The official blog of the Libertarian Party

« March 2006 | Main | May 2006 »

April 28, 2006

Raising Fuel Efficiency Standards is Unnecessary

This week, both Republicans and Democrats have tried to show their concern with high gas prices. On Thursday, President Bush asked Congress to authorize the Department of Transportation to raise the fuel efficiency standards for passenger cars.

The passenger car standard for fuel economy has remained at 27.5 miles per gallon since 1990. In contrast, the fuel standards for light trucks sport utility vehicles have been raised twice in the last four years.

It is unnecessary for the federal government to raise the fuel economy standard again for passenger cars. With the high price of gasoline, consumers will demand higher fuel economy standards when they purchase new cars. Sales of the Toyota Prius, a gas-electric hybrid, have remained strong since its arrival more than 3 years ago.

Mandating higher fuel efficiency standards for automobiles can be dangerous. To increase the fuel efficiency of a gasoline-powered car it must be made lighter and smaller. These improvements come with a price - the driver's safety.

A 2002 report by the National Academy of Sciences blamed higher fuel efficiency standards for thousands of highway deaths and injuries.

If President Bush wants to help solve the problem of high gas prices, he should work towards repealing the federal gasoline tax and easing regulations governing the construction of new oil refineries.

Posted by at 06:26 PM | Comments (89)

April 27, 2006

Proposed $100 Gas Rebate Checks Don't Go Far Enough

A group of Senate Republicans are proposing to give every American taxpayer a $100 rebate check to offset the cost of high gas prices. The proposal is part of energy legislation that also calls for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A vote could take place late in the week.

Republicans are hoping this election-year gimmick will translate into success in November. Giving out a $100 gas rebate check is largely symbolic and will hardly provide any relief to America's motorists. With the average gasoline price at $2.90 a gallon, many motorists will spend close to a $100 in little over a week.

Senate Democrats think the way out of high gas prices is to accuse the oil companies of price gouging. Democrats are taking this position even though the last price gouging investigation conducted after Hurricane Katrina yielded no evidence of retailers inflating the price of gasoline.

If Senate Republicans and Democrats want to provide immediate relief to consumers the first step should be the repeal of the federal excise tax on gasoline. The money saved by consumers would be more than the $100 refund.

To help increase the nation's supply of gasoline in the long-term, Congress needs to ease the environmental regulations governing oil refineries. The United States has not built a new refinery since 1976.

Environmental regulations make building new refineries uneconomical. Over the last 10 years, oil refineries have spent $47 billion making environmental improvements to their facilities, according to Knight Ridder News.

For too long, federal lawmakers and bureaucrats have prevented companies from meeting the growing energy needs of consumers and businesses. Politicians are looking to solve a problem they helped to create with their short-sighted policies.

Posted by at 05:09 PM | Comments (57)

Group of Lawmakers to Hold Informal Hearing on Iraq

On Thursday morning, a group of House Democrats and Republicans will hold an informal hearing to discuss how to end military involvement in Iraq and bring our troops home.

The organizers of Thursday's hearing are hoping it will create more support for a discharge petition that would force a 17-hour floor debate on the Iraq war.

According to Roll Call, the petition now has the signatures of 100 members. Most of the signatories are Democrats with a handful of Republicans. Congressman Ron Paul (R - Texas) is among the Republicans who signed the petition.

I applaud the 100 lawmakers who signed the discharge petition. An open and frank discussion on how the United States is going to end its military involvement in Iraq is sorely needed.

During the 17-hour debate, Congress will discuss alternatives to the Bush administration's current Iraq policy. It has become evident that a comprehensive policy alternative is needed for bringing an end to the Iraq war.

Posted by at 05:08 PM | Comments (21)

April 25, 2006

Lady Liberty Interviews LP Candidate Michael Badnarik

Enter Stage Right posted Lady Liberty's interview with Michael Badnarik on Monday. This year, Badnarik is running for Congress in Texas's 10th District.

In the online interview, Badnarik covered topics such as immigration reform, corruption on Capitol Hill and his recent "listening tour" through the district.

In what could be viewed as a very encouraging sign of how his campaign is doing, Badnarik's campaign has paid for two highway billboards. You can check out pictures of the two billboards here and here.

Posted by at 02:34 PM | Comments (101)

April 24, 2006

Bill Weld Seeks New York LP's Cross Endorsement

At the Libertarian Party of New York's convention on April 29th, delegates will nominate candidates for statewide office. Among the offices that will be nominated next Saturday are comptroller, governor and U.S. Senate. In an unusual move, Republican gubernatorial candidate, Bill Weld, is actively seeking the cross-endorsement of the Libertarian Party of New York.

New York is one of few states that allow candidates for elected office to be nominated by more than one party. Historically, the New York gubernatorial candidate has sought the cross-endorsement of the Conservative Party, but a far more conservative Republican candidate, John Faso, is all but certain to get the nomination.

Weld has a libertarian bent in his personal politics. In his tenure as governor of Massachusetts, Weld reduced the size of state government. He was able to pass 14 tax cuts, while balancing seven budgets in a row.

In his current campaign, Weld is proposing exempting wages under $75,000 from state income taxes. His other campaign issues include promoting a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, advancing school choice and creating a Moreland Act Commission to fight corruption in state government.

The former Massachusetts governor has shown disagreement with some of the Libertarian Party's stances. Weld is in favor of medical marijuana but does not advocate the legalization of all drugs. He is a member of the National Rifle Association, but signed gun control legislation into law while governor of Massachusetts.

Weld is not afraid to be labeled libertarian. He told the New York Daily News recently, that "'Libertarian' is not a bad word in my lexicon." Weld added that one of his favorite expressions is "I want the government out of your pocketbook and out of your bedroom."

Weld has already received the endorsement of the LPNY Chair, John Clifton. The Libertarian Party of New York will be holding its convention in Albany at the Best Western Hotel on April 29th.

Posted by at 02:50 PM | Comments (67)

April 21, 2006

Hillary Clinton Puts People to Sleep With Her Big Government Policies

Lawrence Kudlow, a syndicated columnist and co-host of CNBC's Kudlow & Company found that speeches about big government policies actually put people to sleep.

Kudlow wrote in a column on Thursday about a meeting of the Chicago Economic Club last week where Senator Hillary Clinton delivered a speech. The room was filled with business leaders, whose "eyelids grew heavy" after listening to Clinton talk about her big-government policies.

Despite admitting we had a growing economy and low unemployment, Clinton naturally felt America needed big-government investment in infrastructure and heavy spending on health care and education, explained Kudlow in his column.

It appears Clinton and the Republicans have many things in common. Clinton is for increased healthcare spending, something Republicans have shown they favor, when they passed the massive drug prescription bill last year. Republicans also agree with Clinton when it comes to heavy spending on infrastructure with the passage of the bloated highway bill last year.

Clinton stated in her speech the need for "all of us acting together through our government can set the stage for future prosperity." In other words, a government-directed economy.

It is astounding Clinton is even suggesting government planning, when you look at how well it has worked in France, Germany, and Italy. Both France and Italy have enormous public debt and high unemployment. In Kudlow's words, it is "no wonder the Chicago ballroom started to snooze."

Posted by at 11:38 AM | Comments (78)

April 19, 2006

Vice President Cheney Gets Hurricane Katrina Tax Relief

In the months after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Congress created hurricane-related tax relief. Perhaps they felt guilty about the federal government's shoddy response to the disaster.

As with a lot of federal legislation, it had some unintended consequences, such as benefiting those not affected by Hurricane Katrina, like Vice President Dick Cheney.

Michael Kirsch at the TaxProf Blog says the vice president was a major beneficiary of the Hurricane Katrina tax relief act passed last year.

Cheney was able to claim $6.8 million in charitable deductions, which is about three-fourths of his adjusted gross income. He was able to go over the 50 percent limitation for charitable deductions because of the Hurricane Katrina tax relief legislation.

According to a press release from Cheney's office, the charitable contributions he claimed on his 2005 tax return, were given to charities not involved with hurricane relief.

Kirsch points out even though Cheney didn't do anything wrong legally, "It does demonstrate how the legislation, which was sold to the public as providing relief to Katrina victims, provided significant tax benefits to the VP (and potentially other wealthy individuals) in situations that have nothing to do with Hurricane Katrina."

Posted by at 04:29 PM | Comments (39)

Freddie Mac Pays Record Fine for Trying to Influence Lawmakers

Freddie Mac, the Virginia-based mortgage company will pay a record $3.8 million fine for violating federal election law.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) accused Freddie Mac of using corporate resources to raise $1.7 million at political fundraisers, most of them for Republican congressmen, the Washington Post reported.

The company's plan was to funnel money to the campaigns of more than 50 politicians who had direct oversight of Freddie Mac or were considered supportive of it, according to the Washington Post.

The chief lobbyist for Freddie Mac, Mitchell Delk often held fundraisers that involved House Financial Services Committee Chairman, Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio).

Delk wrote back in 2002, "We proposed to Chairman Oxley a political model that was bold and unprecedented. We offered to use our fundraising model to marry his interest as Chairman with our interest in assisting committee members supportive" of Freddie Mac's goals.

With all the government regulation over the financial services industry, it is no wonder that companies try to buy influence with members of Congress.

Posted by at 04:10 PM | Comments (24)

April 18, 2006

Federal Gov't Partly To Blame For High Gas Prices

On Monday oil prices closed at a record high, reaching over $70 a barrel. Many factors have contributed to today's record high oil prices. There has been an increase in demand in India and China that is a result of their economic growth. Other factors are supply disruptions in Nigeria and concern about Iran's nuclear program.

One major factor that has contributed significantly to the price Americans pay at the pump is the federal government. CNN reported that the recent increase in gasoline prices results from switching from one type of gasoline additive to another.

Refiners are hastily switching from MBTE to ethanol because Congress did not give them liability protection in an energy bill passed last August. MBTE, a gasoline additive that is known to cause cancer, has been the subject of numerous lawsuits.

In typical, high-handed, bureaucratic fashion, the federal government did not have a period for phasing out the use of MBTE in gasoline. The result is companies are now scrambling to replace MBTE with ethanol, thereby creating possible shortages.

Ethanol is different from MBTE in that it absorbs water and therefore can't be transported by pipeline. Instead, ethanol has to be transported separately by truck or railcar, where it is produced, to the pipeline terminus, where it's then blended with gasoline as the gas is loaded onto trucks for delivery to gas stations, according to Mary Rose Brown, a spokeswoman for the refining company, Valero.

To show his interest in domestic issues, President Bush stated on Tuesday that he is very concerned about high gasoline prices. He added, "The government has the responsibility to make sure that we watch very carefully and investigate possible price-gouging, and we will do just that." I think we need less government involvement in the gasoline industry, not more.

Posted by at 04:18 PM | Comments (49)

April 17, 2006

Even Congressmen Don't Understand the Tax System

In honor of tax filing season, there is a good story (via Outside the Beltway) about how even the some of the writers of our tax laws need help in filing their taxes.

According to Yahoo News, three of the top four lawmakers on the Senate Finance and the House Ways and Means Committee, which are in charge of writing tax laws, hire a professional to file their individual tax returns.

Sixty percent of the American public paid a professional to file their tax returns, a statistic that goes up slightly every year. I think it might be more than coincidence that as the tax code gets more complex each year, more individuals need the help of a tax professional.

David Keating, senior counselor at the National Taxpayers Union, argues that lawmakers who sit on a tax-writing committee should be required to at least attempt to complete their own return just to experience what ordinary Americans go through every tax season.

James Joyner at Outside the Beltway provides one reason why our tax system has become so complicated. Joyner states, "We have decided as a society to use the tax code as a means of social engineering rather than simple revenue collection. We favor the married over the single, parents over the childless, and homeowners over renters."

Posted by at 03:41 PM | Comments (50)

April 14, 2006

Bob Barr Finds An Unlikely Ally in Defending Civil Liberties

On Wednesday former Congressman Bob Barr found an unlikely ally in his fight to protect civil liberties - Congressman Bernie Sanders.

Sanders and Barr come from opposite ends of the political spectrum. Sanders is a self-avowed socialist, while Barr is a strong fiscal conservative. One of the few things they do agree on is their opposition to the USA Patriot Act.

Barr and Sanders made a joint appearance this week in Montpelier, Vermont to express their concern about the increasing erosion of Americans' civil liberties under President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress, the Barre Montpelier Times Argus reported.

Both men said the issue of civil liberties transcends party lines. "This is not a Democratic issue or Republican issue or a conservative issue or a liberal issue. This is a fundamental American issue," Barr stated.

Barr commented, "I can't understand that while you have a president thumbing his nose at Congress and the country and expressing disdain for the Constitution that Congress just sits there and takes it."

Sanders said at the joint appearance, "Bob and I disagree on millions of things, but we believe that this country must remain a free country."

A spokesman for Sanders Republican opponent, Richard Tarrant, in this year's Senate race stated, "You might think that Bob Barr and Bernie Sanders are the odd couple, but they're both extremists and they are the main reason why people around this country are shaking their heads at Washington."

The above statement by Tarrant's campaign shows how the Republican Party is out of touch with the American people. Don't take my word for it, just take a look at Tarrant's poll numbers. He is trailing Sanders 16 percent to 64 percent as of a poll conducted last November, according to Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

Posted by at 03:52 PM | Comments (66)

April 13, 2006

Another Republican Who Plays Fast and Loose With The Facts

I received a tip from Michael Metti, a California Libertarian, that one of the two Republican candidates in Tuesday's special election for former Rep. Duke Cunningham's seat is playing fast and loose with the facts.

Howard Kaloogian sent out a last-minute campaign letter to Libertarians who reside in the 50th Congressional district. In this letter, he tried to paint himself as the Republican candidate with libertarian credentials.

The letter states that "San Diego Libertarian leader Richard Rider sent a questionnaire to all candidates. Libertarian Paul King and Republican Howard Kaloogian scored the highest." The letter neglected to mention that Rider sent the survey in his capacity as head of the San Diego Tax Fighters, a non-partisan taxpayer advocacy group.

The survey deals with economic issues only, and is not a libertarian survey. Kaloogian is fiscally conservative and more importantly, socially conservative. An important point about his candidacy he neglects to mention in the letter.

Under the endorsements page on Howard Kaloogian's campaign website, you will find endorsements from Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, pro-Iraq war neoconservative Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly, and former Republican candidate Alan Keyes.

Apparently Kaloogian thinks giving lip service to cutting government spending and providing tax relief while catering to the religious right, makes him a friend of the Libertarians.

As a supporter of the Iraq war, Kaloogian visited Iraq to support the troops and attended a "Cindy You Don't Speak For Me" rally in Crawford, Texas. Kaloogian was getting tired of the mainstream media reporting on how bad the situation in Iraq is, so he put up a photo on his campaign website showing that the conditions in downtown Baghdad were stable and calmer than the media was reporting.

That's because the photo was not taken in Baghdad, but in Istanbul, Turkey. Oops.

Daily Kos was one of the first to learn that the photo was bogus. Talking Points Memo compares a known photo of a street in Istanbul, Turkey with Kaloogian's bogus Baghdad photo and the two make a great match.

Posted by at 05:50 PM | Comments (58)

April 12, 2006

Louisiana Parish Looking to Hire Former Head of FEMA

Here's some news that can only be labeled as "bizarre in nature."

James Joyner from Outside the Beltway found a USA Today article that reports that St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana is considering hiring former head of FEMA Michael Brown as a consultant.

Brown will make a pitch to the St. Bernard Parish council on Thursday in which he will outline how he could help the parish "get things moving again," according to USA Today.

If hired by the parish as a consultant, Brown will help the parish steer through the federal bureaucracy and obtain assistance from FEMA. Oh the irony.

Unlike the St. Bernard Parish council, State Sen. Walter Boasso, who represents St. Bernard Parish, stated, "I understand we're desperate for help, but how are you going to hire a man who ran an organization that left so many of us to fend for ourselves."

Posted by at 03:46 PM | Comments (47)

April 11, 2006

California's Mistake With the Minimum Wage

Tom McClintock, a California State Senator, argued in an April 11th Los Angeles Times editorial that the state's proposal to increase the minimum wage is a "major mistake." McClintock continued by highlighting the absurdity associated with raising the minimum wage.

The California legislature is considering increasing the minimum wage to $7.75 as way to help lower-income workers. McClintock wrote "the proposal is couched in the soothing and smarmy rhetoric of leftist populism."

One proponent of the bill stated, "It will help the lowest paid workers in California to improve their purchasing power and reduce the needs for public assistance."

McClintock took the leftist logic one step further. If raising the state minimum wage by a dollar will help a little, then raising the minimum wage even more will help a lot.

McClintock argues, "If a simple legislative act increasing the minimum wage to $7.75 is all that is needed to improve the lot of the working poor by just a little, then why not raise it to $10 an hour and get them to the poverty level?" He adds, "For that matter, why not raise it to $50 an hour, assuring every working Californian a comfortable living?"

McClintock then pours cold water on the leftist theory, "The truth is that if your labor is worth $6.75 an hour and the minimum wage is raised to $7.75, you simply become unemployable. The first rung of the ladder is gone, and there's no place to start."

Posted by at 03:17 PM | Comments (47)

April 10, 2006

The Most Harmful Government Programs

How would you decide which government programs are the most harmful? Which criteria would you use? With so many government programs to choose from, how would you narrow it down?

Human Events came up with a list of the Ten Most Harmful Government Programs. They enlisted the help of 38 panelists that included FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey, George Mason University Professor of Economics Walter Williams, Larry Kudlow, host of CNBC's "Kudlow and Company" and Executive Vice President of the Cato Institute, David Boaz.

According to Human Events Online, each judge was asked to rank 10 programs 1 - 10 according to which they deemed the "most harmful." A program earned 10 points for each number 1 vote it received, 9 points for each number 2 vote, and so forth.

After the votes were counted, Human Events called the government agencies with nominated programs to ask what language in the Constitution authorizes their respective program.

When Human Events called the Department of Labor and asked where in the Constitution it authorizes the affirmative action program for federal contractors, a spokesman gave a surprisingly straight-forward answer, "We don't have anyone who speaks for the Constitution." Apparently neither did Congress when they created the program.

The federal program that came in first as the most harmful was Social Security, followed by Medicare. To see the complete list, click here.

Posted by at 02:54 PM | Comments (41)

April 07, 2006

Some More Reasons Why Public Schools Are Failing

Andrew J. Rotherham, in a New York Times editorial, showed that Wisconsin's largest teachers' union tried to put a stop to innovation in education.

The teachers' union filed a lawsuit to close a charter school that offers all of its courses online on the grounds that "it violated state law by depending on parents rather than on certified teachers to educate children," wrote Rotherham. Thankfully, the court rejected the teachers' union's legal argument.

Rotherham argues that the case is part of a national trend to expand choice in public education and that "teachers' unions are turning to the courts to fight virtually any deviation from uniformity in public schools."

Those who get the short end of the stick are the teachers themselves, according to Rotherham. He states "America's teachers are ill served by the unions when policymakers and politicians are increasingly forced to work around them rather than with them."

John Stossel, a libertarian news reporter, wrote in his Townhall.com column about how the United Federation of Teachers, a teachers' union, protested outside his office for doing an education segment on the show 20/20. In the segment titled, "Stupid In America", Stossel suggest some teachers were lazy.

The head of the New York City teachers' union, Randi Weingarten, challenged Stossel to teach for a week. Stossel accepted the challenge and met with school officials multiple times. At the last minute school officials backed out.

Stossel states that public school administrators thought it might be "disruptive" and that it might "set a precedent" that would "open their doors to other reporters."

Stossel was disappointed and thought letting cameras into the school would be a "good thing." He wrote, "Taxpayers might finally get to see how more than $200,000 per classroom of their money was being spent."

Posted by at 04:31 PM | Comments (57)

Watchdog Group Targets Wasteful Spending in the 'Pig Book'

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), a government watchdog group released its 2006 'Pig Book', an annual compilation of pork barrel projects in the federal budget.

This year, CAGW found 375 projects, totaling $3.4 billion, that the federal government could have done without in fiscal 2006, which ends October 1st, CNN reported.

Some of the more humorous examples of pork spending are $1 million for the Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative in Michigan and $13.5 million for the International Fund for Ireland, which helped finance the World Toilet Summit.

Under guidelines set by CAGW, a project was included in the Pig Book if it was requested by only one chamber of Congress; not specifically authorized; not competitively awarded; not requested by the president; greatly exceeds the president's budget request or the previous year's funding; not the subject of congressional hearings; and serves only a local or special interest.

Some politicians on Capitol Hill don't like watchdog groups criticizing their projects. Porkbusters, a blog that was set up to expose pork barrel spending, criticized Lott's $700 million railroad to nowhere. Here's the senator's response, "I'll just say this about the so-called porkbusters. I'm getting damn tired of hearing from them." You can read more of the story at Tapscott's Copy Desk.

There is at least one state that is weaning itself off pork barrel spending, Alabama. Poliblog found a report in the Press-Register showing the state's share of pork plunged 41 percent this fiscal year. Poliblog has another post about how Alabama's unemployment rate is down for the month of February. I wonder if these two events are just coincidences? Hmmm.

Posted by at 04:25 PM | Comments (13)

April 04, 2006

Capitol Police Requesting Arrest Warrant for House Democrat

U.S. Capitol Police on Monday requested an arrest warrant be issued for Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D - Georgia).

Last week, Rep. McKinney had an altercation with a Capitol police officer inside a House office building. McKinney entered the building without her lapel pin identifying her as a member of Congress.

CNN reports that according to several police sources, the officer asked the congresswoman three times to stop. When she kept going, he placed a hand somewhere on her and she hit him, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

McKinney, who is black, thinks she was the victim of racial profiling.

At a news conference on Friday, McKinney was joined by her friends Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte. In a move to garner more sympathy, the Georgia Democrat had black schoolchildren hold up a sign that said, "Is Cynthia a target?"

Michelle Malkin posts a story on her blog about how McKinney misused taxpayer money to fly Isaac Hayes to Atlanta to help dedicate a new office. McKinney's office used funds that are supposed to go towards purchasing office supplies to pay for Hayes's airline ticket, a violation of House rules. Michelle Malkin asks, "Guess this is all The Man's fault, too?"

James Joyner at Outside the Beltway is not surprised by the McKinney incident. Joyner states, "It's hardly shocking that McKinney, who has a history of blaming her continual malfeasance on discrimination, is once again playing the race card."

He speculates on what will happen, "My gut tells me that she will once again get away with it, as the Capitol police have a greater interest in maintaining smooth relations with the Members than prosecuting the occasional errant Member who will not abide by the rules of civilized behavior."

Posted by at 05:08 PM | Comments (41)

Rep. Tom DeLay Resigns

Embattled House Republican Tom DeLay announced he will resign from his seat, likely in June.

DeLay resigned to avoid facing a very difficult campaign against his Democratic opponent, Nick Lampson. In a January Houston Chronicle poll, DeLay was trailing Lampson 22 percent to 30 percent, with independent Stockman taking 11 percent.

DeLay's resignation comes shortly after the congressman's former deputy chief of staff, Tony C. Rudy pleaded guilty in connection to the Jack Abramoff criminal probe. According to the Washington Post, Rudy collaborated with lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former DeLay aide Michael Scanlon to arrange payments, trips and favors that investigators say were part of an illegal conspiracy.

Despite the coincidental timing, DeLay's attorney states the representative's decision to withdraw from the race was "not connected to the criminal investigation." However some evidence suggests otherwise.

Under federal election rules, if DeLay withdraws from the race now he will be able to transfer all of his remaining campaign funds to pay for his legal expenses, regardless of whether he is campaigning or not.

James Joyner at Outside the Beltway obtained a copy of DeLay's resignation letter and notices in it that the congressman sounds like he is "blaming his fall on the evil liberals." Joyner wonders, "One would think he would take some modicum of responsibility for the mess he has created. That he has no regrets and no shame is quite sad, really."

DeLay has found a way to make himself ineligible for the fall election. He's moving to Virginia and declaring residency there, Galveston County Daily News reported. This is the quickest way under Texas law to be declared ineligible for an election.

Posted by at 05:04 PM | Comments (21)

April 03, 2006

Campaigns Are Turning To Web Video To Reach Voters

The Washington Post reported on Monday of a growing trend in political campaigns, Web video.

Candidates are putting web video on their campaign websites as a new way to reach voters. The article notes that political campaigns are having the same problems as advertisers in reaching their target audiences.

Justin Germany, a campaign consultant explains the appeal of web video. "Less people are watching regular TV - they're watching more channels, they're watching TV in a time-shifted environment. And yet there is a hunger for this, and that's where Web video comes into play," Germany stated.

Political campaigns, along with advertisers are finding it difficult in reaching certain audiences through traditional television spots. Web video offers more control in how the message is presented to the target audience. Additionally, important demographic and geographic information can be gleamed from when the video is viewed online.

Michael Bassik, vice president of Internet advertising at MSHC Partners, a political consulting firm, stated, "The reporting is very robust. I can find out how many seconds did they watch the video. I'll find out how many people watched it again." He added, "To get that kind of reporting is really unique to the Web. On television you don't know if someone stepped out of the room."

In addition to the Washington Post article, Taegan Goddard's Political Wire mentions a related New York Times article about how the Internet is "rewriting of rules on advertising, fund-raising, mobilizing supporters and even the spreading of negative information." The Political Wire also mentions how Rep. Jack Kingston is on the technological cutting edge with his own blog and regular podcasting.

Posted by at 05:26 PM | Comments (20)

Republicans Attacking Free Speech

Check out an editorial published in the New Hampshire Union Leader on Monday, titled "Attacking free speech: Republicans go after the left." The editorial makes a good argument that during the Clinton years, Republicans were all for free speech and dissent, when they were out of power.

Now Republicans are trying to squash dissent by introducing a bill in the U.S. House to restrict contributions to 527 groups and regulate them like political action committees. Republicans are going after 527 groups because Democrats have used them to close the fundraising gap with Republican political committees.

The Union Leader explains what this bill against 527s is really about. "This is about the party in power brazenly and thuggishly trying to suppress the free speech rights of its weaker political opponents. It must not be tolerated, no matter which party happens to be doing it."

The Union Leader is one of the few papers in the country that has a strong small government conservative bent and I personally applaud them for taking this stand. The paper's views are not surprising given the state's motto is "Live Free or Die."

Posted by at 02:17 PM | Comments (24)

Lawsuit Blames Grand Theft Auto Videogame For Killings

In a move that will likely raise serious concern among free speech advocates, the Alabama Supreme Court allowed a lawsuit against video game manufacturer, Rockstar Games, to go forward.

Grand Theft Auto, one of Rockstar Games's bestselling game series, is blamed for contributing to the murders of police officers Arnold Strickland and Leslie Mealer of Fayette County, Alabama. Carjacker Devin Moore, who was in police custody at the time, grabbed one of the arresting officer's guns and shot and killed that officer and two others, GameSpot reported.

The victims' relatives blamed Moore's actions in part to playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City before the killings. A decision by the relatives to file a civil suit was largely based Moore's statement to the police after the killings. Moore stated, "Life is a video game; everybody has to die sometime."

The Alabama Supreme Court handed down a decision last week where the court rejected an appeal by the defendants, which include Sony, Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar Games's parent company), Wal-Mart, and GameStop. Sony is being sued because it manufactures the PlayStation gaming console. While Wal-Mart and GameStop are being sued because that is where Moore allegedly bought videogames.

Poliblog doesn't think the case has much merit. "I have a hard time with any liability for a company producing pop culture. The people responsible for the deaths in this case are the people who committed murder - not the manufacturers of a video game."

I think this case is eerily reminiscent of the lawsuits against certain heavy metal groups for causing suicides. One notable case from 1986 involved Ozzy Osbourne being sued for causing two teenagers to commit suicide through alleged subliminal messages hidden in one of his songs. The court at the time ruled in Osbourne's favor stating that he cannot be held accountable for a listener's actions.

Posted by at 01:48 PM | Comments (22)