PollTrack | Voices on the Ground

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Political Ad: Democrat Takes On Michele Bachmann in MN-6

Posted Oct 05, 2010 at 5:36 PM
Maurice Berger, Political Director, PollTrack, USA, Minnesota

Check out Democratic Minnesota congressional candidate Tarryl Clark's hard-hitting political ad against GOP Rep. Michelle Bachmann.

Tagged: Minnesota

Political Ad: New York Governor 2010

Posted Sep 24, 2010 at 10:17 AM
PollTrack, New York

In this hard hitting political ad in the New York gubernatorial, Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo calls his Republican opponent, Carl Paladino, a "welfare king."

Tagged: 2010, US Governor RACE CHART, New York

Campaign Commercials 2010: CA Governor's Race

Posted Sep 09, 2010 at 2:50 PM
PollTrack , USA, California

In this campaign commercial from the California gubernatorial race, Republican Meg Whitman uses footage of President Bill Clinton from the 1992 campaign to attack her Democratic opponent, Jerry Brown.

Tagged: 2010, US Governor RACE CHART, California

VOICES ON THE GROUND: Campaign Commercials 2010

Posted Sep 09, 2010 at 2:50 PM
PollTrack, USA, New York

Check into VOICES ON THE GROUND (located bottom left of the homepage) for an ongoing, "on the ground" view of campaign 2010--a steady stream of statewide and local campaign commercials across the nation.

Election 2008: The Privilege Of Citizenship

Posted Jan 17, 2009 at 6:14 PM
Sondra Myers, Scranton, Pennsylvania

My most poignant experience of Election 2008: canvassing with my Los Angeles based son and his 8 year old daughter in a housing project in Scranton, PA. Knocking on doors and seeing a lot of children, and many women, some of whom had voted and others planning to, some not registered and some not eligible. But in all cases more or less happy to have had a knock on the door. We know that voting is a privilege, and citizenship is a precious and, alas, rare privilege in the world; these people who are seldom called upon to act as citizens remind me how important it is to include those who are so often left behind. So in the realm of good deeds, keep in mind that asking/bringing/helping people in to the world of citizenship is important--for the individual and for the society.

Tagged: PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama

THE OBAMA PROJECT: Call For Submissions

Posted Dec 17, 2008 at 1:16 PM
Maurice Berger, Political Director, PollTrack, New York, New Mexico

PollTrack has just come off a very successful campaign season, tracking the most exciting presidential election in a generation (along with more than 20 US Senate races). With more than 220,000 visitors in the first two-and-half months of our launch we had visitors from every state in the union and 108 nations. One feature of the site, VOICES ON THE GROUND, invited contributions from artists, writers, observers, scholars, students, and others who helped us track the election from the perspective of where it mattered the most: with voters on the ground.

As we approach the inauguration of President-Elect Obama, VOICES launches The Obama Project--an online forum for commentary, analysis, poetry, photographs, and YouTube content that explores the following questions: What Does The Election of Barack Obama Mean To You? And What Does it Mean for The Nation?

We ask you to submit texts (from a single line to 2,000 words), photographs, or content you've posted on YouTube. We will be uploading content on an ongoing basis through the inauguration and beyond. You are also welcome to submit materials that relate to Election 2008 but do not fall within the purview of The Obama Project.

To submit texts or images, go to the "Participate" tab on the yellow tool bar in the lower right of the VOICES page. You may also send texts (and photo attachments) directly to voices@polltrack.com. However you submit materials, PLEASE: include your full name and your city and state or location (if outside the US)

We very much look forward to hearing your voices on PollTrack.

Tagged: OBAMA PROJECT, PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama

An Open Letter From Roger Smith: Goodbye And Good Riddance

Posted Dec 01, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Roger Smith, New York, New York

An Open Letter From Roger Smith: Goodbye And Good Riddance: Dear Friends: After all my pre-election bombardments, I have spared you any post-election bragging in the form of "analysis." (Oh, don't worry, something of that sort is in the works.) But I urge all of my friends of similar views re George W. Bush to spend a few more weeks contemplating just how vast a landscape of wreckage Mr. Bush has left behind before we turn our thoughts to just how a President Obama can somehow clean up the mess.

Toward this end, I am indebted to a good friend (a man of normally quite sober demeanor who would, I am sure, prefer to remain anonymous) for alerting me to an article that appeared on the website of The American Prospect, written by one of their regulars, Paul Waldman. The piece's combination of a fine anger with a solid sense of the facts makes me inclined to read Mr. Waldman's book, Being Right is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success--despite its rather turgid title.

Back during Goerge W.'s first administration, I used to get people asking me WHY I had such an unreasoning, almost unbalanced hatred of George W. Bush. I of course thought it both reasoned and balanced, but I allowed that little Georgie had, in abundance, personal qualities that literally drove me over the edge. But along about the time of Katrina even my few remaining "righty" friends stopped asking. (Well, one such friend still asks, but then he finds the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal the fount of wisdom and Rush Limbaugh a boon companion.)

Is the piece below over the top? I don't think so--I just find it admirably exhaustive in its catalog of the high (and low) crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush administration. What frightens me is that the American populace has NOT in fact turned against these policies and beliefs--just their wildly incompetent practice. Had the Iraq War gone reasonably well (unlikely under the best of management practices, but possible) and had the results of their economic stewardship been less readily and horribly apparent, we could easily have seen a victory by a Republican who, unlike McCain, might have run on a promise to continue these benighted policies.

Life--and certainly politics--rarely offers clarity. However, George Bush has provided it in abundance. The years 2001-8 will be seen by historians--even ones writing in the very near future--as almost a laboratory test case of what happens when the Federal government of the United States was run by people who could not have done worse had that been their purpose. And maybe it was.

Bush's belief that he will, like Harry Truman, be vindicated by history is just another pathetic fallacy of Mr. Bush. Indeed, perhaps our pathetic fallacy is attributing human emotions to George W. Bush. As Kurosawa titled one of his greatest--but least known--movies, "The Bad Sleep Well."

Dealing with the aftermath of this massive tidal wave of physical, social and fiscal destruction will take years--maybe decades--just to get us back to where we were in 2000, before the aptly-named Mayberry Machiavellis were let loose.

I for one am not prepared to sweep these events under some enormous rug. I think a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (like post-Apartheid South Africa's) is needed to make sure that most Americans will understand the sheer magnitude of the folly brought about by those of us who elected this man--not once, but twice. Seeing a few of the worst evildoers off to the hoosegow (while emotionally satisfying) will not be enough. But more realistically, I suspect our team will have to settle for watching these miscreants eagerly accept the blanket pardons that will soon be emanating from the Oval Office.

For Paul Waldman's article from The American Prospect click here. (If you find the piece as delightful as I did, you might want to check out Mr. Waldman's latest posting to the TAP blog It examines the strange phenomenon of how the conservatives are already feeling themselves a miserably oppressed minority--indeed, they never stopped at the hieght of their power).

Roger Smith's analysis of the state-by-state racial breakdown of the 2008 presidential race is forthcoming on our Writing on the Wall page.

Tagged: George W. Bush

The Race Question: "Obama Effect" Or Lasting Political Realignment

Posted Nov 28, 2008 at 3:23 PM
Derek Fields, Caldwell, New Jersey

I think that in order to really understand the impact of racial voting, we need to see not only the breakdown of the vote but a normalized view based on relative density in the population. I am not a demographer, but my sense is that the overall non-white population has been growing relative to the white population. If this is the case and if it is the case the Obama has created a more permanent Democratic affiliation in the non-white population, then this creates some basis for arguing that the Democratic majority is sustainable over a longer term than just one election. In other words, the more interesting racial question is whether this election was an "Obama-effect" that won't last beyond this election or this candidate or whether it is symptomatic of a general realignment of electoral power from whites to non-whites and whether that realignment favors the Democratic party.

Tagged: PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama, race, Voices on the Ground

An Obama poll worker writes

Posted Nov 21, 2008 at 4:53 PM
Adrian Monck, New York, New York

This is via an email from my friend's mom. Read it to the end if you will. It's why I like Americans:

   Yesterday, I was a poll worker in M-. There was a record turnout in this little Republican stronghold. BUT, in my district alone, there was an increase of 200 voters, bringing the total to 700. And guess what…657 of them got to the polls yesterday. Amazing how connected us "common" folks were to the beautiful message of hope.

   I don't have the numbers, and I don't think Obama carried our little town, but we were different yesterday. A choice was being made. Not the old straight-line Republican exercise of past decades.

   The turnout was huge here. By 6:00 AM, there were 15 people (two in wheelchairs) lined up to vote. I would estimate that more that 90% of M- voted yesterday. Everything was quiet and orderly. In a town where the Democrats and Independents sometimes don't even bother to show up, everyone came. There actually were a few times that voters had to wait for up to 10 minutes. This is very rare in M-. But, no one complained. It was a very, very serious ritual that was being performed yesterday.

   At one point, the teacher of an after-school day care program came in with a group of little kids. They were observing the important event that was taking place, and they were impressed with the sense of purpose the grown-ups were transmitting. They went back to their school to hold their own election… "which breed makes the best pet, cats or dogs"?

   I loved working for the Board of Elections yesterday. To be at a place where I saw the America I remember. When children came to watch the voting process, to help their parents "pull the lever" for Democracy. To be counted among the millions.

   As soon as the polls closed, I went to M — to be with the Obama campaign people I worked with everyday for the last two months. It was an indescribable release of tension and vindication of our tirelessness and dedication to this extraordinary man. We were truly part of an army. And we won the war unconditionally.

   At 9:01, when the West Coast came online and simultaneously declared Obama the president-elect, we all cried and hugged and screamed and cheered. And we felt as one with the 61 million people that were finally able to express the true spirit of this country.

   The world is watching, and is hopeful about America. And my grandchildren live in a different country today. One of hope and promise and optimism. Just like the post-WW2 America I lived in as a child, but better…more inclusive. I helped make that happen. I'm proud of myself today. And of my fellow-Americans.

http://adrianmonck.com

© Adrian Monck 2008

Tagged: president, Voter Enthusiasm

Amsterdam Avenue: November 4, 2008

Posted Nov 10, 2008 at 11:23 AM
Jeff Mermelstein, New York, New York

Tagged: Voter Enthusiasm

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