His radio station was shut down. His medical license was revoked. So
he ran for Governor. (
Time, 1932), and almost won. Twice. "Dr".
John R. Brinkley, the goat gland doctor, (
previously on Metafilter) had six weeks. He also had a plane, a huckster's skills, a staff skilled in promotion, and lots of chutzpah.
[more inside]
posted by julen
on Dec 16, 2010 -
10 comments
Carl Paladino, Republican candidate for New York Governor addressed a group of Orthodox Jewish leaders in Brooklyn yesterday. Reading from a prepared statement:
“I didn’t march in the gay parade this year — the gay pride parade this year. My opponent did, and that’s not the example we should be showing our children. And certainly not in our schools. Don’t misquote me as wanting to hurt homosexual people in any way. That would be a dastardly lie. My approach is live and let live. I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don’t want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option — it isn’t.”
The remarks were caught on
video.
[more inside]
posted by 2bucksplus
on Oct 11, 2010 -
196 comments
The partial veto , enshrined in the Wisconsin Constitution since 1930, gives the governor the power to veto only a portion of a bill passed by the legislature. Since then, governors, both Republican and Democratic, have gotten
increasingly creative about its application -- vetoing the word "not" to reverse the meaning of a bill, vetoing digits out of numbers to reduce appropriations, even vetoing individual letters from words in order to create new text,
Humument-style. (This last power, the so-called "Vanna White" veto, was removed by Constitutional amendment in 1990.) Another attempt to strip the governor of the partial veto has just
failed. Doesn't it sound like fun to be governor of Wisconsin?
Try it yourself.
posted by escabeche
on Mar 12, 2007 -
33 comments
The Ins and Outs of Write-in (Candidates) Can you vote for a write-in candidate in your state? In 2004, Business Week said "Regardless of which state you live in, voting for a write-in contender is much more complicated than scribbling whatever name you please on the dotted line at the bottom of the ballot. Thirty-five states require that a write-in candidate must submit some form of affidavit and, sometimes, a filing fee at least one month before the election. In North Carolina, these candidates must circulate a petition. Then their names are posted on a list at the polling place, though not on the official ballot. All other write-in votes are tossed. "
In Massachusetts, the Boston Globe reports
Write-in candidates face hurdle on paper ballots.
Wikipedia reports there have been some successes however (including Strom Thurmond's election to the US Senate).
posted by notmtwain
on Oct 29, 2006 -
16 comments
Hooray for Kinky Friedman -- Friedman isn't going to solve Texas' problems, but neither is any other politician. The whole premise of his campaign is to mock the process—as his slogan goes, "How hard can it be?"
posted by ZenMasterThis
on Oct 6, 2006 -
93 comments
As in the 2004 elections, several useful sites have sprung up to keep track of the 2006 midterms for House, Senate and state gubernatorial races. Some have a political point of view, others don't, but they don't differ significantly on the outcome at this point. One of the veterans in this game is
ElectionProjection.com, which was
pretty close to actual results in '04. (A creation of
"the Blogging Caesar"). From the right, there's
MyElectionAnalysis.com, while
ElectionPredictions seems to come from a neutral corner. All of these track statewide polls as they are published; they may differ in how they weight results. For a more subjective approach, see
Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball or the
Cook Political Report. Overall, the consensus seems to be that the GOP will hold both houses, but with slimmer margins, and lose on the gubernatorial front.
posted by beagle
on Jul 10, 2006 -
30 comments
Sharkey's wife/friend may not be able to do her job anymore. You remember
Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey, the undead, bloodsucking candidate for Minnesota governor, don't you? Julie Carpenter's association with her husband/friend and Wicca affiliation makes her unsuited to drive the school bus, according to the Princeton Schools Superintendent. [
by]
posted by Captaintripps
on Jan 16, 2006 -
92 comments
Now there's a time but I say none like now: After the eastern cantilever span of the
Oakland-Bay Bridge collapsed in the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, CalTrans engineers recommended
replacing it with a
cable-stayed bridge. The estimated cost was roughly 1 billion and would be completed in 2003--that is, until the Mayors Brown got involved.
Then-SF-Mayor Willie Brown objected to the
new design, saying the abutment at Yerba Buena island would interfere with his planned condominium development. Brown coaxed the Navy--who owned the land on which the foundation would be built--into preventing CalTrans from performing soil-engineering tests, saying the new bridge wasn't safe, making references to
other bridge disasters, and interviewing engineers all over the Bay Area until he
finally found one who agreed with him.
Jerry Brown--
former governor of California and current mayor of Oakland--
voiced his opposition, calling the design a "bland viaduct" and proposing an international competition to design "a world-class bridge." When CalTrans told Brown his objections were a year late, he dug up an
old Frank Lloyd Wright design and asked CalTrans, "Say, can we
put trains on it, too?" The delays and design changes have increased the cost to over five billion, and its completion date is anyone's guess.
According to Governor Schwartzenegger, this is the Bay Area's problem, not California's. (Fine then! Can we have
our water back?) Fifteen years, two audits, and
one angry architect later, the questions remain: how and by whom will this new bridge be funded,
what will it look like, and
will it be finished when the
The Big One hits?
posted by fandango_matt
on Nov 29, 2004 -
18 comments
"I will hire an outside independent auditor, free of political influence..." Schwarzenegger breaks promise to Californians, hires Donna Arduin to head the 60-day audit of California. Arduin is "on loan" from Florida, where she is Jeb Bush's Budget director.
Arduin has been
criticized by economists and even
prominent Florida republicans for "surreal",misleading, unrealistic, and risky accounting procedures.
During her stint as Budget Director, Ms. Arduin oversaw numerous tax cuts aimed at the wealthiest Floridians, while most Floridians saw no significant decrease in taxes. Infact, today Florida has the
second most regressive taxes in the nation.The effects of these tax cuts? Unprecidented shortfalls in state tax revenues, with
massive budget cuts for public schools,
universities,
child welfare,
vision services for uninsured children, etc.
Class warfare, anyone?!
posted by insomnia_lj
on Oct 9, 2003 -
65 comments
Wisconsin has picked its quarter design! Gov. Jim Doyle Tuesday overruled an advisory panel and told the U.S. Mint to put a cow, wheel of cheese and ear of corn on Wisconsin's commemorative quarter, despite fears that it won't reflect the state's cities or its rich ethnic heritage
posted by Durwood
on Oct 1, 2003 -
34 comments
Don't just stand there - Bustamante! Arnold Schwarzenegger would lose to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante by five precentage points if the election were held today, according to a Field Poll of likely voters released today. Margin of error: 4.5%. How useful are polls like this when there are so many undecided factors still floating about?
Poll tabs and analysis here. [PDF]
posted by GriffX
on Sep 9, 2003 -
38 comments
Schwarzenegger caught in lie about affair, statutory rape. After years of speculation and denials by both parties, Arnold Schwarzenegger's longtime "avenue of relaxation" and partner in outerwear spills the beans to British television. The affair was first alleged by
Lacy H. Rich, Jr., a source of pictures and information for the infamous
Spy Magazine article. In 1995, with his health deteriorating and the mainstream media ignoring his full allegations, Rich made numerous
posts to Usenet with claims such as drug use, a longtime affair with Gigi that started when she was 16, car theft, and even prostituting himself to
Paco Arce, a gay Spanish millionaire with an interest in bodybuilders.
More plo chops, anyone?!
posted by insomnia_lj
on Aug 17, 2003 -
39 comments
When in doubt, blame the software. Who is the governor of Alabama? Both incumbent candidate Don Siegelmand and Republican opponent Bob Riley have claimed victories. The answer lies in the hands of Baldwin County officials, who claim a software glitch "miscounted" almost 7,000 votes. [more inside]
posted by somethingotherthan
on Nov 6, 2002 -
18 comments
Davis signs $9.95 billion bond bill to boost high-speed rail
"Gov. Gray Davis signed a $9.95 billion bond measure Thursday that would clear the way for a high-speed rail system linking California's major cities."
this may be the first step in getting a decent rail-system going in the states. what do folks think about high-speed rail in general, do you think
acela's
recent
problems
are indicative of what we have to look forward to?
do those of you who have direct experience with existing high-speed rail systems have insights about the kind of obstacles this project might run into? will it revolutionize travel in the united states, or turn into a massive boondoggle?
posted by dolface
on Sep 19, 2002 -
34 comments
Another election debacle in Florida. One year and $30m in technology later, the Reno/McBride primary is marred by late openings and other assorted and sundry glitches. I know, it's a CNN link, but I can't resist anything that includes someone delivering the grade "F-minus-minus-minus" (later determined to be merely an "F-minus-minus" and some Drambuie). Any personal voting horror stories from our Florida contingent? Will the state become a case study in how "throwing money at the problem" never works?
posted by mkultra
on Sep 12, 2002 -
27 comments
What about Blinky? (Link to PDF) CA Governor's candidate Bill Simon is taking an interesting approach in his campaign to appeal to a generation... a generation of Simpson fans. In this PDF, he compares incumbent Grey Davis to Mr. Burns... and how Blinky brought down Mr. Burns' campaign.
posted by darian
on Aug 1, 2002 -
13 comments
The Battle Over Bush's Gov. Papers. What are they hiding? Executive order blocking Presidential papers, refusing to turn over Energy Taskforce member list, and now this! There must be something to hide. But what?!?!?
posted by bas67
on Feb 11, 2002 -
10 comments
Governor of Maryland married his deputy chief of staff; she resigned (effected immediately) from her $103,588 position on Friday, the day the couple were married. I'm sure boss/subordinate relationships go on all the time, but isn't it a problem when the boss is the governor of a state? I'm not one to focus on the personal lives of politicians, but this does raise my eyebrows. What do you think -- should state employees be subject to a dating policy simply because they work in the government? Or is this no big deal?
posted by jennak
on Jan 29, 2002 -
26 comments
State government run amuck -- I'm usually proud to be from Jersey, but what's been going on in Trenton recently with lawsuits to stop acting governors from signing spending bills that the budget can't handle is nothing compared to what's going to happen in January. . . A couple of 2-day governors (one from each party) are going to have their way with the state house, governor's mansions, stationery, and POLITICAL APPOINTEES. . . . A POX ON BOTH THEIR HOUSES!
posted by fpatrick
on Dec 23, 2001 -
9 comments
Iowa Businessman Bob Vander Plaats announced his campaign for governor saying he wants to "run government like a business," according to the
Des Moines Register. The
Quad City Times notes that Vander Platt says his management experience "forms the foundation of his run for the GOP nomination." Taegan Goddard and Chris Riback say in an
essay from their
book that you can't run government like a business. Who is right?
posted by flip
on Oct 24, 2001 -
17 comments
One for the conspiracy theorists? On 7th of September, Governor Jeb Bush signed Executive Order 01-261, revising his powers to call up the Florida National Guard "in the event of civil disturbances or natural disasters", citing as one of its concerns "the potential massive damage to life and property that may result from an act of terrorism at a Florida port". Four days later, after the WTC attacks, his very next Executive Order
declared a State of Emergency and activated the National Guard under those revised powers. (It's still in place.) Now, we all know that the President was in the coastal city of Sarasota, Florida on the morning of the 11th, and we also know that Disney World closed its doors as a precaution after the attacks... so, coincidence? (Picked up from
media-squatters.)
posted by holgate
on Oct 2, 2001 -
19 comments
Apparently, the Lt. Governor of Illinois has
WAY too much time on her hands.... Of course, rallying public support for a boycott of Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't really
seem like what she was
elected to do, but hey, never hurts to throw your title around when your teenagers are going ga-ga over half-naked muscle-boys, huh?
posted by m.polo
on Jun 15, 2001 -
24 comments
Governor Reno? "In a competitive governor's race a challenger who has numbers like Reno's keeps incumbents awake at night,'' pollster Rob Schroth said. "This poll does not suggest she's odds-on favorite but she certainly takes more away from him than any other candidate we tested."
posted by owillis
on May 27, 2001 -
27 comments
Jesse Ventura talks about his bid at Governership and voting your conscience. There's more than a little in common here between his campaign and Ralph's.
posted by skallas
on Nov 1, 2000 -
0 comments
