Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
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DES MOINES, IA — Why Tuesday? Advisory Board member and YouTube News & Politics chief Steve Grove is here making sure Iowan voters get their videos uploaded to YouTube. We caught up for a bit in the Google/YouTube lounge in the convention center, and he posted this vlog to CitizenTube. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! |
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
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DES MOINES, IA — I just caught up with Tim Russert, moderator of NBC’s Meet The Press, at the Polk County Convention Complex here. Tomorrow Iowans will caucus for president - but in the past two elections only 6-7% of eligible voters have participated. I asked Russert why he thinks more candidates aren’t talking about election reform. (more…) |
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
DES MOINES, IA — Greetings from the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites on Merle Hay Road in Des Moines. Tom and I just arrived after a tasty meal at Bennigan’s next door… and a really turbulent flight from Houston (see photo).
While we’re here we’ll be reporting on the first balloting of the 2008 presidential election — the Iowa caucuses — and why some, including Why Tuesday? Advisory Board member Tova Andrea Wang, think they’re out of date.
In 2004, only 6% of eligible Iowans participated in the caucuses. In 2000, it was 6.8% — and that’s the high water mark for caucus participation nationwide. What’s up with that? The New York Times’ Jodi Kantor takes a stab at it this morning, as did Jennifer Jacobs for the Des Moines Register recently. Stay tuned here, to the HuffPost’s OffTheBus, and Rocketboom for our investigative video reports from the ground.
Monday, December 31st, 2007
Happy New Year! T-minus 24 hours until team Why Tuesday? is in the sky and on the way to Iowa for the caucuses. Watch for Why Tuesday? programming here, on the Huffington Post’s OffTheBus, on Rocketboom, and our Twitter and Flickr feeds in days ahead.
In the meantime, here’s a classic from the Why Tuesday? vault. If you’ve ever wondered what the heck the Iowa caucus is really all about, and are into animated stick figures, this video will really hit the spot:
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007
Students attending college in Iowa are in the middle of a political battle, and the New York Times has come out on their side. The Times Editorial Board calls out the “rhetorical” suppression of college voters by major candidates in making the case for protecting the voting rights of students.
The law in Iowa is crystal clear: students who attend school in the state are entitled to register to vote in the state as long they are not registered anywhere else. The two parties’ rules say registered voters may participate in caucuses in the precincts where they are registered. Students have the same right to do so as any other Iowan. But statements challenging their right to vote may intimidate some students into staying home.
Read the full editorial here.
For more
WT?BLOG Iowa Archive
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
I just logged onto the Yahoo! News homepage and what did I see? A photo from Johnston, Iowa of the Why Tuesday? horse-drawn carriage!
The photo was submitted through Yahoo’s You Witness News user-generated photo platform.
For a better look at the photo, shot by RD Gammon, click here. For our photo essay from the trip, click this link.
Thanks to Yahoo! News for spreading the word about Why Tuesday? and our trip to Iowa.
Friday, December 14th, 2007
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This week we arrived in Johnston, Iowa to cover the Des Moines Register presidential debates by horse-drawn carriage. This is first in a series of videos we’ll be putting up from the debate. Why did we show up in these 19th century wheels? Watch the video for the answer. (more…) |
Friday, December 14th, 2007
Good Friday morning to you. Team Why Tuesday? is thawing off after a two-day trip to Iowa for the Des Moines Register presidential debates. Thomas Macker, our Director of Photography, documented both our arrival in Johnston, Iowa by horse-drawn carriage, and general goings on at the Wednesday and Thursday at the Republican and Democratic debates, respectively.
Special thanks to the Erin Crawford of the Des Moines Register, Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic, Kate Phillips of the New York Times, Brian Lehrer of WNYC, Kevin Roderick of LAObserved, and Josh Levy of TechPresident for spreading the word about the fact that we showed up by horse-drawn carriage and why we did so. To hear me explain what we were doing in Iowa, listen to some or all of the 15-minute segment I did with Brian Lehrer on NPR’s WNYC Wednesday morning from Iowa.
Enjoy the photos. They’re in chronological order. Video to come soon. (more…)
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
JOHNSTON, IOWA — The difference between today and yesterday - Democrat and Republican respectively - can be likened to the difference between Led Zeppelin and Chamber music.
It is almost as if the increased media attention, influx of campaigners and heightened security are creating a heat bubble that is melting the ice off Iowa’s trees. The maelstrom and fervor were so intense that even Ray, the driver of our horse-drawn carriage, steered clear of the main entrance… for insurance reasons. It left me wondering about the candidates’ stances on liability insurance - now that I know their positions on health insurance. (more…)
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
JOHNSTON, IOWA — Back inside the Des Moines Reigster Democratic debate after taking some loops around the debate site in our horse and buggy… just like yesterday. Why are we doing this? Because in 1845, when the “Tuesday after the first Monday in November” was set as our voting day by Congress, this is how folks traveled. Why Tuesday? Here’s the answer. We don’t travel this way any more… so why do we vote on the same day set to make voting accessible for the largely agrarian society of 1845? (more…)
Why Tuesday? is an effort to make America’s democracy stronger through increased voter participation. We work to make election reform an issue that our politicians cannot afford to avoid.
