Global Vote Project feed

Live TV Prank

josh — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:22:44 -0800

About halfway through the video they do a prank on folks... making them think they are suddenly responsible for live TV content. The prompt was what do you think about George Bush and the war on terror. Amazing to see what comes out.

http://www.superdeluxe.com/sd/contentDetail.do?id=D81F2344BF5AC7BBA5D32D...

GVP User Map

vicmccolm — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:18:30 -0700

http://www.globalvoteproject.org/map
Don't forget to add your location in your profile so that you show up on your user map!! Its a really cool feature of the site!

Economist's Global Electoral College

vicmccolm — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:16:00 -0700

http://www.economist.com/vote2008/
This is a really cool initiative that might be of interest to our GVP community.

Presidential Campaign Finance

josh — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:32:16 -0700

The Federal Election Commission has put together an amazing resource to review compaign contributions.
Search or browse around here...
http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapApp.do

Obama's "Plan for Change" video

vicmccolm — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:03:30 -0700

Check out the Global Vote Project!

vicmccolm — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:01:16 -0700

Check out the Global Vote Project!

I voted for John McCain

josh — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:54:51 -0700

I voted for John McCain in 2008 at the Global Vote Project. Stop by to research the election, discuss the issues, and cast your vote. www.globalvoteproject.org

I voted for Barack Obama

josh — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:53:11 -0700

I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 at the Global Vote Project. Stop by to research the election, discuss the issues, and cast your vote.
www.globalvoteproject.org

Fact checking the candidates

hoque.farzana — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:29:02 -0700

US citizens are fortunate that they get to vote for their head of government, but you first want to make sure you get the facts on your candidates right before you vote yea? It's been difficult getting the facts straight on the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates from the media and some internet sources. Here's a source that looks helpful: http://www.factcheck.org/. Do people (Democrats, Republicans, and others) generally see this as an unbiased, accurate source? What are other similar sources that can be used to fact check?

Update on Iraqi refugees situation - from the DHS & DOS

hoque.farzana — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:44:39 -0700

Here's a link with a DHS update from 9/12: http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1221247953490.shtm.

This link offers helpful information on the situation and puts in perspective the US government's actions in comparison to other governments: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5563

Hopefully the next President and his administration will follow suit with the recommendations and make things easier for Iraqi refugees.

from jordan

tina — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:37:22 -0700

I hope the next US Presdent will work to resolve the war in Iraq. In Jordan it is difficult because we are borded by so many countries in conflict. The war on terror is of great concern to us because we want to be safe. so many iraq refugees come to Jordan and we want to help, but we have almost enough water for even ourselves.

Obviously!

susan.cobbler — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:30:44 -0700

Obviously global warming should be at the top of the next President's agenda - IT AFFECTS THE ENTIRE WORLD. Are there still people in the US who think its a joke?!

Can it be fixed?

susan.cobbler — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:25:07 -0700

I think that the reputation of America is irreparably damaged in the eyes of the world. The next President will have a major task on his hands. Building trust is such a difficult thing, and after its broken, even more difficult. The US is part of an international community that it helped create - the United Nations for example, is continually shunned and overruled by the US. Its not a perfect body, I think we can agree to that, but it represents an ideal. The same ideal that the America used to represent. The next U.S. leader must understand that people don't "hate freedom", they dislike being lied to, they dislike hypocrisy, and they dislike being bullied. 1) Close Guantanamo Bay - this is absolute hypocrisy and tells the world that there are no human rights - only American rights 2) Re-engage with the United Nations - instead of being critical at all levels, be a leader, consider the security council and the status quo that it preserves 3) Iraq - don't pull out and leave it in one big mess. America has a responsibility to help fix the problems it created. How is it possible that five years on much of the Iraqi population STILL lack reliable electricity, clean water and sanitation - the very basic of human needs. 4) Stop the thwarting of critical international treaties - climate change and other issues don't just affect Americans - they affect the people of the world and we are each responsible for doing our part. Thank you! Susan

Negative Ads

josh — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:50:44 -0700

I've been really turned off by the negative ads I've seen on TV. The two I saw were "appoved" by John McCain.

Which candidate do you think will more effectively deal with Iraq?

joel — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:13:01 -0700

U.S. Electoral Process

joel — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:08:56 -0700

The US presidential election process begins when someone decides to run for President. To be a candidate, one has to be at least 35 years old and a natural born US citizen. This means being born in a US territory, or being born to a US citizen abroad. He or she must also have lived in the US for at least 14 years. Presidential terms occur in 4 year periods. If someone has served as President for 2 terms, he/she may not run again. In addition, if he/she served as President or acting President for a term that someone else was elected for, and then served as President a separate full term, he/she may also not run again.

When someone runs for US President, he/she is applying for the position that is the highest political office in the US. In some countries the position of President is mostly ceremonial. However, in the US, the President has vast, but limited powers. He/she is the Head of State, Head of US Government, the Head of the Executive Branch, and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The US Constitution institutes checks and balances to ensure that none of the three branches of US government – the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, becomes too powerful. This is the mechanism that prevents the US President from amassing too much power.

As Head of State, the US President is the highest level representative of the US and meets with leaders of other countries. He/she can also make treaties; however, the Senate must approve these treaties before they can go into effect. As Chief of Government, the President is technically the ultimate boss of all government employees. As Head of the Executive Branch, he/she approves laws that the Congress creates. When the Senate and House of Representatives approve a bill, they must send it to the President to sign it into effect. If the President signs the bill, it becomes a law. Alternatively, he/she can veto the bill, in which case two-thirds of Congress must vote against the President to overrule the veto. Only the Congress can submit a bill; the President can only propose to Congress that it submit it. As Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the President has the power to send US troops abroad, even when not at war. For the US to go to war, Congress must first give its approval.

If a candidate meets the requirements to run for President and wants to fulfill the aforementioned job tasks as well as other functions, he/she will begin a political campaign to win his/her respective party nomination. In the US Presidential election system, primaries and caucuses are the way in which a political party nominates its candidate to run for the next general election. Primaries and caucuses are very different from each other, and they vary from state to state as well. However, the functions of each are the same. Each state and US territory has a primary or caucus for each political party, and US citizens from that state/territory can attend and express their interest for a particular candidate. A US citizen can only participate in one primary or caucus for one political party. Based on the amount of support that each candidate gets, a certain number of delegates from that state are proportionately allotted to each candidate. Therefore, the more support a candidate gets from their party supporters, the more delegate he/she gets. This is an indirect vote for the candidate because citizens are selecting representative delegates to vote on their behalf for the candidate that they supported.

Delegates attend party national conventions where they vote for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate that they were sent to vote for. The next Democratic National Convention will take place in Denver, Colorado and start on August 25. The Republican National Convention will take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota starting on September 1. This year Democrats have 4,234 delegates, and Republicans have 2,380. The candidate within each party that gets the most delegates will win his/her party’s nomination to run for President against other party nominees.

Once each political party has their Presidential nominee selected, the general election is ready to take place. This happens through the Electoral College. US citizens do not directly vote for the US President or Vice President, but rather for representatives to vote on their behalf. These representatives are called electors and there are 538 of them total. Together they are called the Electoral College. Each state and Washington, DC are each given a certain number of electors. For the states, the number is based on the number of Senators and Representatives that they have. Washington, DC has 3 electors. US territories do not have electors. All US citizens that want to vote can do so on the 1st Tuesday following the first Monday in November. Forty-eight states and Washington, DC have a system where the candidate that wins the most electors takes all the state’s electors rather than just the proportionate amount that they won. Because of this system, it is possible that a candidate that wins the nationwide popular vote does not win the general election, because they were able to win the most electors. This happened in 1876, 1888 and 2000.

Once electors are selected, they meet on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to vote for the President and Vice President on behalf of the citizens that selected them. Electors are not bound to vote for a particular candidate, but in essence they are pledged to a specific President and Vice President. A candidate must win at least 270 votes from the electors to win the election. If it is a tie, the President is selected by the House of Representatives, and the Vice President is selected by the Sentate.

Green Party

joel — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:07:06 -0700

Party Chairman: 7 Co-Chairs
Senate Leader: None
House Leader: None
Founders: Howie Hawkins, John Rensenbrink
Founded: 2001
Headquarters: 1711 18th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20009
National Convention Location and Date: Chicago, IL July 10-13, 2008
Website: www.gp.org/

In the United States, the Green Party has been active as a third party since the 1980s. The party first gained widespread public attention during Ralph Nader's presidential runs in 1996 and 2000. Green Party supports environmentalism, non-hierarchical participatory democracy, social justice, respect for diversity, peace and nonviolence.

Libertarian Party

joel — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:03:49 -0700

Party Chairman: Bill Redpath
Senate Leader: None
House Leader: None
Founder: David Nolan
Date Founded: December 11, 1971
Headquarters: 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20037
National Convention Location and Date: Denver, CO May 22-26, 2008
Website: http://www.lp.org/

The Libertarian Party was established in Westminster, Colorado, in 1971. It is one of the largest continuing Third parties in the US, claiming more than 200,000 registered voters. It is the US political party devoted to the principles of libertarianism. It supports free market, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration across borders, and non-interventionism in foreign policy that respects freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.

Democratic Party

joel — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:59:49 -0700

Chairman: Howard Dean
Senate Leader: Harry Reid
House Leader: Nancy Pelosi (speaker), Steny Hoyer (majority leader)
Founders: Thomas Jefferson
Date Founded: 1824 (modern) - 1792 (historical)
Headquarters: 430 South Capitol Street SE Washington, D.C. 20003
National Convention Location and Date: Denver, CO August 25-28, 2008
Website: www.democrats.org

HISTORY - NAME - SYMBOL
The Democratic Party is the oldest political party in the United States: it has its origins in the coalition formed by Thomas Jefferson and other opponents of the Federalists in 1792.

In the mid-20th century the Democrats became a party of vigorous government intervention in the economy and in the social realm, willing to regulate and redistribute wealth and to protect those least able to help themselves in an increasingly complex society. The Great Depression after 1929 and the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, with his New Deal, solidified and expanded the political agenda. The modern history of the Democratic Party has been characterized by the presidencies of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

The logo of the Democratic Party, the donkey, was popularized by cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 1870s. Since election night 2000 the color blue has become the identified color of the Democratic Party.

IDEOLOGY
Historically, the Democratic Party has supported organized labour, ethnic minorities, and progressive reform. The modern Democratic Party generally supports a strong federal government with powers to regulate business and industry in the public interest; federally financed social services and benefits for the poor, the unemployed, the aged, and other groups; and the protection of civil rights. Most Democrats also endorse a strong separation of church and state, and they generally oppose government regulation of the private, non-economic lives of citizens. Regarding foreign policy, Democrats tend to prefer internationalism and multilateralism—i.e., the execution of foreign policy through international institutions such as the United Nations—over isolationism and unilateralism. However, because the party is highly decentralized (as is the Republican Party), it encompasses a wide variety of opinion on certain issues.

Attached the 2004 National Platform

VOTER BASE
Academics, intellectuals and the highly educated overall constitute an important part of the Democratic voter base. Also the American working class constitues as an essential part of the voter base. A large portion of the Democratic voting base are ethnic minorities: African Americans favored the Republican Party from the end of the Civil War but also the Hispanic population have been strong supporters of the party.
Geografically the Democratic Party is now strongest in the Northeast (Mid-Atlantic and New England), Great Lakes region, as well as along the Pacific Coast (especially Coastal California), including Hawaii. The Democrats are also strongest in major cities.

OPINION AND EDITORIALS

Calling Al Gore - SPIEGEL ONLINE International - April 10, 2008

USEFUL LINKS

Republican Party

joel — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:54:00 -0700

Chairman: Mike Duncan
Senate Leader: Mitch McConnell
House Leader: John Boehner
Founders: Alvan E. Bovay/Abraham Lincoln
Date Founded: 1854
Headquarters: 310 First Street SE Washington, D.C. 20003
National Convention Location and Date: St. Paul, MN September 1-4, 2008
Website: www.gop.com

HISTORY - NAME - SYMBOL
The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery expansion activists and modernizers. Its initial base was in the Northeast and Midwest. The Republican Party rose to prominence in the 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president. The Civil War and the Reconstruction period gave the Republican Party a solid core of strength and permanence. However the Republicans were troubled by internal dissension and scandals towards the end of the 19th century. The second half f the 20th century saw election of Republican presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

The term Republican was adopted in 1792 by supporters of Thomas Jefferson, even if his faction soon became known as the Democratic-Republican Party and ironically evolved by the 1830s into the Democratic Party. The term "Grand Old Party" is a traditional nickname for the Republican Party, commonly designed with "GOP". The mascot symbol, historically, is the elephant. After the 2000 election the color red became associated with the GOP even if not officially adopted.

IDEOLOGY
The Republican Party traditional ideology has been characterized by laissez-faire capitalism, low taxes, and conservative social policies.
The party generally supports lower taxes and limited government in most economic areas allowing for more economic freedom. They favor a free-market, policies supporting business, economic liberalism, and fiscal conservatism but with higher spending on the military. Most Republicans believe that strict environmental standards hurt businesses and therefore support reductions in environmental regulations based on the principle of laissez-faire economics (for example President George W. Bush has publicly opposed ratification of the Kyoto Protocols).
A majority of the GOP's national and state candidates are pro-life and oppose abortion on religious or moral grounds, and favor faith-based initiatives. Most of the GOP's membership favors capital punishment and stricter punishments as a means to prevent crime. Republicans generally strongly support constitutionally protected gun ownership rights.
Regarding foreign policy, the Republican Party traditionally has supported a strong national defense and the aggressive pursuit of U.S. national security interests.

Attached the 2004 National Platform

VOTER BASE
The GOP is usually seen as the traditionally pro-business party and it garners major support from a wide variety of industries from the financial sector to small businesses. Republicans hold a large majority in the armed services.
Geographically the Republican "base" is strongest in the South and West, and weakest in the Northeast and the Pacific Coast. The Republican Party's strongest focus of political influence lies in the Great Plains states, particularly Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, and in the western states of Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah.

OPINION AND EDITORIALS

The Republican crack-up – The Economist - Jan 10th 2008

USEFUL LINKS