Listen up, I'm tired of hearing about the Koch Brothers and the constant talk about how they're trying to take over the country. Just today, the grifters over at Being Liberal posted some image complaining about the Kochs, ignoring or oblivious to the fact that there are a number of billionaires out there including liberals like Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg who are dumping money into the political process.
In Florida, the medical marijuana legalization issue was a proxy battle between millionaire trial lawyer John Morgan and Sheldon Adelson over the control of the governor's mansion. Yet, I don't think I have heard a single person on the left raise one bit of opposition or mention of the money coming in when it's from Steyer, Bloomberg, Morgan or others.
The fact of the matter is that no matter how much money is poured into an election, at the end of the day, it's who gets off their ass and votes - and the numbers tell the story. Let's look at the Florida turnout by county.
Orange County 43.23%
Osceola County 41.27%
Miami-Dade 40.67%
These are probably the most liberal counties in Florida, and even on the issue of legalizing medical marijuana AND getting rid of Rick Scott, not even half of the voters showed up. Yet, across the country, older and more conservative voters did - but my generation and younger didn't.
Voters turned out in 2008 and 2012 to vote for President Obama, and then sat on their asses during the mid-terms either out of apathy, or because they don't have a fucking clue how the government works. Guess what, the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson poured a shit ton of money into those elections but they still couldn't keep President Obama from winning.
Nothing replaces voting, nothing. If you don't vote, you can't complain about voter suppression and other excuses for your fucking apathy and laziness. What's the use of early voting or mail in ballots if you don't use them? No wonder the older generation thinks we're stupid and lazy.
Amen. And speaking as one of that "Older Generation" (59 here), I find it puzzling that I can manage to vote from overseas just fine but someone a few blocks from a polling place can't seem to manage it. If you're that freaking lazy, vote absentee, FFS.
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