We Voted for Change. Now What?

From a story on Minnesota Public Radio:


"...Aimee Williams, 29, of Levittown, Pa. ... has voted in every national election -- and most local contests -- since she was 18. But, she says, 'lately it just doesn't seem worth it to go out and vote. The two-party system is broken. Politicians no longer seem to care about doing the job. It is all about getting elected and fear-mongering -- on both sides. Parties are catering to the fringes and ignoring the real issues affecting people today.'

....

And then,

"Maria Ratliff of Durham, N.C., a 36-year-old professional firefighter, feels that same estrangement from the process. 'The current polarity,' she says, 'is really dismaying to many people.'

Many voters, Ratliff says, feel that American politics has 'just turned into a grudge match with the only point being for one side to prove that more people are on it than the other.' She adds: 'I'm a huge liberal. But, seriously, a 1998 tape of [Delaware Republican Senate candidate] Christine O'Donnell -- looking like Elaine from Seinfeld -- talking about some weirdo date she had with a Wiccan? And that pertains to what issue? That's supposed to speak to me in what way?'

Despite her ambivalence about voting, Ratliff, like many Americans, believes she is "fairly obligated to vote" in November. "I just can't quite figure for whom. The idea of just pouting doesn't appeal to me -- well, at least not as much as I may need for it to in order to actually stay home. I will follow the results. They actually matter. So maybe there is my real answer about whether or not I'll cast my vote.' "

Read more here:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/npr.php?id=130041351


Are you going to vote in November?