The Green Party

Now I wouldn't be a very good hippy if I didn't say something about the Green Party. 

The 2012 election was full of third party candidates you probably didn't hear about on any mainstream media: Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party, Stewart Alexander of the Socialist Workers Party, and many others, except maybe for Jill Stein on the occasion. Jill Stein ran as the Green Party candidate for president and was arrested for the first time in her life during it. She wanted to participate in one of the debates and when she refused to leave was arrested for trespassing. 

Stein and her running mate, anti-poverty advocate Cheri Honkala, were on at least 85 percent of U.S. ballots this year. That's a big deal for any third-party ticket, and the campaign also qualified for federal matching funds. But Stein still wasn't allowed to appear in a televised presidential debate. Did you know that to be eligible to just debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates requires support from "at least 15 percent of the national electorate" in five major polls. 

This is the video of Stein's removal.

The U.S. Green Party's presidential candidate for 2012 had a 'Green New Deal,' and proposed the politics of climate change. Her platform stood much lower than that of the Republican and Democratic candidates  In fact, third parties are rarely ever mentioned in the media for fear they will take on the fence voters and steal votes from the larger parties. But did you know that it wasn't always so? If you had the money you used to be able to just run for president, many candidates created their own parties: The Bull Moose for example. But lately the red and blue lines have been drawn and green has been kicked to the curb. 

Many people say that voting for a 3rd party is a waste of time but in fact it isn't. Because if everyone voted for who they really believe in instead of blue or red then in the end there would finally be a change. But the media plays a large role in showing how good or bad a candidate is by their spin so people like Jill Stein just become and nuisance to the main election. 

"We have the solutions, and we actually have the numbers," she says. "If those 90 million people come out to vote for their best interest, we would win this election. These are policies the American people are clamoring for in large numbers." 

Despite powerful third parties which work overseas and Green Parties with real muscle in places like Germany and Australia Jill Stein's message was largely ignored. So for those who have no idea what the Green Parties platform is, here, maybe you believe in some of these too:

The Green New Deal courtesy of: Jill Stein's Green New Deal

• "Economic Bill of Rights" — The first pillar deals with labor issues (e.g., fair pay, workplace safety), health care (a "single-payer, Medicare-for-all" program), education (tuition-free public education from pre-K through college), housing (mortgage help, public utilities) and taxes (i.e., "fair taxation that's distributed in proportion to ability to pay").
• "Green Transition" — Environmental issues are a big part of Stein's platform, from multi-use "complete streets" to subsidies for organic farms, CSAs and farmers markets. This pillar has three subsections: investing in green businesses (via grants and low-interest loans), prioritizing green research (by redirecting funds from fossil fuels) and providing green jobs (with a goal of 16 million).
• "Real Financial Reform" — Many of Stein's financial reforms sound similar to Obama's, but she argues the president is too friendly with Wall Street. Her goals include: reducing homeowner and student debt, nationalizing the Federal Reserve banks, ending taxpayer-funded bailouts, breaking up "oversized" banks, and creating a 90 percent tax on bonuses for bailed-out bankers.
• "A Functioning Democracy" — The last pillar contains a wide range of policy ideas, such as: revoking corporate personhood, making Election Day a national holiday, abolishing the Electoral College, making the District of Columbia the 51st state, increasing federal support for local media outlets, repealing the Patriot Act and cutting military spending by 50 percent. 

Jill Stein

She was a bit of an internet meme

The Green Party has loyal followers who dare to not vote the main stream, as citizens I believe it's important to go out and find out for ourselves who is REALLY best for the nation. Not just settle for the two who carry the biggest sticks and have the most money. So I challenge you for next election to read up on your third party candidates, check up on the Green Party and see who you really align with. The answer may surprise you more than you think 

Swing States Battlegrounds and Why?

Lets begin with what IS exactly a swing state. My friends have asked me over the last few weeks why they were so important into the race for president. Well, a swing state is a state in which the political views of that state and not inherently blue or red, republican or democrat. It is a state in which both parties have a mostly even chance at convincing voters to vote for them and gain the electoral votes.

WHY swing state are so important are because they play a key pivotal role in the race for electoral votes. News stations try to predict which way a swing state may lean and during this past 2012 election have been very good at it. The number of swing states varies depending on who is counting and during this past election it fell between 9-12. These include: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona.

Swing states may also be called Battleground States, which seems a bit silly to me. Yes, metaphorically the candidates are battling it out for the electoral votes but in the end no real blows ever came to pass. I'm banking it's just a media ploy to get people more riled up about the candidates and make they take sides. But that is neither here nor there and swing states played a key role in the reelection of President Obama.

A presidential candidate needs to be the first to reach 270 electoral votes to win the election. For 48 states, it is a winner-take-all election within each state, with the winner getting all of the electoral votes offered. (Except for Nebraska and Maine use a proportional vote system.)

Article II, Section 1, Clause 2, of the Constitution first spelled out the electoral college system and while there have been some tweaks over the years, it remains in place.Which means that the swing states were full of potential electoral votes in which could win either candidate the election. The candidates campaign hard in these states and President Obama was no exception, he even chose his reelection rallies in two of them. (Ohio and Virginia)

Photo courtesy of Latinos Post 

And in the end it was Ohio which won President Obama the election, the media announced his projected win of Ohio and it's electoral votes. Which put him just over 270 and would place him as the winner, and in the end it did. States that inherently lean one way or another are not ignored by the candidates, but in the end it is the swing states which help to decide an election.

Amercia 2012!

The land of Amercia has spend months campaigning for the first ever election of the country. Citizens turned out in droves to show their support for the republican and democratic candidates as well as the individual ones. The invested commitment to the campaign has been extraordinary, "this is the most amazing teaching experience of my teaching career." -Rotolo

The results of over 500 votes, countless hours of work and amazing commitment:

Matt Diaz democrat
Followed by Carter Rhodes independent
And lastly Robert Lawrence.

The final speeches were amusing, wonderfully crafted and full of Witt. Nice job Robert Lawrence, even coming last his final speech was hilariously humble.

Bencroft, Rhodes's Vice President opened with a wonder and heart felt speech to his team. Rhodes lacked a little bit of fun but held up a interesting and passionate speech. Honey Badgers apparently won't be going away, lets hope other independent candidates can have their kind of devotion and greatness.

And Matt Diaz, the new and first president of America: Diaz opened with a bit of a flub of speech. "Potter made me loosen my tie a bit." But his speech was very professional and passionate. His love for his team as well as his campaign cannot be denied.

Good job everyone! Congratulations to all who participated in the election and worked hard!

Election Day for America!

To start I would like to say I hope everyone went out to vote. Voting is an important part of your life since you as the public get to choose your leaders. It is a right in which many people in countries around the world do not have and should not be taken for granted.

States are quickly posting their numbers as they come in, but is it really accurate for the media to report when states only release 20% of their vote. Does percentages of a state really determine whether it is red, blue or green? Currently Mitt Romney has taken the lead in the popular vote and has his lead in the electoral votes. At the moment the 2012 election is anyone's game, swing states which lead to more electoral votes will be key for winning the election.

As nine o'clock approaches and the late polls are closing it is shown via CNN live that 270 electoral votes will win the election for either candidate. The national congress results according to BBC are: 38 Republican seats, 36 Democrat seats and 2 Other.

Different media coverages are reporting some different numbers. BBC seems to be trailing in their website coverage as news stations like CNN cover closing polls and electoral votes faster.

Only 19 states are currently fully in. More to come soon!

ELECTION UPDADE!