2008-09-28, 02:20 PM
You guys seem to care about this more than the situation warrants. Federal politics seems very important, but it's your local government that decides much more about how your life will be run. Local government decides parking provisions, school issues, zoning, etc. etc. Doesn't that matter more to you than a federal government that decides things that don't affect you all that much? No, seriously, how many people here have felt a direct impact from the war in Iraq that exceeds something like laws that affect their schools? It's easy to have an opinion on the federal issues, but you need to examine its actual impact on your everyday life.
Also, when you vote locally your vote counts MUCH more than on the federal lvl. Think for a moment, when you vote federally, your vote is probably absorbed. I live in Illinois, Obama's home state. If I vote Republican, my vote doesn't matter, if I vote Democrat my vote doesn't matter. It only matters in states like Ohio, where the electoral distribution is fairly even. Compare that to your local elections, where your vote is one of 30,000 or something. I've also seen people come to town hall and personally make arguments. Good luck doing that with the US Senate. Tangibly, the only federal vote of yours that counts is your Congressman, (not your Senator's,) because that person represents a fairly small constituency, and he actually has to care about your vote. I am from the state of Illinois, and I can confidently tell you that Barack Obama does not give a pomegranate about me as a voter. Unless he's caught screwing a prostitute he'll get reelected as long as he does what he is doing.
The Founders actually detested the Federal government, and they felt that the state governments should have more impact. Trust in the federal government over local government is a fairly recent phenomenon, and to be honest it's not warranted. Obama is NOT on your side, McCain is NOT on your side, and Bush is NOT on your side. The way their job operates is they want to displease as few people as possible, so if they can get away with it they'll do nothing at all. Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, the VP candidates, have almost no real function if their candidates get elected. Their real function is to compensate their presidential candidates' weaknesses during the election. Joe Biden is a "fighter" where Obama is seen otherwise. And Palin is a woman and further right than McCain, which serves both to appease the far right which doesn't like McCain, and to try and steal disenchanted female voters who wanted Clinton in the white house.
Also, when you vote locally your vote counts MUCH more than on the federal lvl. Think for a moment, when you vote federally, your vote is probably absorbed. I live in Illinois, Obama's home state. If I vote Republican, my vote doesn't matter, if I vote Democrat my vote doesn't matter. It only matters in states like Ohio, where the electoral distribution is fairly even. Compare that to your local elections, where your vote is one of 30,000 or something. I've also seen people come to town hall and personally make arguments. Good luck doing that with the US Senate. Tangibly, the only federal vote of yours that counts is your Congressman, (not your Senator's,) because that person represents a fairly small constituency, and he actually has to care about your vote. I am from the state of Illinois, and I can confidently tell you that Barack Obama does not give a pomegranate about me as a voter. Unless he's caught screwing a prostitute he'll get reelected as long as he does what he is doing.
The Founders actually detested the Federal government, and they felt that the state governments should have more impact. Trust in the federal government over local government is a fairly recent phenomenon, and to be honest it's not warranted. Obama is NOT on your side, McCain is NOT on your side, and Bush is NOT on your side. The way their job operates is they want to displease as few people as possible, so if they can get away with it they'll do nothing at all. Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, the VP candidates, have almost no real function if their candidates get elected. Their real function is to compensate their presidential candidates' weaknesses during the election. Joe Biden is a "fighter" where Obama is seen otherwise. And Palin is a woman and further right than McCain, which serves both to appease the far right which doesn't like McCain, and to try and steal disenchanted female voters who wanted Clinton in the white house.