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Originally Posted by djtestudo
Technically, isn't the question irateplatypus asked whether we should be doing this much to register voters who don't care enough about voting to register themselves, and whether this affects the electoral process by bringing in uninformed voters?
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Well, for staters the questions posed (all four of them) have nothing to do with either the Republicans or the Democrats, so we can leave that childish name calling out of this thread for once.
Now, let's examine each question in turn.
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Just how hard should we rock this vote?
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This seems to be asking if it is valuable registering as many citizens to vote as possible. I think it is. You may not.
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are we polluting our ideal by registering thousands of people who normally don't give a flip about government or politics?
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No. You are fulfilling your ideal. The ideal being "one man, one vote"; not "one man with a nice house and car, one vote."
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does more voters always mean a better democratic process?
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Yes it does. By definition, a democracy is a form of government where the people rule. "For the people, by the people" if you will.
If, on the other hand, you only allow a sub-set of the population to vote, then you have an
oligarchy. Not even the most cynical political pundit thinks that the American system is an official oligarchy, to the best of my knowledge.
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should all people be encouraged to participate regardless of how aware they are what is going on in our nation?
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Of course they should. Otherwise you do not have a true democracy. If you select the alternative course of action, who decides those who are allowed to vote? You would revert to an old-style 19th century oligarchic system where only property owners (or similar) would be entitled to vote. And that's the thin end of the wedge.
What next?
Only those who have completed high school?
Only those who have completed college?
Only those who have in excess of US$1M in assets?
Only those who are registered party members?
Where do you stop?
I recommend you read Heinlein's SciFi novel (often overlooked as a political satire) "Starship Troopers". In that, only soldiers were permitted to vote, as they were the only ones who were willing to put their lives on the line.
Mr Mephisto