Carson's Corner: Creating a Meaningful Election Boycott.

On this edition of Carson's Corner, we welcome advocates from the election boycott movement, Terri Lee, Danny Haiphong, and Chris Driscoll. Terri was the co-coordinater of the Campaign to Boycott the 2012 Presidential Election. Danny is a blogger for Black Agenda Report and the author of “Making the Case for an Election Boycott: Why the Left Should Refrain from US Imperialism's Electoral Charade.” Chris was the media director and spokesperson for the 2008 Ralph Nader campaign for president and the 2006 Populist Party candidate for governor of Maryland.

Since the 1950s Americans increasingly stoped voting. Even in the historic 2008 Obama election with a record number of African Americans and youth turning out, only 58 percent voted. In non-presidential Congressional elections, less than 40 percent vote. While voting advocates charge apathy and lazyness, most nonvoters say they are fed up with a currupt government and elections with no reasonable choice. In recent elections, non-voters have been the majority, and if they had been a political party, would have been by far the largest party in America.

The loss of faith in the government is not only reflected in low voter turnout; the most recent Gallop Poll found only 7 percent have a positive view of Congress.

Laws restricting third party participation, an elections system that favors money over votes, a two-party system that has no room for any other than the official liberal and conservative ideologies, a Supreme Court that protects the right of billionaires to buy elections and politicians. Why bother, the majority of Americans ask as they throw their hands up in exasperation with a system that just doesn't work for them.

Our guests will be discussing how a group of dedicated activists are working to turn this American majority into a powerful, vocal movement to forge change and bring about a genuine democracy.