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Kansas Nerd Uses Net To Shake Up Political Fundraising
ghostlibrary sends a note about Sean Tevis, an information architect in Kansas, who is running for state representative with the help of an xkcd lookalike cartoon and grassroots Net-based fundraising. Tevis had garnered more than 6,000 contributions, most of them small, from around the country, far out-fundraising his opponent. Major news outlets have picked up the story as a harbinger of 21st-century Net-based political campaigning. Reader ghostlibrary adds, "As a bonus, Tevis cites xkcd intentionally (rather than just ripping it off without crediting it) and, well, it's actually funny."
"Strangely, he won the election with a +5, Insightful."
How about some links to the guy?
Tevis' website and the comic in question should get most people started.
and donated even though I don't live in his state and I typically don't vote Democrat (don't vote Republican, either). We need new blood in political office... people who are a little more 'in' with technology, etc.
Dammit. And here I was hoping we could elect BHM...
Although, I guess BHO is only one letter off. Or two, depending on your metric.
The news is he's picking up national news media. Which is a great followup. As a Kansan, I hope he wins he's got some cool transparency ideas that everyone can benefit from.
Seriously, this is a month old. I gave him $10 back in July.
Anybody who comes to /. for the "scoop" is an idiot. What you come here for is the discussion with fellow geeks.
You must be new h- *checks UID of parent* -you really ought to know better by now.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
I still have no idea why anyone would give this guy money or vote for him. Is it just because he's a nerd?
Let's look at his education policy. Apparently his entire platform on education is "we should have the best schools". How would he go about making that happen, you ask? Why it's simple! By making sure they're the best, of course!
what have you done for him lately?
rewriting history since 2109
It's morally bankrupt at best.
The people in these positions should represent those in their districts, not those from other places (like affluent Silicon Valley where I live).
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
I had no idea that Randall Munroe invented stick figures!
Wow how *interesting* and *original*.
Or not. Where do you guys think Barack Obama's money is coming from? People like me, who are donating tiny amounts.
std::disclaimer<std::legalese> sig=new std::disclaimer; sig->dump(); delete sig;
But you are not *voting* him in, are you? It's the people of his district who are going to do that.
I am not donating just because I am not a US citizen (though I am a permanent resident of the US), and here you are - crying foul about soliciting from non-constituent.
If you believe in a cause, don't let such callous idea prevent you from helping it.
View page source (on his xkcd-style ad) for a hidden message to geeks.
sig?
In a system of collective control the collective wisdom is that it is the free radical, the non-conformist, the revolutionary, the eccentric, the rule breaker, the free agent that is essential to the survival of mankind.
In communism and socialism conformity is forced, and this kills invention and ingenuity.
Conformity stifles evolution and the ability to adapt. In a natural system people do not conform because of force or fear, they do so willingly because they benefit from it.
This is why individual freedom is the number one priority in a system of collective control or participatory self government.
Anarchy with autonomous control and anonymous certification and validation?
"an infinite player that has lost his finite mind" ~Infinite Play the Movie (it blends with reality)
I'm not sure where the relativistic logic is in this "stance".
The moral corruption is that money is an overriding lever for political success, not the source(s). In the winner-takes-all, money-makes-the-campaign, incumbant-safety-through-populace-lethargy, there's nothing immoral about an intelligent representative gathering funds by any means necessary (that doesn't suicide on illegality). There is LESS influence on policy by a non-constituent populist micro donation system, making it the true "lesser of two evils" in campaign funding.
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
... just how much his fund raising will spike up now that his site has been slashdotted. Getting attention on here is probably the best thing that's ever happened to this guy's campaign.
Talk about job title inflation first article calls him a web developer, second calls him a computer systems manager and finally /. calls him an information architect.
Why would we give him that horrid job title and didn't information architect just exist as one of those "we cannot give you money but will give you a neat job title" that died off with the dot com bubble?
Agreed. I'm also not donating, because I'm not a US citizen (nor do I even live in the US). But, if I was ALLOWED to donate, I almost certainly would. Same applies for Barack Obama.
Now, some people reading this may ask, "why would this guy donate to a politician in a country he doesn't live in?" (or even, "a 'minor' politician in a state he's never even been to?"). The answer is actually pretty simple - the more politicians, ANYWHERE that support the same things I agree with, makes the world a better place in my eyes. Maybe one day I'll want to (or need to) visit Kansas. If I do, then in some way, the laws and policies of the place may have an effect on me. Or maybe I'll meet an American tourist over here, and become good friends - they might just happen to be from Kansas, and I'm always in favour of my friends having a better place to live!
It's a small world, and almost everything, everywhere, affects almost everything else, everywhere else.
My book about LSD and Self-Discovery
Also on facebook as: DroppingAcidDaleBewan
He still has to win the election. It won't matter how much money he raises from outsiders if he's not viewed as a legitimate candidate by the constituents in his district.
The status quo that resists the changes that will eliminate their disproportionate advantage.
They depend on ignorance so awareness and intelligence is their arch enemy.
"an infinite player that has lost his finite mind" ~Infinite Play the Movie (it blends with reality)
... someone running for a state representative spot isn't posturing as having the answer to every single problem?
This is a problem with politics. What we need in government are people who know a lot about certain fields, who are willing to listen to others who know a lot about other fields.
Instead, as the parent post so painfully illustrates, what we as voters do is vote for the people who claim to have ALL the answers. And guess what? The ones who claim to know the answers to everything are the ones who don't know crap about anything.
'a';DROP TABLE users; SELECT * FROM DATA WHERE name LIKE '%'... if you're reading this, it didn't work.
It's not so bad when you consider that most politicians get their money from special interest groups and lobbys for powerful corporate donors.
His district. Not even a micropayment's worth.
Let me put it this way, me and my buddies here in Silicon Valley could easy drop many thousands (hundreds of thousands if we do it as a group) on political races in Alabama, selecting candidates that represent our views, trying to make behave the way we want (pro-choice, etc.)
But that wouldn't be right. Everyone is entitled to select representatives that represent them, and not those who live thousands of miles away.
This person should be working within his community. That's where he's going to have effect anyway.
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
Here's the actual cartoon on his blog:
http://seantevis.com/kansas/3000/running-for-office-xkcd-style/
Candidates wouldn't bother doing it.
You are incredibly naive.
And just because it might be possible to influence their elections due to their voters' foolishness, doesn't mean it's moral. As I mentioned above.
You're using the same "well, no one is stopping me so it must be okay" justifications that Enron employees did.
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
immoral != illegal
It's not illegal for him to solicit donations from out of state, but that doesn't make it moral.
That doesn't even make sense. According to the comic and the Pew Institute study it cites, the candidate that spends more on advertising wins. By letting this guy buy more advertising than his competitor, the external donations are directly affecting the outcome of the election.
Basically, his policies couldn't stand on their own, so he decided to cheat.
Maybe not
He sounds like Second Lieutenant Jake Jenson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRVy2IcUFL0
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
His incumbent opposition only expects to raise $35,000 and apparently money is the main factor in winning or losing the seat.
The annual salary is $169,000 plus benefits for a two year term. After five years, you get the retirement and health package as other federal employees.
And there is also that "legislative power" thing. Crazy.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
Can a cartoon with stick figures and witty dialogue really be considered ripping off anything? I know, Tevis pays homage to XKCD, so there is definitely a connection here, but does every middle schooler drawing a cartoon stick figure in the corner of the pages of a spiral notebook need to give credit to XKCD? It's like how Walmart was claiming some sort of trademark on the yellow smiley face. Besides, I didn't even see a hat. Just a bunch of side-parts, a mustache, and a beard (none of which are regular on XKCD anyway).
You're right, why should anyone want to help out anyone else? I mean, if you're not neighbors with someone then they don't have an effect on your life, right?
I don't really understand this post but I feel like I should respond anyway...*
Apparently it's "cheating" (which is illegal BTW, that's kind of the definition of cheating, so you might want to check out your second sentence. Just saying...) to put up a webpage with a donation link and then say "Donate to me!" Maybe we should ban donation links, and webpages, and getting money, and then ban politicians, because lets face it, you know they're going to ask for money from you.
...And suddenly a vision of an utopia appeared before my eyes...A land without politicians...it was so beautiful to behold....
But seriously, do you actually believe it's wrong to help out a campaign if it's not in your own district? You can't help out someone who holds your values? (I say values since this was all started by someone saying it's "immoral," whatever that means.) Are you really that insular?
*I kind of think it's just a really clever troll, but I can't tell.
What I've just realized is that these people posting that it's wrong to donate if you don't live right next to the guy, don't actually believe in anything. After all, a belief is "Mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth, actuality, or validity of something." But they don't "believe" in supporting anything not directly connected to them (and since what happens in Kansas does (amazingly enough) effect other people, including them (even if it's just someone breathing air that would have gone to them))). To sum that up, they don't "believe" in "believing." Thus the paradox, and thus the conclusion.
They're trolls.
... is that if nobody in local politics gives a ghost of a crap about whatever you care about, you can have the satisfaction of donating to someone who's trying to make headway on the problem somewhere.
Admittedly, the potential for abuse is massive. However, if efforts like this succeed and continue to succeed, it'll eventually cause "traditional" politicians to notice.
Well, I'm $15 shorter than I was before reading the article.
The fact it isn't illegal doesn't make it moral or immoral excepting that a choice to run implies a commitment to represent views and committing an illegal act forfeits the entirety of the effort, resulting in net fraud. That's the immorality I was referencing. Many people's arguments won't make sense to you when you don't have an understanding of moral basics (and their different flavors).
So it's morally diligent to his constituents, to obtain funding in the most efficient ways possible without introducing campaign promises to larger donors that may run contrary or alter his constituent's stances.
Thank you for restating your and the GP's premise, both entirely without any supporting reasoning. You just stated that policies don't matter, money matters. Try to keep up.
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
Maybe we need something similar to dating web sites for our politicians? No, not a dating web site for politicians, but one where they can present themselves to the people in their area. Basically all registered representatives would create a profile, describe their platform and why you should be supporting them and then you can donate how ever much you wish to their platform. With a solution like this you could quickly compare the representatives available to you and support if you wish. The only question is whether you should be able to provide financial support to a representative who is not in your geographical area?
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
That someone running as a state representative is accepting donations from out-of-state.
Seeing as this may give out-of-state individuals undue influence over the candidate's positions should he be elected to office.
As I see it, this is not much different, conceptually, from someone running for a US representative position like president, accepting campaign donations from individuals in other countries (like Korea, China, or France, for example).
IMO it is a bit dubious to be running as a state representative and accept donations from people outside your state
It is suggestive that there is not much organic support for you _in_ your state.
So what is a state representative in an interior district of an interior state supposed to do about immigration policy exactly?
At best, the state house can decide what to do with those immigrants which are deemed illegal by federal law. Sure he has wiggle room there for some sort of policy. He could support draconian measures to kick everyone out or support "sanctuary" status for his jurisdiction. But really, Sean won't have much impact on this. The US Congress is where to go for that action.
I actually live in Sean Tevis' district, and I have not donated any money to his campaign. Why not? Because, even though I support Sean Tevis and have even gone through the trouble of adding his fan page on Facebook... there is no reason for me to give any money to his campaign. Other people are doing that for me. It's like a classic free riding problem in an introductory rational choice theory textbook.
Of course, I will be voting for Sean Tevis. This is despite the obvious fact that he will be accountable to random people who committed a single donation on Paypal rather than the voters from his district. This may be bad news to some. But I, for one, welcome my new Silicon Valley overlords...
We've been on a few sites, but making it onto /. is something special.
Running for state rep means earning the trust of many voters in a few short months. Word of mouth goes a long way, but voters can't be reached effectively by email. The net's contributions make it possible for me to keep up a full time campaign at five nines while still keeping my day job.
I decided to run because my current state rep needed to retire. The 15th district needed someone better. I want to show the politicians in Topeka just how much difference a geek can make.
With your help I got their attention. Keep it up; we plan to show those people the power of technology. Keep checking the blog for updates and new comics.
-Sean
sean@seantevis.com
whooo donate 500 and get a dvd of his mom thanking you.. hello flaming hot political pr0n! now to wait for shipping...
Someone please mod parent +10 insightful +10 funny +10 interesting /. ? If you're so good at politics, how come you're not on politics.slashdot.org?
Someone FINALLY got the right idea. What this guy is doing and his position isn't much, but it's a start. And to other siblings bitching about the parent: if he's so small and insignificant, how come he's on Slashdot for something interesting while I can't remember the last time I saw a positive article on politics on