Election 2008
The Scientific Activist
Category archives for Election 2008
A VP Candidate From the Heart of Texas?
Posted by Nick Anthis on June 26, 2008 When my girlfriend told me that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had suggested that Barack Obama choose Chet Edwards–my former (and George W. Bush’s current) congressman–as his running mate, I thought she was pulling my leg. But, she was serious, and–as usual–she was right. Here’s the video from Newsweek (although you can watch commercial-free…
Obama’s Support of Corn Ethanol Unlikely to Change
Posted by Nick Anthis on June 23, 2008 I’ve been pretty open here about my support of Barack Obama’s bid for the presidency, but one issue I certainly disagree with him on is his support of corn ethanol subsidies. Unfortunately, it looks like that this is one issue he’s unlikely to improve on, as The New York Times reports today that ties to…
With Nomination Secured, Obama Should Reevaluate Health Care Proposal
Posted by Nick Anthis on June 4, 2008 Last night was a historic night, with Barack Obama finally effectively clinching the Democratic nomination by surpassing the “magic number” of required delegates. Barring any last-minute fight over delegate rules from Hillary Clinton’s campaign (something that I think is not likely to happen), Barack Obama in the Democrats’ nominee. Of course, we knew from the…
Texas Republicans Suppress Black Student Voters
Posted by Nick Anthis on May 28, 2008 When I was a student at Texas A&M University and active in politics there, I spent a lot of time on voter registration. Much of this effort was devoted to the community outside of the university, but my primary focus was on students at the university. And, although some people would contend that college students…
John Edwards Endorses Barack Obama
Posted by Nick Anthis on May 14, 2008 This just in: John Edwards has officially endorsed Barack Obama for president. It’s a little late (since Obama has had the nomination all but wrapped up for a couple of months now), and I’m not sure what kind of an impact this will have, but I still find this exciting. Although I’ve been an Obama…
McCain’s Own Agents of Intolerance
Posted by Nick Anthis on May 4, 2008 As the media circus over Jeremiah Wright continues, it should give us pause that the media hasn’t decided to focus on John McCain and his embrace of a wide range of religious bigots. Although McCain once called these men “agents of intolerance” in 2000, he has since done a total flip-flop and openly embraced them…
The Gas Tax Suspension: Political Pandering of the Worst Kind
Posted by Nick Anthis on May 3, 2008 This morning, I had to wake up to another article about John McCain’s and Hillary Clinton’s proposal to temporarily waive the gas tax this summer. That’s it. I’m just going to have to come out and say it: this is a really, really, really stupid idea. Period. I’m not an economist–far from it–but you don’t…
Did Rush Limbaugh Win the Texas Democratic Primary for Hillary Clinton?
Posted by Nick Anthis on March 5, 2008 Back when I was at Texas A&M University, I knew plenty of Democrats who would vote in the Republican primary instead of the Democratic one. Although I refrained from such activity, their rationale was totally reasonable: in such a conservative area, the real contest was almost always the Republican primary. By the time the general…
John McCain Embraces Scientifically-Disproved Vaccine/Autism Link
Posted by Nick Anthis on March 3, 2008 Via the ABC News blog Political Punch comes news that senator and Republican presidential candidate John McCain has taken a strong stance on the discredited link between vaccination and autism… a stance contrary to scientific consensus. Here’s what Jake Tapper wrote: At a town hall meeting Friday in Texas, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., declared that…
A Quick Comparison of the Clinton and Obama Health Care Plans
Posted by Nick Anthis on February 25, 2008 It’s difficult to find too many substantive policy differences between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (especially considering the much larger gulf that exists between them and the Republican candidates), but one area that’s brought up time and time again is health care. In light of this, it’s worth taking a look at how much the…