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[robot_god]

This seems fairly figurehead based. Are the two main parties really that similar or does the President have so much power he is his political party?

Umm, well yes and no.  And the president, well, kinda... and sorta.  That's the best I can do.





Until the voting system is reformed, I really don't deem politics worth discussing.  Voting only counts in the states with no identifiable personality.

If I was part of the electoral college, I would GROW A fuck*ng PAIR OF BALLS AND VOTE THE OPPOSITE WAY OF THE POPULAR VOTE JUST TO ENCOURAGE VOTING REFORM ALREADY FOR FUCKS SAKE.

[Hobot]

If I was part of the electoral college, I would GROW A fuck*ng PAIR OF BALLS AND VOTE THE OPPOSITE WAY OF THE POPULAR VOTE JUST TO ENCOURAGE VOTING REFORM ALREADY FOR FUCKS SAKE.

Some members already do that.  But since members of the electoral college are appointed by the parties who are composed of officials elected by consituents, they still answer to the voters, to some degree.

[robot_god]

Some members already do that.  But since members of the electoral college are appointed by the parties who are composed of officials elected by consituents, they still answer to the voters, to some degree.

I did not know.  When was the last time this happened?

[miles]

Yeah, but does it really surprise you?  I've also long felt that National Public Radio is far less liberal than conservatives think.

[Hobot]

I did not know.  When was the last time this happened?

I assume it happens in every election, since the members technically vote however they want to, and are only bound by their sense of right and wrong to cast their vote according to the majority of their constituents.  My AP Government teacher told our class about this, so I can't back it up with any o' them fancy statistics ("science-numbers").



EDIT: Holy crap, 500 posts!  I promise this is my last mention of a particular postcount until I reach 1000.

[CortJstr]

I did not know.  When was the last time this happened?

One of DC's voted Present in 2000. I want to say Elenor Holmes-Norton but I'm not sure.

Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Electoral_College#Faithless_electors

And it was Barbara Lett-Simmons who abstained.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Their methodology is...odd. I'm not comfortable with it at all.

I went back and looked at it.  Reference to or quote from liberal organization like the ACLU = liberal points, reference to conservative org like the Heritage Foundation = conservative points.

Can't say as I like it.  Like I said earlier, allowing the "other side" to present its case is not "balance" when that case is made entirely of spin and bullshit. 

And there are going to be stories for which you just won't have references to organizations from one side or the other.  If you're doing a piece on, say, hate crimes in the south, you're probably going to talk to the Southern Poverty Law Center.  You're not going to talk to the Respecatble Conservative Think Tank to Bring Back Lynching, because it doesn't freakin' exist.

[JorgeFabregas]

Well, it wasn't just references. They tried to compare outlines of senator's speeches with reasoning with news articles. And if they matched up they awarded the score of the senator to the article.

[AugustWest]

liberal organization like the ACLU = liberal points,

The ACLU is NOT a liberal organization.

[Carlos del Vaca]

The ACLU is NOT a liberal organization.

Ha!  Depends on who you ask.

[AugustWest]

Well, Fox News devotees and other Kool-Aid drinkers might think so, but an objective examination of the evidence would show that the ACLU has defended the civil rights of everyone regardless of political persuasion.  Just ask the KKK or Fred Phelps (hardly left-wingers.)

On second thought, maybe you're right.  Maybe only liberals respect the Constitution and Bill of Rights these days.

[AlohaDawg]

I agree with Aug, although the high profile cases always seem to involve the defense of an apparently liberal organization, the ACLU takes cases based not on the agenda of the aggrieved party or organization, but on the cases merits. (Like he says, they take the cases of complete asshats like Phelps)

On second thought, maybe you're right.  Maybe only liberals respect the Constitution and Bill of Rights these days.

Maybe Conservatives are more likely to bring the lawsuits. Or because of the perceived liberal nature of the ACLU, more liberals call on them than conservatives.

[AugustWest]

It must be true if me and AD are agreeing about it.

[FlipConstantine]

Man, Fred Phelps.  When you are like that guy, and hate one thing so single-mindedly, I don't think you can call it "belief" anymore.  That's just psychosis.

[AlohaDawg]

Their methodology is...odd. I'm not comfortable with it at all.

I found it interesting but I don't really have time to back research it to find out how the methods worked out. I would think that UCLA, like most institutions of higher learning would not 'tend' to favor conservatism. It's always pretty fuzzy to try to measure 'lean'.