First Annual Get Your Ass Out and Vote Call to Action

The beginning of the end

Hello All

It is election day. I assume many of our good readers are well informed of the candidates and issues. You all probably woke up bright and early, presented your voting credentials, and are now wearing the "I Voted" stickers to the embarrassment of your non-voting friends, co-workers, and family. To all the good voters out there, good job, you make America proud. 

The preceding paragraph represents less than 30% of America's eligible voter population. Off year congressional elections have voter turnout rates less than 50%. In over 75 years we have seen Presidential election turnouts rate top out at 65% of eligible voters participating only one time (1976 - Jimmy Carter's victory). What the hell is the problem? Why do people not vote? The onslaught of the 24 hour media, and the subhuman conversation on talk radio, make elections into a quasi philosophical battlefield. Cowards like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck use their time on publicly created radio and television airwaves  to claim America will be ending if their chosen politicians do not win. The professional left (once again thanks Robert Gibbs) makes every election into a referendum of their latest cause. With all of this noise, very few people actually vote, especially in non-presidential elections.

What the hell is wrong with you people? I get that a non-presidential election is not very exciting, but it means so much more to your life than you know. The national (and most state) Democratic Party has totally given up on local elections so they can win the "Best in Show" ribbon that is the Presidential election. Way to go Democrats, Obama won two elections. How has that worked out? We have the psychopaths of the tea party in congress now, non-stop obstructionism, and the glowing profiles of dirt bag Paul Ryan because he is the least crazy person we could get to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Democratic Party's lack of developing any local candidates, and supporting them, has led to nut jobs like Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and worst of all Ted Cruz. The mighty party of the people has completely failed at building a strong stable of candidates, and left the power to the most self serving political movement in American history.

The people who are on your school boards, city/town councils, and municipal courts have a ton more power over your lives than anyone who is elected to Washington DC. Your kids go to schools run by the philosophical whims of the school board. Your emergency services are managed by your city councils. Your home values are dictated by the people elected today. Yet nobody seems to care. We all get excited to vote for history (Obama) or vote to take our country back (anyone in the modern Republican field), but we care not to vote for the person who will give the next generation a chance to thrive. What is wrong with us? The election you do not participate in today will elect the crazy person to your school board. That person will next move on to win a city council race you refuse to vote in. Next thing you know, that crazy person is being featured on "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" as another crazy right winger who belongs in the 1800's. They got there because we refused to stop them from winning their first election.  We elected them by not participating.

Wake up and get your ass out to vote. I know that levies, school boards, and trustees do not excite our electoral urges. Grow up. Your home values, your kids education, and the overall future of our society depends on who wins this November 3rd, 2015. If you decide not to vote, I will blame the next Ted Cruz on you. 

Vote.

(Special thanks to FairVote.Org  for help with research. Plus I do know about John Oliver's recent episode about local elections. I only wish he did the episode a few weeks ago when people could still register to vote.)

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor of SeedSing. He does not know what to write over the next year because Hillary has already won the 2016 Presidential election. Is he wrong? Go tell him.

The Constitutional Conservatives Have No Clothes

I am not interested in looking at naked republicans

Let me be the one millionth and first person to call out the hypocrisy of the "constitutional conservative" crowd. The ones who wrap their rhetoric around the infallibility of the US Constitution are some of the most unpatriotic Americans in our country's two hundred plus year history. They are afraid to call them selves republicans because the constitutional conservatives have built an unmovable, pure, ideology. There is no room for compromise in their feeble minds.

The latest news surrounding a bigot who refuses to grant any marriage licenses because of her hateful views on gay marriage has once again exposed the constitutional conservative charlatans. Kim Davis took an oath as an elected official to follow the law of the land, not the law of a god. She may now be a "born again" christian in fidelity to her fourth husband. In her brain, a god's law may be bigger than the US Constitution. That is ok by me, but it is not ok with the constitutional duties of her elected position. Kim Davis should not be in jail, she should be removed from her job. The details may not yet exist to remover her, yet I believe the means to remove her do exist. She took an oath to follow the law, she has broken this oath. She is unfit to execute the duties as clerk. There I just let Kim Davis be hateful and out of jail, and I used the US Constitution.

So Sean Hannity, Rick Santorum (sorry for the crude language), Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, and any other self professed constitutional conservative, what is your solution to solve the Kentucky clerk problem? I understand you use the term constitutional conservative as  code for your white christian male victimhood. I understand you only care about the constitution when it can justify your misogyny, racism, and greed. I know you want to make sure that power can be consolidated into the hands of a small group of white men who can rule over like monarchs. Just please stop dragging the poor US Constitution in the mud with your ignorance and hate. If you want to live by the word of the King James Bible (a book manipulated by a rich white king), then I suggest you start forming your own theocracy. America does not need your hate and ignorance.

Over one million and one people know these constitutional conservatives are frauds. Unfortunately the national media will still treat their ideas as part of a credible debate. The media is broken, but the constitution is not. Kim Davis is constitutional unfit, and her conservative supports are equally unfit. There is no debate. Look away from the constitutional conservative crowd. They are marching through the streets naked in their white male christian victimhood.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He keeps his pocket US Constitution handy so he can remember how many amendments exist. Have thoughts on society today? Write for SeedSing. 

Let's talk about how guns kill people

ed note: These are the thoughts of the head editor and do not reflect all of SeedSing. We believe in giving everyone a voice and welcome any respectful dissent.

Let me find the words.

There was another senseless killing of two innocent people by a person with a gun. Allison Parker and Adam Ward were doing their jobs. Their particular television jobs at Virginia station WDBJ did not cause anyone undo harm. They were not out destroying people's lives. Allison Parker and Adam Ward were living their lives, going to work, and looking forward to good life ahead of them. A gun ended those dreams.

I am not going to go over the crime. I will not mention the name of the person who killed Allison Parker and Adam Ward. I will not speculate why the crimes were committed. You can find that information out there on the internet. The only thing I want to talk about to prevent more senseless deaths like Allison Parker and Adam Ward is how they were killed by a gun. Guns kill people, guns have killed a lot of people this year alone. That is the purpose of a gun, to kill. I love when people use the concept of a swimming pool is less safe for your home than a firearm. So every time I jump in the pool, I am less safe than every time my untrained self handles a loaded firearm? Swimming pools are for swimming, guns are for killing. The gun is way more effective at killing someone than a swimming pool is.

The pro gun argument is filled with false statistical comparisons. I get tired of hearing about how we have more guns and less crime. Crime is down for a large number of reasons, the amount of guns is not one of them. There is no credible information that can link drops in violent crime with increased gun ownership. If this was the case, our urban areas would be virtual crime free utopias. The increase in gun ownership has added to the number of accidents and suicides. Every pro gunner leaves those statistics out of their arguments. More guns means more effective ways to kill and be killed.

The weapon used to cruelly kill Allison Parker and Adam Ward was a handgun. This is another incident of a handgun being used to kill a person. I have rarely seen stories about responsible hunters going out and using a handgun for sport. Yet the NRA makes damn sure that anyone, even people who cannot pass a background check, can get their hands on a handgun. People that want to kill can easily go out today, purchase a handgun, and then complete their task of killing a person with a bright future. We can thank the rich old white men at the NRA for the privileged of living in this society. 

I am tired of these killings. Crime has existed since we climbed out of primordial sludge, that is not what tires me out. I am tired because we can do something about these senseless killings. Allison Parker and Adam Ward were killed because a madman could get a handgun thanks to the NRA and their bought politicians in Washington DC. We have the ability to stop these killings. The cowards in our federal government will wait out the initial public sadness, and then they will talk about how our gun laws need to be relaxed. This happens every time, and I am pissed off about it. I want to live in a society where random crime is not enhanced by guns. Guns kill people.

I am sad for the people who know and love Allison Parker and Adam Ward. They will never be given comfort by the idiots in DC and the NRA because of greed. We are supposed to be the greatest society in the history of mankind, we can do better. The NRA wants a world where we are less safe. The cowards and DC have no care for the American people. I have one thing to say to the both of them.

Guns kill people.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Do you disagree - tell us.

The Papacy Complex of Washington DC

New uniforms for DC police?

I am absolute and will never be wrong.

That is the attitude that has taken hold in Washington DC. We have popularly elected a government of Popes. These "representatives" believe they were chosen by a higher source, and their message cannot be questioned. Our national government has no curiosity, ability to compromise, or empathy. They are infallible. They are the Alpha and the Omega. We are mere vassals to fatten their coffers.

The infallibility complex of Washington DC is the number one reason our government is completely worthless. Starting with the President and filtering through every office on Capitol Hill, our government would rather feed us lies than actually fix the problems facing the nation. These elected officials cannot be dumb enough to think that their never ending lies are being bought by the majority of citizens. How can our representatives think that we buy the garbage they are selling? Philosopher George Costanza once said "It is not a lie if you believe it". Is our government a bunch of Costanzas? Would you rather have hundreds of Popes or hundreds of Costanzas? Does Speaker Boehner believe that people think the Republican Party is for the lower and middle class working family? If he believes that, it must not be a lie.  Does President Obama believe that we think he boot strapped his way to the highest elected office? If he believes that, it must not be a lie. These are the leaders that will steer this country through our next great crisis (it is coming soon). We deserve better. We need to have a better group of leaders.

The best recent example of the Papacy complex is the current Benghazi fiasco. What fascinates me about Benghazi is how easy it is to figure out what all parties want. The Republican Party wants to find a way to impeach Obama, and they want to torpedo Hillary Clinton's presidential ambitions. Those are the republicans only goals. They do not care at all about terrorism. The current Republican establishment will only use terrorism as a fear tactic when they can assign race to the issue. A white man with an agenda kills a bunch of people, that is an unfortunate crime. A non-white person does the same thing, and it is the worst terror attack since the last. They do not care about the lives lost. They only care about gaining an edge on a political issue. The Republicans want Meet the Press and Politico to continue the cheerleading of Benghazi in order to embarrass the highest profile Democrats. 

President Obama and the Democratic party has their infallibility problems with Benghazi as well. Since day one, President Obama has been afraid of being weak on the War on Terrorism. Anytime we have had a terror like issue, the Obama administration has been very swift in making a statement condemning the act. These swift actions have yielded unclear, and confusing, official statements on the terror activities. Morons like Sean Hannity get upset because our non-white president will not scream terror. I do not believe we need to use code words to appeal to the sub par intelligence of Master Hannity. I do think that the Obama administration has rushed to finding a reason for the attacks in order to protect their political identity. Benghazi was not about a movie, yet the administration kept floating that narrative out. To this day, the White House has yet to ascribe a motive to the deaths of four American foreign services workers. In order to not be wrong, in order to be infallible, the administration would rather not correct the record.

Benghazi is just one recent example of how the need to appear right has destroyed any credibility in our government. Every person I know that has an opinion on Benghazi will defend their position based on what side they want to defend. The Republicans look only to weaken President Obama or Hillary Clinton. The Democrats seek only to paint the Republicans as investigation happy zealots. There is no room for thinking. The narrative has been set. If we deviate from what the story is, the lie will be exposed.

What happened in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 is a tragedy. Four Americans were not the only ones killed, over one hundred Libyans also lost their lives protecting US interests. It is very likely that we will never know what happened to cause the tragedy. We honor no one by being political opportunists. We insult those who serve by being self serving and lying about our motivations. Investigations should yield answers. Our leaders should lead the country, not a party. Being a partisan hack only gives you the reputation for being a hack.

Accepting the infallibility of people is a tricking proposition. I was raised catholic. The Pope is infallible because God is speaking through him. Right or wrong, that is the belief handed down to me. I have stopped believing the idea of any human being infallible. I do not believe anyone in our government is a pope. Everyone else needs accept that Washington DC is not infallible. Only then will our government start to work on solving the problems coming our way. That is the only way America thrives.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. In order to break his infallibility complex, we need you to write for SeedSing. RD is also willing to tell everyone your product is the best, no lies - advertise with SeedSing.

The Republicans may write Rand Paul off. The Democrats should not.

I have written a lot lately on the problems with the national Republican voter base. It is a big problem that the party leaders seem to have little interest in solving. When society evolves, the national republicans devolve. When people celebrate love, the national Republicans embrace fear and hate. The party orchestrated a masterful takeover of the local seats of power, but they are losing their grip on the nation at large. There is not a single Republican candidate that can beat a Democratic candidate in a national election, except one.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is the Republican of the future. His views are dangerous, his voting record is destructive to anyone below the highest levels of the upper class, but he is the only person who can activate the millennial voter base. Senator Paul claims to be a libertarian, and most of the time he delivers on his convictions. He stupidly, yet also kind of bravely, defended his opinion that the civil rights laws should be rolled back. He does not join the loud chorus of Republicans that hate the LGBT community. He is friendly with the pro-marijuana legalization community (gotta love some Aqua Buddha). Most importantly, Senator Paul was the only member of Congress to stand up and filibuster the horrid use of drones. These are views that excite the millennial voter base.

Senator Paul has one big obstacle in his run for the Presidency, the Republican party. Corporate Republicans like Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell do not like Rand Paul. The religious right is definitely not going to throw their support his way. Rand Paul is seen as a troublesome upstart by the established Republican Party. The same established party that brought us Sarah Palin and two consecutive losses to Barack Obama. They seem to know what their doing.

The national Democratic party should thank the god(s) that the republicans will stop Rand Paul. He is the only republican that could actually defeat the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016. Senator Paul is the only person running who would excite the millennial voter base.  The baby boomers and the gen xers are locked in voting groups, the millennials are under engaged. The party who can excite them, can win any election. The only excitement surrounding the Democratic candidates is the history of electing the first woman to be president. Rand Paul is talking about issues, and standing up for ideals, embraced by the millennials. Hillary Clinton (and the other Dems) need to start talking to the millennials about the issues that really matter. Issues like student loan reform, job opportunities, marijuana legalization and NO MORE DRONE STRIKES. Rand Paul is moving on some of these issues, the Democratic party is largely silent.

Rand Paul will not be the Republican party's 2016 nominee for President. The current leaders would rather submit to corporations and be hateful. Once again a Democratic politician will be inaugurated as president in January of 2017. That president should be worried. In 2020 Rand Paul may take control of the Republican national identity, and his ascension to be President of the United States will be hard to stop.

God(s) help us.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head editor for Seed Sing. Since he gets Kentucky media, Senator Paul is very familiar. He still loves to talk about Aqua Buddha worship. He will really worship people who write for Seed Sing.

We need 21st century leaders. Why the Republican party is doomed for failure.

Things do not look very good today.

Greece is a financial mess, China is a bigger financial problem that few people are talking about. The United States is doing nothing to fight exploding student debt, stagnant wages, and out of control health care costs. The world's population is getting older, and many of the baby boomers are not leaving the work force. The workers of generation x and the millennials are finding it more difficult to grow in their jobs and make more money. Home values do not appreciate at the rate they would 20 years ago. Public school funding is under assault by "tax cutting" politicians. Social services are being devoured by local budget deficits. Black southern churches are being maliciously burned down, and the media stays quiet. The world needs bold leadership.

The modern Republican party is largely responsible for many of the current problems facing the world. Once in power, Republican politicians use code words like "freedom", "opportunity", "small business", and "fairness" to lull the masses into thinking the Republicans are looking out for the normal middle class worker. It is a lie. The Republicans have worked extraordinarily hard to consolidate power into the hands of a very small group of rich white men. Do you think I am exaggerating? If you are under the age of 50, how well off are you? According to latest census data, just under 20% of all people in the US make over $100,000. Sounds good? Did you know because of fiscal policy started under the Reagan administration, that $100,000 is worth half as much as it was worth in 1990. We have been tricked into thinking that is a lot of money. We never took into account that the money is becoming worthless. The baby boomers do not understand the value of money being made, because they are finished with the career climbing point of their career. Their only concerns is social security (enjoy it), Medicaid (you're welcome), and living off their pensions (I know what those are, I just do not believe they ever existed). The government has completely changed our economic system, and it took only one generation.

It is amazing that the Republican party can lure any non-baby boomer to vote for their politicians. I hear from many people that they give support to the republicans because of tax policy. When taxes are cut, the hole has to be filled. Reagan filled it by raiding social security. Every President since then has stolen from one program or another to keep rich people taxes low (or to give them bigger loop holes) and to increase pointless defense spending (see the F-35 fiasco). The Republicans continue to feed the american people, with the help of a broken corporate media, the lie of lower taxes. Your paycheck may be bigger, but everything is cost more and is worth less.

While the Republicans continue to trap people with their failed financial policies, the hate from the party will be their eventual downfall. The current bloated field of Republican presidential candidates seem to always have a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or good old hateful thing to say. I get that the party is trying to appeal to old white people who are afraid of "welfare queens" and "angry black men". Most of the under 50 people in society see the Republican party's hate filled ways, and we are rejecting them. Religious conservatism is not the majority, the people of earth have been and will always be progressive.

The middle class has always been the great battleground in every election. Outside of the racism and hate, there is no reason to vote Republican if you are the 80% of america that lives in a family who makes less than $100,000.  Just this last week Wisconsin Governor, and Republican presidential front runner, Scott Walker tried to sneak in a provision to the state budget that would help eliminate the weekend. Think I am exaggerating again? Remember that good conservative hero Scott Walker is also advocating using state money to buy a basketball arena so billionaires can save some money. Today's conservatives seem fiscal responsible, yet they act like socialists when it comes to their rich white donors.

What about the Democrats, says you faithful reader? They are not any better when it comes to corporate welfare. Hillary Clinton may be the presumptive nominee (is she?) but she is definitely aligned with the corporate donors. The issues of the Democratic Party and their lack of support for the middle class will be addressed at a later date, but I will say the big issue that separates the Democratic party from the repubs is the hate. Democrats spent the last few weeks preaching about how #lovewins. The repubs have been falling all over themselves to see who can be the most hateful. 

Right now the Republican party controls the US House, Senate, and most of the state governments, how can I say they are doomed to failure? The recent world events show that we need innovative and bold leadership, that is not in the Republican party DNA. Making old white men even richer is not the future. Hating people who are non-white christian heterosexuals is not the future. The weakness of the local Democratic party is a temporary thing. Many local parties are gearing up for the 2016 elections, and hate is not on the agenda. Entire voting blocks are being energized for the Democrats (LGBT, millennials, non-hateful people). The Republicans are counting on the same people to turn out that they have been counting on for forty years. The Republican tactics are 20th century, the new leaders will be elected by 21st century minded voters.

The world needs bold leaders. The ideas from the modern Republican Party are without vision and without hope. Cut taxes, hate others, and forget about how we devalued the lower, middle and upper-middle class - that is the modern Republican platform. Their ideas are dying on the vine, and no growth will happen until they learn to grow the voter base. The Democratic Party will take the White House in 2016. We can only hope that the new President will see the 21st century problems of the world and tackle them with 21st century solutions. The world needs bravery, compassion, and innovation. Today may be dark, let tomorrow bring in the new light. 

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for Seed Sing. He is looking for the 21st century minds who can participate in finding a New Way Forward. Contact him at seedsing.rdk@gmail.com.

The Republican Hate Trap

It has been a bad week for the Republican Party.

A no good, very bad week.

I am not talking about their failure (once again) to get rid of Obamacare. I am not talking about their failure (once again) to ban gay marriage. This is also not about their victory to eliminate any talk of meaningful gun control in light of another mass killing. The Republican Party's bad week is about how all of those events caused the party's leaders to embrace the typical hate filled white christian majority victim hood that is losing the party voters and any national future.

The Republican party has been fighting the reforms of the New Deal for multiple generations. Their current leaders can not have a meaningful thought about domestic policy without attacking reforms enacted nearly eighty years ago. The programs of the New Deal have been large a part of american society,  removing them would cause a massive  economic crisis. The Republican party has been so invested in dismantling the New Deal,  they have no plan to deal with the catastrophic aftermath of their goals.

These irrational, outdated, tactics infect the current Republican voter outreach strategies. The Affordable Health Care Act was not a perfect law,  far from it. The law did succeed in giving healthcare to more at need Americans. Since the passage of the ACA,  the only action from the elected republicans is to act like petulant children and try to repeal the law. They tried,  and tried,  and tried,  and on and on. There was no plan, only a tantrum. Lower income Americans were beginning to see clearly that the republicans had no interest in helping them. These potential voters were mostly lost to any national campaign by the Republican party.

The need to cater to the outdated and hateful religious right has caused the Republicans to alienate a very powerful and engaged voter group, gay men. The actions of the Supreme Court were long overdue, and many Americans were happy that this embarrassment had been corrected. The response from all the national Republican leaders was predictable, silence or hate. The hate, coming from supposed Christians, was ugly and useless. Christian conservatives always vote in the exact same numbers, and they always vote Republican. If one national Republican realized that gay men tend to be more conservative on fiscal issues,  that person could start to cultivate new voters. Instead the legacy of hate and obstruct stops any movement in bringing in these new, valuable, voters.

Where the Republican hate trap reared its ugly head the most is the aftermath of the Charleston Church massacre. Our government is filled with cowards when it comes to stemming gun violence. The tricky part for the Republicans is they needed a distraction from having to talk about the gun problem in America. The media decided that distraction was going to be the Confederate flag. The hate trap was set, because now Republicans who defended a symbol of hate had to now openly attack it. This was not a good plan to a few deep south Republicans (see Haley Barbour). These politicians defending the Confederate flag kept reminding voters of the parties history of racism. The brain trust that is Sean Hannity even used his tired tactic of false equivalence and demanded rap music be banned along with the Confederate flag. Hannity is whining because he cannot embrace his symbol of hate,  so attacks something else ethnic that he hates. Every single guest on Hannity's radio and television shows will have to defend the Confederate flag and attack rap music. Good bye millennial voters, good job Sean.

The Democratic Party has not been very proactive in creating positive social change. The national leaders usually sit back and wait for social changes to become more viable. This allows the Democrats the luxury to co-opt these movements and be seen as the party of all people. Their biggest asset in claiming the progressive mantle is that the Republicans can not claw out of their hate trap.

Thank God.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for Seed Sing. He enjoys watching hateful people dig themselves into holes. Fox News is one of his favorite entertainment options. He needs you to write for Seed Sing.

How do you solve a problem like Ohio Part 2: Local Messaging

(feel free to sing along)

Ohio always turns out for the president

But all other elections she is absent

Ohio attracts all the talent

Except in non summer Olympic years

I hate that I have to say it

But I feel very strongly

Ohio may not be an asset to her citizens

How do you solve a problem like Ohio.

Local candidates are rarely experienced, nuanced, political animals.  Many times these candidates are recruited by local parties because they have strong opinions and can articulate these ideas well. The local bosses rely upon state and national support in order to maintain their positions in the local party offices.  It is in the interest of the local political bosses that their candidates toe the national party line  These national ideas do not always serve the best interest of the local voters.  This causes a lack of voter enthusiasm and usually leads to low voter engagement.

The local candidate should create a local message.  National politics is a glamour contest.  The Republican Party has not fared well the last two presidential elections because they could not capture the votes needed in a contest for millions of votes.  The Republicans use divisive and outdated rhetoric, and as a consequence they are not growing their voter base (see here for a deeper explanation). When it comes to local politics, the republicans tend to not be overshadowed by their national figures.  The current divisions in the national Republican Party can be directly linked to the rise of strong, ideological, local movements. The religious right, tea party, and libertarians all began as smaller local movements.  These groups maintain their strength at the local level, and they can rarely find national success.  The lack of success with a bigger voter pool has caused these local movements to radicalize their beliefs and create division within their own national party.  These groups were co-opted by the national party when there was electoral success down on the regional level. Theses groups also can use local electoral advantage (gerrymandered districts, lower voter turnout) that is not possible in a large national election. They cannot create a message that works for a large, diverse, pool of voters.

The Democratic Party needs to take a page from the republican regional success.  The democrats need to create messages that directly speak to the voters they need.  Some of the national party issues should be ignored, and in some cases should be rejected.  Not that long ago there were pro-life democrats.  Those democrats won local elections. Once a locally elected official wants to move on and campaign for higher office, their message should evolve for the voters that are needed for victory. Many would call this flip-flopping. The only people who care about flip-flopping are the media and the opposition. The regular voter does not care.  By evolving the message, there is a greater chance to add voters.  The ability to add voters is more important than any other aspect of a political campaign.

In order for Ohioans to see a more representative state and local government, the parties need to learn and adapt to the voters in these smaller elections. That has not happened because of the national drain that occurs on the homegrown politically talent. When politically minded Ohioans learn to work for themselves, we will see the Ohio problem begin to disappear.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for Seed Sing. He wants to solve the media problem by having you write for Seed Sing.

The impotence of the Republican Party's national identity

The Republican Party has equipment that does not work.  Their national identity does not have the ability to bring excitement and stimulate the imagination of the national electorate.  There are a few of the little things they do right.  They can get some of the small things done adequately, get us mildly interested.  However when it comes to the big show, it will end in disaster with a lot of soul searching and finger pointing.

Tired of the impotency metaphor.  Let's move on.

The modern Republican Party has built a brand that works in carved out legislative districts, and states that have local Democratic parties who do not know how to win elections (see the reasons Democrats have failed in state elections here.) I want to address the issue of branding in the local districts. While the republicans worked to get majorities in state houses, and in turn created districts that look like a 4 year old was coloring way out of the lines, the Democratic Party worked on a national messaging and outreach programs.  The republicans created a brand that would cater to a slight majority of the people in these gerrymandered districts.  Their local brand became dependent on political rhetoric that would cause the majority to fear the minority.  Black lives matter, equal pay for women, transgender acceptance, gay marriage, and many more social issues became the fodder for republican attacks. Divide and hate were the core of republican rhetoric. 

While campaigning in the local districts, these wedge issues can help drive necessary voter turnout among certain segments of the white vote.  In addition to creating the majority fear, the local republicans worked very hard to create a narrative of Democratic party voter fraud.

Go ahead and look up cases of actual voter fraud over the last twenty years, I can wait.

Welcome back, I am sure you came across a few cases (the name Ann Coulter definitely came up) but for the most part there is an insignificantly small amount of voter fraud cases.  Why are the republicans so worried? It works in their narrative to protect the right to vote, and to deny the vote at the same time.

These dividing tactics have served the Republican Party very well in the local elections, and helped push their message through a lazy corporate media.  Why do they not work at the national level? The answer is quite simple. They cannot sell their majority fear to a large nation. The urban areas have actual power in the national election.  Very few big states, like New York and California, can give a candidate a sizable electoral advantage (plus Texas is clearly in the national Democratic Party sights, watch out).  The Democratic party has been less than desirable on their social messaging, just look at Hillary Clinton, but they are not publicly speaking out against these emerging minority groups.  When Caitlyn Jenner makes news, Mike Huckabee makes a moronic joke about dressing like a girl to shower with girls in high school. He completely gave up any chance to win a national election with that comment, and he does not care.  It is more important for Mike Huckabee to be appealing to an out of touch voting block who will vote republican no matter what a candidate says.  When the scion of the Duggar clan admits to molesting young girls, including his own sisters, most of the national republicans do not condemn.  Instead they spend their time pushing false equivalence narratives to again protect a voter base that will never abandon them.  I know the argument will arise that you need the out of touch hate groups of the party to win the primary.  Even if that is the case, what you say to appeal to the hate groups will live on through the election (see Romney and 47%).  

I want you to think about what I just explained, the republicans need the out of touch hate groups.  Regardless of what the Fox News pundits say, America has always been socially progressive.  We have a number of amendments giving people rights, and we have only one taking away rights (plus that amendment was repealed so chalk up one more to giving rights). The electorate has expanded for one group when we acknowledge the minority rights. The early Republican Party (Lincoln's party, not Reagan's) saw an influx of voters after the 15th amendment.  The republicans again saw a voter influx after the 19th amendment.  The USA is the melting pot, we want your huddle masses yearning to breathe free.  Where in the hell does intolerance fit into that narrative.  There is no law demanding that anyone get married, so why do you want to deny marriage? There is no law dictating ones gender, so why do you care what someone feels in their soul?  The Republican Party seems to care about these issues, and that is why they are always fighting uphill in the national elections.

This is where my impotence metaphor is valid.  The republicans have all the right equipment, and it works for the most part.  The issue lies in a very important action, the republicans cannot achieve the ultimate satisfaction (the Presidency I mean of course).  Their grass roots of intolerance does not allow for them to reach out to an audience that does not buy the social division.  The Democratic Party has been sleep walking for decades on governance and strategy.  Their greatest advantage is the disdain for the Republican Party. Social division will always drive the disenfranchised urban centers to turn out (usually barely enough) for the elections that matter to them.  Without Ralph Nader, Al Gore would have been the President. George W Bush needed that Democratic Party division in one particular state to win the election with his light hate. Time has moved forward, communication technology has improved, and the Republican Party has continued their policy of division and hate.  

The first Republican to learn that all Americans can vote will be the person the Democrats have not been prepared to face.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for Seed Sing.  He is flabbergasted that people who openly hate other Americans will be featured on Meet the Press this Sunday.  Come write for us to express your ideas. Join us.

The Fallacy of Hillary's Inevitability

Hillary Clinton will not be President of the United States.  Hillary Clinton will not even be the Democratic Party nominee.  Will I be the first person to say this? I'll check back in a year.

Hillary Clinton vs the republican clown car.  That is the grand narrative from a broken and lazy national media a year before the final state presidential primaries will be wrapping up. You cannot stop it.  Hillary 2016, I'm with Hillary, Hillary's time, whatever the work shopped slogan may be - IT IS HILLARY'S TURN.

I could have written those exact same words (substitute Hillary 2016 with Hillary 2008) back in 2007.  I was working in the political field at the time, and that was all I heard from my Democratic Party friends.  Hillary had the experienced staff. Hillary had the money network. Hillary had history.  There was no denying her ascendancy.

Problem is that Obama won the primary, and he became the President.  Hillary waited, she is ready, and nothing will stop her now.  I am telling you that 2016 will end exactly as 2008 (not with Obama, but someone different). 

Why am I so sour on Hillary's inevitability.  Because the exact same narrative is playing out, and technology has changed the world.  I will explain.  I have many friends who have gone to work for a "Hillary Clinton Exploratory campaign" over the course of the last year.  I myself have been approached a few times to "work" on a possible presidential campaign.  The experienced Democratic Party talent has all been gobbled up by the Hillary Clinton campaign. Along with the talent, the money has also been holding for the Clinton campaign.  I have a whole trunk full of problems with the talent and money at the states being held out for a national election, and I address those issues here.   The tactic that the Hillary campaign seems to be employing this time around is to gather all the resources and starve out any potential challenger. That seems to be the grand strategic plan.

Hillary Clinton, along with most national political figures, have yet to figure out how to capitalize on free social media platforms.  The current political, and media, models are all built around catering to the Baby Boomer generation.  The Generation Xers and millennials have yet to be considered in a Hillary Clinton campaign, except for lip service on issues that have become politically beneficial(i.e. LBGT rights).  The non-boomers want more.  We want consideration for student debt issues (Hillary is silent), we want government surveillance to be reigned in (Hillary is silent), we want an end to the endless wars (Hillary has not completely owned up to her support for Bush's wars), we want to be considered.  The boomer culture will not relinquish control of the political culture, and Hillary Clinton feeds off of this. She needs to start addressing these issues to create excitement for her presidency.

The boomer only kind of pandering is what caused the non-boomers to flock towards an unproven, and unknown, Barack Obama.  The allure of words like "change" and "hope" spoke to the non-boomers.  We were ready for anyone who was not part of the insipid boomers who have told us how worthless we were. The Hillary 2016 campaign sure as stuff cannot use words like hope and change, especially after the Obama presidency. How is the Clinton campaign going to reach the non-boomers.  Being able to get campaign info through our smart phones was infinitely more valuable than the constant door knockers asking about my feelings on the Democratic Party. I keep hearing more about the canvasing plans for the Hillary 2016 campaign and I cringe. Where is the innovative social media campaigning.  Why have they not learned?  The boomers are still a large voting block, but the gen Xers and millennials can win you the election.

These systemic issues are not the only thing that can derail Hillary Clinton's inevitability.  There is always the stink of the Clinton brand. The Clinton Cash issues, and the history of Bill and Hillary may seem minor to many loyal Democrats, but they always produce smoke.  The lazy media will want a horse race, and they will keep these scandals burning.  An enterprising Democratic Party candidate can take advantage of these scandals, and media unprofessional-ism, to move up in the public perception. 

I have yet to see a candidate who could capitalize on Clinton's shortcomings.  Missouri Governor Jay Nixon had the ability, then he decided to muck up everything about Ferguson. Martin O'Malley will have the same issues with Baltimore. Bernie Sanders has some excitement, but he has a very small percentage of the party and its money (let's pray he does not become another Ralph Nader).  The Hillary Clinton campaign seems inevitable now, but there is a ways to go in this horse race.

Stay tuned.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the Creator and Head Editor for Seed Sing. We want your thoughts on the 2016 election.  Write for us.  RD is looking forward to the day boomer culture does not constantly infect his politics.

How do you solve a problem like Ohio Part 1: Technology

(feel free to sing along)

Ohio always turns out for the president

But all other elections she is absent

Ohio attracts all the talent

Except in non summer Olympic years

I hate that I have to say it

But I feel very strongly

Ohio may not be an asset to her citizens

How do you solve a problem like Ohio.

Last week I presented my case for why Ohio voted for President Obama twice, yet has a conservative republican state government.  We know the why, let's figure out how to change this duality in Ohio's voting behaviors.

The primary obstacle that needs to be dealt with is the ineptness of the county parties.  When you have the same people in charge after years of failure, staff replacement is not an option. These party bosses are in their position because they played the right political game a decade ago. These bosses think things like knocking on doors, bowing to the local unions, and swearing fidelity to the national party are the ways to run political elections.  Technology has changed the process over the last ten years.  The rise of social networking has made the idea of door knocking antiquated and wasteful.  

Let's talk about technology.  The first iPhone debuted in 2007, and the public started to enter the world of smartphones.  Twitter came on line in 2006, Facebook allowed non-college students to join in 2006, Instagram started sharing photos in 2010.  The party bosses running the local elections were in charge when the rise of social networking and the ability to share information started to take hold.  There was a new wave of political strategists that understood the power of social media.  These strategists did not respect, or were respected, by the established local political bosses.  The future of political outreach rested in social media, and nobody was taking advantage of this incredible tool.

The rise of the internet allowed political candidates a new, and usually less expensive, portal to voter outreach.  All that was needed for a candidate was a simple website that showed the public what the candidate believed in, and how you could contribute money.  Today we see very few local candidates use the benefit of the internet.  Many local parties refuse to invest the low cost / high reward resources on websites and social media.   They would still rather rely on high resource / low benefit activities like door knocking for voter outreach.  The average dedicated voter would rather spend time on the internet than answering an unknown doorbell pusher.  In 2015 if your doorbell rings it is usually a solicitor, unexpected family member, or a political candidate.  In today's world, none are a welcome presence.

How do we reach the dedicated voter in the twenty-first century?  The smart candidate will first use the free tools available, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.  The minimal time spent to set up a profile for the social networking sites will pay large dividends in the end.  Instead of knocking on 100 doors on a Saturday, use the time to post and respond to 1000 potential donors.  Do not be bullied into canvasing by other "establishment" candidates.  Build your online profile and watch the support (and money) pour in.  The most fertile voter base for local candidates is the millennial generation.  They are going to be much more excited by a candidate's online presence than they will be impressed by a one sheet paper handed to them on a sunny summer day.

Embracing the idea of online voter outreach will also attract a new, dynamic, type of candidate.  Many people interested in running for local office are new to the political process. Telling them that they have to spreed their spring / summer / fall days knocking on doors is usually a hard sell.  Many winnable candidates will turn down the offer to run for office when the local party bosses start talking about canvasing.  Let's use these candidates greatest assets to get them elected.  Walking door to door is nobody's greatest asset.  We want great ideas and voices to be our leaders.  Social networking gives these ideas and voices a megaphone to needed voters.

The days of mapping out neighborhoods and going door to door is over.  In order to get a truly people elected government you have to find out how to get the people to vote for your ideas.  We do not like to answer unknown front door visitors.  We do get excited by leaders who understand the twenty-first century.  If you want to start to solve the Ohio problem, do not talk to 100 potential voters on a Saturday in September.  Connect with thousands of potential voters every day equipped only with your passion and ideas.

The establishment has lost the way.  You are your own political boss.

RD Kulik

RD Kulik is the creator and Head Editor for Seed Sing.  He wants your ideas to run the country, not the ideas of an antiquated party system.  Contact seedsing.rdk@gmail.com for support on launching your political career.