Third Party & Independents

Time to Play the Game

In two days America will experience a presidential election that could affect the direction of the world for the next four years, and beyond. The only problem is the election is so close that the outcome is merely a game- not an indication of which candidate can marshal the best argument to convince the American people that he should be our leader. The rules of the game are: convince the few “swing” voters in “close” states that their particular interests will be served by voting for you, thus gathering 270 electoral votes.

IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

Can both parties create a unified front in response to Bin Ladin's videotape?

Maybe it is too much to ask, but I think it's worth asking anyway. I'll be the first to admit, I'm suffering from political OD and have pulled away from the television and the blogs a bit because my head will explode if I don't. I'm trying to focus on everything but voting on my own blog. Then came this tape and I saw an epiphany; an opportunity for us to get some sense of civility just four days before D-Day.

Slant-o-meter: policy issues, personalities and leadership qualities

This week, the Slant-o-meter shows not only where the TV networks and Fox news stand regarding each one of the candidates, but also regarding the most important subjects likely to influence voters in the election.

Bush Blamed for Lunar Eclipse

October 28, 2004 -- John F. Kerry today blamed President Bush for allowing the lunar eclipse to occur last night. After spending the first fifteen minutes of his speech in Boston today celebrating the Red Sox win in the World Series, Senator Kerry launched into an attack on President Bush for failing to do anything about the terror created by the lunar eclipse.

Swing State: Arkansas

So where does one begin with talking about Arkansas politics this close to November 2nd? It seems as if my area is the abandoned undecided state at this point in the presidential election. I guess our six electoral votes are just peanuts compared to other places like California.

Fear Factor

The presidential election is upon us now and appropriately enough it will be within days of Halloween. That's because the major parties are using fear to drive people to the polls, towards their candidate and away from their opponents. Perhaps we should have Joe Rogan doing a special 'Fear Factor, Election Night' show for us next Tuesday night?

Boo who?

Ed Koch was on Comedy Central last week and made a comment that really struck a nerve with me. He made some comment about Bush and some of the audience booed. Koch responded in all seriousness "How come only liberals ever boo?". This struck me at the time as being disingenuous. I've seen plenty of political events in my day, and attended quite a few as well. Everyone boos.

Why All African Americans Should Register Independent

Honestly, this is the only way we can level the playing field and put an end to this nonsense. It's the only way we're going to get Republicans to campaign for our vote by other means than convincing us we're idiots otherwise. It's the only way we're going to get Democrats to stop taking advantage of our vote and stop using racism as a tool to fear us into voting for the left.

Wasted Votes

Most everyone has heard the argument before. “If you are going to vote for a third party candidate, you’re just throwing your vote away!” I’ve heard it over and over again, usually by partisans who are worried that their candidate will lose and are trying to win you over to ‘their side’. But who is really wasting their votes?

Why I Endorse John F. Kerry for President

Every four years We the People of the United States of America are called upon to choose our national leader, the man, or woman who will represent us on the world stage. Four years ago through Supreme Court intervention, George W. Bush became our 43th President. He did not come to the Office of the Presidency of the United States with a clear popular mandate from the We the People, and yet there he was, this vastly unqualified man who would be President.

Lets Agree to Agree

A political science professor once taught me that if there are only two candidates with a realistic chance to win an election, the laws of self-interest will inexorably push both toward the center. This theory was on grand display during the Wednesday night President Debate, with John Kerry and George W. Bush squabbling about details while being unwilling to make serious principled distinctions.

The Unspoken Answer

Jeff Jacoby brought up an interesting point in an article that he wrote this morning. In the article he writes the answer that you didn't hear in this year’s debates but SHOULD have at least one time or another.

Call me a cranky libertarian conservative, but just once I would like to hear a candidate for president answer a question by saying, "Sorry, the Constitution limits the role of the federal government -- the issue you're asking about is one for the states or the private sector, not Washington."

Hard issues missing in post-debate talk

With the exception of NBC, the networks, both cable and broadcast, ignored hard issues in their post debate analyses. Although almost 90% of the statements by the candidates during the three debates concerned policy-related issues, none of the networks topped NBC’s 45% share of issue-oriented comments in their post debate analyses. Instead, the experts focused on the candidates’ appearance or their personal lives and history.

America Asks: Who is John Kerry?

Who is John Kerry is a question that many voters are asking. According to a recent Rasmussen Reports survey, performed between the second and third debates:

* 77% of voters say that they have a clear idea of where President Bush stands on key issues and 16% do not.

* 56% of voters say that they have a clear idea where Senator Kerry stands on key issues and 34% do not.

Why Kerry's not doing so well in polls

While polls differ as to the question which candidate would be elected president if the elections were held today, Media Tenor's data shows that Kerry's coverage in the context of hard issues, such as the economy, healthcare or education, is mostly negative on TV news.

Kerry to Bush: Yes I am a Liberal and Wear It Proudly

Lib�er�al�politics; progressive politically or socially: favoring gradual reform, especially political reforms that extend democracy, distribute wealth more evenly, and protect the personal freedom of the individual.

Here we go, when all else fails trot out the label, Liberal, and suddenly the issues don�t matter anymore. When all else fails and you can beat your opponent on the issues, label him a Liberal, because we all know how bad they are. I say Kerry should embrace his Liberal leanings and give speech to that effect.

Post-debate panels: Soft issues more prominent in post-debate discussion

The candidates’ appearance during the debate as well as their personalities were of much greater prominence in the discussions following the debate than in the debate itself.

The Debate and the Flip-flop Issue

These different strategies were clearly reflected in the breakdown of which one of the two was more frequently the subject of criticism: In Bush‘s comments and replies, 75.7% of his statements where about himself and his administration's actions and achievements, while 24.3% were on Kerry. Conversely, Kerry criticized Bush in 71.9% of his statements and promoted his ideas in 28.1%. Charts can be found here.

We Don't Need No Education

One of my top 3 issues is always education. It has been since I was a teenager, and is even more so now that I am a parent. "Leave No Child Behind" has been a non-started since day one. Schools have been under funded and increasingly forced to indoctrinate 'loyal consumers' rather than actually educate children.