Don’t the American people deserve better than this?

by Dee Newman

No! We don’t!

Some of us do, but the overwhelming majority of us deserve what we’re getting. The truth is that most of us who are legally eligible to register and vote – don’t. According to the Pew Research Center:

Roughly the same proportions of self-identified Republicans and Democrats are regular voters ([only] 41% vs. 39%). But Democrats are more likely to be non-voters: 20% of Democrats say they are not registered to vote, compared with 14% of Republicans; among political independents, 27% say they are not registered to vote.

A registration gap also exists between liberals and conservatives, with 29% of self-described liberals saying they are not registered to vote compared with 20% of moderates and 17% of conservatives. However, there are only modest differences in the percentages of conservatives (38%), moderates (35%) and liberals (34%) who are regular voters.

Our excuses for not voting are lame. They range from – “no time” to “don’t care”; from – ignorance to lack of confidence in the process.

And, when we do vote, it is (all too often) for someone who consistently represents not our interests but those of the rich and powerful.

These facts clearly demonstrate that we are getting exactly what we deserve.

A dysfunctional government comes from a dysfunctional electorate.

And, as my daddy use to say, "if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten."