[speaker001:] All right, we need to discuss the voters.
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] On a national and a local level.
[speaker002:] I, I,
[speaker001:] Why do you think the apathy exists? I blame it to apathy.
[speaker002:] Yeah, um, I, I suspect the apathy is due to something like people just feeling that, that their vote doesn't count anyway. I mean, why, why bother voting if, um, if your vote won't make a difference. So for instance, in, um, the last presidential election, I'm sure a lot of people thought, Oh, Bush is going to win either way, why bother voting.
[speaker001:] Why should I go out of my way when it doesn't matter.
[speaker002:] That's right. I think that's, and, and the other side of the coin is, um, people saying, well, if I really like the underdog candidate, I still think they're not going to win, so are only the same two caucuses, certainly not going to win, why bother voting for him. So. I thi-, I think that's a big, uh, a big, a big reason for it. How abou-,
[speaker001:] Oh, I think so, too. And I think the other thing is the news me-, media puts such a blitz on it that they we-, had it predetermined with a half of one percent voting, you know.
[speaker002:] Um, that's true. Actually I never thought about that, that, that's a good rea-,
[speaker001:] And I, I think the, you hear the news, you know, you start out in the morning, and all day you hear the news, and by time, say you get off work and go to vote. You feel like it doesn't make any difference.
[speaker002:] That's true, that's true.
[speaker001:] Due to the overabundance of news we have available to us.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] What do you think on the local elections though?
[speaker002:] I think on the local elections it's actually, um, I think, um, I think people vote in the larger elections because they feel like, well, you know, the country's real important, and, you know, if I, if we help elect a president who's going to save us, then, then the whole country will be saved. But they figure local elections don't mean that much, I suspect. So people don't really worry about their local mayor or something, figuring that, you know, and I think wrongly, figuring that, that, well, what good is another mayor going to do anyway because our federal taxes are more important right now, and you know, and stuff like that. So people think that, that, that they don't have, um, that, that it doesn't matter as much, whereas I think it's probably just the opposite is true. I think it's probably the case that people could have more effect on a local level.
[speaker001:] Oh, I think so, too. Absolutely. Uh, I think another thing, and uh, I'm making a judgment here that may or may, I think it is totally wrong, well.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Uh.
[speaker001:] I think that the people that are, have, um, a lower income, which you automatically equate with lower education
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] [Cough] tend not to be registered.
[speaker002:] Um.
[speaker001:] And they don't register, and they don't understand that you can't go and vote and register all at the same time, or when it gets down to the point of someone saying are you going to vote today, they say, Well, I would
[speaker002:] Right, but,
[speaker001:] and I believe in this, but.
[speaker002:] Yeah, that's, that's possible. I still think that a lot of those people are the ones who really think that their votes don't make a difference, though, as well. I think it's those same people who don't know any better about how we vote, are, are, are a lot of the people who think that well, look at me, I'm just a little nobody. My vote's not going to count anyway. You know, and I think that's probably a portion of the population that massively under represent-, I, I, I would guess that that portion of the population is massively under represented.
[speaker001:] I had an interesting comment one time, a thought that would never have crossed my mind. I had someone tell me that, I will never register to vote because I don't want to serve on a jury [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Um? What do they have to do with one another?
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] I just, I, they, I just wandered off from that one. I was just so surprised and amazed with the statement that they say only registered voters can be picked for jury selection.
[speaker002:] Oh, so they didn't want to wind up being a juror ever.
[speaker001:] So they wor-, if they don't vote, they don't have to be on a jury.
[speaker002:] Oh, I didn't realize that actually. That,
[speaker001:] There is convoluted logic for you.
[speaker002:] Yeah, there is. There are much easier ways to get out of jury duty.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] Yes.
[speaker002:] Just go in and say, Oh, I want to be a juror, I can spot a guilty person a mile away.
[speaker001:] Oh, I just, right, right. There are so many other ways. But that one, it just defeated me. I didn't have any answer for that one. That one was just beyond my imagination.
[speaker002:] Well, that, that just seems to be a person who just doesn't care about much of anything around, sort of, you know, doesn't, doesn't, sort of, likes rights probably, but doesn't like respon-, responsibilities.
[speaker001:] That's a good point, you're probably right.
[speaker002:] I mean, that's what it boils down to, is people like to, people say, Oh, I don't want to be on jury, you know, I don't want to serve on jury duty, I don't want to vote, I don't want to do this and that. Well, then they could, you know, put them in the reverse situation, in the place where they don't have the right to be on jury duty and they don't have the right to vote
[speaker001:] Which,
[speaker002:] I suspect their opinions would change very quickly.
[speaker001:] And that was what I was thinking exactly about because in the Soviet Union they had an election, and they had, what, like a ninety-eight percent turnout.
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] A massive turnout. At last, someone wants us to vote. They were standing in lines to vote.
[speaker002:] Yes, they were, they were doing that. Unfortunately, what, what, they, they had no idea what they were voting on [LAUGHTER] it turns out.
[speaker001:] And their vote didn't count [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] That's right. But, but it's the thought, they all got out [rattling]. But you wonder, if, you know, if, if now the next election they have, if only half of them are going to show up. Or how many generations it will take until only half of the voters show up in Russia.
[speaker001:] Or any one shows up.
[speaker002:] Right. That's, that's true.
[speaker001:] Total indifference, you know, what difference does it make. Back
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] gone the full circle.
[speaker002:] Now if things go the way that, that, that they are there, I think that they'll keep voting, but I think they'll wind up like us at some point, where people sort of, only half of them will end up voting, and sort of caring enough to really make a statement, so. You know, I think, I think that, that the people who most need to vote sometimes are the, are the ones who, who are really out to make a statement, because, you know, when, when, when you've got an underdog candidate who represents something, and even if he doesn't win, a large number of people voting for that particular candidate does, I think, make a statement
[speaker001:] Oh, certainly, there's a message there.
[speaker002:] to everyone else.
[speaker001:] Even if they lose.
[speaker002:] Yeah, I think and I think that's real important.
[speaker001:] Oh and I think women turn out to vote for women, too.
[speaker002:] That's probably true.
[speaker001:] Yeah, I thin-, well, I know it's true. You see a lot of that. You know, rally behind the female. She may lose, but by golly we're going to make a statement here
[speaker002:] Um.
[speaker001:] you know.
[speaker002:] That's good, that's actually really good. Well, act-, act-, actually the female who I would most rally behind right now, right, I don't know much about her politics, by the way, the way she makes speeches is a local person for you, is Ann Richards.
[speaker001:] Oh, okay.
[speaker002:] I don't know her politics. I just know that, uh, I saw her speak in the eighty-four Democratic convention. And right then and there, if they said to me vote for someone for president, I would have slapped down my vote for Ann Richards.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] Was, was that the time, no that was eighty-four, that's too soon. She said something about, uh, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, and she did it backwards in high heels.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] That's very good.
[speaker001:] She said that, I didn't. Said, you know, don't tell me what women can do.
[speaker002:] That's, that's, that's, [dishes] that's very good. That's, I, I like that. So I would, uh, I would [dishes] vote for her, and I suspect she could get a large voter turnout.
[speaker001:] I think I did vote for her, as a matter of fact. I'm pretty sure I did.
[speaker002:] Say, I, I, I would think that, um, that, that people like that, I think in-, inflammatory politicians are, um, or, or emotional politicians, certain very vibrant politicians tend to bring crowds out, I think. I would hope.
[speaker001:] Well, and some of the issues are so emotional.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] You know, some of the really, the really emotional ones. Have you followed the Dallas elections on zoning?
[speaker002:] No, I've heard of it, but not necessarily the, I've heard it's very controversial though.
[speaker001:] I, everyone has made so many statements. I don't live in Dallas county.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] But, I've heard so many statements that I've lost track.
[speaker002:] Um.
[speaker001:] I honestly at this point, it's, it's just too blown out of proportion for everyone. You really, even the news. You cannot follow
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] what the sto-, the actual facts are at this point.
[speaker002:] That's what,
[speaker001:] I don't, I don't really know if some of the poor judges that are trying to decide how it should be divided.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I wonder about them at some point.
[speaker002:] Um, uh-huh. Well, they were elected as well, so.
[speaker001:] That's correct.
[speaker002:] So. So they're going to be,
[speaker001:] And that's, and that's another interesting question. Should judges be elected or appointed.
[speaker002:] That's true, that's true. Well,
[speaker001:] Are they politicians,
[speaker002:] Well in some sense they should be politicians in that, you know, you want them to respect the people and you don't want them to have, you don't want a judge to be appointed because you don't want someone's friend to be a judge.
[speaker001:] Sure.
[speaker002:] But on the other hand,
[speaker001:] Or you want to take the other side of it, you can argue, that's one of those you can pick either side
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] and we could spend a lot of time on it
[speaker002:] That's right.
[speaker001:] because it's, it's difficult.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] It's situational, really.
[speaker002:] So, how do you think we can get people to vote? [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Uh, uh,
[speaker002:] I've had one idea that I think is, is, is completely undoable, but, but I think, but I suspect it would work. And the way to do it is to get an absolutely atrocious candidate, who you never expect to win, to go out and make inflammatory and ridiculous and stupid statements, so that a large population of, of voters will go out and vote against that person for someone else.
[speaker001:] Oh.
[speaker002:] So given a choice between, you know, so that, so if you have, so if, if, imagine a world where you have two real candidates and one idiot who goes out and makes, you know, anti, you know, sort of, um, anti women statements, anti semitic statements, anti black statements, et cetera, et cetera, well then I suspect a lot of people would go out and choose a candidate to vote for just, just to spite that person. But I don't think
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] that, that would actually ever work.
[speaker001:] Well, this is true, this is true. I was worrying along the lines of you get every time someone puts in a ballot in a ballot box
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] a dollar bill comes out the bottom.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] That's an interesting notion.
[speaker001:] That might work in some places.
[speaker002:] That, that, that, that would be interesting, yes, I think that would work in some places, yeah...