Interesting opinion piece, although it does not contemplate the fact that people vote for many different reasons. It's a political fiction that everyone who votes for a party supports the entirety of the party's platform.
I'll highlight one section of the article that I didn't agree with at all.
Quote:
If you're voting to get free stuff – such as health care, education, welfare, etc. – don't vote, because you're responsible for the impending fiscal disaster. If you're voting just to vote, don't vote, because you're responsible for electing crooked politicians.
A new generation is rising up that has this idea in its collective mind that voting is inherently good. In reality, an uneducated vote cast is evil.
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Seems quite obviously elitist. Why
not vote to get free stuff? If a person is in a poor economic/social situation, why not vote for a person who might be able to change it? (Note that this comment is intended as theoretical, not as endorsement for Kerry or Bush. I have my doubts about whether either candidate has a meaningful idea that isn't connected to the economy or the foreign policy) A cynic would say that the return on a vote is in direct proportion to a person's power and the strength of his/her connection to the election winner.
It's also a pretty big logical leap to say the uneducated voter is responsible for "impending fiscal disaster" and "electing crooked politicians." That's a lot of power for one little vote. And last time I looked, the politicians set fiscal policy AND are responsible for whether or not they are crooked.