Category Archives: Campaigns & Elections
Apparently, Ron Paul promotes “crazy” conspiracy theories. What frequently goes unasked is, in comparison to what? Continue reading
The Huffington Post has put up a feature it calls “Fundrace,” which allows users to search by address, city, name, occupation, or employer to find out who has made campaign donations of $200 or more, of which federal law requires public disclosure. On a whim, I did a vanity search for my name, even though I had only contributed $100 to the Ron Paul campaign. Of course, I wasn’t in the results, but someone else who shares my name was: … Continue reading
Given the results of the 2006 elections, one could wonder whether scandals actually matter for electoral outcomes. Senator Conrad Burns of Montana, who used a subcommittee chairmanship to fulfill the requests of Jack Abramoff in exchange for cash,1 did lose his seat, but only by such a slim margin several days of vote counting were necessary to ascertain the final outcome. Other politicians with ties to Abramoff, such as Representatives John Doolittle,2 Roy Blunt,3 and Pete Sessions,4 won reelection. Additionally, … Continue reading
An R next to a politician’s name might as well be a scarlet letter in 2006. Voters have tired of Republican President George W. Bush for his ignorance of reality in Iraq and abuses of power at home. And Americans have soured on Republican custodians of Congress for lining their pockets with lobbyists’ bribes and concealing the depredations of individual congressmen. Because of these failings of national Republicans, the incumbent Republican Senator for Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee, must win re-election … Continue reading
In the upcoming elections, Democrats have the strongest chance of seizing control of the House of Representatives since 1994. Perhaps they will take the Senate as well. Republicans, after all, have left the door open for Democrats: They have pushed an unpopular war in Iraq. They have tainted themselves with the stench of Jack Abramoff. They have supported a president who, through incompetent response to terrorism and Hurricane Katrina, has earned the ire of the American public. And, recently, they … Continue reading
Consider the presidential election system we have today: Every state has a number of electors, equal to their amount of representatives and senators, who vote for the President of the United States. In most states, every elector goes to the candidate who achieves the most popular votes, regardless of his margin of victory. This means: Presidential candidates have little reason to campaign to the whole country. If partisan or personal loyalty makes victory certain in a state, a candidate can … Continue reading
