CNN iReport

Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist, is not very good at thinking clearly. On the CNN.com site, she has an editorial where she claims, "You're not allowed to complain if you don't vote, and if you're anything like me, it would be impossible to stay silent for four years."

...and that's it. She says nothing, absolutely nothing, to support this claim. She just leaves it as an unsupported assertion.

Well, I think I should take this opportunity to explain why she is absolutely wrong.

If you don't vote, then you are saying that you don't support the democratic process, nor the leader who gets elected. So in fact by not voting you do have a right to complain, because you are being forced into a system of rule that you did not consent to.

However, if you do vote, then you are consenting to the electoral process, which is merely a popularity contest, and by voting you are conceding to allow the most popular candidate to rule over you, even if you voted for the other guy.

So logically, only if you vote do you lose your right to complain. And only by not voting do you retain your right to object to the outcome.

One other thing I want to mention: Donna says that not voting is equivalent to staying silent for four years. This, also, is completely backwards. If you cast a vote, then you are consenting to the outcome of the election regardless of what that outcome is. You are essentially silencing yourself and supporting the status quo.

However, a low voter turnout is well-known by politicians themselves to be sending a louder, stronger message than any vote that is actually cast. Politicians are always trying to obscure this fact by equating voting with "making your voice heard," but the truth is that the politicians want you to get in line and comply and not speak up, and that is why they want you to vote. Nothing sends a clearer message, or embarrasses the government more, than a low voter turnout. The last thing the government wants is a non-vote, because a non-vote says to the government, "I am not happy with the choices you offer, nor the system you want me to participate in."

What louder message and what louder complaint can you make than that?

So if you like being the silent majority, if you like the way things are, if you like the status quo, then line up like sheep to be shorn in the polling booths. But if you want to complain, if you want to make some noise, if you want to let the politicians know that you do not approve of their actions, then don't vote.