Politics: Why I Wasted My Vote on Jon Huntsman

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Politics Why I Wasted My Vote on Jon Huntsman Most of the candidates made my pro vs. con list. But only one survived. By David Weigel Posted Tuesday, Apr 03, 2012, at 11:05 AM ET My vote didn't matter, and I am guessing yours won't either. You probably didn't caucus in Iowa or plant yourself at the bar in American Samoa. You might not even live in Florida, which would make candidates care about you after the primary is over. Congratulations! We're basically irrelevant. Ah, but I've figured out how to make politicians pay attention to me. Since 2007, I've been a registered Republican in Washington, D.C. There are not very many of us. The last time the primary came here, in a city of 617,966, only 6,211 of us turned out to vote. How many Democrats turned out? Only 20 times as many: 123,994 of them. Us lucky Republican voters got to be statistically significant. All they got was the 44th president. I wasted my vote anyway. Slate tradition demands that we admit whom we vote for. 'Fess-up time: Jon Huntsman got at least one vote out of Washington, D.C., Precinct 46. My candidate dropped out of the race three months ago. I used to wonder about the kinds of people who punch the "Herman Cain" button now that he's turned his attention away from campaigning and over to surrealist art. Now I'm one of them. How did every other candidate lose me? Rick Santorum forfeited and never made the D.C. ballot. Every other candidate made it to a pro-con list, then got inked out for some vital reason ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Spitzer: It's Way Too Soon for Conservatives To Gloat About Obamacare's Tough Week in Court The Real Reason Some Indian Parents Marry Off Extremely Young Girls The National Weather Service Is Finally Making Tornado Warnings as Scary as They Should Be	Advertisement
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