Does the US Need Election Observers?
July 28, 2008
The services of elections observers are now used more than ever around the globe. They come from the United Nations, regional institutions, individual states, and non-profit/non-governmental organizations like the Carter Center. What exactly do these observers do? Basically they observe the election cycle from start to finish and publish reports about their findings. The reports can then be used politically to either praise or attempt to compel states into truly democratizing. Observers have no authority – real or perceived. That’s if they’re even allowed entry into the country they are tasked with observing. According to the Economist (Politics this week: 17th - 23rd November 2007) Vladmir Putin’s government simply “denied visas to foreign election-observers.” Read more
A Question for the Presidential Candidates
June 10, 2008
There is nothing like a good debate. I like the tension and the pressure it puts on candidates. It’s a rite of passage that all politicians must go through. However, as much as I like watching the candidates, I watch the moderators even closer. It is ultimately the moderator who determines how good a political debate is and this puts them in a difficult position. If the questions are too soft - he or she is a wimp. If the questions are too critical - they are biased. I’m sure we’ve all had burning questions we were dying to ask. From time to time I will post a question that I wish the candidates would answer - truly answer. Here’s my first one. Read more
Election Simulations in the DR
May 11, 2008
The Political Science Club at my school recently conducted an election simulation. Each of the three major Dominican presidential candidates (Leonel Fernandez, Miguel Vargas, Amable Aristy) were represented by students who campaigned and debated the issues. The finale was a school-wide election (pre-k through 12th graders voted). Read more
How Not to Win a Debate (Part II of II)
March 3, 2008
In the first part of this post, I introduced you to the buddies with whom I watched the final democratic presidential debate between Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I also explained our expectations. In this part, I’ll tell you what happened after the food was devoured, the wine was drunk, and the debate was over. Read more
How Not to Win a Debate (Part I of II)
February 29, 2008
On February 26th I had the pleasure of watching the final debate between Democratic presidential candidates Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton with two good friends. We planned the gathering weeks in advance, cleared our schedules, and touched base with each other early in the day (by email, text messaging, and phone calls) to confirm our plans. Read more
The U.S. Senate: America’s Quasi-Ruling Class
February 8, 2008
In one of yesterday’s post I asked the question “why have we let our elected officials become a quasi-ruling class”. Today’s post digs deeper into why that question was posed and what was meant by it. Read more
Results from last week’s poll are in.
February 8, 2008
As most of you know, Randall and I decided to upgrade the look of our web-site. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been working, behind the scenes, to get our new site ready for the campaign. Once it was ready for prime time we launched it and asked you to give us some feedback. Read more
What Qualifies You to Run for the U.S. Senate?
February 7, 2008
What qualifies me to run for Senate? Easy, I meet all three of the legal requirements: I’m at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen, and a legal resident of Massachusetts. Next question, please. No? Not good enough? Read more
Why the U.S. Senate vs. a State Level Position?
February 5, 2008
Willie Sutton robbed over 100 banks during his notorious career. When the authorities finally apprehended him in 1952 and asked him why he robbed banks, he replied “because that’s where the money is”. I am pursuing a seat in the U.S. Senate for the same reason (sort of).
Are You Guys Serious About Trying to get Randall Elected?
February 4, 2008
John and I received no less that 75 emails over the past few days from first-time visitors to TheCandidacy. That’s not too shabby for the first weekend! Some of those messages were from people we know (thanks), but many more were from people we don’t know (thanks even more). That makes us happy, but what makes us even happier are the specific comments and criticism that you sent. Let’s consider a few.
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