* Update: It was the episode! Here’s a short review of Boxer’s performance, and an article about the show. I thought she was pretty funny.

I’m pretty sure that tomorrow night U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer appears on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm in a cameo role. I’m not positive, but I’m fairly certain after seeing the teaser for the episode, called The Anonymous Donor, just now on HBO. Last October, after driving across the country talking with our elected officials about Tuesday voting, I went behind the scenes at the episode’s filming to talk with the Senator about election reform. Check out the video below, and watch Senator Boxer tomorrow night on HBO.

Interestingly, according to the New York Times, Larry David is no stranger to the cause of election reform. To see why, click below.

(more…)

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Why Tuesday? road team Jacob Soboroff and Barnett Zitron were back at it March 31, visting with WT? co-chair Bill Bradley. The former Senator and presidential candidate was in Mendham, N.J. signing copies of his new book, The New American Story. At the event, the Senator was shooting a video blog for his site. Look for the appearance (and an interview with Jacob) to show up there (or on his Gather page) soon. Jacob asked Senator Bradley what he thought was stopping Congress from changing the way and day we vote — check out his answer:

The question “why do we vote on Tuesday?” spurs many more fundamental questions: Why is the vanishing voter epidemic sweeping America? Why does the United States lag behind nearly every democracy on Earth in voter turnout? Senator Bradley’s book tour is just getting started. Check his schedule to hear him speak about these and other issues. He’ll be stopping by The Daily Show, Tavis Smiley and Real Time with Bill Maher too, so tune in to hear our co-chair getting out the Why? on national TV.

Posted in Election Reform, General, Get Out The Why? | Comments Off

Senator John Edwards, now running hard for the Democratic presidential nomination, visited UCLA today for a rally in Bruin Plaza. The Road Team’s own Jacob Soboroff had a chance to catch up with him afterwards on the Kerckhoff (sic) Patio. Jacob shouldered his way to the front of the press pool in time to be the second-to-last question Edwards answered; the presidential hopeful didn’t have a chance to really dive into the topic beyond a general affirmation of making Election Day a holiday, but with a little luck this won’t be the last time we get the opportunity to put some questions to him.

Regarding the soundtrack to this particular clip: please refer all questions to Jacob. We try to control him, but it’s very difficult.

America is going to be looking hard at a handful of politicians over the next year or so (unless some calendar-happy state moves its primaries up even further). We’re going to do our best- beginning humbly with this clip- to make sure that election reform is a part of the conversation the nation has with these candidates. An Executive Branch with a real commitment to election reform could set the tone for change, and a major campaign that addresses this issue might remind people to pay attention to something we tend to talk about AFTER elections rather than before them.

Please join us. If a candidate is coming to your town or school- pop the question, and ask them their thoughts on election reform. We all might be surprised by some of the answers we get.

Posted in California, Election 2008, Election Reform, Get Out The Why?, National Holiday, Weekend voting | Comments Off

Because they are still crazy, Barnett and Jacob once again took in their own hardware for a TV appearance. Jacob uses the chance to give the viewer a little lesson in the tissue of beautiful illusion that TV studios drape over the everyday. Enjoy.

Barnett, your diligence is appreciated.

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Props to the Road Team for blagging their way into what looks like a real press conference. As we fall off to sleep watching CNN/Fox/what have you, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stands with his family on a verdant lawn. The Gubernator doesn’t think Election Day is the issue- he thinks a lack of excitement about politics is. A smooth and easy clip to mark the passing of another Election Tuesday…

ps If you can’t hear it, the Governor’s bon mot upon hearing Barnett’s follow-up question is, “Yes, we are moving into the weekend; joy joy!”

Posted in California, Election 2006, Election Reform, Get Out The Why?, National Holiday, Weekend voting | Comments Off

The (unstoppable) Road Team caught up with Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congresswoman Jane Harman at a rally for Phil Angelides in California. Senator Feinstein, a 14-year veteran and California’s senior Senator, wasn’t ready to come down for or against voting as a holiday. The team caught Congresswoman Harman- whose website is to be commended for its richness in substantive policy issues, by the way- at a better time, however, and she has a ton to say.

The Congresswoman mentions several touchpoints of election reform: public financing, reforming the Electoral College, making Election Day a holiday, and considering the lessons of several countries where she’s observed Sunday elections where it’s a big celebration everyone wears their finest duds. In addition to serving as a testament to the Congresswoman’s awareness of these issues, it’s interesting that once again someone has observed how interlinked many aspects of reform are. One needn’t wait for all the others, but focusing on any one area seems to make it easier to consider improving other aspects of the system.

Posted in California, Election Reform, Electoral College, Get Out The Why?, International elections, National Holiday | Comments Off

We’ve gotten some good comments on YouTube, and the Road Team was keen to respond to one from lucasderosa:

What you guys are doing is great. Your videos are well done and you handle yourselves well. The coolest thing about what you’re doing is that it shows that politicians aren’t as hard to interact with as one might think. Apparently you dont have to have ties to the press or any special clout to reserve a few minutes of their time, and I think demonstrating that is very important. It shows that anybody can be involved if you’re tenacious enough. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Also, do you think you could describe the process you went through to contact the people you have interviewed? Was it really as simple as showing up at the event with a camera and trying to get their attention? How difficult was it to get time to sit down with Mr. Kohl? Also, what inspired you guys to put this together?”

To which, our brave Road Team responds:

Thank you so much for your kind words and for checking out GOTW! We can’t take the credit for putting it together, for that you’ll have to talk to Mr. Wachtel and Ambassador Young. But we thank them for doing it just as you thank us! As far as getting the interviews, it’s the luck of the draw. Often times we just show up and wait for the official to arrive. In the case of Senator Kohl and Gov. Vilsack, we put an interview request in with their respective offices after telling them about the project. Just go out there and do what feels natural! While there’s an aspect to this project that some are calling “gotcha journalism,” we really don’t feel that’s the point. And fundamentally it’s for a great cause - increasing voter participation and turnout - so don’t feel guilty if you put someone on the spot!

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