Those who stay home on election day piss me off

I've heard from friends on the left that they stayed home on election day because Obama hasn't given them 100 percent of what they wanted (were they expecting a dictator?)

Now they're bummed because they realize they're going to get even LESS of what they wanted. It's their own damn fault for staying home on election day.

The Dems were bound to lose some seats, given the historical trend of a president's party losing seats in the mid-terms after he takes office. The economy made it worse---but we could've reduced those losses if young people and others got off their keesters and realized that every vote counts and that you can't always get what you want---but that doesn't mean you just stay home.

...I even worked as an election judge for 13 friggin' hours straight. Just a couple of potty breaks and one election clerk to keep me company and save my butt from exhaustion.

I don't think pointing fingers right now on DU is a good idea.

Doesn't mean you shouldn't let your real life friends know how you feel.

All my friends, even those pissed off at the President, held their nose and voted.

I was pissed off (still am), held my nose, vote straight Dem, then came home and threw up!.. LOL
(Okay, I lied about tossing my cookies but I really wanted to)

I voted the week before, as I knew I'd be on a business trip (as usual) on Election Day.

But I agree with your point--if you don't vote, you don't get the right to bitch and moan.

I was one of those who was going to stay home as well but not for the strawman you just concocted - I'll explain the strawman shortly.

But my wife talked me out of it by a very simple but quite sage piece of advice. She said 'if you don't vote, you're ceding the power to the aholes on the right'.

That was enough for me - at 6:05am EST, I was pushing all of the Dem buttons in the booth without even looking at the names.

Now, regarding your strawman - it's the white house talking point that makes me nauseaus. NO, we on the Left did not expect 100% of anything. But what we did NOT expect is him kissing up to the right wing whores from day one. Got it now? I hope so.

like Lieberman & Lincoln.....

There is a world of difference between "not getting all we wanted" and "getting things we did not want"

People stayed home when Bush* was running because they figured there was no point. Voting, in large numbers, is the only way to effect change. That's why I made GOTV calls for my congressman, despite getting insulted and hung up on, because the votes I did get made it worth it. :)