It looks like today will be the first good beach day of our vacation, so my post today will probably be more terse than normal. Even though I am on vacation, I am sitill trying to get at least a simple post up each day, even if I don't have as much time for research and editting as I would normally take.

I still get brief glances at the news and a few stories have caught my attention. In Connecticut, I am told that Republican Gubernatorial candidate is interested in limiting campaign expenditures and prohibiting negative advertising. The Malloy is reportedly circumspect about the offer. Not knowing the details, my gut feeling is that both sides should work towards an agreement on this. I realize that campaign managers and consultants may not like this idea. It might mean less money for them. However, I hope candidates will consider this as they think about what their staff recommends.

Also, the political positioning about minor party candidates participating in debates is starting to be played out. My bottom line is that if a candidate is on the ballot they should be in the debates. I hope to explore this more later, including the ethical considerations of news organizations.

I've heard that in Florida, another self financed candidate has failed. While I recognize that some wealthy candidates may have th public interest and not solely their self interest in mind, generally I think self-financd campaigns are a very bad idea and I am glad to see them failing.

As a final item, I hear that a recent poll in Connecticut has foung that 86 percent of people surveyed support some form of initative and referendum. I support ideas that will incrase voter participation. However, I believe there is a good reason that we have a representative democracy. Even as a political activist and news junkie who blogs from vacation, I find it difficult to be as informed about important issues as I believe I should be.

Initative and referendum seems to lead towards rule making by people who may not know the full story. I would love to see the survey done, broken down by whether people know who their state legislators are and how often they contact them.

Another concern about initative and referendum is that it seems like anoter avenue for the wealthy to try and impose their opinions and will on the rest of us. Perhaps if the was some sort of public financing of initative and referendum it might make more sense.

With that, it is time for me to get ready for the beach.