Sunday, November 9, 2014

Hey Assholes, No Vote is Ever Wasted

Sweet Lord, it's been way too long since we have added anything here. Being awesome takes up a lot of time, and in my case, it sometimes keeps me distracted. Well, have no fear - we're back!

Over the past several months, a lot has happened: ISIS/ISIL has taken over a large portion of Iraq, Scotland sadly did not vote in favor of independence from the UK, an Ebola outbreak started just in time for flu season sending everyone running for the nearest sterilized room, and the Republicans took control of the US Senate. Seats that should not have been won by the GOP were, or were damn close to being won.

Now, for those who have been reading our posts for a while, you know I lean libertarian. That does not mean however, that I always vote for a candidate from the Libertarian Party. I vote for whomever I feel is the best person for the job. Sometimes it is the third party candidate who gets my vote, however; a Republican or a Democrat can just as easily earn my vote if I believe they will best represent my views, and the district I reside in.

Currently, I live in northern Virginia and as such I had a choice this election to vote for the incumbent Mark Warner, who is a Democrat, the Republican candidate, Ed Gillespie, or Robert Sarvis, who ran as a Libertarian. Since there was no way in Hell I was going to vote for Warner, (Sen. Harry Reid had to be kicked out of his position as Senate Majority Leader), it was between Gillespie and Sarvis. In the end, Gillespie earned my vote because Sarvis, when he ran for governor of Virginia was possibly funded by Democrats and because I felt Gillespie was the best man for the job.

The votes were close between Warner and Gillespie, with Warner earning 1,071,282 votes, or, 49.16% of the total votes, and Gillespie earning 1,054,556 votes, or, 48.39% of the total votes cast. Less than 20,000 votes separated the two in a state President Obama defeated Gov. Romney by over 100,000 votes in the 2012 Presidential Election.

Ok, so what about Sarvis? How many votes did he earn? The Libertarian candidate received 53,396 votes, making some of the local radio personnel really, and I mean REALLY pissed off.

Every morning on my way into work I listen mainly to a radio show that deals with local, and national politics and has a pretty conservative slant to it. I listen to this particular station because the hosts are fairly entertaining and they have decent guests on during their program. The day after the election however, with Gillespie having lost, (he took a day or so to actually concede the election), the hosts sounded like whiny bitches, and when I say "bitches," I mean full on, head over their heels, whiny bitches.

While both hosts were complaining about the number of votes Sarvis earned from the voters, one in particular used his time on the radio to speak down to voters who called in stating why they voted for the Libertarian. "They wasted their vote," was a common theme and phrase used throughout the morning by the two radio hosts. The bigger of the two assholes would speak to their callers like he was a disapproving parent or teacher.

Sorry, dickhead, but we aren't your pupils, and we sure as hell aren't your kids. We are your listening public, and your show lives and dies from ads and ratings. Without listeners you get neither, and the way you acted on 5 November tells me you deserve neither.

No vote, and I mean NO vote that is cast is a wasted vote when the voter believes the candidate that receives their vote, earned it.

By now you may have noticed that I say votes are "earned," and that's because they are. No vote is deserved. I vote for the person who will best represent me in DC, or locally - it does not matter which party the candidate is affiliated with. Since I take a lot of time to be an educated voter, it really fucking pisses me off that some dipshits with a microphone think they can talk down to me and say I wasted my vote if I did not vote for who they supported.

Heeeey motherfuckers, this is America, land of the free, home of the brave. If you don't like voters having choices, or the whole voting process in general, I humbly suggest that you move to a country with an absolute monarchy - I hear Saudi Arabia is nice this time of year.

Bearders, and beardettes, voting is an important part of this country. It enables us to choose by popular vote, and the Electoral College during presidential elections, who represents us. If you feel that the person you vote for best represents you, it doesn't matter who you vote for. No vote cast is ever, and I mean EVER wasted.

Don't let turd-burglars let you think you wasted your vote because you voted for a third party or any other candidate for that matter that they did not support. I don't.