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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 11/7/14

Tired of Voting While Holding Your Nose?

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Joseph Clifford
Message Joseph Clifford
Holding Nose While Voting
Holding Nose While Voting
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During the recent election many found themselves not liking either candidate, or voting for the lesser of two evils. People argue there is no real difference between the candidates and parties, save for social differences. On matters that pertain to all Americans, such as national health care, impunity and dominance of Wall Street, ending monopolies on cable and communications companies, endless war, the influence of money in elections, minimum wage, and a host of others, both parties really are no different, and voters vote with a clothespin on their nose, upset with their lack of meaningful choices.
Both parties have sold themselves by taking the same enormous sums of money from special interest groups and PAC's, so in fact, there is really no major difference. Congress has become irrelevant to most Americans as both parties no longer represent the average American, but do in fact cater to those represented by special interest groups and large donors. Unless you are very wealthy and donate large sums of campaign money, you are virtually unrepresented. A major study just confirmed what most of us already know. Unless you are represented by a powerful special interest group you have no voice, nor are you represented by your Congress person. You are voiceless, powerless, and have no representation.
The money game has reduced Congress to a brothel, and both parties are equally guilty. Neither party has really fought a meaningful battle to do away with the concept of money determining elections. Neither party has seriously attempted to legislate the money out of politics as they like the present system because they benefit by continually selling their souls, and yours, to special interest groups who really control your Congress. Big pharma, Wall Street, the military industrial complex, and large corporations get exactly what they want, while you are irrelevant. They pick the candidates and then attempt to create the illusion that you have some say with your vote, but that is nonsense, and that is why so many voters hold their collective noses in the voting booth. Both candidates are pawns of the moneyed.

Increasingly more and more voters are turned off, realizing their vote really does not matter and out of frustration ,refuse to vote in a sham election. This most recent election saw a turnout of approximately 35% which indicates a large majority of Americans refuse to participate in this sham.

We can however, force the system to offer real choices and thereby get more citizens to participate. Ralph Nader has once again offered a simple solution, and as in so many cases in the past, he is once again correct. Naturally he has been vilified and dismissed by corporate media which acts as a shill for the moneyed interests, but if you look at all the issues Mr. Nader has challenged, he is, and has been correct, despite what media has to say about him. His solution to this particular problem is a NOTA alternative for voters. It is simple and it forces the establishment to offer real choices to voters.

NOTA stands for none of the above. It is your opportunity to reject candidates put forward by the moneyed establishment and insure real issues are discussed. If "none of the above" receives a majority of the votes in any election, both contending candidates are rejected, the election is thrown out, and a new election must occur, with none of the rejected candidates eligible to run in the new election. This simple but effective measure would go a long way in restoring some sanity to the present fraudulent election system, and readers should consider working hard to institute it at their local level and allow it to work its way up to state and national elections. If we don't do this, who will?

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Joe Clifford lives in Rhode Island and has written a regular column for an online newspaper and has contributed many articles to various RI newspapers. His articles deal almost exclusively with American Foreign policy but ventures into other (more...)
 

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