Is this complaining coupled with passivity or is it simply the complaining and bitching that is typical of democratic political life? Whining and complaining in itself, as annoying as it can be, is part of parcel of any electorate and any election–whether it is in the the US, Israel, France, India, or whatever. If the complaining is accompanied with passivity, then, of course, the complainers don’t have much to stand on.

PS. I’m not voting for the “majority party of assholes” ))
But I will vote for total turnover. Because it might be that +1 vote that turns everything upside down, right?

You’re approaching it as someone who supports the majority party. The advice is for someone who is considering not voting because they aren’t interested in the majority party.

Then it makes perfect sense to at least get out and vote, rather than stay at home. Politicians notice things like the opposition getting much bigger numbers than expected, and much higher voter turn-out than expected.

In democratic society, this tends to get the attention of the nimrods who remain in power, as they are afraid of getting turned out on their asses the next time elections are held.

So, you can at least influence the actions of those politicians in power through voicing a dissenting opinion, rather than expressing absolutely no opinion at all, and providing silent consent.

Wrong conclusion I think.

let’s say that 60% of all voters drag their asses to voting booth. For the party to win there should be 30% plus 1 vote (more than 50% of total voted).
So if so called combined “opposition” or whatever could get just extra 10% to make the total 70% turnover – then “ruling” party won’t get majority (or get their president elected).

And it’s really funny to hear such “advice” from Khodor. He went all the way down to get to this “idea” ))
For the last 15 or so years I’ve been telling to all my “ooponents” – “Don’t complain! Move your ass and vote, asshole!” And I’m still free

PS. If “ooposition” could get 25-30% – this would do some good. But they won’t because they are already complaining, complaining, complaining…. So why should I vote for assholes?

Government is no place for idealists? Damn, I guess we are cynics.

In Russia you have one party that will take an overwhelming majority of the votes, at least according to all the current trends and predictions. If that party’s platform doesn’t agree with you at all, then one is best off taking Khodorkovsky’s advice an making an symbolic vote of conscience. It won’t do any good as far as influencing gov’t policy but it will at least let you sleep better at night. Best case scenario, one of the smaller liberal parties will stand out above the rest in the voting, lending it more credibility in the future and allowing it to better create a coalition of liberal voters.

In the US, you have two parties that have pretty even support (maybe not much though) among the voting population. Each party leans more to one side of the political spectrum than the other. The politicians and platforms of both parties are generally too moderate for most of the people who take an active interest in government, leading to the frustration many policy wonks feel. However, this two party system has one major advantage, it keeps the kooks and hardliners from both sides out in the cold. For either party to get a majority of the votes it must play to the center, not to the fringes, unlike in a parliamentary system. A candidate that tries to court the vote of a militia member, KKK member, ANSWER/Code Pink member, 9/11 truther, etc. is not going to win the election. As a result, in the US, if the political system is working properly, your vote will always be for the lesser of two evils. However, if you take an active interest in politics and find yourself voting for someone that is a perfect fit, be afraid, very very afraid. That person should not be in a position of power. Government is no place for idealists.