Say What You Believe, Vote For What You Believe! I wish all candidates and voters followed this simple rule.
Most would say my politics are liberal although I consider myself a Libertarian. A few years ago, I was helping a Republican gather signatures for his candidacy. My liberal friends were perplexed; how could you help a Republican!
The answer was quite simple. This candidate always told you what he believed in, whether you agreed or not. He even at times irked some of the Republicans. I respected his honesty and believed he should be on the ballot. Let the voters decide. He lost the race but I was proud to help him.
As I follow the presidential candidates, I look to see that the candidates say what they believe. Flop flopping is a waste of time. You can't please everybody so it makes more sense to say what you believe. Once people perceive you to be a liar, nobody will believe you when you speak the truth.
I'm from Massachusetts and I won't vote for Mitt Romney. I disagree with his views and it irks me that he is flip flopping to be a conservative. While he's no liberal, trust me, he certainly is no conservative!
A site you may find interesting is Massachusetts Republicans For Truth. While I'm not conservative I support this site. It is wrong to misrepresent your candidacy and I applaud these Massachusetts Republicans for taking a stand and being honest.
You have the right to vote for Mitt Romney, but do so if you believe a moderate Republican is the right choice.
If I were a conservative, I'd be outraged at Romney's campaign. It was the same when John Kerry tried to pass himself off as a liberal. Both are moderates.
Say what you truly believe. I may disagree with you but I'll respect you. Vote for what you believe in. Don't follow polls or the popularity of candidates. Vote your beliefs!
With today's technology, there is no excuse to be uninformed!
Sincerely,
Alan
Interesting story in the Wall Street Journal.
"John Edwards topped the field of Democratic presidential contenders in the liberal blog DailyKos's latest straw poll. But Barack Obama has the most "friends" on MySpace. Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, has drawn much heavier traffic to her Web site than either of her biggest competitors."
The Internet is finding new and interesting ways to present political information. Here are two interesting links that I'll discuss in detail in a future post.
Here is a sample of what you'll find on these sites.
CitizenTube
YourChoice08
MSNBC has published an interesting article about politics and the Internet. The article discusses different business opportunities and services that Internet startups are planning to offer the 2008 campaign.
"Howard Dean was dubbed the Internet candidate in the 2004 presidential race, but his efforts to campaign online seem primitive compared to the services companies are touting for next year's election.
From creating video games starring candidates to hosting virtual online campaign events, Internet companies see increasing opportunities in the business of politics."
Click here for the complete article.
The Internet provides anyone the opportunity to read a multitude of opinions on any issue if they choose to. You have the opportunity to read conservative and liberal blogs, conservative and middle of the road newspapers, liberal college newspapers, and the opportunity to read newspapers and magazines from all over the world.
Where is the liberal press? I hear all the time how the liberal press lies and how the liberals are ruining America. The Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress for the past six years so anything that has happened has been granted by the Republicans.
But where is the liberal press? It certainly is not the New York Times! They are moderate as are most of the major newspapers. Advertising pays for the press and most businesses that advertise play the middle of the road. Why let your opinions and values interfere with making money.
The conservatives have most of the media. Talk radio is everywhere and talk radio is conservative. Townhall.com is conservative and Townhall.com is a major player. Fox News is the voice of the White House and Fox news is conservative.
So where is the liberal press? Is it hidden with the weapons of mass destruction? There use to be a strong underground press. But in my area the Boston Phoenix is now mainstream with a bit of an edge.
College student newspapers have a liberal wing. In some ways the college conservative student newspapers are liberal as they test the boundaries of freedom of speech.
The Internet is a fertile ground for liberal and radical views. They exist as blogs. I don't mean the ones that just rant and rave and name call, but the ones that actually provide information. There are also sites like gather.com, associatedcontent.com, buzzle.com, newsvine.com, and italknews.com that have the potential to act as the liberal press.
Ideally, everyone should read all the points of view. This marketing concept of conservative and liberal is really just a waste. It makes people feel that they are part of a team. They aren't on the starting team but they are part of a team.
So, where is the liberal press?
Immigration is a hot topic! Many immigrants come to this country legally and eventually apply for U.S. Citizenship. As an English as a Second Language teacher, I've had the pleasure of helping some of my students study for the U.S. Citizenship test.
It is not an easy test. Many Americans, Democrat or Republican, Green or Libertarian, would find this test challenging.
Click here to take the test. I got this information from the book, Pass the U.S. Citizenship Exam, published by Learning Express, ISBN: 1-57685-222-9.
Think campaigns are negative today? According to the book, Presidential Campaigns by Paul Boller, Jr., (ISBN 0-19-503722-7) today's campaigns are polite, sanitized affairs compared to the campaigns of the nineteenth century.
This is an interesting book that I am reading. It provides some insight into the negative campaigns that are the norm today. It definitely tells you that negative and dirty campaigning are not new. It existed since the birth of the United States.
Maybe dirty politics is just part of human nature. I've always believed that voters expect their candidates to represent the values that they as voters wished they had. My candidate should be the person that I want to be but am not. I find that those that criticize the values of a candidate usually emulate the same flaws.
As I read, Presidential Campaigns, I'll write some blog entries that highlight some of the more interesting campaigns.
Let's begin by going back in time to 1800. The Federalists and the Republicans are running candidates for President. The Federalist ticket consists of John Adams (running for a second term) and his Vice Presidential candidate is Charles Cotesworth Pickney. The Republican ticket consisted of Thomas Jefferson for President (current Vice President) and Aaron Burr, the Vice Presidential candidate.
The election process was a bit different back then; the electoral college voted for two candidates. The first place candidate became President and the second place candidate became the Vice President. A President and Vice President could be from two different parties. Remember, the U.S. Constitution wisely never mentioned political parties.
Thomas Jefferson was a free thinker and an atheist. John Adams was considered to be an aristocrat. This campaign was full of dirty campaigning and ended with an exciting climax.
Alexander Hamilton, a Federalist, so disliked John Adams, the Federalist candidate for President, that he wrote a letter intended for the South Carolina delegates. His intent was to sway the vote for Charles Cotesworth Pickney, the Vice Presidential candidate. Remember, the first place finisher became President. However, this letter made its way to the press. He described John Adams as,
"I would be deficient in candor", he wrote, "were I to conceal the conviction, that he does not possess the talents adapted to the Administration of Government, and that there are great and intrinsic defects in his character which unfit him for the office of Chief Magistrate." Adams, he said, was petty, mean, egotistic, erratic, eccentric, jealous-natured, and hot-tempered. pg. 11
The attacks on Jefferson were a bit more direct.
With Jefferson, as First Magistrate, warned the Connecticut Courant, "Murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest will be openly taught and practiced, the air will be rent with the cries of the distressed, the soil will be soaked with blood, and the nation black with crimes." pg. 12
The Republicans disseminated a rumor that John Adams sent his Vice Presidential candidate to procure four mistresses, two for Adams and two for Pickney.
Adams responded with a great answer.
"I do declare upon my honor," chuckled Adams when he heard the story, "if this be true General Pickney has kept them all for himself and cheated me out of my two." pg. 13
Jefferson won the election but not right away. He tied for first place with Aaron Burr. Both received 73 votes from the Electoral College. The election went to the House of Representatives. Jefferson needed nine votes to win. He didn't receive the necessary number on the first ballot, nor the second ballot, nor the third. Six days later, the election was decided.
"On February 17, six days after the voting had begun, several Federalist Congressmen who had been supporting Burr and failed to get any commitments from him decided to cast blank ballots, and end the deadlock. On the thirty-sixth ballot that morning, one Vermont Congressman and four from Maryland abstained from voting and thus gave those states to Jefferson; and Delaware and South Carolina, previously for Burr, cast blank ballots. The outcome: Jefferson won with ten votes to Burr's four." pg. 15
Our country learned from this election. To prevent this type of event from happening again, the Twelfth Amendment was added to our Constitution.
"To avoid another situation like the one that faced the nation in 1801, the Twelfth Amendment, requiring the Electoral College to vote separately for President and Vice-President was added to the Constitution in 1804." pg. 17
John Edwards’ campaign enters Second Life.
This article discusses how, through the efforts of a grassroots supporter, Jerimee Richir, (Second Life persona, Jose Rote) created a virtual world counterpart of the John Edwards campaign. From the article
"… think of this as a scouting mission… it is unofficial in that the campaign is not spending money, and I am not paid, however the campaign is aware that we are organizing in Second Life, and cooperating as much as they can. I keep them updated on what I have learned, and they let me know things that will be helpful. Rote says he expects his efforts to be incorporated into the official campaign within a month."
Click here to read my entry, 13. John Edwards and Virtual World Politics.
There is an interesting article published on MSNBC, Reading Hillary Rodham's hidden thesis, that discusses her college thesis about Saul (David) Alinsky. I am not a Hillary Clinton supporter but this article raised my curiosity about Saul Alinsky. Who was he?
Paraphrased from Answers.com,
Saul Alinsky was a neighborhood activist from Chicago. He was born on January 30, 1909 and died on June 12, 1972. In 1936, he founded the Back-of-The-Yards neighborhood reform group.
He authored two books:
Books about Saul Alinsky include:
To learn more about Saul Alinsky, review the following articles:
- Answer.com
- Wikipedia.org, (The neutrality of this article. Review the neutrality discussion.)
Sincerely,
Alan
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