I warmed up to this, hope you enjoy:
Showing posts with label postmodern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label postmodern. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Hankster Top 10 Posts Since Obama's Election
Since Election Day, November 4, 2008
If you can imagine that independent voters are this eclectic, have a nice adventure:
#1
189 visits
#2
72 visits
#3
66 visits
#4
56 visits
#5
28 visits
27 visits
#7
25 visits
#7
25 visits
#7
25 visits
#8
22 visits
#9
21 visits
#10
19 visits
#10
19 visits
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS
CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
Obama calls on his Internet campaign army to march again (Bradenton Herald) His four-page questionnaire also asks respondents to name their top-priority issues out of 27 listed. The options included environment and global warming, civil rights and voting rights, war in Iraq, jobs and trade, or divisive politics and partisanship.
NOTE:
POSTMODERN ECONOMY
Kristol: Admit we don't know what will fix fiscal dilemma (William Kristol, The Saratogian) I've worked in government. It's hard to do much thinking there at all, let alone thinking anew. But Obama and his team will have to think anew, and those on the outside who wish to help will have to think anew too, if we're to have a chance of rising to this daunting occasion.
ELECTION REFORM
Nick Coleman: Elections with less acrimony? That's the true beauty of IRV (Minneapolis Star Tribune) NOTE: We might wish that Mr. Coleman was talking about the value of Instant Runoff Voting being one of more democracy. It's PARTISANSHIP we could do with less of. -NH
THE BLOGOSPHERE
Judging Obama By The Company He Keeps (National Journal/Blogometer) HINT: It's the left bloggers who are upset by Obama's inclusion of Clinton administation advisors, and it's the right-roots who are worried about a new center-left country...
Obama calls on his Internet campaign army to march again (Bradenton Herald) His four-page questionnaire also asks respondents to name their top-priority issues out of 27 listed. The options included environment and global warming, civil rights and voting rights, war in Iraq, jobs and trade, or divisive politics and partisanship.
NOTE:
- "Obama's building a political machine," said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution, a center-left Washington research group. "These people have just opened up a new world for politics," added Hess, the author of "What Do We Do Now?: A Workbook for the President-Elect." Pre-Internet presidents, he said, lacked the ability to communicate in real time with masses of their volunteers. In addition, the social networks such as MySpace and Facebook that link Obama's army together didn't exist.
POSTMODERN ECONOMY
Kristol: Admit we don't know what will fix fiscal dilemma (William Kristol, The Saratogian) I've worked in government. It's hard to do much thinking there at all, let alone thinking anew. But Obama and his team will have to think anew, and those on the outside who wish to help will have to think anew too, if we're to have a chance of rising to this daunting occasion.
ELECTION REFORM
Nick Coleman: Elections with less acrimony? That's the true beauty of IRV (Minneapolis Star Tribune) NOTE: We might wish that Mr. Coleman was talking about the value of Instant Runoff Voting being one of more democracy. It's PARTISANSHIP we could do with less of. -NH
THE BLOGOSPHERE
Judging Obama By The Company He Keeps (National Journal/Blogometer) HINT: It's the left bloggers who are upset by Obama's inclusion of Clinton administation advisors, and it's the right-roots who are worried about a new center-left country...
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS
CAMPAIGN
LOCAL POLITICS
BOOK REVIEW
American Roots -- Review of The Hemmingses of Monticello, An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (Washington Post) The story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings
- Obama, the postmodernist (In the Illinois senator’s world, words have no fixed meaning, and truth is often just a matter of perspective. (By Jonah Goldberg, USA Today)
- New Jersey Poll Released by Fairleigh Dickinson: Barack Obama 47%, John McCain 41% (Transworld News)
LOCAL POLITICS
- Party Crashers (Gotham Gazette/The Wonkster) A look at how the DP county committee works in New York City
- Hatch Act rules against politicking more lenient for feds, observers say (Gov Exec.com) Push to allow federal employees to run in nonpartisan elections in small cities
BOOK REVIEW
American Roots -- Review of The Hemmingses of Monticello, An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (Washington Post) The story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings
Friday, September 12, 2008
"Why are they saying that independents are swinging to McCain?"
The Hankster received another email today from a reader (very busy Hankster day!) who asked "Why are they saying that independents are swinging to McCain?"
Here's my answer:
1. First of all, GOOD QUESTION! And, for starters, the question includes the proposition that independents had been supporting Barack Obama (hence, the "swing"). This is "true" (to the extent that truth has any bearing on this election....) Fully 60% of independent voters in states that required voters to "pick a party" in the recent primaries chose a Democratic ballot. Of those, 65% voted for Barack Obama.
2. They (and by "they", we mean the Pollsters and Pundits and MSM -- which we'll call the PPMSM -- which unintentionally sounds like a Post-Partem Menopausal Stressed Mom, or something like that...) confuse "swing voters" with independents. They also confuse independents with moderates, centrists, middle-of-the-roaders, etc. -- not to mention third party voters...*
3. Basically, the PPMSM is saying that independents are "swinging" to McCain because they (the PPMSM) are running polls that indicate that. The polls are very very volatile. These polls they are talking about now are in the Swing States -- FL, PA and OH...... Also, it's unclear how they are counting indies. They are categorizing voters in basically 5 boxes -- Strong Dem, Lean Dem, True Independents, Lean Repub, Strong Repub.... Hmm.... Our voters are the 3 middle categories. Our voters are split 50/50. Many indies are not impressed with either candidate.
4. And then there's the "true independent" (the PPMSM category of choice) -- As a NY indie said to me on Tuesday as we were knocking on doors for an Independence Party primary in Queens NY: "I like Obama, but because we here in New York have had the experience of black leadership when David Dinkins was Mayor, to me Obama is just another Democrat." I think a lot of independents are thinking like that. I wish Barack Obama would speak for the country and not for his chosen party. I think we'd be a lot better off. Is Barack a leader, or "just another Democrat?" We'll find out. In the meantime, I'll see you at your door.
5. And then, well there's this whole post-modern thing. What is the post-modern campaign? We don't know. That's what's post-modern about it. The PPSMSM are beginning to chirp about this.... See Jonah Goldberg for example on USA Today. In the meantime, I'll see you at the door....
A FIVE-LINE PLAY
By N. Hanks
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
A community organizer.
A community organizer what?
A community organizer. Tell me what to do.
Email The Hankster and let me know what you think we should do!
Thanks!
Hanks
PS -- For community organizers, please read LAST WORD TODAY on TODAY'S HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS: Rx for Election Anxiety Disorder-New Chemical Compounds to Help Get You to, and Through, Election Day, take a walk around the block, drink a glass of water, and call a friend! And email The Hankster -- I'd love to help!
* Presumably, independents are not "swinging to McCain" from a preference for Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, or any other so-called "third party" candidates, OR from Democrat Dennis Kucinich or Republican/Libertarian Ron Paul. The PPMSM are not confused about members of third parties, whom the PPMSM largely consider to be fringe, subhuman and probably unAmerican. I don't agree with Sarah Palin's politics -- from what I can assess, she is a right-wing Republican who speaks with a populist voice, and certainly NOT an independent -- she's a partisan opportunist from what I can tell. However, I think the PPMSN has gone to great lengths (which is the only lengths they go to) to demonize Palin's somewhat shallow association with the Alaskan Independence Party. I also don't agree with many of the positions that the AIP takes, however, I strenously object to the demonization of this party. This is America. Probably half the country would like to seceed from the other half. We re-live the Civil War every day. So what's new? How long does it take for a nation to come to terms with its basic contradictions? Maybe forever. We have the time. We don't have the patience. Personally I don't care if Alaska is a state or not. I've heard more than one New Yorker express the opinion that New York City should have its own government separate from the state of New York. I can sympathize. But above all, I think the people of Alaska or New York or any other specific geographical area of the world need to be heard. But I digress..... continue above...
Here's my answer:
1. First of all, GOOD QUESTION! And, for starters, the question includes the proposition that independents had been supporting Barack Obama (hence, the "swing"). This is "true" (to the extent that truth has any bearing on this election....) Fully 60% of independent voters in states that required voters to "pick a party" in the recent primaries chose a Democratic ballot. Of those, 65% voted for Barack Obama.
2. They (and by "they", we mean the Pollsters and Pundits and MSM -- which we'll call the PPMSM -- which unintentionally sounds like a Post-Partem Menopausal Stressed Mom, or something like that...) confuse "swing voters" with independents. They also confuse independents with moderates, centrists, middle-of-the-roaders, etc. -- not to mention third party voters...*
3. As David Brooks said recently: Weirdness wins. Independents are weird. Will we win? Hmmmm.... I don't know....
In my opinion, independents are voters who don't like partisan politics. They don't care for either party and do not attest loyalty to ANY party, nevermind the two major parties. Most independents don't care for the minor or "third" parties either. Third parties are marginalized in our corrupt two-party system. Independent voters are all over the place politically -- left, center, right and every point in between. After all -- we're INDEPENDENT! We "plays 'em as we sees 'em..."
3. Basically, the PPMSM is saying that independents are "swinging" to McCain because they (the PPMSM) are running polls that indicate that. The polls are very very volatile. These polls they are talking about now are in the Swing States -- FL, PA and OH...... Also, it's unclear how they are counting indies. They are categorizing voters in basically 5 boxes -- Strong Dem, Lean Dem, True Independents, Lean Repub, Strong Repub.... Hmm.... Our voters are the 3 middle categories. Our voters are split 50/50. Many indies are not impressed with either candidate.
4. And then there's the "true independent" (the PPMSM category of choice) -- As a NY indie said to me on Tuesday as we were knocking on doors for an Independence Party primary in Queens NY: "I like Obama, but because we here in New York have had the experience of black leadership when David Dinkins was Mayor, to me Obama is just another Democrat." I think a lot of independents are thinking like that. I wish Barack Obama would speak for the country and not for his chosen party. I think we'd be a lot better off. Is Barack a leader, or "just another Democrat?" We'll find out. In the meantime, I'll see you at your door.
5. And then, well there's this whole post-modern thing. What is the post-modern campaign? We don't know. That's what's post-modern about it. The PPSMSM are beginning to chirp about this.... See Jonah Goldberg for example on USA Today. In the meantime, I'll see you at the door....
A FIVE-LINE PLAY
By N. Hanks
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
A community organizer.
A community organizer what?
A community organizer. Tell me what to do.
Email The Hankster and let me know what you think we should do!
Thanks!
Hanks
PS -- For community organizers, please read LAST WORD TODAY on TODAY'S HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS: Rx for Election Anxiety Disorder-New Chemical Compounds to Help Get You to, and Through, Election Day, take a walk around the block, drink a glass of water, and call a friend! And email The Hankster -- I'd love to help!
* Presumably, independents are not "swinging to McCain" from a preference for Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, or any other so-called "third party" candidates, OR from Democrat Dennis Kucinich or Republican/Libertarian Ron Paul. The PPMSM are not confused about members of third parties, whom the PPMSM largely consider to be fringe, subhuman and probably unAmerican. I don't agree with Sarah Palin's politics -- from what I can assess, she is a right-wing Republican who speaks with a populist voice, and certainly NOT an independent -- she's a partisan opportunist from what I can tell. However, I think the PPMSN has gone to great lengths (which is the only lengths they go to) to demonize Palin's somewhat shallow association with the Alaskan Independence Party. I also don't agree with many of the positions that the AIP takes, however, I strenously object to the demonization of this party. This is America. Probably half the country would like to seceed from the other half. We re-live the Civil War every day. So what's new? How long does it take for a nation to come to terms with its basic contradictions? Maybe forever. We have the time. We don't have the patience. Personally I don't care if Alaska is a state or not. I've heard more than one New Yorker express the opinion that New York City should have its own government separate from the state of New York. I can sympathize. But above all, I think the people of Alaska or New York or any other specific geographical area of the world need to be heard. But I digress..... continue above...
So my advice: Read the LAST WORD TODAY on The Hankster: Rx for Election Anxiety Disorder-New Chemical Compounds to Help Get You to, and Through, Election Day (The Stranger), pour yourself a glass of tap water, and go for a long walk! I'm about to head out now! - NH
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Maybe I'm Not a Misfit After All (Marcia Ford)
Maybe I'm Not a Misfit After All
So there's this group that threatens to strip me of my misfit identity. Sheesh! I've spent a lifetime feeling like a misfit, and I even came out of the closet with my 2003 book, Memoir of a Misfit. Two weeks ago, though, I attended a national conference for independent voters. And I experienced something I've seldom felt before: the sense that I actually belonged. Me! The misfit! Among 500 political activists! I'm still reeling from this heady happening.
MUST READ FOR INDEPENDENTS!
Postmodern Misfit is now on the Hankster Blog Roll (on the sidebar)
So there's this group that threatens to strip me of my misfit identity. Sheesh! I've spent a lifetime feeling like a misfit, and I even came out of the closet with my 2003 book, Memoir of a Misfit. Two weeks ago, though, I attended a national conference for independent voters. And I experienced something I've seldom felt before: the sense that I actually belonged. Me! The misfit! Among 500 political activists! I'm still reeling from this heady happening.
MUST READ FOR INDEPENDENTS!
Postmodern Misfit is now on the Hankster Blog Roll (on the sidebar)
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