Grassroots Movements: Explained

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Finance defines politics: the exchange of dollars for recommendations, the calculated cost of democracy. Candidates offer their support to the highest bidder, trading ideals for sponsorship. This is the slow destruction of government — with the intentions of a constitution undone by pennies. Men and women sell their motivations, and all assume that this is the only way to fuel progress.

There are other avenues to pursue, however — and among these is the Grassroots Movement process.

Simply explained: a Grassroots Movement is a collection of community efforts to inspire change. These efforts lack the usual corporate funding or manipulations. Instead they’re composed of simpler techniques — such as rallies, letters, stopping strangers on the street for petition signings, posting fliers and more. Raising money becomes a process for the people, rather than relying on companies. This produces a more honest (and earnest) campaign.

And such campaigns form the Green Party. This independent political movement emphasizes the need for social and environmental change — without succumbing to the influence of corporations or the media. It promotes justice within all forms of the country; and its penchant for Grassroots has led it to great success (with thousands of community victories and even occasional representatives with Congress or the Senate).

The value of a Grassroots Movement has forever been its ability to reach the masses. The inclusive nature of these campaigns — along with their refusal to accept donations from domineering businesses — allow them to please. And they ensure fairness within the world of politics.

 

Running a Successful Campaign

The president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarba...

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Running a campaign is always a stressful ordeal. There are a million ways to go about running a campaign and there are an endless number of approaches and stances to take during a campaign. You can advertise through direct tv, online or newspapers. While a large-scale campaign requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and in-depth knowledge of campaigning to be successful, there are a few key steps, tips, and ideas that can help with any campaign, large or small. And, of the many ways to put your campaign ahead of any opponent’s is with your reputation.

If you have experience in a position like the one you are campaigning for, you should use that experience to help your campaign. A good history of work ethic and dedication can work miracles for a would-be politician. As an example, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected the First President of Kazakhstan when it gained independence in 1991. He has since been re-elected in every election since, occurring once every five years.

Opponents may also know the value of a reputation. If you have a bad reputation in politics, there is a good chance that your history will be used against you. There is little you can do to defend against this other than to brace yourself for the dirt, but it is better to simply try to avoid getting a bad reputation in the first place.

A reputation can be a candidate’s best friend or worst enemy. Using a reputation better than an opponent can give you a big advantage in any campaign, from School President to President of the United States of America.

Candidacy: Make Informed Choice

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There’s no doubt about it. Next year is a presidential election and politicians are getting in gear for the race. The race is on and someone has to win, power is at stake.

To make an informed choice about who to vote for often takes research and truly researching each candidate. Sites dedicated to election news can be helpful. Commercials on television are generally not. Rumors, slander, and vitriol are pretty much all commercials on television are good for. What is sad is that all candidates pretty much take part and utilize any money that they gain from their campaign to look the other candidate look bad. Is this truly what politics has come to? Bashing of opponents?

In choosing a candidate, it is wise to truly seek out information on those seeking election. What is their campaign? What do these individuals stand for? What affiliations do they hold? Why do they stand for certain topics and what in their lives have proved their passion for these topics?

Watch the debates on television, follow the candidate’s campaigns closely to make an informed decision about which individual would best represent the United States. Politics in a nutshell is often dwindled down to a popularity contest. This is what society is used to with shows on television that actually support popularity. However, politics are serious. Power over the United States and representation should be more valuable. Help make it so by becoming an informed participant in this next election.

 

Money Power In Democracy – Social Networking Helps Level The Playing Field

The Economist Democracy index map for 2008, wi... 

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Democracy is one of the worst forms of governance except for all the forms that having tried till date. Democracy is not a perfect solution but it certainly is better than all other options that mankind has seen till date. In such a scenario, it is important to maintain democracy in a pure form. The biggest enemy of democracy is money power.

People have been selling their votes since time immemorial. Some sell it for cash while others have sold it for better business opportunities. Trading of votes is not necessarily a bad thing because it compels the individual to compare different parties before taking a decision. However, the playing field should not be so unbalanced that a person with lots of money can simply demolish all opposition.

This is the reason why governments have limits on campaign spending in elections. Of course, there are ample loopholes that enable the rich to spend more than what is legally allowed without getting into trouble later. However, the fact that such limits exist means that a person who violates these rules can end up in trouble.

This is where technology can do its bit to protect democracy. An individual who collects small donations from hundreds and thousands of individuals on the internet can generate the same amount of funds as an individual seeking money from a few millionaires. The biggest advantage with the former option is that there is no scope for corruption or other such complications. Finding another contributor who is ready to pay $10 will not be very difficult. This approach will take democracy to the grassroots and keep it free of unwanted influences.


 

Things to Keep in Mind When Writing to a Congressperson

If there is a political issue or local issue that you have a problem with one of the ways that you can get action on it is to contact your representative in Congress. Every section of the United States is covered by a specific representative in Congress. If you are considering writing or communicating with your local representative in Congress here are a few things you should keep in mind.

High Volume of Letters. All communications with your local Congressman/woman will go through their district office. There are thousands of letters that come into the office daily. Try to keep this in mind and remain patient when contacting a Congressman/woman.

Short and Sweet. Due to the large amount of letters and emails that a Congressperson gets you will want to make your letter short and sweet. Try to say everything that you want to say in as little words as possible. Your Congressperson does not have all day to read a ten page letter. You are more likely to get results if you say what you want to say and leave it at that.

Edit and Proofread. While you might feel like writing a letter in the heat of the moment make sure that you properly edit and proofread your letters. This will allow you to make sure that you are saying what you want to say and that you come off intellectually. It might be a good idea to have someone else read it over so that you can make sure your ideas are presented and elaborated on properly.

A Look at the Green Party Beliefs

The United States political system is made up of two major political parties. Everyone knows about the Democratic and Republican parties. However, there are also political parties that branch off of these parties and have their own beliefs and political agendas. One of those parties is known as the Green Party.

The Green Party to an outsider might appear to be a small branch of the Democratic Party but it really has some extremely different views. Here is a look at some of the views and political agendas of the Green Party.

The Iraq War. The Green Party believes that there should be an immediate withdrawal of the troops in Iraq. When the troops are gone there will be a oversight committee that is provided by the United Nations.

Privacy. The Green Party wants an immediate end to the Patriot Act and any other laws that invade the privacy of citizens. The Green Party sees these types of laws as extra ways for the government to invade the personal lives of its citizens.

Military Budgets. The Green Party would ideally want to take a majority of the money that goes to the military and send it over to environmental and social issues. This is because the party believes that there should be more support for living creatures than promoting the destruction of other societies.

Environmental Factors. The Green Party believes that the United States should be more involved with environmental concerns. They believe that there should be more restrictions on greenhouse gases and companies that are responsible for these gases.

Abortions. The Green Party would ideally want to provide all women with access to safe abortions.

Political News: Robert Gibbs Leaves Position

The White House has an official spokesman who speaks on behalf of all political and governmental matters when it comes to the White House. Whenever there is an announcement or questions from the media it is the White House spokesman who does the talking for the White House and the President. For the past couple of years the White House spokesman has been Robert Gibbs. However, starting next week there will be a new White House spokesman and a new face will be given to the White House.

In January Robert Gibbs made the announcement that he would be stepping down as White House spokesman although at the time there was no official date given just a vague in the future. There was no reason given as to why he has decided to leave such a prestigious position. The decision to step down as White House spokesman was a shocking one to the public and those in the political circle. On February 7, 2011, Robert Gibbs announced that on Friday the 11th it would be his official last day as White House spokesman.

Even though Robert Gibbs is stepping down he will still serve as a political adviser to President Obama. He just will no longer serve as the White House spokesman.

Robert Gibb’s replacement has been announced. The new White House spokesman will be Jay Carney. Jay Carney is known for being the communications director to Joe Biden, who is the vice president. Jay Carney’s first day as White House spokesman will begin on Friday.

Understanding the Political Symbols of the Main Political Parties

Every political party in the United States has a unique logo or symbol. These logos and symbols represent the political party and what they stand for. Every character, color and piece on that logo represents an ideal or part of the political party. Here is a closer look at the various factors that go into some of the political party symbols or logos.

Colors. There are millions of different colors that can be used. However, when it comes to political symbols chances are there are only three colors being used. These colors include red, white and blue. Political symbols that use the color red are usually those that for the Republican Party, while blue is for liberal or Democratic Party symbols and white is for the third party candidate or an independent party.

Direction. The direction of the symbol can also help you understand what party it is. If the symbol is facing to the left it stands for liberalism and Democratic, while if it faces right it is for conservatism or the Republican party. If a symbol faces the center it stands for a combination of central ideals and liberalism.

Animals. Many political parties use an animal as part of their political symbol. The main political symbol for the Democratic Party is that of a donkey. The donkey is usually blue with a red head and faces the left side. The political symbol for the Republic Party is an elephant which is red and blue and races the right. There is also three white stars in the blue area. The Independent Party usually has a bald eagle that holds a bunch of arrows, there is an American flag behind the eagle and it faces straight forward.

Political News: Mitt Romney Has Pending Announcement

Mitt Romney is famous for his attempt at trying to run for president of the United States in 2008. He was running for the Republican party and was beat out by John McCain. However, as the 2012 presidential elections loom on the horizon many people wonder whether or not Mitt Romney might consider running again for President of the United States of America.

The question was addressed to Mitt Romney this past week as he finished promoting his new book. Mitt Romney was conducting a phone conference with 300 supporters. In it he talked about his paperback book “No Apology”. However, as all things do the conversation quickly turned to whether or not Mitt Romney will run for President of the United States.

While the conference call was not about whether or not Mitt Romney would run for President in 2012 he did answer the question when asked. Mitt Romney announced that he would be giving an official announcement sometime down the road regarding his stance on the issue.

This is a bit of a different take from his stance two weeks ago. When Mitt Romney was asked whether or not he would be throwing his name in the ring for the presidential elections in 2012 he answered very vaguely. He talked about the fact that there were a lot of factors that needed to be considered. He stressed that he was leaving the option open but was unsure whether or not he would run again.

Even though Mitt Romney might not have given a 100% yes to running for president, many people are already encouraging him and offering their support for the 2012 elections. Only time will tell what Mitt Romney decides to do for the 2012 elections.

Federal Elections Commission Ups Federal Contributions to Elections

The Federal Election Commission is the election board that oversees political contributions. One of the responsibilities of the Federal Election Commission is to make sure that all political contributions meet the standards set forth by the commission. The most important standard is to make sure that all federal campaigns are funded equally by contributors. This ensures that no one person is 100% funding a political campaign.

The Federal Election Commission sets specific limitations on the amount of money that an individual can contribute to an individual candidate and a political party. Every two years the Federal Election Commission will review the limits and increase the amount depending upon the rate of inflation over the years.

On February 4, 2011 the Federal Election Commission announced the new contribution levels. Here is a look at what can now be given to federal campaigns.

An individual person may now give $2,500 to any candidate in an election season. This is an increase of $100. The limit is in place per election and resets at the end of the election. There is also a limit of $2,500 per candidate so a person can ideally give to more than one person in a campaign season.

An individual can also contribute to an official national party. The limit on contributions to the national party is $30,800. This is an increase of $800 from the previous years. The limit is on a per yearly basis.

There is also a limit on how much total can be given in a two year time frame. An individual cannot contribute more than $117,000 in two years to any candidate, national party or campaign.

These rates will be evaluated in 2013 and could be raised based on inflation rates.