[None of the Above raw #15]

Raw interviews in Allentown, PA for None of the Above, a documentary special on non-voters and the 1996 Presidential election.

00:00Copy video clip URL Opening shots around Allentown.

01:00Copy video clip URL Interview with Fran Dimmick, who says she votes to keep Democrats in office because they have the interests of the people at heart. She believes that her vote counts and feels like media coverage should focus more on issues.

06:55Copy video clip URL Interview with Wylie Jenkins, who says that voting is important. He doesn’t know much about the current election but is concerned about taxes.

11:00Copy video clip URL Interview with Joel, a tattoo artist from Allentown, who talks while he is working. He says he doesn’t vote because “voting sucks” and that if you vote and your candidate wins, you’re part of the problem. He claims that he prefers to stay neutral and complain. He also expresses a distrust of politics and politicians, whom he says are stealing from people in underhanded ways.

26:00Copy video clip URL Interview with a Puerto Rican who doesn’t vote because he doesn’t have a card. He thinks it’s important to vote because “it’s good for the state.”

28:38Copy video clip URL Shots of a local festival with Uncle Sam on stilts greeting the crowd.

30:50Copy video clip URL Interview with Janet, who is a secretary and claims that she votes because she’s concerned about the direction of the country. She is interested in the conservative agenda and lowering taxes. She also claims that there is a liberal agenda in the media and describes herself as a Rush Limbaugh listener. She also says that those who don’t vote can’t complain. She also believes there is a sense that more people are becoming politically active in this election.

38:45Copy video clip URL Interview with Bill, who is a public school teacher in Allentown. He says that it is important to vote, even though his individual vote may not count as much due to the electoral college. He claims that many people don’t vote because they don’t feel like they are Americans, even if they’re born in this country. He says that money and power have a lot of influence in the political arena, and claims that the United States is a “very large corporation and not everyone is hired.”

46:25Copy video clip URL Interview with Laurie Dyer from Atlanta, GA, who is a hatmaker. She says that voting is expressing your choice and it is important for everyone to do. She says that one of the problems with the news media is that when they edit what someone says by using soundbites, we miss the whole message from the candidate.

55:43Copy video clip URL End of tape.