WobblyReport

Section 315 of the Federal Communications Act of 1934 is intended to give equal time to candidates on media broadcast channels. If a media broadcaster gives air time to a candidate, they must also give an equal amount of time to an opponent of that candidate, upon request. Except. Bona fide news coverage is exempt. On one hand, this would seem to protect freedom of the press. After all, if one candidate shows up in a public place and a media outlet captures the event, this should not oblige the media outlet to give time to an opponent with a campaign advertisement. But a real consequence of this policy has been a distinct narrowing of our political discourse throughout the nation. To understand how, we can look at a few case studies in one particular realm of media broadcast programming: televised political debates. Without attempting any exhaustive analysis of how the rules have evolved, let’s just look at fairly recent history. In 2008, for example, then-presidential candidate Denni...

Many states in our country ask about political party affiliation when a person registers to vote. Michigan does not because primary elections are open, meaning voters who have not declared a party affiliation are allowed to participate. In the U.S., primary elections are contests that determine who will appear on the ballot in a general election; general elections determine who takes office. But leave aside voting and elections for a moment. What is party affiliation? We might define it the way that polling organizations measure and report it. The Pew Research Center, for example, asks respondents a single question at the end of its surveys. The question is, “In politics today, do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat or Independent?” Pew’s article, “ Party Affiliation: What it is and What it Isn’t ,” goes on to explain the reasoning behind measuring party affiliation this way. “This question is not intended to measure how respondents are registered, how they have voted in the p...

Rube launches Senate campaign By the Committee to Elect Douglas P. Marsh The Committee to Elect Douglas P. Marsh announced today that journalist Douglas P. Marsh is seeking the Green Party ’s nomination in the race for the United States Senate in Michigan. Sitting Senator Debbie Stabenow announced early last year that she is retiring from politics and will not seek reelection. “I anticipate a fair contest in which policy positions and personal integrity are the primary deciding factors for voters,” said Marsh. Third party and independent candidates have won fewer than one percent of Senatorial races in the past century. Contenders for nominations within the Republican and Democratic parties include billionaire heir Peter Meijer and Central Intelligence Agency veteran Elissa Slotkin, respectively. Marsh was unfazed. “People are sure to vote their wallets and consciences this time,” he said. “I’m the only candidate who is serious about getting Medicare for All at home and perma...

Building the Party In a recent opinion column , small business ownership expert Mary Keyes Rogers adeptly diagnoses several problems in our United States political systems. She homes in particularly on our country’s two major political parties, the Republicans and Democrats, and elected leaders, referring to some iconic household names. 1 Rogers wisely recognizes, too, that our two-party system is not going away any time soon, no matter how divorced both of the parties have become from the will of the people. A third party cannot coexist with the other two major parties under our country’s predominant election rules (see Duverger’s Law ) and this system carries the inertia of our nation’s entire history to this point. 2 Relatedly, she recites Pew research indicating around a third of Americans hold negative views of both major parties. Yet more to this point, we know that more than half of eligible voters regularly do not vote in any given U.S. election. Keen to problems, Rogers is n...

Listen to Michigan has crafted a simple message with an easy ask: turn in an “uncommitted” ballot on Tuesday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza from the incumbent U.S. president. That’s a great tactic for those committed to working within the Democratic Party for change. But how does it fit strategically for those outside the Democratic Party? Per Michigan election law and electoral developments to date, resident voters may choose from one or the other major U.S. political parties in this Sunday’s presidential primary election. Both primaries are run on the same ballot, which makes more sense than printing two ballots for each voter and then throwing half of them away, even if it leads to some confused voters invalidating their ballots by voting for a candidate from each party. Minor parties select candidates to run in the general election through a nominating convention, but their members can still vote in Michigan’s primaries, as can unaffiliated and independent voters. Theoretically...