With Mitt Romney dropping out, is it now all John McCain? When will Mike Huckabee drop out? Ron Paul promises to continue to the end, will he do it?

It has become clear that John McCain is having trouble with the solid conservative base of the Republican party. It is now crucial that he work to show that base that he will address their issues as a president. McCain’s support of the recent immigration bill has really come back to haunt him as it is a proof of some of his left-leaning ideals. Choosing the right running mate could be a big boost for McCain and may be just what he needs to get back into the good graces of the republican party base.

Popularity: 44% [?]

Tuesday February 5 - also known as super Tuesday.

The largest number of states hold their primary or caucus on this date, 23 of them (plus Democrats abroad). Super Tuesday is often the unofficial final say of who will win the nominee for each party.

States holding their primary/caucus this Feb 5th are:

Democrats

Republican

Popularity: 46% [?]

In the past two Presidential elections, voter confidence has been compromised. The adoption of electronic voting machines and inherent flaws in the process have left many wondering if the General Election even matters anymore. Over fifty years ago we faced a time when certain segments of society were disenfranchised of their votes. While it isn’t as blatant, there are still people in this country who are being shut out. America has many hurdles to climb if they are to ever honestly claim “one man, one vote.” To make U.S. elections truly democratic there are many things that need to change.

The biggest hurdle in fair Presidential elections is the persistence of the Electoral College. This organization is the actual entity responsible for selecting the President. The Electors in a state are expected to vote in the same way their state did. While they can change their mind the majority of Electors do stick with the way their state voted. On the surface it seems like a more formal way of documenting the popular vote, but the system is prone to being upset and not reflecting the true will of the American people.

The Electoral College robs the individual of their voice. A Conservative voting in a heavily liberal state does not as strong of voice as one in a state where political opinion is more evenly split. This unbalanced system can lead to the candidate with the most votes losing the election. It has only happened four times, most recently in the 2000 Presidential race. Unfortunately, there is no proviso in the Constitution to allow for this rare occurrence.

It would be hard to argue that the current Electoral system can be unfair. It is confusing that a country that claims democracy would not let the people have complete control over who leads them. Why in only the Presidential race does one man’s vote not count as one vote for their chosen candidate? The logical solution is to pass an amendment allowing the popular vote to decide the outcome of Presidential elections. Unfortunately, this would only be a baby step towards healing voter confidence– the last election left the American people with more technical concerns.Imagine your casting your vote for Homecoming Queen your senior year. This year the Student Council has decided to “update” the way they tally the votes. Instead of sketching an “X” next to the name of the girl you find most deserving (or attractive) you must whisper it into the ear of the Math Club President. After everybody has filed through and whispered in his ear he calculates the final results in his head. He announces the results, and the new Homecoming Queen and the Math Club President walk to the lunchroom and start making out. This sounds a little fishy, so you approach the Principal to see if there can be a recount. He assures you he’ll fix it and asks you to follow him. In the lunchroom the Principal breaks up the two love birds (the female lovebird looking relieved for the break) and demands a recount. The Math Club President takes a quick glance at the Homecoming Queen. “She won,” he says, “go bother somebody else now.This little scenario might sound ridiculous. What decent student would allow this sort of thing to go on? Surely the other potential Queens would not let this go? Unfortunately that’s exactly what happened in the 2004 Presidential election. To bridge the “technological gap” of paper ballets many states adopted electronic voting machines. So many states did this that 80% of the results were supplied by two companies: Election Systems & Software and Diebold Election Systems.In trying to get in line with technological standards election officials have compromised the security of the voting process. They claimed electronic voting would make the process more exact and secure, but it’s done anything but. Voting machines used in the last election have since been shown to have many untraceable security flaws. Some were hacked over a network. Princeton later did a study proving how an intermediate hacker could influence the vote tally. Before the election the President of Diebold even said in a fund-raising letter that he would ensure Bush received more votes in Ohio. Senator Chuck Hagel, chairman of ES&S, was the first republican to win a Nebraskan seat in 24 years. His voting machines were used in the Nebraskan elections and lead to urban communities voting Republican (by a large margin) for the first time.

While no conclusive evidence has come to light regarding tampering with these machines there is no real way to validate the vote. The machines only store the data. There is no paper trail. This concerned many voters. Many requested paper ballets when they went to the poles. In many communities where a large investment had been made in the voting equipment people requiring paper ballets were quickly turned away. How can we trust the election results when the only way to verify them is by processing the data they may have been compromised? Who can be trusted to fix this?

Legislation is currently evolving that would require a paper trail, as well as a publicly accessible copy of the source code that runs the machines. Every citizen needs to contact their Representatives in Washington and let them know this is a top priority.

There are many factors contributing to the dearth of voter confidence in this coming election. Americans are honor bound to act. Would there even be an America if a few people hadn’t stood up and said “This is wrong!” There may not be enough time to fix all the issues with the current election process, but if even one of these problems can be resolved before the 2008 elections it would significantly increased the chance that every voice is deafening.

Popularity: 100% [?]

In the last Presidential election, apathy was the order of the day. Many people saw their vote as almost meaningless. They refused to go to the poles. Excuses ranged from having no time to claiming the state they lived in always went to the other side in Presidential races. This apathy has led to another term of disappearing rights, needless war, international discord, and government-condoned torture.

You would think these regressions would light a fire underneath the hearts of Patriots. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In a local pub the other day I overheard a conversation. Several servers were gathered at the bar watching election coverage on one of the major networks. When the topic turned to the great Hillary vs. Obama debate, one of the servers quickly chimed in and said that it didn’t matter which of them were elected because somebody would assassinate them before the first hundred days of their term was over. The other servers quickly agreed and the conversation turned course

This alone would suggest that the general population is as apathetic as they were in 2004. Couple it with the fact that the person who said it was a young black woman and one could infer that we have slipped even further into apathy. It’s not surprising considering we’re told on a daily basis by our leaders that the only thing we have to fear is a nut-job with a homemade bomb.

It is understandable that in a population of over 300 million people that the average person would consider the vote they cast as immaterial. No matter how close previous presidential elections were one vote wouldn’t have tipped them one way or another. The inherent flaw in this argument comes down to a matter of leadership.

The media controls the state of political discourse in this country. Sure, with Youtube debates and town meetings we’re given the impression of being involved in the process, but what good does an open forum do when the people allowed to speak are filtered by the people holding the event? What honesty can come from an event organized by a news media that rarely, if ever, challenges the status quo?

And we let them lead the conversation. In just the past few weeks the media have taken it upon themselves to choose the Democratic candidates? By labeling other candidates elves and madmen (Kucinich and Gravel, respectfully) they have discredited them. Now, long before primary season begins we are told the only real choices are Clinton or Obama, and woe to anybody in the media who says anything different…

So who should be leading the conversation? Average citizens not unlike our apathetic servers at the local pub. Unfortunately that apathy tricks us into thinking that we have no effect on our country’s destiny. We watch the news and stand behind one of two pre-fabricated popular opinions and pretend we stand informed. We don’t ask questions. That’s what we have reporters for.

If there was ever a time the citizenry needed to take the reigns of the conversation it is now. In the last election the winner came down to a few counties in Ohio. It was a tight margin. Imagine if everybody who didn’t vote because it “didn’t matter” had voted. It might have made a slight difference. Imagine if every one of those people had debated with close and trusted friends causing them to go out and vote. That would’ve made a noticeable dent. Now imagine if ever one of those voters and taken that passion and started the conversation around their town. Organized town meetings, spurred debates at the lunch counter and around the water cooler. The results of the last presidential election might have completely reversed.

In order to take hold of this conversation politics needs to become a topic that isn’t taboo in polite conversation. Two people may hold different opinions of the minutia of “Lost,” but rarely has a friendship been ruined due to a debate over the real meaning of those numbers. People should not attach their egos to their political opinions. This keeps them from having a real discourse because neither party can be convinced of the other’s point. The state of the conversation of this country does not allow for learning. Instead, it only allows dogmatism and ignorance.

Leadership. It is something, we’re told on a daily basis, is better left to the elected officials, the news media, and other people “way smarter than us.” It is a right generations of Americans fought for we’ve forsaken in lieu of a temporary safety. We can win it back. It takes one young server to disagree. Then that server may convince a few others who will convince their husbands who will convince their co-workers who will convince their parents and grandparents. Pretty soon our chosen leaders won’t be able to stem the roar of the conversation in cities around our country.

And it will begin with the power of one.

Article by William Meeks

Popularity: 34% [?]