Why bother voting for politicians?

The argument stated below assumes you are referring to an election system that is legitimate. In which case, voting is crucial.

Using your kitchen scenario as an example, perhaps most of the people you recruit are (subjectively) experience-less and skill-less. The fail to deliver their promises to finish your basement, install the locks. However, they maintain your house in a livable condition. However, there are other 'servicemen' who try to take the job, kill you and your family, and take over the house. Now, you MUST make a choice, would you put the effort into choosing one of the 'decent but useless' servicemen, or just 'hang back' and let the crazy service people take over??

There are always crazy political parties with extreme radical ideas. If ordinary citizens think like you do and no one decent go out to the voting booths, it's not hard for these crazies to infiltrate your parliament. You are 'safe' because decent people around you has casted their ballot.

I'm sorry sir, but you are apathetic.

I didn't vote for years , then Labour got in.... what a shambles, now I find myself voting only to get them out....do I think the other parties are better?... well I don't know ..... but I feel I need to do something and this option is all I have...maybe I am voting for the wrong reasons... but other than leave the country I do not have a choice

you tend to find new parties get voted in when the previous government has made a big c*ck up or they have had lots of stupid policies ... this is people just wanting to see if the next lot can do any better

You make good solid points but some times it helps to vote for the lessor of two evils so to speak. But if govts worked the way they promised we wouldn't need votes to try and change things would we, we'd all be puppets of the system with no voice to be heard.

But y'all missing the one point over all else when elections are held your not just voting on people running for office (here in the states anyway.) there are bond issues reform/law issues that the govt felt better for the people to decide Rather than run the risk of pissing everyone off.

When i first read this I immediayley thought "Because it is our right to to vote..blah..blah.blahh.." But then again, it is also our right NOT to vote, and what would be more telling would be if people were asked why they didn't bother to vote, but who would if the right candidate was presented.

I believe we are all selfish by nature, and lofty promises of a brave, new world don't interest us much. We want things improved closer to home. And no-one is offering this at the moment.

So, I guess I do agree with your point, but I always vote becuase somethng inside me tells me that if I don't I might lose the right/priviledge one day.

Last election I had two choices, both of which sucked.

I did not vote. I think it's more of a shame to vote just for the sake of voting; because it makes you a "good" American (in my case). What crap.

I couldn't tell which was the lesser of the two evils and that is not how I preferred to vote. Thus far, it doesn't look like I will be voting this go around either.

Let's take the opposite view. No voting in UK.

Alternatives:

President

Commissar

Presidential with executive power example Fidel Castro

Commissar with executive power example Phol Pot

Someone mentioned the lesser of two evils, I mention three; the third being the present Government.

If there is no one worth voting for , as is often the case, spoil your voting paper as a protest. spoilt papers are declared in the results,if there are enough spoilt the politicians may just get the message

If you dont vote then dont complain about the politicians you could have kept from being in office.

As an american I will vote in the next election so that Hillary Clinton never ever becomes my president. The thought of it makes me shudder. I dont want taxes to double, borders to swing wide open and our military to be disrespected and gutted.

'Cause of no one votes, there wont be no president, then america might end up being a monarch! And if we have a king like Bush or a queen like Rice, we're DOOMED!!!

Sure, what the heck, let's all vote for you instead, how's that sound? Sounds good? OK, then.