Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

House Candidate Lets Web Users Set His Schedule

Posted by michael on from the simcandidate dept.

brahn at actblue writes "From ABC News: Jeff Seemann, running for one of Ohio's seats in the House of Representatives, '...has an unusual approach in deciding how to spend his campaign. He asks Web surfers: Should he sleep in? Prepare for his debate? Campaign door to door?' (More coverage here and here.) Best of all: Jeff is fighting back against Diebold and their paperless voting machines -- and they're based in his district!"

34 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. I vote for by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sleep in, read slashot and surf for porn. I want someone that reflects my values.

    1. Re:I vote for by erick99 · · Score: 2

      That is very insulting to the pig.

      --
      http://www.busyweather.com/
    2. Re:I vote for by ndogg · · Score: 2, Funny

      Interesting, his name is Seemann.

      --
      // file: mice.h
      #include "frickin_lasers.h"
  2. This is bound to work out well... by Skjie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Because letting bored internet users make plans for you is always a good idea.

    1. Re:This is bound to work out well... by TykeClone · · Score: 4, Funny
      Not sure how much land area his district covers, but I could see it resulting in being sceduled at the four corners of the district in the same day. In a populous state like Ohio, that's probably not a big deal - think of how funny it would be in Alaska (where the entire state is a single district).

      "Representive - I've got you scheduled for Juenau at 8am and Point Barrow at noon followed by one of the Kodiak islands at 3pm"

      --
      A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
    2. Re:This is bound to work out well... by FrYGuY101 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can see it now...

      "Well, uh, first up, I have to go to a support rally for nazis, then I have to proclaim at a press conference "M$ $uX0rz, Linux r0x0rz j00 b0x0rz" (How do I pronounce that?), then I have to calculate Pi to the last digit, resolve an infinite loop, and build a quantum computer, after that I have to setup a free-porn website. Well, actually, I have to set up 1,283,948,283 different free porn websites, but I'll just set up one and tell everybody that recommended that one that it's the one they asked for..."

      --
      "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living."

      - Seneca
    3. Re:This is bound to work out well... by Peyna · · Score: 3, Informative

      His district isn't that small; but certainly not as hard to get from one end to the other as Ohio's 8th district would be: map

      Actually one of the less gerrymandered looking district maps I've seen. 18 and 6 are the only suspicious looking ones. That and the fact that the district containing Columbus is split kinda weird (Franklin County). It's also curious to note that the part of Montgomery County that slipped into the 8th district contains almost soley Wright Patterson AFB.

      --
      What?
    4. Re:This is bound to work out well... by Peyna · · Score: 4, Interesting

      To see a more obviously gerrymandered district (which might just be because I'm more familiar with the state) look at Indiana's.

      Every little "bubble" you see shooting off of a large district is a larger town that was stuck in the district in order to absorb the democratic votes from it. For instance, the northeast and southeast parts of Marion County (Indianapolis, mostly district 7) are included in the 5th district, which except for those areas, is almost all rural, or very high income (north of Indy).

      Similary, the southeast side of Ft Wayne (very low income, heavily Democratic) is separated from the rest of the city.

      The 4th district was drawn almost specifically to put Purdue and IU in the same district (very liberal tending towns, and most residents are younger and less likely to vote) and then lump them in with nothing but rural voters.

      It's sad that part of the reason that Indiana sends so many Republicans to Congress is because the Republicans at home are the ones that drew the districts for them. (They packed as many democrats as they could into the 7th and 1st district, and spread the remaining ones around well enough to make them ineffective.

      I think that congressional districts should follow cultural and economic boundaries as well as possible. That way, you have voters you have a vested interest in the same thing represented by one person. It makes no sense for a person in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the poorest city to be represented by the same person as that of the richest person in the richest neighborhood. (Southeast side of Indy and Carmel, respectively)

      --
      What?
    5. Re:This is bound to work out well... by Peyna · · Score: 2, Informative

      In most states (Ohio included) you can find a Comprehensive list of almost every person running for office (with the exception of municipal elections).

      From there, I've found pretty good success finding their websites and other information using Google.com.

      Perhaps one of the best resources you can use in determining who to vote for is Opensecrets.org.

      This guy must be in a poor district, the incumbent has raised three times more than him, but that still only comes to $126,000. The difference in funds in the Ohio senate race is just disgusting. Although, I haven't seen a single Voinovich ad on TV; so what is he spending that 8 mill on?

      --
      What?
  3. any angle by bone43 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    its nice to see a new angle pop up every now and again, but if elected do you think he will still be letting the web votes run his time in office?

  4. I'll be very surprised if he wins by SpamKu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    considering how Diebold is in his district and will proably crush him with massive donations to his opponent.

    If he is very good and genuine, he may stand a chance, but I wouldn't bet on it.

    Nifty Ideas for input, though. And I can appriciate a man who stands up for what he thinks is right.

    --
    If I had a real .sig, it would go here.
    1. Re:I'll be very surprised if he wins by flossie · · Score: 2, Informative
      Why are /.ers so anti-Diebold and 'paperless' voting. ... I just find this bastion of Ludditism surprising here.

      /.ers tend to be technologically literate and therefore understand the large potential for fraud and/or incompetence to render elections pointless if there is no paper trail to audit the election.

      BTW, Ludditism isn't really an appropriate description. The Luddites wrecked machines to protect their jobs. /.ers tend to be against non-paper trail voting because it is Very Bad For Democracy. Big difference.

      --
      flossie

      Write now. Defend liberty

  5. GIMMICK. by Noose+For+A+Neck · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't really think any more needs to be said.

    --

    Software piracy is victimless theft.

  6. The Sims: DC by marktaw.com · · Score: 5, Funny

    Are you sure this isn't just a plug for the next Maxis game?

    1. Re:The Sims: DC by RatBastard · · Score: 3, Funny

      We'll know if we can make him woohoo with his wife in a changing booth at a clothing store.

      --
      Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
  7. Uh-oh by HungSquirrel · · Score: 4, Funny

    Best of all: Jeff is fighting back against Diebold and their paperless voting machines -- and they're based in his district!

    He's doomed.

    --
    $ whatis themeaningoflife
    themeaningoflife: not found
  8. Redesign site.. by maskedbishounen · · Score: 4, Funny

    Lose the flash. Lose the white on light-blue. Lose the red submit button. Lose the JavaScript.

    And then Ramen noodles for lunch. Yum!

    --
    "An infinite number of monkeys typing into GNU emacs would never make a good program."
    1. Re:Redesign site.. by HungSquirrel · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, his site has some tacky design. So does Slashdot, but I can still appreciate the decent content that crops up here once in awhile.

      --
      $ whatis themeaningoflife
      themeaningoflife: not found
  9. At first... by Pantero+Blanco · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I thought this was a joke, especially after reading his last name, but it seems serious.

    He's trying a gimmick, a bad one at that, to get elected. Getting "in touch with the community" doesn't mean letting them completely plan your day...

  10. Voters by Eryximachus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wouldn't it be nice if most of the voters in his district were slashdot readers. Then he might get a lot of the vote even while he was against a big company.

  11. Wait a minute by b0lt · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What happens when his opponent hires someone to use millions of proxies for him to drop out of the race? Or something similar?

    --
    got sig?
  12. I have always wondered... by the-matt-mobile · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have always wondered what would happen if one of our representatives hosted a web site that allowed people in his/her district to know what votes were coming up in Congress, how he/she is planning to vote and why, and allowed some informal polling and commentary on the issues. I know this isn't what this guy is doing, but I wonder if it isn't the logical next step. You'd have to think that that sort of system would be the ideal of a representative democracy, but alas I don't expect any career politician to actually document their position on everything and set themselves up to be held accountable to their constituency. Especially since if they ever run for higher office that sort of thing gets used against them.

  13. Sound familiar... by adam31 · · Score: 4, Funny
    Should he sleep in? Prepare for his debate? Campaign door to door?

    OOO! Let me try. How about build a house with one room. Once inside, take away the door. Hilarity ensues.

  14. Gimmick yes, but bad? by Quikyn · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "It attracts people to come and engage with your campaign in a way that is fun and interesting," Noble said.

    I agree he's trying a gimmick, but is it necessarily a bad one? He's recieving press, he's getting his name out, and if he continues with schedules like the ones suggested in the article, he could make a very good name for himself.

    No harm in him trying to make himself stand out from candidates that do sleep in, don't attend events, but have enough money to advertise their campaign to death. Don't communities want leaders that get involved rather than sit idly by?

  15. Cool... by greggish · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... the first web-controlled candidate. This is jsut crazy enough to catch on.

  16. He's cool by Jett · · Score: 4, Informative

    He posts on DailyKos.com sometimes, so do a few of his campaign staff. From what I recall of his postings there he seems like he's a genuinely nice guy, definitely intelligent and aware of the issues. He started promoting this gimmick in a diary on DailyKos. It seems like an interesting idea to me, it's a good way to show people what kind of things he does as part of his campaign and it gives them a sense that he is responsive to them.

  17. Diebold by _w00d_ · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...has an unusual approach in deciding how to spend his campaign. He asks Web surfers: Should he sleep in?...

    Best of all: Jeff is fighting back against Diebold and their paperless voting machines -- and they're based in his district!

    I can see Diebold continually voting for him to "sleep in past noon" and "begin another cocaine binge" in an attempt to make him lose the election.

  18. jobs, not donations by SuperBanana · · Score: 2, Informative
    considering how Diebold is in his district and will proably crush him with massive donations to his opponent.

    As Walmart found with a small town in CA- when a corporate giant leans into the political process that blatantly, people get really pissed.

    They won't have to do a thing- if Diebold has enough employees in the county, he'll simply loose because a vote for him will be turned into a vote for putting Diebold employees out of work. Happens allllll the time, and people are dumb enough to fall for it every single time.

    --
    Please help metamoderate.
  19. why so hard for Congress-people to vote? by jeffehobbs · · Score: 3, Interesting


    A sort-of on-topic question which occurred to me during the VP debate, when Cheney was chiding Edwards for missing votes in the senate: why is it so hard to get our congress-people to vote? "Missing votes" seems to be a ongoing and constant criticism of even our best political representatives.

    Do they have to be physically present to cast a vote? If so, why? Can't we afford to get these people a blackberry or a treo or something? (I'm not being facetious, I just don't know.)

    ~jeff

    1. Re:why so hard for Congress-people to vote? by Peyna · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There is a lot more to the legislative process than showing up and pushing a button.

      If they don't have to be there to vote, why should we expect them to show up for anything else? Requiring them to be there in person demands a certain level of responsibility.

      If they don't care enough to get off their rear and show up to vote, they don't deserve to be able to be lazy and vote from their sofa.

      If you want them to be there more often, you might want to extend their term, then they would spend less time campaigning. Or you could limit any campaigning during the last few months of the term before an election.

      Also, Cheney's remark about Edwards missing votes was sort of a lie. Cheney had indeed met Edwards many times before, even on camera. They sat next to each other on stage at a formal event in 2001 (courtesy of the Daily Show). Cheney himself was in the Senate less than Edwards.

      --
      What?
    2. Re:why so hard for Congress-people to vote? by Grym · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The Congressperson must be present in order to vote within a small window of time.

      But that's the one time when they really "represent" us? You know, this is, afterall, a *representative* democracy.

      Don't think I'm attacking Kerry when I say this; it goes for all congress people: I understand missing one or two unimportant votes--I really do. But when you're too busy whoring yourself out to special interest groups and corporations to be bothered by your "civic duty," there's a problem.

      I think we need to enact a law that requires at least 70% attendance for all votes or else the congressperson is sent back to his or her district for re-election. No exceptions.

      Of course this would require that congress itself impose this limitation--fat chance, but one could always hope that those its against wouldn't vote as usual.

      -Grym

  20. No kidding ... by gstoddart · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Because letting bored internet users make plans for you is always a good idea.


    What is this, the political expansion for the Sime or something? Other than a gimmick, I'm not sure what this gentleman hopes to achieve.

    What will he do if he gets elected? Hold nightly cam sessions to allow his fans to tell him what to do and wear?

    Just sounds all so wierd to me.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  21. Let me get this straight... by bytesmythe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The constituents are supposed to use an electronic, paperless voting system to support someone who is against... electronic,... paperless... voting... systems??

    I think my brain is starting to bleed.

    --
    bytesmythe
    Hypocrisy is the resin that holds the plywood of society together.
    -- Scott Meyer
  22. Transparency by Deliveranc3 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If a politician ran on a platform of almost total transparency I would like to think he would get total voteage.

    Republican or Democrat doesn't really matter when you worry they do something meriting impeachment behind closed doors.

    Politicians that do this WILL win it's as simple as that.