Only 9% of America Chose Trump and Clinton as the Nominees

[TheRabidDeer]

For many it can be difficult to make the effort of going out to vote, and most probably don't know how to vote by mail. This is especially true when it feels like your vote really doesn't matter. I mean you want people to take a day off of work when they probably need the money and thus need to be working to go out and vote when a large majority of cases the vote will mean almost nothing?

The parties should do a better job of helping people vote by mail if they really want people to vote more.

[Lylandra]

Don't you have to be a member of one of the partys in order to choose a corresponding candidate?

[Gorgodeus]

Don't you have to be a member of one of the partys in order to choose a corresponding candidate?

No.

/10chars

[Huehuecoyotl]

I have nobody running who really represents me. I still vote because I'd be an idiot not to.

“It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see..."
"You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?"
"No," said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, "nothing so simple. Nothing anything like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."
"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."
"I did," said Ford. "It is."
"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't people get rid of the lizards?"
"It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."
"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"
"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."
"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"
"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?"
"What?"
"I said," said Ford, with an increasing air of urgency creeping into his voice, "have you got any gin?"
"I'll look. Tell me about the lizards."
Ford shrugged again.
"Some people say that the lizards are the best thing that ever happenned to them," he said. "They're completely wrong of course, completely and utterly wrong, but someone's got to say it."
"But that's terrible," said Arthur.
"Listen, bud," said Ford, "if I had one Altairian dollar for every time I heard one bit of the Universe look at another bit of the Universe and say 'That's terrible' I wouldn't be sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.”

― Douglas Adams, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

[Lylandra]

It varies by state. I live in Michigan and we can vote for whoever we want without having to register with the party, but you can only vote in one party's primary. In some other states, you either have to be registered with the party and in some instances they forgo the primary in favor of a caucus.

In fact, this site seems to summarize what's required to participate in the primary or caucus state by state.

Ah okay... it makes more sense that you can only vote for one candidate of one party for otherwise you could screw up the other party's nomination by voting for some idiot. Still a whole different system from those nominations in Europe where the parties decide internally on whom to nominate.

[Deletedaccount1]

Local voting definitely has a more immediate effect, but the president has the power to move and deny bills that affect the entire nation. True, too many people give all the praise and blame to the president. I call those ignorant and susceptible to scapegoating.

In the end, don't think that your vote does not matter.

It really doesn't effect me though no matter who is president. When I lived in the states, I didn't do drugs, I already owned my house, I already had my student debt payed for, I already had a job that was immune to a changing economy and I lived in an area free of crime.

Talking about politics is more just a thing of entertainment for me since it really doesn't change my life in any measurable way.

[Demoncrash]

Man i really hope Trump wins. And if he does, you can pretty much lock Kanye in for 2020.

[Tempguy]

You get a choice between two candidates.

Dude. If you wanna backtrack and go back to the beginning of the convo, I will just quote myself for you.

That's stupid. What choice do we have?

Pick which of these republicans. Or pick one of these democrats. Or try for the third option that never wins.

Glad my voice was heard on this matter. What's that? I can't even pick from the pre selected lot until I choose a side? Well fuck me.

Well, them's the brakes. You have to deal with things the way they are. Bitching and claiming "moral high ground to abstain from voting" in the end just means you get railroaded into a choice you didn't want no matter what.

Oh, I get it.

"Shut the fuck up and deal with it."

That's all you had to say. Don't know why you're trying to pretty it up. So if that is all you wanted top say then why the hell are you even talking to me? I'm not gonna stop. Not unless you change the law to strip away free speech. until then, you just sit there and deal with my bitching.

Them's the brakes.

Also, I never said shit about not voting. I said the system is fucked since you really have no choice in the matter.

Learn to read damnit. If some of you would take less time to try and be edgy and talk trash, and a bit more reading and understanding what someone wrote, half the dumb arguments would cease and we could have some kind of reasonable discussion.

Shut up and deal, HA! Dude is telling me to stop bitching on a forum. Like we are all supposed to hold hands and agree with each other here. Hilarious.

[Malfecto]

To OP:

The 95% should have gotten off their lazy asses and voted in the primaries or participated in caucuses. That 8% is just under or about the same number that voted in the 2008 primaries. Your post makes no sense.

Also, independents don't caucus or have primaries. If you want to make a difference get behind the independent candidate of your choice. You could also demand that they drop the 15% poll number needed for debate so your independent could get as much air time as the party candidates.

You always have a choice.

[Sinyc]

Thought this was interesting;

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...d-clinton.html

Only 9% of the population of the US were behind choosing Clinton and Trump as the choices for president this election. Of course, that includes all the children and other people who can't vote, and the huge number of people (almost half of the total population) who could, but chose not to vote.

9% chose the nominees, and the choice of only around 4-5% will become the president. The rest 95% will just have to go along with it.

Why not find a statistic based on % of ELIGIBLE voters?

Also, just because people are too lazy to vote doesn't invalidate the opinion/choice of those that took the time to actually vote.

[Elegiac]

Talking about politics is more just a thing of entertainment for me since it really doesn't change my life in any measurable way.

Bully for you, some of us don't have that luxury.

[Annoying]

Don't you have to be a member of one of the partys in order to choose a corresponding candidate?

Yeah, I couldn't vote for either. I'm a registered I, and we have closed primaries.

To OP:

The 95% should have gotten off their lazy asses and voted in the primaries or participated in caucuses. That 8% is just under or about the same number that voted in the 2008 primaries. Your post makes no sense.

Also, independents don't caucus or have primaries. If you want to make a difference get behind the independent candidate of your choice. You could also demand that they drop the 15% poll number needed for debate so your independent could get as much air time as the party candidates.

You always have a choice.

That 15% rule is a load of crap, IMO. If you're registered to be on the ballot in all 50 states, you should be in the debates.

[Elegiac]

You show me a western country that isn't trying to kill itself with "progressive" ideals, and I will greatly consider moving. I may not like or trust the government but at least there's enough people who are a few steps away from fighting back here.

I like how you specify "western".

Hint: Maybe there's a correlation between a developed standard of living and 'progressive' ideals.

[Elegiac]

I specify western because I don't want to live in a country I would have trouble speaking the language of and being western means that it would be also a small slide of culture instead of getting used to something extremely different.

So you speak all of the major Romance languages then?

Also you're semi correct as western society is the only society that are hell bent on diluting and destroying their own culture.

This isn't remotely true.

[Elegiac]

Are you truly implying that English is ignored and not at all spoken across the western countries? I'm not saying I wouldn't learn the local language, however till I did there would be enough people who speak English that I could get by.

Then you should be just as happy in India, for example.

Citation needed.

You're the one claiming that they are doing so, burden's on you bub.

[Malfecto]

That 15% rule is a load of crap, IMO. If you're registered to be on the ballot in all 50 states, you should be in the debates.

Preaching to the choir. I can understand when there are 10 or 15 candidates, but in the General if you are on the ballot, you should be in the debate. They should have them all on CSPAN and fuck the networks.

[Elegiac]

Except they have a vile culture where women can be imprisoned for being raped....

Seems like progressivism is good for something, then.

Just a quick few points that only the western societies are really doing.

1) Doing nothing to stop "safe space" bullshit
2) Promoting "safe space" bullshit
3) Attempting to create race wars with the police shooting.
4) Ignoring multiple stories of black on white violence.
5) Ignoring all of the anti-christian things that started with and were created by the gay marriage and promoted the idea that obviously you're a bigot if you didn't like it.
6) Promoting syrian refugees and calling you a bigot if you point out how bad and flawed this idea is.
7) Promoting the false idea that rape culture is a thing in western societies.
8) Promoting regressive feminist ideals (not saying all feminist ideals are regressive, but the only ones we really hear much about are.)
9) Not closing all borders and fixing internal problems in all western countries before letting more in.
10) The Failure that is the EU.

1 and 2) 'Safe space' is the modern term for 'support group', this isn't a new or remotely harmful phenomenon.
3) How does racial tension in the US equate to 'western countries' in general destroying themselves? Moreover, this wouldn't be an issue if there wasn't systemic discrimination in the first place.
4) Nobody is 'ignoring' this.
5) What 'anti-christian' things are these? I daresay you'll find non-Western countries vastly more hostile to Christianity.
6) If not a bigot, an inhumane dickhead.
7) How is this 'destroying culture'.
8) This is more a problem with you paying too much attention to sensationalist media.
9) Primarily because one of said problems is a low native birthrate which can only be solved with, you guessed it, immigration.
10) Again, how is this 'destroying culture'.

[Deleted]

Seems like progressivism is good for something, then.



1 and 2) 'Safe space' is the modern term for 'support group', this isn't a new or remotely harmful phenomenon.
3) How does racial tension in the US equate to 'western countries' in general destroying themselves? Moreover, this wouldn't be an issue if there wasn't systemic discrimination in the first place.
4) Nobody is 'ignoring' this.
5) What 'anti-christian' things are these? I daresay you'll find non-Western countries vastly more hostile to Christianity.
6) If not a bigot, an inhumane dickhead.
7) How is this 'destroying culture'.
8) This is more a problem with you paying too much attention to sensationalist media.
9) Primarily because one of said problems is a low native birthrate which can only be solved with, you guessed it, immigration.
10) Again, how is this 'destroying culture'.

Where are you from?

[iceberg265]

I wonder what the % would have been if all the Sanders votes that were purged and/or ignored were counted.

Another part of the problem is the closed primary system. If the parties don't want independents voting in their primaries, they should not expect their votes in the general.

[Elegiac]

Where are you from?

Oz. Obviously.

- - - Updated - - -

This Behavior has never been acceptable in western society.

Lol, what? Modern western society, mayhap.

1&2) This is harmful as it lets people live in a false idea that the world is safe and people need to cave to their special snowflake wants and needs.
3)By literally trying to start a god damned race war, and you're right about the systemic racism as affirmative action and tax breaks for minorities creates low incentives to hire white people, especially white males.
4) Except they are, just look at any time someone even posts about something like that happening here, several people jump on the dindunuffin bandwagon including a very specific moderator that starts with an E and ends with ndus.
5) Churchs that allow people outside their church to get married in them are being forced to allow gays to get married in them now, and if they refuse they get horrifically fined and shut down, all the damned cake stories, etc. Roughly anything "Christian" was heavily targeted by that "movement"
6) Because allowing people into a nation and suddenly the crimes and rapes go up significantly by these "refugees" are obviously just bad luck and chance.
7) By promoting this idea you're demonizing men further and creating needless rifts among genders.
8) Still a valid point since the majority of people get their news from idiot news stations that sensationalize things instead of actually reporting the news, eg huffington post.
9) Maybe they should work on promoting that instead of watering down western culture with waves of immigrants that have no want to actually become like those in the country and instead hold fast to their previous country's ideals.
10) By making the western nations weaker it leaves it open and easier to fall. How would you even say it's helping culture?

1+2) Again, no. Safe spaces exist precisely -because- people acknowledge the world can be a very harsh place and sometimes people need to take a break. Clearly the only knowledge you possess of 'safe spaces' is via a sensationalist media.
3) White males don't seem to have a problem getting into privileged position, so.
4) You're mistaken; they're pointing out 'but but, black on black crime' is a deflection and not relevant to the problem of police brutality.
5) This is false, churches are not being forced to marry anyone. As for the cake stores, they cannot selectively discriminate on the basis of religion. This applies to -any- religion, or any store.
6) Sounds like you just suck at integrating new immigrants.
7) 'Rape culture' does not demonize men, it demonizes an apologetic media.
8) Again, that's your problem.
9) Natalist policies only go so far, short of forcing women to have children. Moreover, fresh blood is necessary to keep a culture dynamic.
10) Largely because if it weren't for the EU languages like Breton and Basque would be extinct, and local industries would have been overtaken by a globalised corporate scene.