| From: | David Hinkley dhinkley@***.org |
|---|---|
| Subject: | US to UCAS politicking |
| Date: | Fri, 10 Mar 2000 20:28:45 -0800 |
Subject: US to UCAS politicking
To: shadowrn@*********.com
Date sent: Thu, 9 Mar 100 16:02:56 -0500 (EST)
Send reply to: shadowrn@*********.com
> David Hinkley wrote:
> > government). The minor parties have to "earn" thier way on to
> > the ballot. The rules for this vary from state to state, from difficult to
> > nearly impossible. It is uncommon for a minor party candidate to be on the
> > ballot in all 50 states and territories who have the vote. In modern
> > political history Perot was the only "third" party candidate to make
it on
> > the ballot in every state.
>
> The Libertarians have done it at least twice (1980, 1996, maybe 1992). I think
> the Natural Law party did it as well. In the 1996 election there were 5 or 6
> candidates on every state ballot. Perot was the only one who got national
> media coverage. Which unfortunately is the name of the game nowadays.
>
> To make this on-topic... There are like 5 or 6 major parties in 2060. Some were
> clearly splits from the Dems and Reps. Since it seemed to be relatively easy
> for all those candidates to get on the ballot in the 2057 elections, I wonder
> what has changed. My guess is two things:
> (1) Ballot access laws got reformed some time before so you don't need to
> make a deal with Satan to get on the ballot. and
That could be the result of a Federal Court ruling that forced ballot access.
> (2) Campaign finance laws limiting donations to campaigns and spending were
> overturned or legislated away. I could see the corps backing this one, esp
> if their donations to candidates were not limited.
>
> Both of these are quite likely as parties lose their hold on voters. Plus
> I'm sure Heaffner, being an independent (presumably) would back any move to
> open the process even further.
The interesting side effect is in the internal operation of Congress, presently
committee seats are unevenly split between the majority and minority party
(majority part holding a majority of the seats which by the way does not equal
control, there being other reasons to vote for against something beside party
loyalty), Questions at hearings rotate by party, and the like. With more then
two parties committee assignments could become quite interesting,
particularly if no party holds a majority of the seats.
This could be the basis for a run, getting the dirt on, or framing a
congressman or just delaying them into getting to a key committee vote. The
last one could be an interesting challenge..... assignment is to make sure that
Congressman X must not make the subcommittee meeting until after 11:35
AM and he must NOT know what happened.
>
> Not to mention how the Canadian parties were integrated. Any of our
> bretheren from the North want to hazard a guess what happened to them
> after 2030?
>
> Indedentally, given that Canada has a parliamentary system, how easy is it
> for a new party to get on the ballot? Perhaps the UCAS split the difference
> on ballot laws to allow for a more open system.
>
>
> > The Electoral College does make the process more interesting. It is possible
> > for a candidate to lose the popular vote and yet have a majority of the
> > electors pledged to cast votes for him. By the way that pledge is not binding,
> > it is theoreticlly possible for an elector to vote for a candidate different
> > then the one he is pledged to. But historically that has not happened.
>
> Happened in 1972. One of the Republican electors didn't want to vote for
> Nixon, so he voted for Toni Nathan instead. He subsequently left the GOP.
Thanks for the correction
>
>
> > And to think that this system has resulted in a functional government for
> > over 200 years.
>
> More or less. Primaries are largely a 20th century development. But the core
> ideas have stayed in place.
>
>
David Hinkley
dhinkley@***.org
===================================================Those who are too intelligent to engage
in politics
are punished by being governed by those who are not
--Plato
