“Obama's devastating America. The policies put in place and those that are gonna be put in place are gonna do even more damage. I mean, it's serious what he's doing. Did you see this? The IRS announced that the family health care premium, once Obamacare is implemented, is $20,000 a year. You were told your premium was gonna go down $2,500 a year! The average family premium is going to be $20,000 a year. I guarantee you, people didn't vote for that.” PeopleYearsMeanCareAmericaPolicySeriousVoteAverageHealth CareDamageGuaranteesObamacareIrsPremium Author:Rush Limbaugh
“Democracy in many parts of the world is undergoing a very deep crisis. Politics is becoming a branch of the entertainment industry. People vote not for the best leader, but for the funniest candidate.” PeopleWorldLeaderDemocracyIndustryBecomingVoteCrisisEntertainmentCandidatesBranchesVery DeepEntertainment IndustryBest Leader Author:Amos Oz
“Trudeau motivated people between the ages of 18 to 35 to vote, and 82 per cent of them voted for him. That changed Canadian politics forever. If they stay motivated, and believe me, they are, no party can ever get a majority mandate again without winning at least 60 per cent of those voters. There hasn't been a Conservative candidate in 15 years that ever got on a campus anywhere here in any Canadian university and wasn't thrown stones at.” PeopleIfsYearsBelieveAgeWinningPartyForeverChangedStonesVoteMajorityUniversityConservativeCandidatesThrownVotersMotivatedCentsBelieve In MeCampusMandatesStay Motivated Author:Kevin O'Leary
“The Orange Revolution in Ukraine is a good example of how people, who are robbed of their right to vote, can protest and put an end to dictatorship.” PeopleEndsExampleRevolutionVoteProtestDictatorshipOrangeUkraineGood ExamplesRight To Vote Author:Benazir Bhutto
“In India, we have a right wing that is so vicious and so openly wicked, which is the Baratiya Janata party (BJP), and then we have the Congress party, which does almost worse things, but does it by night. And people feel that the only choices they have are to vote for this or for that. And my point is that, whoever you vote for, it doesn't have to consume all the oxygen in the political debate.” PeopleFeelsDoePoliticalNightChoicesPartyVoteIndiaWingsCongressDebateWickedViciousOxygenRight WingPolitical DebatesBjpCongress Party Author:Arundhati Roy
“Millions of people are unable to vote due to felony convictions with the highest rates among black men. People in prison are denied the right to vote in 48 states, and while we accept that as normal in the United States, in other western democracies people in prison do have the right to vote.” PeopleMenStatesBlackUnitedAcceptingMillionsUnited StatesDemocracyNormalHighestVotePrisonWesternRateConvictionDuesDeniedRight To VoteFelony Author:Michelle Alexander
“In fact, in some countries there are actually voting drives conducted in prison! But here in the U.S., we seem to take the idea of democracy a bit less seriously and people are denied the right to vote not only when they are in prison, but also upon release in many states.” PeopleIdeasCountryStatesFactsSeemsBitsDemocracyVotePrisonReleaseVotingDeniedRight To Vote Author:Michelle Alexander
“People on probation and parole are typically denied the right to vote, and in eleven states people are denied the right to vote even after completion of their sentences.” PeopleStatesVoteSentencesDeniedElevenCompletionRight To VoteParoleProbation Author:Michelle Alexander
“People from authoritarian, male-dominated, punitive families tend to vote for "strongman" leaders and for "hard" punitive policies (prisons, wars) rather than "soft" caring policies (healthcare, childcare). Not everyone from this background does. But many people do. And this conditioning can be exploited, as Trump's campaign did, especially in times like ours of economic, social, and technological upheaval.” PeopleDoeWarHardSocialLeaderEconomicPolicyTrumpVotePrisonMalesCaringCampaignsBackgroundsHealthcareTechnologicalConditioningUpheavalChildcare Author:Riane Eisler
“There was a free election in Palestine, but it came out the wrong way. So instantly, the United States and Israel with Europe tagging along, moved to punish the Palestinian people, and punish them harshly, because they voted the wrong way in a free election. That's accepted here in the West as perfectly normal. That illustrates the deep hatred and contempt for democracy among western elites, so deep-seated they can't even perceive it when it's in front of their eyes. You punish people severely if they vote the wrong way in a free election.” PeopleIfsWayStatesEyeUnitedUnited StatesDemocracyFrontsNormalEuropeHatredVoteElectionMovedWestWesternIsraelAcceptedPerceiveContemptElitesPalestinianPalestineWrong WayPerfectly NormalFree Elections Author:Noam Chomsky
“What most people didn't realize in the Western countries is that here its not a question of having supporters, its a question of getting these votes to the polling stations.” PeopleCountrySportsRealizingVoteWesternStationsSupporterPolling Author:Imran Khan
“It is tragic that so few young people in Western democracies vote. They have forgotten that their ancestors fought for the right to choose and change their leaders. They don't realise that their votes are more important than their tweets or Facebook posts.” PeopleImportantYoungLeaderDemocracyVoteWesternForgottenPostsTragicRealisingAncestorTweet Author:Kofi Annan
“I saw a nice interview with Dave Binney recently. He was saying, "Man it was never easy. It's not like 'Oh wow, the good old days.' What, when certain people couldn't vote?" There was more work for musicians in the '40s, '50s, '60s. But I don't think it was ever easy.” PeopleThinkingMenCertainEasySawsNiceMusicianVoteInterviewsWowOld DaysDaveGood Old Days Author:Jon Gordon
“What I'm thinking about are the millions of people, many of whom write me very personal letters :"Dear Mr. President: I did not vote for you. I was against Obamacare. And then my son who didn't have health insurance signed up and we just found out that he had an illness. And thankfully he's now covered, otherwise he might not have gotten treatment and I might have lost my house."” PeopleThinkingWritingMightFoundHouseLostPresidentMillionsSonLettersVoteDearIllnessTreatmentMy SonCoveredObamacare Author:Barack Obama
“I like marijuana because it keeps me from killing people. And I think there are a lot of people out there who are just like me. The reason it's not legal is because most people get up in the morning and get high, then forget to go out and vote for it.” PeopleThinkingReasonForgetMorningVoteKillingLike MeGet UpMarijuanaGetting High Author:Willie Nelson
“There is a lack of interest in voting in the United States, and that troubles me. It is very necessary that people get registered, study the issues and be aware of the politics of our country. We will really be set back if people don't take the time to learn about the candidates who are concerned about the well-being of all the citizens and vote.” PeopleIfsWellsCountryStatesInterestUnitedUnited StatesStudyIssuesTroubleCitizensConcernedVoteOur CountryWell BeingCandidatesVoting Author:Rosa Parks
“Give the money directly to people who work hard. Instead of taking the money from the business and then filtering it through the horror of government programs, which is essentially giving it to social workers who live in Bethesda so they can drive their minivans and vote Democratic. Give them the money, so that they go and talk to the worker who is washing dishes, and they say, "Well, we want to help you, you see." And it would be better to help them by taking the money from that minivan-driving social worker and giving it directly to the guy who is really working hard by washing dishes.” PeopleWantGivingWellsHardHelpingGovernmentWould BeGuySocialHard WorkHorrorProgramVoteDemocraticWorkersDrivingDishesWashingSocial WorkerGovernment ProgramsWashing DishesMinivans Author:Mark Helprin
“I think a lot of people vote in fear. People like Donald Trump are good at casting this shadow of fear over people, making them believe if they don't vote for him then the terrorists are going to get them or whatever. All his ways are to scare people to vote for him. It's so sad.” PeopleIfsThinkingWayBelieveTrumpShadowVoteTerroristScareCastingSo Sad Author:Jim James
“I think I got from my father and my mother a sense of morality, of the do's and don't's in society; the notion that good people don't do this; good people are responsible, good people participate in community, and good people vote, good people own land. These were things I heard from my father's pulpit.” PeopleThinkingMotherFatherCommunityHeardLandMoralityVoteResponsibleNotionGood PeoplePulpit Author:David C. Driskell
“I'd make - before I'd elect somebody - I'd make him do town meetings and face the people and then I would insist that the person not run on a platform of no compromising. The meaningful thing that the leaders could do would be to be dedicated to a discussion across the isle, to vote their consciences and not to follow the strict party line. I think that would lead to sensible decisions.” PeopleThinkingRunningDecisionPartyLeaderConscienceVoteMeetingsMeaningfulCompromiseDiscussionDedicatedSensible Author:Arlen Specter
“We have people there who do have substantial wisdom and substantial experience. And if they were confident enough to express their own views, that they wouldn't be bushwhacked by the party for casting a single vote like Bob Bennett was or like I was, they'd be willing to speak up and they'd be willing to speak their consciences and put their ideas on the line. But right now, there is timidity, there is fear that if they do that a single votes gonna cost them their job and they're not willing to make that kind of a sacrifice and they're not enough with the people.” PeopleKindEnoughSpeakPartySacrificeConscienceVoteTimidity Author:Arlen Specter
“Young people are tremendously frustrated because they don't see politics as changing anything. They see it as perpetuating a system that frankly doesn't work and no matter who you vote for things don't really change. Social media is where I think a bold message will wake them up. We saw that a little bit in the Occupy movement. Over the next three years, I think young people are going to wake up and be empowered.” PeopleThinkingVoteWake UpSocial MediaFrustratedEmpowered Author:Justin Trudeau
“The big question that everyone is asking themselves, or what they should be asking themselves right now, is what role has the media played in not just missing a certain part of American society that wanted to vote for, say, Donald Trump, but what role has the media played in dehumanizing other people and helping create these conditions that people are so afraid of, say, Muslims and extremism?” PeopleHelpingMissingVoteExtremism Author:Peter van Agtmael
“I think it would be very good if writers and artists take a stand in electoral politics. They've got the ability to put words together that might reach the ears of the people of the city who vote.” PeopleThinkingTogetherArtistAbilityVoteVery Good Author:Jimmy Breslin
“Millions of people are getting the vote, and we have to educate them to keep them from our throats. In other words, we have to train them in obedience and servility, so they're not going to think through the way the world works and come after our throats.” PeopleThinkingWorldVoteTrainObedienceEducateServility Author:Noam Chomsky
“Going back to why people don't vote, I presume the main reason is because they understand without reading political science texts that it doesn't make any difference how they vote. It's not going to affect policy, so why bother?” PeopleReasonPoliticalReadingPolicyVoteBotherPolitical ScienceWhy Bother Author:Noam Chomsky
“When Donald Trump campaigned for president, he told the American people that he would be a different type of Republican, that he would take on the political and economic establishment, that he would stand up for working people, that he understood the pain that families all across this country were experiencing. Well, sadly, it was just cheap and dishonest campaign rhetoric that was meant to get votes, nothing more than that.” PeopleDifferentCountryPainPoliticalPresidentEconomicRepublicanVoteRhetoric Author:Joseph Stiglitz
“That's what I'm doing here, throw out New York and California, Donald Trump wins the popular vote by nearly three million votes. But you can't throw out New York and California. This is exactly why we have the Electoral College. Had there been no Electoral College and had the election be defined by the popular vote, I guarantee you that the two states where the candidates would have been all the time are New York and California. There would have been some time in Texas and they would have ignored the vast majority of people in the country.” PeopleCountryWinningCollegeVoteElectionIgnored Author:Rush Limbaugh
“Barack Obama got ten million more votes than John McCain. I'd like to believe that none of the millions of people laid off during Obama's time in office will vote for him again. If that happens, a conservative will be elected in 2012 and we can work to fix what Obama has broken.” PeopleBelieveBrokenOfficeVoteConservativeBarackMccain Author:Rush Limbaugh
“We are constantly bemoaning that we have two nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, who are when you put them together as unpopular a duo as we have ever had in our kind of Final Two for the presidency. There are reasons for that, regardless of who ends up winning and going into the White House, I think we need to take dig, those of us in the media, because we're the ones who can foster these discussion and ask the question what is it about the system that got us to a point where most of the people heading to the polls are holding their nose as they cast their vote?” PeopleThinkingKindReasonTogetherHouseWinningVoteClintonDiscussion Author:Frank Bruni
“I think if you do have democracy it would transform the world because if the millions of people who die live on a dollar a day, had the vote, they would redistribute the wealth of the world, and the people at the top are not prepared to see that happen.” PeopleThinkingWorldWealthDemocracyVote Author:Tony Benn
“When somebody comes up with a progressive idea, to begin with, you're mad, bonkers. Then if you go on, you're dangerous. Then there's a pause. Then you can't find anyone who can say they thought of it in the first place. That's how progress is made. This is why I do believe in the vote. In the end, all these people who've been tempted to the right realise the warning lights in their constituency are brighter than the bright lights from No. 10 offering them things.” PeopleBelieveProgressDangerousVoteMadProgressiveRealising Author:Tony Benn
“I would say that to vote for Trump was to at least overlook the fact that we're talking about someone with a record of misogyny and racist invective. And so that is what is troubling to a lot of people and that's what makes this election, among other things, makes this election very different than others is that those good, decent people over - at least overlooked a very, very sorry record of prejudice.” PeopleDifferentVotePrejudiceElectionSorryDecentRacistMisogyny Author:Jeffrey Goldberg
“I have constantly told people that I was Secretary of State and I was not going to get into a partisan debate. And I would vote my ballot in a secret way, as all Americans do. But I just want to acknowledge that after the election took place, it was a special time for Americans.” PeopleSecretSpecialVoteElectionDebateAcknowledgeSecretaryOld People Author:Condoleezza Rice
“People are very afraid. In my country, you had a corrupt party who sabotaged an amazing candidate Bernie Sanders who was stronger than the other. Had Sanders faced Trump even more young people - from black millennials to the gay and lesbian community - would have voted because he represented them at his core. Fear drove the American vote, because if you're choosing from two devils like Hillary and Trump then you're more likely to end up picking the one who is cooler and makes you laugh.” PeopleCountryBlackCommunityPartyLaughingGayDevilVoteStronger Author:El-P
“I think I have this old-fashioned idea that when you are asking people to vote for you, it is kind of like a big job interview, and you oughta tell people what you think you can do for them. I think we can create more economic opportunity. I think we can improve education, make college affordable, deal with the myriad of issues that we confront.” PeopleThinkingKindOpportunityEconomicCollegeVoteAffordableJob Interview Author:Hillary Clinton
“The Democrats are angry, and they're out of their minds. You know, we're seeing in the Senate, the Senate Democrats objecting to every single thing. They're boycotting committee meetings. They're refusing to show up. They're foaming at the mouth, practically. And really, you know, where their anger is directed, it's not at Republicans. Their anger is directed at the American people. They're angry with the voters, how dare you vote in a Republican president, Donald Trump, a Republican Senate, a Republican House.” PeopleMindHousePresidentRepublicanVoteMeetingsDemocratDare Author:Ted Cruz
“Now the dictatorship or call it the 'Indonesian regime', fully consolidated its power... You see, the West told Indonesians, indirectly of course, that 'democracy' is when you have several or many political parties, and people vote at least once in a while. But it is total nonsense. Democracy is when you vote and your vote can actually totally change the course of your nation.” PeoplePoliticalPartyDemocracyVoteNonsenseDictatorshipPolitical Parties Author:Andre Vltchek
“In Indonesia, there are many parties, but they are all pro-business and for the elites, and all their candidates, including Jokowi, are pre-selected, and pre-approved, by the regime. So no matter how people vote here, it changes nothing.” PeoplePartyVote Author:Andre Vltchek
“In the era of modern technology, people could just vote on their phones for who they want to be judges. We could amend all of the ways in which we select our leaders, with the advent of modern technology. We haven't done so. It's actually served us fairly well. Ours is the longest enduring constitutional, written constitution in the world. At the moment, I think it's strained. It's showing the strains of politics and a frustration.” PeopleThinkingWorldDoneMomentsLeaderTechnologyModernJudgingVoteConstitutionEndureFrustrationSelectAdventModern Technology Author:Martha Minow
“See, I am the mayor of Realville, and science is not up to a vote. It either is or isn't. Whatever it is, it is or isn't, but it's not up to a vote. Global warming doesn't exist because a "consequences of scientists" agree. Manmade global warming either is happening or it isn't, but it isn't up to a vote. But it is being presented to you as a consequences of scientists. Therefore, the science is not settled. Besides that, we all know that it's a hoax now. It's just some people don't want to accept that, but it is.” PeopleAcceptingConsequenceVoteScientistAgreeGlobal Warming Author:Rush Limbaugh
“I think that Republican analyst Steve Schmidt had a great line about Donald Trump, which is, Americans clearly voted for change , but they didn't vote for chaos. I think people are feeling unnerved all around the world, because they see a chaotic set of directions coming out of the White House, and they're not sure what it all means.” PeopleThinkingWorldMeanFeelingsHouseRepublicanVoteChaosNot SureChaotic Author:Wendy Sherman
“People in the rich countries who have done very well, who are at the top of the income pyramid, try to steamroll over the opposition of the middle without changing anything in social programs, or any redistribution. And they take their votes for a given. They have rich people that bankroll them. And the globalization would continue, but it would continue with permanent dissatisfaction among large segments of the people.” PeopleTryingCountryDoneRichProgramVoteGlobalizationRich PeopleDissatisfaction Author:Branko Milanovic
“There is a study that shows that people who were asked their political opinions, when there was a picture of the American flag in the corner of the questionnaire, reported more favorable attitudes toward Republican Party positions, because the flag is typically associated in people's minds with a Republican belief set. If people vote at a polling place inside a church, they vote more Republican. If they vote at a polling place inside a school, they vote more Democrat.” PeopleMindSchoolPoliticalBeliefChurchPartyAttitudeOpinionStudyRepublicanVoteDemocratRepublican PartyAmerican Flag Author:Robert Cialdini
“They'll give you an Oscar if they think you're about to drop dead. The problem with The Oscars is, the average age of The Academy is 84. They wheel those people in from Palm Springs and hook up their IVs and they vote. The people that go to movies are under the age of 28, for the most part, so there's this total disconnect between what the Academy thinks is a great movie and what the audience actually wants to see.” PeopleThinkingGivingProblemAgeAudienceSpringVoteHookHook Up Author:Joe Bob Briggs
“We as a society have created rules and laws and systems that not only are transphobic and homophobic but they’re also racist and they’re sexist. Because we’re all brought up in the middle of that, whether we want to admit it or not, we’re all on some level racist and sexist and homophobic and transphobic. It makes it difficult for other people when we turn a blind eye to it. We don’t agree with the laws that are going, but we don’t vote against them. We don’t like what our leaders are doing, but we don’t pick up the phone and call them. We don’t stand up and protest.” PeopleEyeDifficultLeaderVoteAgreeBlindProtestRacistSexistHomophobic Author:Jeff Varner
“Here's a president who gets 47 or 48 percent of the vote and takes 100 percent of the power, as if he had a mandate. He snuck into the presidency with the aid of political cronies, his father's having appointed members of the Supreme Court, his brother governor of Florida. And then he takes total control. And this is a president who seems to react to everything with force. Now we've had two wars. We've killed a lot of people. For anybody who is interested in not being a warlike nation anymore, and becoming a nation respected in the world, it becomes important to defeat Bush.” PeopleWorldImportantWarPoliticalPresidentBrotherVoteDefeatAidsSupreme Court Author:Howard Zinn
“Just the fact that Hilary Clinton won the popular vote by such a large number gives some validation to the impulse to stand firm. If we don't, I think within a year administration is pretty much going to dismantle American society as we've known it. I'm not sure that we're able to stop it from happening, but I don't think people should just roll over and passively watch it happen.” PeopleThinkingGivingVoteClintonImpulseFirmNot SureStand Firm Author:Paul Auster
“That's Donald Trump negotiating position. "Okay. If we can't vote to repeal Obamacare, I'm standing by and I'm letting it die. I'm letting it implode. I'm gonna let it fail, and it's on the Democrats, and I'll make sure everybody knows it's on the Democrats. I am not gonna own this sucker. It isn't mine. I had nothing to do with it. I've engaged in good-faith efforts to fix this and people aren't interested."” PeopleEffortFailingOkayVoteDemocratSucker Author:Rush Limbaugh
“On the table, Donald Trump: I'm gonna let Obamacare fail. I am going to let it fail. I am not gonna own this. This is an utter failure, utter disaster. I've tried. I worked with people. Obviously we don't have enough Republicans who want to vote this way. We need more Republicans in 2018, but I'm gonna let it fail 'cause I am not owning this baby. So failure, which is Obamacare, stays in place with all of its problems, expenses, failures versus repealing it. I'm telling you, the most painful choice here is leaving Obamacare in place.” PeopleEnoughProblemChoicesFailingBabyRepublicanVoteLeavingPainfulDisaster Author:Rush Limbaugh