What no one is talking about

[dampscribbler]

When it comes to this Republican primary, there's not much attention given to who is voting.  Guess what? Almost nobody is voting.  Which means each and every vote counts. A lot. 

There are approximately 240 million voting-age Americans. So far the primaries have counted votes from just about 3 million people.  In Colorado, where Santorum won, only just over 1% of the population of the state (including kids too young to vote) voted in the Republican primary.  I can't help but wonder whether we would get less-crazy candidates if more people were expected to vote.  

I'd really like to see more attention to this in the news. Why are so many of us letting so few choose who will have a chance at the most powerful position in the land? 

Comments

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

The thing about the primaries is you must be registered as a Republican to vote in the Republican primaries, just as you must be registered as a Democrat for the same, so that's part of the reason why there's a smaller total.

Many voters won't bother with the primary, preferring to wait for the general election, but you're right. When it comes to knowing who the candidate is going to be, it's imperative to vote early. Otherwise, you're left with whoever won the most primaries!

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

I'm having a hard time articulating my concern because my attention is really supposed to be somewhere else today, but I am troubled by the whole way that things are being done, I see our choices becoming fewer and not adequately reflecting the real concerns of the MAJORITY of Americans -- like job creation and maintaining or improving our own standard of living.

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

Well the system designed to elect is totally out of whack. The fact that we only have two viable parties means we really don't have much choice. the Republican voters will vote GOP and the Democrats will vote for the Democratic candidate.

So, in order to get the other side interested, they moderate their position... a Leftist Republican. A Right Leaning Democrat. And of course there's all the unregistered voters that wind up tipping the balance.

The choices ARE becoming fewer; that's by design. From my point of view, the Republicans have a serious agenda to leave all of the lower and most of the middle class in the gutter. If that isn't their agenda, then they are just being incredibly thoughtless.

But there is one thing the Democrats and the Republicans will always agree upon: neither side wants a viable third party.

[dampscribbler.livejournal.com]

Terrible. :(

[writerjenn.livejournal.com]

The other problem is the order of the primaries. I live in a state where the outcome of the primaries is almost always decided before we even get to the polls. And so I rarely vote in primaries (though I ALWAYS vote in the general election). If I lived in New Hampshire, I'd be all over that primary since it's so early, they actually get more of a choice!