Category: Politics

400 Days

Bush's Last Day

Bush's Last DayThis morning I slept until noon, exactly noon. That’s late for me, even for a Sunday, but I think I know why I did it. Because at noon today the countdown on the time remaining for the disastrous presidency of George Bush ticked down to 400 days. Without forgetting for a moment how much damage this nitwit can still inflict on our country in that amount of time, it is at least something firm to grasp onto. Next month, reaching the one-year point will provide another major milestone, as attention will increasingly be paid to the race among those who will, hopefully after a legitimate election, earn the Presidency and begin the daunting, if not impossible task of undoing what Bush hath wrought. In the meantime, keep your eye on the countdown.

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Campaign Web Sites, The Morning After

Politics, Technology, Work

I woke up yesterday, and realized that I had an opportunity. The opportunity to review some campaign web sites on the morning after Election Day, to see how many of them had yet updated their content. What I found was worse than I expected. I wrote it up in an article that was published today on the Personal Democracy Forum site…

Campaign Web Sites, The Morning After
Personal Democracy Forum

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Election Day

Politics, Rants

It’s Election Day, and I have cast my vote. It’s an action that makes me both proud. But today I’m also sad and concerned at the same time.

I’m proud to be an American, and to live in a democracy where citizens have an critical role to play in our governance. I consider voting to be a civic duty, and I encourage others to do the same.

I’m sad to see major races on my ballot go unchallenged, with only an incumbent running, and happily holding their ‘safe’ seat. In a couple instances, I wrote myself in rather than vote for them. I’m sad because I’m reminded how our current President illegitimately gained the most powerful elected office in the world, and for all the harm he has done while in it. 441 more days, assuming he doesn’t pull a Musharraf/Putin and try to cling to power after his time is up. Given his record, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.

I’m concerned because our election system is in bad shape. For starters, Why Tuesday? That makes no sense at all. Why isn’t Election Day a national holiday? Or a multi-day event? I’m currently reading the book, Stealing Democracy, and it’s sobering to be reminded how gerrymandered districts, partisan election officials, and a patchwork of election eligibility/registration/voting rules can all be used to skew or determine an election’s outcome.

But neither my sadness or concern can overcome my hope and determination. They will move me to action and change. Please vote today.

UPDATE: Looks like most of the wrong candidates won here in Prince William, so you can add ‘discouraged’ to the above feelings. Silver lining, Democrats took control of Virginia’s Senate for the first time in something like 40-years.

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Dick Cheney is Evil

News, Politics, Rants

cheney_tomorrow.jpgScary Evil. He exemplifies reckless disregard for the Constitution, and of any person or law’s ability to exercise any amount of oversight of his activities. Remarkably, he recently claimed that the Vice President’s Office is not an “entity within the Executive Branch”, and so is not subject to Presidential Executive Orders. Wha?? Well, to follow Cheney’s own twisted logic, this week Congress will vote to defund the VP’s office as an executive branch agency, leaving him to fend for himself as the President of the Senate. Personally I think Rep. Kucinich has it right with his plan to impeach Cheney first, because impeaching President Bush only to have Cheney become President would be like trying to put out a fire with gasoline, you’ll only end up in much worse shape.

This week the Washington Post is running an in-depth profile about Cheney and his machinations. It’s scary to read about the lengths this Dick will go to in order to subvert the law and pursue his un-American agenda. It’s something everyone should read. You’ll feel dirty and ashamed afterward, but you need to read it anyway.

George Bush is most certainly the Worst President Ever, but with the Evil Dick as his VP they have combined to be a catastrophe from which America may never completely recover.

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Old Man OPO

Politics

Last week the Washington Post began a series of articles about Political Consultants, including a front page story last Friday about Internet Strategists. The Post dubbed them Online Political Operatives, or OPOs. It’s the first I’ve heard that title, it’s too soon to say if it will stick. But I did enjoy seeing some well-deserved attention being paid to a field of work I have been involved in for fifteen years.

This weekend I spoke at a training for political fundraisers in a session about online fundraising. The organizer introduced me with a brief bio, including the fact that the first online campaign campaign that I worked on was for Senator Kennedy’s 1994 Senate race.

Looking out at the room of young faces, my curiosity got the best of me. “Give me a show of hands”, I asked, “how many of you were in college in 1994?”.

A couple of hands in the back of the room went up.

“How many of you were in high school in 1994?”

Again, just a few hands are raised.

“How many of you were in grade school in 1994?”

A sea of hands reaches skyward.

My initial reaction was just to feel a bit old. But on reflection, it was really very nice. I’m glad to be an old man OPO and I hope I to continue finding opportunities to share what I’ve learned and learn something in return from the growing numbers of young fledgling OPOs out there.

Meet the OPOs
The Washington Post, 5/4/07

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Politics Online Conference

Politics
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I’m currently at the opening session of the 14th Politics Online Conference, which is hosted at the George Washington University by the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet (IPDI). Phil Noble, President of Politics Online, and a long time champion and innovator in the field just introduced the opening panel.

I’ve been around since the earliest Politics Online conferences, both as a speaker and an attendee. I’m not certain, but I may have spoke at the first one, back when Dan Solomon founded the conference years ago. In his comments moments, Phil embarrassed and flattered me by pointing me out in the audience and acknowledging my role in bringing the first member of Congress onto the web (Senator Kennedy in 1994), and then Phil said, “… and look at him, he’s still a kid!”.

Thanks Phil for the kind words and recognition. And especially for the ‘kid’ label which was especially welcome today, when I might otherwise feel too much like an old dog 🙂

UPDATE: Sitting down to the post-lunch keynote address and some guy walks by me in my aisle and says, “Up close you don’t look as young as Phil said, I guess he couldn’t see you too well from up there.” Thanks Pal!

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UPDATE 2: I’m very proud of the fact that we took home a Golden Dot Award in the category of best web site for an Issue Advocacy Campaign for our work on behalf of The Great American Condom Campaign.

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699 Days

Politics, Rants

Media_httpfarm1static_refmbA Monday holiday is always nice, and earlier this week I wanted to write something about President’s Day. But given our current President, who will certainly be remembered by history as among the Worst Ever, President’s Day just left me with a low-feeling for how much longer he’ll hold the office.

But today, I noticed on the Bush Countdown Calendar widget on my Mac’s Dashboard that a milestone has been passed. At the moment it shows 699 Days and just under three hours remaining in Bush’s time in office. I think I need to get myself the keychain version of this countdown until 1/20/09, a day that approaches slowly, but can’t come soon enough.

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