Brad over at WendyMcElroy.com points out something so simple that I plan to use it in the future when discussing whether one should bother voting:

Reflecting on some of the last week’s posts, I realize that there is strategic knowledge to be gained from observing the reaction of politicians and bureaucrats. Put bluntly: if something gives them the itch, or moves them to complain, then that something is probably effectively attacking their jobs…and quite possibly weakening the State….

I see that it is not third parties, but rather voter non-participation, that upsets the statists of every stripe. They encourage fringe parties, no doubt as a dumping ground for malcontents. But every year they get in a lather about “get out and vote!” And someone who dares to advocate non-voting is vilified and shunned even more than a member of the Communist Party.

THAT is an excellent reason NOT to vote. It should (and does) tell us a lot that the two leading parties (and indeed, all politicians) are comfortable as long as we go to the polls, regardless of which chad we punch. Their asses are chapped only when we do something as (HORROR!) un-American as refusing to vote.

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