Re: Ah Larry!

>The political climate is so
>poisoned (it is even reflected in a few replies found in this
>newsgroup) that US citizens are becoming more and more alienated by
>the political parties and politicians.

That's part of the reason, but I tend to think it's that many people prefer
light entertainment to real engagement. Most of the news media reports issues
and positions in sound bites, because it's proven that's what consumers have an
appetite for. Even the incivility in political discourse today is a form of
entertainment. 

And when so large a proportion of the populace have such a shallow
understanding of the issues, they're less motivated to participate
meaningfully.

Then there's the sense, without meaningful campaign finance reform, that only
major contributors have a real voice.

And voter apathy may start on the local level, where it's hard to feel that the
choices we are presented with are meaningful. In local elections, minor parties
may get a significant proportion (say 20%) of the votes cast, but in the
"winner-take-all" election system that 20% never end up with any voice. 

In one tiny bright spot, the village of New Paltz NY, where I live, was the
first in NY state to elect a Green Party slate to run the village, last spring.
With only a tiny percentage of those eligible voting (600 voting in a
population of 6000+), a motivated minority won. But in the countywide
elections, the Greens could never get a voice so it's hard for their partisans
to remain engaged. With proportional representation at the county level, I
imagine a lot more people would be motivated to participate.

And the weighted voting system that was used in the London mayoral elections a
couple of years ago, seems to have gotten many more people feeling as if their
vote mattered.
Terry