Mencken: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”
All I know is, I’ve had another quote of his on my fridge for the last eight years:
“When a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental — men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand. So confronted, the candidate must either bark with the pack or be lost… All the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum. The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
And to think, that was written in 1920…
November 4th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Oh, BTW, mean to add: I don’t need desktop wallpaper, I have Xplanet for that. But I could use a new mouse mat, rule 37 is gettin’ a bit shabby. I don’t think white works on mousemats here any better than it does on T shirts, for me – gets dirty too quickly.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Jesrad, you are right. If you vote for someone, you are responsible for their actions if they win. However, if you don’t vote at all you are DOUBLY responsible for the winner’s actions because you had a chance to have your voice be heard and you chose to remain silent. What an absolute and utter cop-out your attitude is. “The winner might do something bad, so I’ll just abdicate my civic responsibility.” If you don’t take part in the process, don’t bitch when something happens that you don’t like.
“I used to be disgusted, now I’m just amused…” The Amused Geek
http://www.amusedgeek.blogspot.com
November 4th, 2008 at 1:22 am
Personally, I agree with the late George Carlin. I’d cite samples, but
as it’s George Carlin, there’s no way it would pass the Family-
Friendly Test.
So I will simply direct y’all to Youtube (or any search engine of your
choice), with the search terms “George Carlin” and “voting”, and let
y’all sort it out for yourselves.
Meanwhile, I’m going to listen to Mike and the Mechanics’s “Silent
Running”, followed by Genesis’s “Land Of Confusion”. And not
because they both feature Mike Rutherford….
November 4th, 2008 at 1:36 am
I cast my eighth Presidential vote two weeks ago. First time in my life I voted for a “major party” candidate. Took an hour in the shower before I felt decent again but this time seems important enough to vote for someone who has a ghost of a chance.
If nothing else, if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to grouse about the outcome and since I’m a chronic complainer, I’m also a chronic voter.
Who knows, someday I’ll get the government I think I deserve.
Not this time certainly, but someday.
D.
November 4th, 2008 at 7:22 am
This is the first time I know of where both candidates are the WORST their party had to offer. I do not want a Socialist or an near Socialist as a President. However, given the choices we have, I will settle for a near Socialist. Less is more.
Also, Howard, it has been shown that lowering taxes always brings in more to the government. Raising taxes just hurts everybody. However, I am all for cutting spending. We are way out of control when it comes to spending and both parties are to blame right now. If it were up to me I would cancel everything the government is paying for and then let them all resubmit for their funds, only the people get to vote on what gets approved.
If you can’t convince the country you deserve a billion dollars to study the mating habits of south American giant snails then you can go try and get someone to fund your little endeavor in the private sector.
AND STOP TRYING TO ENSLAVE THE PEOPLE THROUGH SOCIAL PROGRAMS!
November 4th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Sorry, lost it there in the end.
Go out and vote. It really does matter.
November 4th, 2008 at 7:47 am
I come from a country where voting isn’t a right, it’s a responsibility – so my views will be a little warped from the standard American ones. (heck we set up polling booths in prisons, since if your sentence is under 3 years you are entitled to vote.)
But not voting seems a huge cop out to me. Of course that voting day is on a weekday instead of on the weekend, and seems to take hours if the news reports are anything close to a reasonable sample (which of course is never the case – they report the extremes since they are interesting).
If you truly think all the candidates are political hacks with no interest in anything but furthering their careers. Or both are the same – in this cycle both seem to want magnify the current economic woes as much as they can.
* Vote for a third party – of course there probably isn’t one who doesn’t hold a position you hate in some area.
* Write in someone you think would make a good person for the position.
* Vote for whichever main party candidate isn’t from the incumbent party. Churn is good thing all in itself.
* Run for office yourself.
* Vote for whomever has at least one position you agree with and send them a message saying that’s the only reason you did so.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:54 am
I would love to vote, but as a mere legal permanent resident I’m not allowed to. However, everyone that’s a citizen SHOULD be voting.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:37 am
I, for one, am a big supporter of the ‘purple ink’ voting method. I was able to vote last week, and I would love to be able to proudly hold up my ink stained finger.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:56 am
@Austin: To give credit where it is due, that quote is attributed to Winston Churchill, and even he starts it off with saying “It has been said…” so obviously someone else said it before him. :)
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”
–Winston Churchill
November 4th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Democracy is a great way to run a small business with a board of directors. Everybody votes on everything, there are maybe half a dozen items of business at each meeting, and then everybody goes home.
Democracy, the pure, everybody votes on everything sort, is a horrible way to run anything the size of a city or larger. Eventually the citizens abdicate, and you end up with a representative republic, which is what we currently have.
We do NOT have an “elected monarchy.” That’s conflagratory rhetoric of the worst sort there, Jesrad. Monarchs don’t get voted out of office. Elected officials, representatives, executives, councilmen, mayors, and the like all DO get voted out of office. Or even impeached between elections.
Here in the United States we choose people to represent us, and to make decisions on our behalf — even if they’re not the same decisions we would have made. This is why it’s so critical to vote for men and women with character, whom we trust with those decisions.
And if we stop trusting them, or feel their decisions do not remotely represent us, we vote to replace them.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I cast my…um…4th national vote about 3 weeks ago (by absentee ballot), and my first as ‘citizen-soldier’. I in no way represent the entirety of the 1% who have sworn to “support and defend” the ideals this nation stands for, but I know my opinion is shared by many. And that is exactly what I did. I swore an oath to -ideals- not a person (Moncarch/Dictator). Whether or not -you- agree with everything that our government does, (and NO, btw, I don’t either) I DO belive it is better than the alternatives (’broken’ as the system might be). Take Howard’s advice, the only way to fix this system is to remain active in it.
Vote…I work to enable you to do so.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
An excellent point, Howard. For all our talk about democracy, we do indeed live in a representative republic. I don’t _want_ to vote on every little decision that affects me. I want to vote for capable people who can handle the day-to-day stuff.
Invariably, I find some issue or position on my ballot on which I decline to vote because I honestly have no opinion. Best to leave such matters to those who do have opinions. But for most issues and positions I do indeed have opinions, and the electorate is entitled to said opinions.
If my choices for the various positions win, I am quite certain that each one will do something with which I disagree. But we’re not voting for perfection; we’re voting for people. And by consistently voting for the best available, we give ourselves a fighting chance to approach the asymptote of perfection.
–GS
November 4th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Republic is better than total democracy imo. Athens was basically a total democracy and look what happened to them (ouch). But if you don’t vote I think you are hurting the most free place in the world. Not a FREE country, but the most free. Ya this is my first time voting, and I waited TWO FREAKING HOURS to vote, but it was cool.
Anyway, as far as taxes go…flat tax of 10%, the numbers are cool, and it better than what there is now…
GO VOTE
November 4th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I voted for the Libertarian candidate. No chance at all of Bob Barr winning because the media is more biased against the LP than they are the GOP.
“Don’t blame me. I voted Libertarian!” will be my answer to any complaints about whomever wins.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
In my view, representative government is one offshoot of occupational specialization in society. You cannot expect all citizens to acquire the knowledge needed to decide all of the more specific issues that a legislature handles. It’s far easier to brief the few hundred representatives and let them decide.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
ambushtheimp, I agree with sholden. Refusing to vote is a bad way to do it. I did what bizzybody did. I voted Bob Barr. In fact, Bob Barr, LEGALLY, was the only presidential candidate that was supposed to be on the Texas ballot.
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/EL/content/htm/el.011.00.000192.00.htm – go down to 192.031, and read the bit about when the parties have to file their candidate nomination with the Secretary of State’s office. (This year, that was August 27th. The Democratic primary ended on August 28th, the Republican primary ended September 4th. Without a time machine, there was no way to make the August 27th deadline)
However, the Secretary of State allowed them to be on the ballot – while other states have held independent parties off of the ballot for the same reasons. There was a suit to have them taken _off_ of the ballot, but the State Supreme Court refused to hear the case, and refused to give a reason why not. Hopefully someone will get some courage and arrest the Sec. of State. There may be no punishment for violating that law, but that doesn’t excuse them from doing so :)
In any case, throwing your wasted vote (that’s what it is if you don’t go) at _any_ third party is a way to save it. It shows that you don’t like _either_ of the mainstream candidates in such a way that it is actually _counted_. (I think we should have two additional options on all ballots. 1) “None of the above is acceptable” and 2) “Vote Against” – which would void out a vote from someone else for that candidate.
My parents _ran_ one of the polls for this election (they do it often). My mother apparently commented that a _lot_ of people came in, stood just long enough to vote for a president, and then _left_. They took no time to look at the other things up for election. They weren’t just ’straight party’ votes, because they got a count on that one, and more people were in and out than could be associated with the number of straight party votes.
With the new electronic machines, I’d also like to see a blurb about the people running for office – even if they wrote it themselves, and just had it vetted for factual accuracy. That would help a lot of people make up their minds about who to vote for, instead of seeing a list of random names and jobs.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Democracy is 4 wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
Republicanism is a well-armed sheep.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Obama won. McCain conceded
November 4th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
You know guys, if you’re complaining about how crappy the choices are…you DO realize that’s you dang fault for not being around to vote them off the ticket, right?
No matter which way you cut it, the US is a democracy – if there are stupid politicians in DC, then you didn’t do your job. Or, if you DID, well, then that says something about you, too. Doesn’t it? :p
November 4th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Raising taxes and cutting services only works if the taxes were on the low side of the revenue maximum. Cutting services is important, though: if you’re spending more on services than the ideal “revenue maximum” you’re never going to get out of the hole no matter how much you raise taxes.
November 4th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I voted for Kodos.
I also suggested a proposition that the U.S. go back to being a colony of the UK, but it didn’t make the ballot.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
After serving in the military, I know the price of freedom…which isn’t free. As a citizen, our right to vote is a special privilege that too many take lightly. I was proud to see so many people out there today voting. It makes my loss of blood worth it. Now even though I may not agree with the outcome (as it stands now), I can at least say with confidence that if it turns out badly in the end, we will be able to vote again down the road.
Freedom is the right of all, but it certainly isn’t free. As long as we have a voice, we will be strong. God bless America, and may God bless us all. And thanks Howard for you PSA. I know you get it, and you have yet again gained more cool points in my book.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Econniff:
“you DO realize that’s you dang fault for not being around to vote them off the ticket, right”
I don’t know about the Dem side, but over on the republican side there was some chicanery involving Jack Thompson and McCain which put McCain in a substantial (but not mathematically certain) lead over Mitt Romney, who IIRC, was otherwise gaining ground quickly. For some reason, Romney took this as a sign to bow out graciously. He may or may not have been a better choice, but that choice was taken away from republican voters early in the election season.
Also, there’s the additional problem on both sides of the aisle (and probably the less-spoken-of “3rd” sides as well) of people voting in opposing primaries.
Frankly, I think the whole “primary” system needs to be seriously examined.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
What helped Obama a bunch is the media were calling the outcome in various States as their polls closed, but while the polls were still open in States further west.
Even that supposedly “right wing” FOX News Channel instantly called it for Obama before even 1% of the California vote was counted.
There’s still two or three States with less than 50% of their tallies reported, as of 11 PM Mountain Time. There’s even one State FOX has called for Obama even though at last report there was less than 50% in and the difference was in the hundreds.
A ban on such early predictions couldn’t touch the online pundits, but they’re still a brine shrimp in the ocean compared to the giants of TV news and the newspapers.
A Presidential candidate should not be allowed to concede or accept the win until 100% of all the votes are counted. When McCain called Obama, there was still a slim chance of another ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ election.
P.S. I’m a native of Idaho, proudly the birthplace of almost the first woman to be elected Vice President. “Palin / Someone 2012!” ;)
November 4th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Zippthorne: You mean Fred Thompson rather than Jack Thompson, I hope. :)
Jesrad: Your argument is somewhat akin to saying “All the Tsars of Russia respired. They inhaled and exhaled! ALL OF THEM! Therefore, breathing is a tool of imperialism.”
And elections were going on a looooong time before the Holy Roman Empire and its elector counts. Athens did have elections, you know. :)
November 4th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
I would rather people who voted were AWARE of the issues they were voting for rather than just picking names at random. It took me four minutes to vote today. The lines for the electronic voting machines were long, and it was because people had no idea what the issues were before even going to the machine. I heard things like ‘Honey, how do we feel about proposition 8?’ There were three things I abstained for voting, and they were members of my local city council because I didn’t know enough about any of the candidates to be able to offer an informed opinion. Quite frankly, I’m in favor of people only voting for what they know about, and not just randomly marking names r measures that sound good.
Basically, if one chooses to be ignorant of the issues, not voting is probably the best way to go.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Glad Obama won, however, in response to everyone’s comments to me since my last post, I did go out and vote, and I wrote in my great grand father for kicks. He’s 93 years old and served with General Patton in World War II. He’d smack Obama, punch McCain, seduce Palin and Mrs Obama, then have a good solid scotch with some of his friends over the entire affair, all the while he’d win the election. LOL. If he was even slightly political. Which he’s not.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
… in response to everyone’s comments to me since my last post, I did go out and vote, and I wrote in my great grand father for kicks.
And THAT is change I can believe in.
[rimshot]
Goodnight everybody!
November 5th, 2008 at 12:23 am
“If you don’t take part in the process, don’t bitch when something happens that you don’t like.”
I certainly don’t bitch. I just shoot back. Y’always have but the rights y’ready to stand for.
“Athens did have elections, you know.”
Look up on Clisthene. Democracy has nothing to do with elections.
“After serving in the military, I know the price of freedom…which isn’t free. ”
And has nothing to do with elections at all. Lots of tyrannies around the (third-)world have elections, and little to no freedom. Anyway, enjoy your 21st century, the century where voting gets so utterly confused with democracy and freedom, that it’ll just be a repeat of the 20th.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Allandaros:
You sayin’ I mixed up my “Thompsons I [the-opposite-of-admire]?”
This is why you only use the last name on Jeopardy…
November 5th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Zippthorne: No worries. But the way it goes, I’d much rather see Fred Thompson have a national voice instead of Jack Thompson. I’m not thrilled with Fred, but Jack… *shiver*
Jesrad: Do you maybe want to explain what the heck you’re defining democracy AS? Since you seem to have set aside the whole “populace voting on issues/for candidates” and replaced it with…something.
So if you could go ahead and explain what you’re considering “democratic,” and how elections clearly blow that all to hell, I’d be obliged.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
@ambushtheimp: Your Greatgrandfather and my father served in the same war; you’re old enough to vote and my son isn’t.
Damn, I just felt REALLY old for the first time.
D.
November 5th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
ambushtheimp – GOOD! You at least got out there and registered your vote.
Dev Dot Nul – that makes me wonder about how old you were before you got married :)
November 6th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
20 years and nine days younger than I am today Bookworm. That, and I’m still younger than Tagon.
D.
November 8th, 2008 at 9:58 am
I was going to vote liberterian. But my father died suddenly on October 30th, 5 days before the election, so I instead voted the way he expressed his vote.