I've heard this mantra on the left before. Since Democrats and Republicans vying for power are both so married to big business lobbyists and their money, many liberals say we should stay away from the polls on election day. Yeah, that'll show 'em... not. As a left of center guy myself, I believe that is seriously messed up thinking. That passive approach plays right into the hands of right wing activists who have already been trying their utmost to make it more difficult if not impossible for different groups that lean Democratic to cast their ballot. This liberal call for a ballot boycott also strikes me as a path of least resistance. Translate that to lazy. I know 66% of Democratic voters would like Hillary Clinton to have some viable challenger to provide a choice in the primaries. Wall Street critic and liberal Senator Elizabeth Warren has consistently denied any interest in running, yet many in her party refuse to accept Hillary Clinton as the inevitable candidate. I've even heard these progressive purists say it would suit us right to have the GOP take the executive branch and make it a clean sweep and teach us all a lesson. Hmmm, does that sound a bit like the all-or-nothing approach of the Tea Party? They too are ready to take their mainstream party down in the interest of their ideology.
Conservatives may be on the losing end of the younger and more ethnically diverse demographic shift in the United States, but they still do one thing well. They vote. Republican politicians tried their best to prevent access to Florida polling places in 2012, but voters braved the long lines anyway. Voter participation like this should be encouraging and access should be easier. You may not agree 100% with the choices, but we can't allow a well financed and orchestrated movement to turn the reform clock back to the "good old days." That would dishonor the work that has been done, even in this gridlocked government.
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