This clip includes Patricia Madrid, the co-chair for the Democratic Platform Committee. She explains the importance of a party platform during an election especially in 2008 when the party was so divided.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Republican Party Platform 1996
The following clip includes Paul Manafort Senator Bob Dole's campaign manager explaining the recent production of a untied Republican Platform in 1996. This election was between Dole and the incumbent Bill Clinton. The clip also includes the delegates on the platform committee explaining the points of the platform with an emphasis on abortion.
What Happened in Vegas?
 |
| Candidates at the GOP Debate in Las Vegas, Source: Washington Post |
As Representative Michelle Bachmann
so aptly put it, “I hope tonight’s the one night that what happens in Vegas
does not stay in Vegas”. And the candidates may have woken up with a headache but the cause was less likely due to heavy drinking and more likely the result of a hit from a fellow candidate . Last night was the fifth time these seven candidates met since
Labor Day. This time, the Western Republican Leadership Conference debate was
held at the Venetian Hotel’s conference center in Las Vegas and was hosted by
CNN. Noticeably absent from the rambunctious affair was former Governor Jon
Huntsman Jr., who boycotted the debate after Nevada decided to move up its
caucuses ahead of New Hampshire, a move that is against Republican National Party
rules. This move can be seen as significant tactic considering the New
Hampshire primary may be held during the end of December. Huntsman’s decision
to side with New Hampshire may be a last stitch attempt to gain votes there.
Tuesday’s debate was no doubt the
most aggressive of all debates so far mostly because each candidate is aware
that there is less than three months until the primaries begin. Throughout their
two hours on stage is seemed that every candidate found it necessary to berate
another peer about various policies and even moral standards. Although many
believed that Herman Cain, former CEO, would be in the spotlight for his faulty
economic plan entitles the 9-9-9 plan. He has also received attention for controversial
public remarks about immigration and same sex marriage. Despite Cain’s hiccups,
the candidates only seemed to focus on him for a short amount of time. Each
candidate on stage repudiated the 9-9-9 plan claiming that it would raise the
taxes of mostly middle class citizens. This information comes from a study
organized by nonpartisan Tax Policy Center that was released Tuesday. The analysis
found that those making less than $100,000 would suffer from a tax increase
while it would lower the taxes of 95% of the nation’s millionaires. Despite these facts, Cain continues to defend
the plan and insists that no one understands it. However, it does not seem like
Cain is willing to explain it to anyone.
Similar to past debates, former
Governor Mitt Romney received a slew of attacks from fellow candidates however
on Tuesday night it seemed that he had trouble defending himself. The common
matchup between Romney and former Governor Rick Perry was especially present at
the debate in Las Vegas. Perry introduced the issue of immigration, even though
he himself had been under fire for his policies on the matter. Perry sited five
year old newspaper reports that claimed Romney had hired illegal immigrants to
service his lawn. In a heated moment the two candidates shouted over each other
and at one point Romney even put his hand on Perry’s shoulder and insisted that
is he wanted to be president, he should let both people speak. The behavior of
both candidates was definitely different from past debates. Perry has
experienced rather lackluster performances at the past two debates and decided
to come out Tuesday the most aggressive he has ever been. Also although the
Romney campaign had wanted to go into this debate expecting to win over the non
supporters, it did not work out that way.
Basically every candidate had
something to say to Romney, who is still trying to characterize himself as the
only realistic and plausible nominee. A significant attack came from former
Senator Rick Santorum who has had difficulty appealing to the public although
he hopes to be the conservative alternative to Romney. Santorum grilled Romney about
the healthcare system he set up in Massachusetts and its supposed inspiration
for Obama’s national healthcare system. Santorum claimed that Romney both
inspired and supports the “Obamacare” that Republicans seek to appeal.
The debate as a result of the
nearing primaries and the candidate’s plea to win support and attention became
the feistiest debate of them all. The candidates focused on issues like foreign
aid, religious values, and most importantly bickering. Surprisingly the topic
of the economy was largely ignored. Since the Republican Primary calendar has
become a virtual mess, the candidates must go into the next phase of
campaigning. The first primary can be held as early as the end of December in
New Hampshire. It would not be a surprise to see the candidates begin to camp
out in the state in order to begin the stretch to the convention at the end of
the summer.
Sources:
**Below is a video clip from the debate of Herman Cain defending his infamous 9-9-9 plan.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
FEC Reports Give Insight into Campaign
Financial
reports from the Federal Election Committee (FEC) have been released and give
important information on how much money Republican and Democrat candidates have
been fundraising as well as spending in the third quarter. The reports outline
the financial details from primarily over the summer. The reports deliver
insight into the campaign by outlining which candidates accumulated the most
money or spent the most money on the campaign trail thus far.
The FEC
reports revealed the candidates that were able to raise the most money through
donations and fundraising thus far. The top Republican candidate to achieve this
was former Governor Mitt Romney. In the third quarter the Romney campaign
raised about $14.2 million making his total $32million raised for the 2012
Presidential Election. Although this is a significant and impressive amount of
money raised for the campaign, it still does not surpass the amount of money in
the Obama campaign. Merely in the last three months the Obama campaign has
raised $42 million making the total $61 million. Such figures from the Obama
campaign dwarf the numbers that came from the top GOP contenders. The reason
the substantial amount of money President Obama has raised is due to the fact
that he has no opponent. As a result the Democratic Party only has one
candidate or choice to give donations to.
 |
| President Barack Obama, source: Google Images |
Romney and
Obama do not just have exceptional fundraising abilities in common. Another similarity
is where these candidates raise a portion of their money; wall street. Although
as a result of the FEC reports, it seems that Romney has beat Obama in terms of
amount donated from Wall Street firms and employees. Over the past three
months, as outlined in the financial reports, Romney has raised $1.5 million
from employees of Wall Street firms like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs while
Obama has only been able to receive $270,000 from similar outlets. Goldman
Sachs is an interesting aspect of this story because in 2008 during Obama’s run
in the Presidential Election, the firm’s employees donated $1 million while
this year they donated a mere $45,000. The reports note that Romney was donated
$350,000. It seems that Wall Street employees and firms are turning away from the
Democratic nominee and throwing their support behind Romney, hoping to receive
the support back if he makes it to office.
FEC reports
show that the other Republican contender to raise a substantial amount of money
for his campaign is Rick Perry who in the third quarter raised $17 million and
has $15 million in the bank. Other candidates like Herman Cain raised $2.8
million with $1.3 million on hand. Representative Ron Paul also has been able
to raise $8 million with $3.6 million in the bank by September.
For some
candidates, the ability to raise substantial amounts of money has been a
struggle. Some candidates have even found themselves in debt after spending
more money on the campaign than they were receiving in donations. Newt Gingrich,
for example, was only able to raise $807,962.45 during the third quarter while spending $776,767.90
on the campaign. Consequently this put the Gingrich campaign in debt for $1.1
million with $$353,416.71
in the bank. It is reported that
Gingrich spent the largest amount of money on website development and
telemarketing, $127,000 and $107,701 respectively. In a similar situation is
former Senator Rick Santorum. In the third quarter, Santorum is believed to
have raised $700,000 while spending $750,000. This put his campaign $70,000 in
debt with $190,000 in the bank. Jon Huntsman Jr. has only $327,000 left in his
campaign account with more than twice that in debt.
 |
| GOP Candidate Herman Cain, source: Google Images |
With the handling of such large
amounts of money it would be interesting where and what the candidates use
their donations for. One of the uses of the FEC reports is to examine and review
such issues. For example Rick Perry has spent $2 million since his entry into
the race in mid-August. The ways in which Perry spent this money are $460,000
on travel, $103,000 on consultants and $46,320 on printing and direct mail
solicitations.
The release of the FEC reports give
a clear indication about which candidates seem the strongest and can last the
longest as the campaign rages on into the winter. There seems to be a large gap
between GOP candidates. While a few are exceeding estimated donation sums,
others are falling into debt. Such candidates will quickly realize how
difficult it will be to participate in the Presidential Election without a
large bank account and people willing to give donations.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/us/romney-perry-and-cain-open-wide-financial-lead-over-field.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=politics
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/gingrich-raises-807k-spends-almost-same-amount-in-3rd-quarter/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/romney-raises-142-million-in-third-quarter/2011/10/14/gIQA23GfjL_blog.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44914805/ns/politics-decision_2012/#.Tps1ubKLMse
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/us/romney-perry-and-cain-open-wide-financial-lead-over-field.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=politics
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/gingrich-raises-807k-spends-almost-same-amount-in-3rd-quarter/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/romney-raises-142-million-in-third-quarter/2011/10/14/gIQA23GfjL_blog.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44914805/ns/politics-decision_2012/#.Tps1ubKLMse
Saturday, October 15, 2011
2012 Republican National Convention Controversy
This clip from the C-SPAN video library consists of an interview with the Chair of the Republican Party of Florida Lenny Curry. In the clip he announces that the Republican National Convention will be held in Tampa. Also discussed is the controversy surrounding the announcement in terms of Florida's decision to hold their primaries earlier than usual.
RNC continued...
The following video begins with the RPOF chairman Lenny Curry responding to a Floridian caller that stated the Florida Governor turned down money for a light speed rail. The conversation turns to the effects the 2012 Republican National Convention will have on the states infrastructure and the technological advancements created to make the convention more accessible.
1992 Democratic Convention
The following video consists of an interview with Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey. In this clip Bradley reflects on his keynote speech from the previous evening as well as his own responsibilities at he Convention.
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