Apparently, there wasn't much of a revolutionary mood in La Crosse County this year. All the incumbents won pretty convincingly. The only exception was Dan Kapanke, our longtime state senator who ran against Ron Kind for Congress.

http://www.co.la-crosse.wi.us/countyclerk/Election/2010/Nov/summary.htm 

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You all should check out this link. Read the main article and then go over to the right and read some of the "related columns" all dealing with the same thing.

http://www.strike-the-root.com/voting-is-even-more-worthless-than-you-think 

Disclaimer: I certainly can't say I ultimately agree with these articles. However, I'm a HUGE fan of reading / watching / listening to as many extreme and opposing viewpoints as I can because it helps me frame what it is I truly believe and allows me to gain perspective on why others think what they do. So many people only listen or read opinions that they share and are stuck inside of the same box year after year playing the game just like the system wants us to.

I have voted in every election possible except one or two primaries (by accident). My parents even made me do the actual voting when I was a little kid just to get me involved. I have volunteered at several polling places and the local board of election offices. So the concept of not voting is not one that I'm comfortable with. However, those articles do frame their arguments well, despite coming across too aggressively. If I had to sum up the moral in a sentence or two it would be that they don't vote because they don't want to legitimize a system that they see is faulty beyond recognition and that if no one voted it would expose the corruption of the whole system as a whole. I believe one of the authors said that the ONLY people who should have a right to complain about anything in politics are the ones that don't vote because voting essentially grants the winner power to pursue their agenda. Pretty whacky I know, but just try to read the articles objectively. True understanding of those different than us is the biggest problem we face in the world; especially in American politics.



EDIT: The reason I "liked" those articles is because until this point I really didn't understand those that didn't vote AT ALL. I thought it was completely ignorant and took no time to try to understand what the point was. Sure, some people just don't vote and have no good reason why other than just general apathy. But at least understanding the not voting thing a bit more allows me to have a bit more respect for those folks and at least be able to effectively debate with them.

True, Dodd. But uless you are able to get a REAL majority to not vote, the "same old same old" will keep on happening.
I HATE having to vote for "the less of 2 evils", but it seems to be the only thing i can do. I, alone, don't have the power to "break" the system as it stands now.
If you don't vote, your feelings srn't counted at all. They are 100% disreguarded. Which is a real shame.

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I wonder how many times these parties will be able to play off the "We're the new guys, coming in to shake up the establishment!" ploy while our country continues to be gutted by corporate powerhouses before the American people begin to catch on. It can't happen soon enough, that's for sure. I have little hope of it happening. There is no longer a true dissenting/liberal voice in this country.

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In Wisconsin, we have had company after company leave here because of the huge taxes here. Yet the democrats kept "using" the line that the republicans were just going to give tax breaks to corporations and the "rich".
Without said corporations, where exactly do they expect the new jobs to come from? If other states are willing to give them tax breaks that Wisconsin isn't willing to do, can you honestly blame them for moving out of state?
And the "rich"........it's well known that they pay higher taxes then the middle class. Yes, they make more. But THEY are the ones that also produce REAL jobs. I believe it was New York (not 100% sure if it was New York) where they hiked up the taxes so much on the rich, that most of them moved out of state because of it. So they went from taking in an already HUGE amount of taxes from these people, to getting NOTHING, because they forced them out.
I don't understand why that's so hard for some to figure out.

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and what about the inheritance tax deal they're just letting slide by? it will completely destroy the small farmers & small business owners who want to leave those business/farms to their kids. makes me sick!! my parents worked their asses off for everything they have & if our fabulous gov't doesn't pass a new tax cap, a whole lot of that will be eaten away by taxes when my mom dies. ridiculous!!

i don't care who the hell fixes this mess...just f'in fix it! but no, we have to have the same old dem vs rep bullshit argument over & over again & NEVER get anything accomplished.

Not only this, the inheritance tax is very bad for the environment. Small farmers/family farmers have been notoriously good for the environment. They are naturally. They know if they destroy their land, they destroy their jobs.

On the other hand, corporate farming has been a nightmare. It's all dollar signs to them. They'll happily sacrifice the land for short term profits. This has been shown over and over again.

A lot of family farmers are "paper millionaires." So on paper, they're rich. In reality, they're not. They're cash poor and struggling to make ends meet.

As an environmentalist, I'd love to do away with the inheritance tax completely for family farmers. And yes, I care about the families as well 4Pack. It's just I'm giving an alternate perspective.

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During some of my work, a shocking thing I saw was many farmers needing food stamps to survive with their families. There is something really wrong with that fact; every little bit that can be done should be done to help those family farmers.

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Personally, I would get rid of inheritance taxes entirely.

What exactly gives *us* (the supposed recipients of said tax revenues) the right to profit because someone else died?

Yeah, Paris Hilton is a spendthrift bimbo. But she's got at least as much right to the Hilton fortune as I do.

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Rockmolder...Bill Clinton got a second term because he moved to the middle and adopted Republican initiatives like the balanced budget amendment and welfare reform. In fact, the Wisconsin welfare reforms under Tommy Thompson were the model for the national reforms. Clinton was at least smart enough to read the tea leafs of public sentiment, instead of telling those of us in "flyover country"...or "the great unwashed" as Katy Couric recently referred to us as.... that we were far too obtuse or anxiety laden to understand the Democrats deeply nuanced thoughts, like Obama and his minions have done for pretty much their entire administration. Nothing makes me want to vote for someone more than having them call me stupid!! Haha

As far as Republicans and Democrats.....pretty much the same as Coke and Pepsi...too much of either will make you sick....that is why we have checks and balances.

Republicans have been given the priveledge to lead, if they fail as miserably as Obama has, they will be gone in record numbers in 2 years. Let's see how things play out.....

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