From the Argus
Shock quickly turned to anger when Hamburg Township resident Karl Schwanik opened his mail one day last week.
He had received a letter containing his voting record — a list of the elections in which he had gone to the polls to cast ballots, and those he hadn't — from an East Lansing firm known as Practical Political Consulting Inc.
The letter also contained the voting records of his neighbors and promised a follow-up letter that will indicate who voted in the coming Tuesday primary election
I have mixed views on this. It's certainly legal, and rather easy to find out who voted and who did not vote as it is public record. It's also easy for me to preach about voting since I'm classified as an 8 or a 9 voter (never missed a contested election).
However, there are several reasons people don't vote. Some are lazy. Some don't know enough about the candidates. Some are informed and don't like anybody on the ballot.
I wish those who didn't like anyone showed up and left the ballot blank, voted third party, or wrote themselves in. That sends more of a message than staying home where they are ignored.
The ones who don't know enough about the candidates I don't want voting. Ignorant people should not vote. I'm NOT referring to those I disagree with on issues. I'm referring to the fools who vote for superficial reasons (IE - Vote for Granholm because she's a woman, Vote for DeVos since he's Dutch) instead of deciding based on where the candidates stand on issues, voting records, competency, or candidate's character.
I find out as much information as I can on each candidate before I make a decision. I have never filled in the straight ticket circle. I go down each list and make the decision. If I don't know anything about the people, I skip that race. If I don't like any of the choices, given I leave it blank, write someone in, or vote third party.
The ideal situation is for a 100% turnout of well informed voters. I don't mind my vote being cancelled out to a well informed voter I happen to disagree with. I hate it when my vote is cancelled out to some joker who thinks Granholm is hot and votes for her because of that reason.
While we all have the right to vote, it's also a major responsibility to make sure we really know who we are voting for and the reasons we are making those decisions. If Grebner's list gets uninformed people to the polls, he's doing us all a disservice. If he's getting informed people to the polls, he's doing us all a service.
22 comments:
Can't you get the same infl from the highly touted Republican Voter Vault?
UAW keeps their member list very private, I don't think anyone has such a list, they are very protective of their members.
Bluzie - One trick done with advocacy groups is to not sell the lists, but allow candidates/parties to mail to the people on that individual's list.
Nope, the UAW keeps its lists totally private. You all claim to know so much about unions, but your words show you know very little. You just want to influence people with your false information about unions.
Every campaign knows who votes and who does not. This information is provided by the Secretary of State and it's always been public knowledge. That you don't have this information is not Mark Grebner's fault. Trust me, Cindy Pine has access to this information and uses it!
Hey, fill me in just what is it about a decent wage for a days work, health care and safe working conditions are you against? You are a real laugh a minute!
Nit wits? Sounds to me like you may be one.
Oh maybe you are looking to get one of those CEO positions? Isn't it Exxon's CEO that makes over $130,000 per day?
The unions support bread and butter issues for their workers. They care about their families and their future. I guess they don't care enough about what happens in people's bedrooms enough to suit you! The only laws that concerns them is about jobs, health care, pensions, family leave, and you call them communists? What's wrong with you?
Oh please don't start again with making criminals of women who have abortions, unions really believe in privacy, you all do not.
Republican Michigander, the unions do all the mailing. They endorse candidates who support their bread and butter issues, most are Democrats, some are Republican. It's not about the party, but about the issues. You all have turned into a bunch of old women, wanting to make laws about your ideas about morals. They keep it to supporting their families and safety in the workplace.
Sorry to call you old women, but I call it like I see it. I get called every name in the book on this blog, so try not to take too hard, as I don't.b
First off, the UAW leadership abandoned working families a long time ago. They did so when they stopped fighting outsourcing against GM in the early-mid 90's and supported Mr. Clinton who signed NAFTA and GATT into law.
As for abortion, murder is wrong. Period. Your party is hijacked by the Emily's List crowd which supports partial birth abortion. That's a lot more than your line of "safe legal and rare". Your party's support is of "legal, common, and taxpayer funded."
Even many libertarians like Ron Paul and Leon Drolet support a ban on abortions. It's not about religion. It's not about creating more criminals. It's about protecting life and stopping the use of force from one individual against an innocent being. It's just the right thing to do. Period.
I'm not out to create more laws against everything I think isn't right. I'm not John McCain who thinks everything is a federal matter. However governments were created to protect life, liberty, and property.
Life needs to come first.
Everyone want to protect life!
Those of us who are opening pro-choice believe we can reduce the number of abortions by limiting the need, education, birth control, morning after pill, etc. These are proven ways to reduce abortion. Your way to over turn Roe V Wade will cause abortion to be illegal and make women who have abortions to be charged with murder. This is our difference. WE ALL WANT TO HAVE ABORTION BE VERY RARE. You just want to make criminals of women and their doctors. Making abortion illegal has never reduced abortions, so you are protecting no one. You are simply using peple to get out the vote for those who are as insincere as yourself.
The unions saw where fair trade we could all prosper. George Bush came in and slashed all the fairness, health care, wages, envionmenta laws for those we trade with a now you are blaming Bill Clinton and the unions? What have you been smoking?
I think if you had a better understanding of unions, not just what you hear about them but truly understood unions, you would never again vote for someone who they didn't endorse. They are truly about families, supporting and caring for families from birth until death. Your party, as in your name, does little to support families earning under $300,000 per year. The higher the income, the more they support! And they do everything possible to keep abortion in the light by not providing birth control and education. What a scam. It's all about the vote and power and nothing to do about life and families.
The unions care about all families, what are the children of a gay couple? Are they not part of a family? You care too much about what you think is important, I personally think all children deserve the same rights whether they have one or two parents and I don't about their parent's sexual preference. That you do is surprising. You call yourself moral, try being moral. Care about all the people not just those you aprove of.
You are right, you are not a real union person, all you care about is yourself.
There you go again Bluzie, putting words into people's mouths.
You ought to be a reporter....
You fit more to the title of comrade, you only want rights for those who march to your tune. Right comrade?
You only care about those who look and act like you. On second thought maybe that is called a NAZI? I don't know, what do you call yourself? You certainly don't think all people should be treated fairly, you just said you don't agree with gay families having equal rights. Aren't they union members? Aren't they taxpayers? They are not breaking the law of our land and their children are still children who need to see the doctor, go to school have food and clothing.
Maybe they don't fit into what you call moral? What is wrong with you?
Too many typos to be a reporter. I do search for the truth though.
If I didn't believe in unions, I would not work at a company that was a union shop. I know it could be tough, less money, not as much vacation or as good as benefits for your family, but you really are not union material so don't work at such a shop.
I do believe in God and miss the bible study group I was in for 5 years. I see nothing in all the text that I have read the NIV study bible that supports you opinion of women being tried for murder, or not accepting homosexuals as people with the same rights. Christ warned of people who prayed in public, used the church for political purposes, and judged others. He said the most important things were to love one another and love the lord with all thy heart. Where the Christian right has hijacked the Christian faith and made it a hate group bothers me quite a bit.
Hey, read the Bible and see for yourself, ours is a merciful God and Christ has shown us the way. You would have a much easier time understanding why unions treat all their members fairly and why they fight for pensions and healthcare for all people. You are not loved more because you are heterosexual, you are loved because you are a person. You are not loved more because you have accepted Christ, that is your gift from God.
I think it would help you quite a bit, begin the the Gospels, I think Mark might be the easiest for you to read. It will open your heart.
I only said NAZI because you called me comrade.
I can see where you can't quote the Gospels! Sorry, Leviticus says all kinds of very strange stuff. Christ came with the good news! Read it.
Then you should agree, everyone is loved by God and we need to love each person, ours is not to judge. I hope your kids never talk back, we don't want them to be stoned by the village elders!
Should we kill the gossip mongers on this blog as well Romans 1:25 28-32. The Bible doesn't say that children who talk back are less sinful than the homosexuals. I think you should keep religion out of politics, you aren't very good at fully understanding Christ's word or you would never say that families of heterosexual families should receive healthcare and homosexual families should not. This is where the Christian right is not being very Christian.
There is nothing Christian about hate.
I personally am for people being treated equally under the law.
I don't think people's religion or lack of knowlege about their faith should enter into politics.
I am for separation of Church and State and I think everyone has the right to worship freely.
Sins such as bearing false witness, envy, not honoring your parents, all are sins that don't take away people's rights for marriage, health care and most of all not set aside to be scorned. I think you can clearly see, God would not like families who do not have heterosexual parents to be treated differently. So there you have it, if you still follow your thinking and think that unfair treatment is moral then you all are just plain bigots and I wish you soon quit giving faith and Christianity a bad name. It's a beatuiful faith that the Right Wing is giving a very poor name.
Don't hold up religion as your reason to be bigoted.
To get back to the orginal thread, it's not unions taking up social causes, they treat people equally. If a person has an affair they still get healthcare for their family, and this is one of God's top ten.
Homosexuality is not illegal in the United States of America.
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