Election

Politics

Election Food for Thought: A Six-Course Meal

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney could help candidates up and down the ticket, but the guess here is that while neither will have long coattails, Obama will help Democrats more than Romney will help Republicans. Read more »

Just a Number

Before it’s too late, please stop using your brilliant equations to categorize and subcategorize the subtleties of our humanity. If you don’t, I’m afraid your strings of zeros and ones will mutate into a media virus causing innocent consumers to absorb and embody your predictions before they even know what’s hit them. Read more »

What Should You Ask Yourself Before You Vote?

The biggest—and longest-running—marketing scam going in American society? Politics, of course. From the sixth-grader running for student-body president who promises longer recesses to the U.S. presidential hopeful who promises not to raise taxes, candidates will say anything to win your vote. Your job is to sift through the ideological bullshit—to say nothing of the nonsensical mudslinging—and figure out the answer to this question: Who’s more likely to put “getting the job done” higher on the to-do list than “furthering my ideology”? Read more »

The Latest Thought

What Would Murray Do?

As the campaign settles into a race for the ideological middle, a look at how Las Vegas’ late, great libertarian radical might have addressed the country’s ills

Murray Rothbard loved the intersection where politics and economics collide. The legendary libertarian intellectual, who taught economics at UNLV from 1986 until his death in 1995, was a devoted anarchist. But like many an anarchist, he was fascinated with government, and if he were here today he would be blogging endlessly about the current presidential race and America’s economic funk. Read more »

Politics

Technology and the Base

The major political party conventions are done, and now the micro-targeters take over, the political marketers who understand your voting, shopping and Internet browsing histories better than you do. Armed with iPads and other touch-screen devices, they’re deploying armies of political activists and phone bankers who have two goals: Get Las Vegas Valley voters to the polls while critical TV and Internet commercials push down opposition turnout. Read more »

Politics

Why Vegas Is an Election Darling

Since becoming president, Barack Obama has visited Nevada at least 11 times, usually making more than one public appearance when he does. Mitt Romney has appeared here twice since assuring himself of the GOP nomination. Rest assured, they’ll be back, as will Rep. Paul Ryan, a visitor soon after his selection as Romney’s running mate. Meanwhile, both campaigns are pouring millions of dollars into Nevada. What did we do to deserve all of this love? Read more »

Election

Down to the Wire

It’s been a season of gaffes and gallantry, with Senate candidate Sharron Angle having to defend her anti-immigration ads and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid having to defend his manhood. Read more »

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