The Nation's First Primary: DC

D.C.'s "nonbinding" Presidential Primary is today. I encourage you to vote if you're registered in the district. The First Primary Blog offers arguments about why you should vote for Kucinich, Sharpton, or Dean, and DC First offers a Voter Guide where you can compare the candidates with respect to DC issues.

The DC primary is intended to bring national attention to the fact that DC residents have only a non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives, and no representation in the Senate. Before I moved here I knew nothing about this, and when I first heard about it I thought perhaps people were making a mountain out of a molehill. However, if we believe that we should make our representative democracy as much "one person, one vote" as possible, then there's really no way to justify the current situation in D.C. What should I do if I want to affect federal policy? Who is my representative? To whom do I petition my grievances? If you're pretty cynical, you may believe that personal calls, letters, and emails to elected Reps. and Senators is not really effective, however, at least if you live anywhere but D.C., you have the option. It's sort of the principle of the thing. Why should D.C. residents be treated differently from any other U.S. citizen?

Finally, although it's true that the D.C. Primary is, technically, nonbinding, it could give a small boost to its winner in Iowa and Newhampshire. So vote if you can, will you? The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics can tell you where to vote, and here's a sample ballot.

Your humble blogger stupidly missed the deadline to register and won't be voting, so will someone please cast a vote for Dean or Kucinich for me? Thanks! D.C. will also have a caucus on February 14th to choose its delegates for the National Democratic Convention. I've now registered, and I should be all set for that.

In other campaign news, Dean is supposedly going on the offensive in Iowa:

"I'm tired of being a pincushion here."

Dean may or may not be doing the right thing—he may convince supporters that his opponents are being unfair or inaccurate, but he may also just increase the material the press will then use to caricature him. Salon describes that process in a detailed report of how the media has been a mouthpiece for Republican talking points against Dean:

The former Vermont governor remains the front-runner among Democratic voters, but he's gotten increasingly caustic treatment from the media, which has dwelled on three big themes -- that Dean's angry, gaffe-prone and probably not electable -- while giving comparatively far less ink to the doctor's policy and political prescriptions that have catapulted him ahead of the Democratic field. Newsweek's critical Jan. 12 cover story, "All the Rage: Dean's Shoot-From-the-Hip Style and Shifting Views Might Doom Him in November," achieved a nifty trifecta that covered anger, gaffes and electability, all three of the main media raps against Dean.

The story goes on to argue that Dean is nowhere near as angry, gaffe-prone, or unelectable as the media suggests, just as Al Gore was nowhere near as untrustworthy, stiff and unlikable as the coverage of him in 2000 suggested. As a Dean supporter I'm obviously biased, but why must the media hammer the Democratic frontrunner so hard?

Speaking of caricatures, Dean supporters are fighting back against the attack ad that says they're all freak shows. (People, just own your freak showness! Freak Shows for Dean!) You gotta love this one and this one.

There were probably a few Dean supporters in the audience last night when MoveOn.org announced the winners of its Bush In 30 Seconds ad contest. Child's Play was the big winner overall; a great choice, in my opinion. Look for it on your tv sometime in the next year.

Meanwhile, the NY Times reports on the dark art of caucusing [link via Political Wire]. MSNBC also tries to explain how caucuses work:

Caucuses begin with supporters of candidates clustered in corners of middle-school libraries, courthouse hallways or kitchens and living rooms. Space is designated for uncommitted voters.

Democrats have a complex system, one that uses a mathematical formula to calculate support — and ultimately award delegates to county, state and national conventions — based on percentages.

For a candidate to be considered viable, he or she must have the support of at least 15 percent of the meeting’s participants, party rules state. Those lacking often are lobbied to join with neighbors supporting more popular candidates.

“That’s when it gets kind of crazy,” said Mark Daley, spokesman for the Iowa Democratic Party. “There will be people screaming back and forth ... and senior citizens with calculators trying to do the math.”

Reassuring, isn't it?

Posted 06:37 AM | election 2004

El Embajada de El Salvador

Twice since moving to D.C. proper I've been stopped on the street by people who speak little to no English trying to get directions to the Embassy of El Salvador. Twice I've just had to say, "No se." But here it is, not far at all (map). But look at those streets! Giving directions in Spanish should be fun. But at least I'll be helping out next time if I can say, "El calle California y veintetres." Yeah, I need to remember that.

Posted 05:07 AM | Comments (2) | life generally