Politics

Entries related to things political.

Researching Superdelegates

Democracy for America has a petition to Let the Voters Decide, asking superdelegates to respect the popular vote. In those electron filled back channels of the internet, which may be replacing the smoke filled backrooms of yesteryear, and which I must admit, I’m a member of several, there have been lots of discussions about superdelegates and how they should vote. Should the vote be winner take all? Should it be based on the state a superdelegate is from? The congressional district? Some other constituency?

One person sent an email to a discussion on Minnesota Campaign Report started by a Superdelegate. I’ve been spending some time helping with the www.superdelegates.org website, so I thought I would organize the notes on Superdelegate.org about the Minnesota superdelegates. I wrote about what I found in a comment on that thread, and am copying the comment here:

This is a great discussion. I want to thank Megan for getting the ball rolling everyone for their comments. I'm not from Minnesota, and this is my first post here. I hope you will accept it for what it is and that it will add to the discussion.

I've been helping out a little bit with the Superdelegates.org websites. It is a Wiki where anyone can post information about superdelegates. I've spent a little time looking into the superdelegates in Minnesota and have helped get the Minnesota page into shape.

Based on CNN, Minnesota has 16 superdelegates. Superdelegate.org has identified 14 of these superdelegates. It doesn't include Megan. Any information that can be posted about Megan and the other unknown superdelegate would be greatly appreciated. Also, any corrections would be greatly appreciated.

Also, according to CNN, Minnesota went 67% to 32% for Obama in the caucuses, and the ratio matched the pledged delegates assigned, 48 for Obama and 24 for Clinton. Amongst the superdelegates, as identified by Superdelgates.org, the same ratio is playing out by superdelegates that have endorsed one candidate or another. 6 of the 9 have endorsed Obama and 3 of the 9 have endorsed Clinton.

We can spend a lot of time arguing about whether or not Superdelegates are good for the system, and I find it an interesting argument. One of the most compelling parts of the argument against superdelegates is the lack of transparency and accountability. One way of addressing this is by working together, and making the process more transparent and more accountable.

So, stop by at Superdelegates.org, add whatever information you can, and help make the process more transparent and accountable.

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Recently discovered Connecticut Activist Websites

www.citizenselections.org. Okay, this isn’t all that recent a discovery. I just haven’t written much about it yet. It is tied to Common Cause, where Kim is now working.

http://ct.teachagainstgenocide.org/. Today, I got an email from Tim Salem. Tim is the teacher at Danbury High School that helped a group of students produce The Promise, a video about Genocide in the Sudan.

Both of these sites provide ways for people to get involved here in Connecticut.

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Random Potomac Primary Notes

Andy Carvin is voting! Get the play by play at Twitter and Flickr.

Debbie McCormick, et al, of the Behavioural Studies Department, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University is doing a survey about “people’s attitudes toward law and order in Second Life”. If you spend time in Second Life, please fill it out here.

The John Edwards blog goes offline today. Various online supporters have set up different sites to stay in touch with one another. JRE Grassroots was created back in 2004 and is alive and well. It is joined by The Edwardians Meeting Place, We Choose John, and several other spreadsheets, Google groups and so on.

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Clean Laundry and Clean Elections

From Project Laundry List, the eco chic activist online group, I have learned about Right to Dry legislation.

Many people in the United States are not allowed to hang out their clothes to dry in the sun. Community covenants, landlord prohibitions, and zoning laws are the three primary means of stopping people from using clotheslines. State and federal legislators are encouraged to introduce "Right to Dry" legislation to stem this growing problem.

The Hartford Courant had an editorial a few days ago supporting right to dry legislation. They note that such legislation would seem to fit nicely with Gov. Rell's OneThing campaign.

The discussion about right to dry promoted me to put up my Wordless Wednesday - Eco Chic picture.

From my wife, came an invitation to join the CT Common Cause Facebook Group. I’ve sent out a bunch of invitations. She also invited me to join the Common Cause group on Change.org. Kim has started as a senior organizer at Common Cause Connecticut. Kim’s key focus is to get people to participate in publicly funded state legislative elections under the new campaign finance laws. Details can be found at CT Citizen’s Elections Program.

Also related to elections is a series of emails and a blog post I put up on MyLeftNutmeg about Voting Problems in Hamden.

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Fiona and Barack

As many of you know, Kim and I have been loyal Edwards supporters, traveling to New Hampshire, coordinating activities here in Connecticut. When Sen. Edwards suspended his campaign, we were contacted by just about everyone. Obama supporters across the county sent us emails about why we should switch to Obama. Political dignitaries in Connecticut called us up asking us to support Clinton. We even got an email a Gravel supporter.

Many of our friends said they were going to vote for Sen. Edwards anyway, simply to make a statement, or in hopes of getting him more delegates so that he can have a greater say in the discussion about the issues that matter. I’ve voted that way before. I was glad to vote for Gov. Dean in 2004, even though he had ended his campaign and my symbolic vote was unlikely to get much attention, let alone a delegate. I voted for Tsongas back in 1992, even though he was, for all practical purposes out of the race by then.

Yet every election is different. I have mixed feelings about Sen. Obama, just as I do about Sen. Clinton. So, today, I walked into the voting booth with Fiona, still struggling how I should vote. I turned to her and asked if she thought we could still make a difference in our country without voting for Sen. Edwards.

She turned to me and said, “Yes, We Can.” I smiled. Four years ago, Gov. Dean delivered a message of hope and he is still making an important difference in our country. Deval Patrick took up the message of hope with a campaign slogan, “Together, we can”, and he is making a difference.

While I believe that Sen. Edwards message of hope was more substantive than that of Sen. Obama, in the end, I voted for the future and not for the past. I hope Fiona was right, because it is her future that I voted for.
(Cross posted at MyLeftNutmeg)

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