Aug. 18, 2014 - PPM - Uninformed Electorate

This week's PET PEEVE MONDAY (PPM) is Voter's Remorse. 

This PPM was also posted on the  Political Prospect web site. 

Several recent polls suggest that if the 2012 election were held today, Mitt Romney would beat Barack Obama by a double-digit percentage.  The nation as a majority now has Buyer’s Remorse.

More shocking is that given the alphabet soup of scandals: IRS, NSA, VA, CIA, EPA, etc., over 40% would vote for Obama, AGAIN!

The same polls that have Romney now beating Obama also suggest that Hillary Clinton would beat Romney in a 2016 match-up.  Have we learned NOTHING?

Former Secretary of State Clinton SHOULD be forever tied to the Obama foreign policy failures: Syria, Iran, Egypt, Russia, and of course Libya.  What are Hillary’s qualifications to be President?

Mitt Romney’s campaign quotes and projections are prophetic when it comes to world affairs. His assessment of Russia as the U.S.’s largest geopolitical threat was laughed off and dismissed by Obama, and by most of the press.  While Obama is golfing, Putin is laughing all the way to Kiev. 

Democrat Edwin Edwards famously said in his 1983 campaign to be Louisiana’s Governor, "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy."

Edwards was right in both cases when you consider Ted Kennedy’s Kennebunkport driving skills and Barney Frank’s MySpace profile.

Americans are forgetful, forgiving, and uninformed when it comes to elections.

Given our collective regret, maybe the American electorate should put more consideration and thought into pulling the lever at the next election.

The US Constitution, Section 2, Article I, states:

“Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.”

That now sounds like a possible Common Core math question.

By some estimates, less than 5% of the population were eligible to vote in the election of 1800.  Yet, our republic survived and prospered.

The ability to vote has changed since we first initially established our electoral process.  The US Constitution was modified over time to be more inclusive.  The following three amendments were commendable and much needed changes, no doubt.

The 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870.  It said that no citizen's vote could be taken away because of his race or color and gave all prior slaves a vote.

The 19th amendment was ratified in 1920.  It guaranteed all women the right to vote.

The 26th Amendment was ratified in 1971.  It lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

States have continually made voting more convenient: extending poll times and days, offering mail-in ballots, same-day voter registration, and allowing people to vote fraudulently without ID.

But as we increased the voting pool and accessibility, participation rates have not topped 60% since 1968.

Maybe we need to reassess who should have the right to vote:  I would suggest a simple civics, means, and participation test.

Civics:  Currently, to become a new US Citizen, you must only pass the 10 question naturalization test with a 60% efficiency about how the US government functions. The fact that 60% is a flunking score in most schools aside, I would be happy with a 50% threshold for all EXISTING US citizens.

Means:  A simple “Yes” or “No” for this question.  Have you put more into the US treasury system than you have withdrawn?   We are precariously close to more people taking money out of the system than contributing.

According to the USDA website, Food Stamp participation has increased from 28M to almost 48M during the Obama Administration.  Per the Social Security Administration, when Obama took office, there were over 7.4 million workers on disability. That number has grown by 20% by October of 2013 to 8.9 million.

Benjamin Franklin famously stated, “When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” Maybe our Founding Fathers had it right.

Participation:  If you have not voted in any of the past 5 annual elections, you must reapply and pass the means and civics thresholds.  Voting may be a right, but you forfeit that “right” if not used.

Even with all of the inclusive voting amendments and conveniences, voters have never been more apathetic and uninformed.  The voters’ cognition of the issues has been diminished by constant, negative political ad barrages.

It has become obvious with the current historically low approval ratings of our President and Congress, that our voting process is flawed.  Voting eligibility has been changed before.  Who will have intestinal fortitude and moral compass to correct it now?