Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with candidates

Volunteer or Paid Political Consulting?

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:53:29 -0800

My client is late paying me. Plus, I am concerned about how they are (or are not) using the products and services I am providing. Should I stop providing those products and services and send a late notice, or somehow give them the benefit of the doubt for a while longer? I want this client to succeed at their endeavor, but I don't want to be taken advantage of either, whether intentionally or not. I was hired as a consultant by a man who is a declared candidate for a federal office. I made my rates clear at the outset, but offered to charge half that rate since he initially asked me to volunteer. The services I provide are technical, time-consuming and expensive, and I declined to volunteer. He agreed to the half price rate. In addition, I charge no travel or researching (reading) fees; only for the creation of hard products, like campaign artwork, databases, TV and radio commercial development, etc. I also set up interviews, do videotaping and other media related work in support of the candidate. Professional staff in a political campaign, like campaign manager, volunteer coordinator, financial manager and media director are almost always paid positions.

I have found several guides for political campaigns that suggest a path for campaign staff development and campaign strategy progression. I've shared these with the candidate. But as near as I can tell, he has not begun any serious fundraising, or consistent efforts to meet any of his constituencies yet. Partly, I'd guess it's because he is a business owner and spends most of his time running it. Public campaign financing websites show his competitors ahead in donations. He has paid me for two invoice I've already submitted, but is now more than a month late in paying me for the most recent work I've done. Because he isn't raising the funds, he is paying me from his business which he says is having a cumulative effect on him. Also, he has not found (or attracted) a campaign manager or (volunteer coordinator), and campaign staff really need a campaign manager to tell them what strategy to follow. I am a media professional, and I suggest and create basic media for the candidate, logos, lists, etc. But I can't do the work of a campaign manager. In politics, perception is reality and I don't think it is helping him that no one has offered to fill that role.

Campaigns seem to need much more than what you think of everything to be successful; time, money, people, advertising, whatever. And I don't want to burn any bridges. But I have two invoices worth of work that haven't been paid yet and I don't know understand why he isn't following the conventional path by laying the critical groundwork.

Me vote pretty some day.

allkindsoftime — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:30:56 -0800

How do I (quickly) educate myself on the props and candidate choices I will be faced with on my ballot next week? I'll admit it, I've been a bad citizen - I've been way to busy to do enough reading or watch enough news to really get to know what my options are going to be before I walk into the booth.

I'd like a website (ideally, something online, because I travel constantly) that I can use to find out more information about the candidates and propositions I will be voting on. I'd like to be prepared to walk in and confidently know who's getting my vote and why.

Please talk to me like a new voter - I essentially am, although I shouldn't be. I was scarred at a young age on the political system as a whole, but America seems to be getting screwed up enough now that I think every last vote is important.

I'm voting in NYC if that helps (and yes, I've been to the nightmare that is the Board of Elections website, and no, I found nothing remotely helpful).

Where can I learn more about American political populism?

iamisaid — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:20:39 -0800

What modern book (preferably) or magazine article/essay would you recommend to learn more about the history of populist candidates in American politics? I'm wanting something recent enough to include the gubernatorial term of Jesse Ventura in Minnesota. If it's a book/essay that focuses on Ventura's candidacy in the broader context of populism, that would work as well. Although I am interested in the political campaigns of populist candidates and the modern populist movement, I am more interested in analysis of how said candidates fared after getting elected and the sort of challenges they faced in governing.

Genuinely Fair

netbros — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:44:28 -0800

Now that the primary season is over and major party nominees have been determined for the upcoming U.S. presidential and congressional elections, please help me find unbiased, non-partisan, impartial news and commentary outlets to follow the campaigns. I would really like to avoid mouthpieces and parrots like Fox News, Kos, Sullivan, Reynolds, et. al. Presumably it is still actually possible to get balanced coverage of candidates, parties, and affiliations. Where are they? Any media are fine; TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, internet. As always, thanks in advance for your assistance.

What happens to campaign contributions after a campaign ends?

Hantra — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:56:01 -0800

What happens to campaign money when a candidate bows out of a campaign? Does the money funnel to the party?

Voter Education

Pantalaimon — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:40:58 -0800

Teach me to be a better informed voter for the next Presidential election I'd like to educate myself about the presidential candidates. Wading through their respective campaign material would be one obvious option, but I am afraid I will waste a lot of time on reading their self-promotion and propaganda.

So I'm looking for a comprehensive website to educate myself about the current presidential candidates: what they say they stand for on wide-ranging issues (social, political, domestic, international), what they said in the past they stand for, what they voted for in Congress, etc. Ideally, it should be fairly objective, but I don't even know if that's possible. I'll settle for something that clearly separates facts from analysis. Is there such a site?

How do I find information about local candidates and issues?

ar0n — Wed, 20 Oct 2004 01:58:06 -0800

Last week I received my absentee ballot for Central Massachusetts. I haven't been there in a few years, so I don't recognize some of the candidates running for the more obscure offices. When Google fails, and the local newspaper coverage is sketchy, how do you go about finding out more information about these candidates? And by "local newspaper coverage", I mean coverage by local newspapers that have an online presence. On a side note: this will be my first election, huzzah!

Debate Downloads

punishinglemur — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 08:41:58 -0800

Where can I download a somewhat high quality video of last night's debate?

Electoral Votes

fenriq — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 10:19:29 -0800

Can someone please explain why a candidate gets all of the electoral votes in a given state if they have the majority of votes in that state?

Wouldn't it be more sensible and accurate to allow electoral votes to be distributed according to the percent of votes carried by each candidate in that state?

Am I missing something?

Is there any way to wager on a Presidential or Congressional election?

goethean — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 12:31:14 -0800

Is there any way (legally or otherwise) to actually wager on an upcoming Presidential or Congressional election [mo inside]. [By the way, anyone remember my last AskMe question about the noise in my wall? I've come to the conclusion that there is a drainpipe/gutter in there, and that it is water in the drainpipe that is the noise. In the winter, the water is freezing and thawing.]

Anyway, about election wagering, I know about the Iowa Electronic Markets. But this is different. I've been arguing politics with strangers on the Internet (which is counter-indicated), and I just don't think that they believe in what they say. And if they were willing to put their money where their mouth is, I'm relatively certain that I'd be coming into some cash. Any ideas on how this could be worked that would be thief-proof? I would just need to deposit cash with a third party that would distribute the money correctly depending on the election results.

Presidential Potential

ronv — Wed, 28 Jul 2004 19:36:00 -0800

after yesterday's speech, recent discussions (mefi included) have focused on the potential of illinois' barack obama and the idea that he may, in the near future, sit in the oval office.

which gets me to thinking: what's more realistic/ which will happen first in the united states: a minority president or a woman president? [more...] ...i wonder too if people think there would be a distinction made among minorities themselves: whether an asian- american would have a more "difficult" time being considered for such a role than an african/ black- american, etc.