A study by Princeton and Northwestern universities shows that a small group of elite have control over the general population and the government only supports the rich and powerful while the masses have no say whatsoever. The 42 page report concludes "we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organizations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America's claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened."
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday April 17 2014, @10:28PM
Totally with you -- I voted for Jill Stein. In fact I won't vote for either a GOP or DNC candidate ever. I only vote third parties, or if there is none available, for my cat (*).
By the same token, I totally understand that what I'm doing is protest voting. Which is a valid use of one's vote, certainly more valid than voting for a "lesser evil" candidate because the fact is, you are still voting for evil. It's also better than staying home and getting lumped in with the apathetic. So I don't consider it a waste to vote for my cat or a third party candidate while it certainly would be a waste to vote for someone I hate only because he or she has a chance of winning. Still, I also recognize that until at least a third of the vote shows up as a protest vote like mine, the DNC and GOP won't care. If protest votes hit 20-30% though, they might start to cater to protest voters.
(*) If you want to vote for my cat, his name is "Boris" btw. "Boris the Cat" would be our best president ever -- he likes sleeping by a warm fire in the late fall/winter/early spring, and in a sunny spot during late spring/summer/early fall. That's about all he would do for 4 years besides eat and use the litter box.