For most people, democracy only exists on election day. And for many people, the vote itself was lost long ago. For them, democracy has no place in their lives. They feel that their vote and their voice already don’t matter.
For them, losing democracy isn’t something to worry about
But there’s no need to stop canvassing. Perhaps it’ll be less formal than a campaign might canvass – no mobile app, no careful selection of which doors to knock and which to skip, no glossy door-hangers to leave behind. But canvassing is a formalized version of that most basic political act – talking.
In the “heated argument” between Kellyanne Conway and Jennifer Palmieri at Harvard last week, the press attention focused on the seemingly angry tones between these two. The audio reflects that tone, both speakers (and others) talking over the others in incomplete sentences, neither side making a coherent argument. What should have been an instructive and […]
In our party-driven political system, there are two ways for a party and its “leader” (i.e., presidential nominee) to work together — the people can follow the leader, or the leader can follow the people. In the 2016 presidential election, the two major parties are following opposite models. Clearly, the Republican party — both its […]
This is the article that Senator Bernie Sanders published in “mid-February, 1972”, when he was 30 years old. It appeared in the Vermont Freeman, an “alternative newspaper”. This version of the article is taken from a photo of the article that appeared in MotherJones in May, 2015.
I started to vote today. I should be done later this week.
I don’t have to stand in a line out in the rain or sun or snow.
I don’t have to show my photo ID.
I don’t have to hide behind a curtain.
I don’t have to use a secret card or a machine.
I don’t have to run a gauntlet of electioneers handing out stickers and pamphlets, or trip over signs stuck in the grass.
I don’t have to bring a “cheat sheet” so I would remember who to vote for.
I started to vote today. It will take a week, I’m guessing, to finish. A little bit each day, over lunch, after dinner, bit by bit. It’s a long ballot (though shorter than most), so I’ll just take my time..
What is Texas Governor Rick Perry indicted for?
Got it wrong, didn’t you? You thought he was indicted for vetoing part of a bill. Of course, you thought that — not only is that what Perry says (to thunderous applause from his supporters), but that’s what the media says.
So let’s start with the indictment. That sounds obvious, but nobody seems to have actually read the two-page (yes, only 2 pages!) document. Here’s what Perry is indicted for:
Michigan strengthens the Emergency Financial Manager law, giving the EFM authority to dissolve local elected officials, both school boards and city councils and mayors. These expanded powers are specifically requested by the Governor and approved by both houses of the legislature. Michigan legislature meets behind closed doors to draw up a redistricting map, then schedules […]
It has been 10 days now in which the leading political story is the story of Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York. 10 days of titillation, 10 days of feigned shock and outrage, 10 days of lies and apologies, 10 days of righteous indignation and hypocrisy, 10 days of political pontification and prediction. The primary […]