So in addition to using it as a moblog for my Q9c the other reason I wanted to set this up was so I could post longer form entries than on Twitter.
Sometimes I have very little to say. Although I can always say this: I’m always listening. Can’t stop the signal.
Oh, and Mr. Red Hat Thinks He’s So Smart and Witty who called me Kevin Smith today: you’re on my list, pal. Flying monkeys all up on you, now.
This kid’s the cutest. Ever.
Take a picture of yourself right now. Don’t change your clothes or fix your hair, just take a picture. Post that picture with no editing. Include these instructions.
http://campaign.blog.bobbarr2008.com/2008/09/18/bob-barr-rides-again-in-texas/
Read and digest. They didn’t certify themselves before the deadline to be on the ballot in Texas.
Apologies to the For Dummies folks. Mynn suggested the title.
Along with her suggestions, I’ve pulled information from fivethirtyeight and Wikipedia.
Nearly every state and the District of Columbia are winner-take-all states: the candidate that wins the state wins all of their electors. Maine and Nebraska, use a tiered system where a single elector is chosen within each Congressional district and two electors are chosen by statewide popular vote. If you’re in Maine or Nebraska, your vote matters insofar as your district’s elector. You’ll have to find local data for yourself.
Now for the “Am I Super-Red or Super-Blue” vote, or “Where won’t I ‘hurt’ the national election?” states. The important states according to fivethirtyeight.com are “Tipping point” states; states that are decisive in a close election for a given percentage of simulations, the most “swinging” of swing states, which are as follows:
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I don’t do this often, but for once, I can’t keep my mouth shut.
Most of us live in solidly red or solidly blue states. For example, I live in New Jersey. It’s going blue in November, thanks to Newark, Trenton and Camden. My vote is effectively canceled out by our good Democratic friends in the big cities, so in the end, it statistically doesn’t matter who I vote for in this state. Its electoral votes will go to Obama.
Admittedly because I believe most of the ideals of the Libertarian party, I’m voting for Bob Barr anyway. You’ve probably seen him on The Colbert Report. He’s the most prominent 3rd party candidate.
Problem is, we have a LOT of “third parties” around here, mostly because they don’t get enough airtime, and they’re not included in the nationally televised Presidential Debates. Why not? Because they specifically exclude any candidate from the debate unless they meet the following criteria:
Now how do they expect parties that AREN’T “red” or “blue” to poll 15% nationally if they don’t receive the same nationwide coverage for their candidates? We’re not kooks, you know. Matter of fact, Zogby International did a nationwide survey (also reported in the LA Times), and guess what? 69% of unaffiliated Independent voters (meaning not registered as any one party) are in favor of allowing Bob Barr into the debates. And the younger the voter, the more likely they were to want to hear another opinion. Naturally, only 39% of surveyed Democrats and 41% of surveyed Republicans were in favor. Overall, 55% said they wanted a third voice in the debates.
It’s a loaded system set up in favor of the Democrats and the Republicans. How do we fix it?
We all drop the idea of being “spoilers” or saying “my vote doesn’t count” or anything like that. We come together and realize the only way we can effect any change is to get behind something and push. The last time that happened, Ross Perot got into the debates. And he opened everything up, and the reds and the blues got scared.
Then in 2000 they added the “15% polling” clause into the debate requirements. They were scared of Ralph Nader that time. He was the first “big” third party candidate since Perot, and they didn’t want their precious boat rocked.
Every vote counts. Right now, the Libertarian party is polling at 3% according to CNN and 6% according toZogby. Once a third party, ANY third party, reaches 15%, they don’t just get access to the debates. They could even get access to federal matching funds, which you receive by getting 5% or more of the popular vote in a previous election. 15% in opinion polls and 5% in popular vote, and then you can finally see and hear change that would ACTUALLY make a difference in this country.
Red state? Blue state? If your state’s not “in play,” help the country out.
Your vote counts.
Vote for real change. Vote Libertarian.
Blue hat.
