Greening-the-Vote Scorecard from EnviroWonk

For those of you wanting to put some green into your voting calculus for tomorrow's largest-ever day of caucuses and primaries (aka: Giga Tuesday), a couple of new crib-sheets appeared around the green blogsophere. Envirowonk, the new spinoff blog from the stalwart EcoGeek, was just launched last week and, so far it has been putting together some good, insightful posts. Additionally, The Good Human has put together the enviro platforms for Obama and Clinton. Read up. And if you can vote tomorrow, DO IT AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO DO IT!

Obama and Clinton Get Wonky w/o Any Ecopolicy

Last night's Democratic debate was certainly for the wonkish at heart. I found both of the candidates were rather sharp with the enunciation of their platforms, citing numbers, facts, figures, etc. They were not sharp, however, with the enunciation of their environmental policies. Their wasn't a single question asked of the two candidates about energy and/or environmental policy in throughout the whole thing. How could this be, especially in the all-things-eco Los Angeles, California? This is another in a series of debates sponsored by the coalition, Americans for Balanced Energy Choices. And of all the questions asked in the four debates, not a single one has addressed the politics of climate change. Last night, Mrs. Clinton briefly uttered the words "climate change", but only while paying tribute to John Edwards and thanking him for the issues he had fought for during his campaign.
Noteworthy quips from the debate:

“It did take a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush, and I think it will take a Clinton to clean up after the second.” -Clinton

“I was friends with Hillary Clinton before, I will be friends after” -Obama

“We HAVE a president who basically ran as the ‘CEO-MBA President’ and I am not too happy with the results.” -Clinton

“You can tell just by looking at us - you can tell we are not more of the same.” - [I'll let you imagine who said this one]

Caucusing on Giga Tuesday? Watch This Video

I'm sorry, but I really don't want two days in one week officially referred to as 'super.' This Sunday, I am hoping that the New England Patriots will beat the N.Y. Giants in the NFL's 'Super Bowl.' Then, just two days later, 20+ states will hold their presidential caucuses & primaries on what is often referred to as 'Super Tuesday.' But, because so many states have moved up their primary dates to attract more attention and increase voter participation, this will be the largest Super Tuesday ever, leading some pundits to refer to it as 'Super Duper Tuesday' or, even worse, 'Tsunami Tuesday.'

Personally, I think 'Tsunami Tuesday' has its obvious drawbacks. And I think 'Super Tuesday' is kind of played. I do not have a problem with days being super. However, labeling them super before they have even happened, just sets us up for disappointment. What if they aren't super at all? Alas, I concede that a name would be useful. My favorite? Giga Tuesday.

So, on Giga Tuesday 2008, I will be joining my neighbors in an exurban enclave of Larimer County, CO. I do not expect there to be a tremendous number of people, which is all the more reason for me to sharpen my micropolitical skills. And as a politologist, I am really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, my first choice has recently dropped out of the race, leaving me as officially undecided (though unofficially, decided). While I did not expect him to win, his platform had very strong environmental policy.

Want to know more about what the heck you are supposed to do in a caucus? Watch this clever, short and simple video that lays out the order of operations, what is expected of you, and what you should expect of the caucus.[Note: this video is produced by the Obama folks for the Colorado Caucus, but is applicable for any of Giga Tuesday's caucuses.

Map Key: Blue denotes Democratic-only caucuses (3), Red denotes Republican-only state conventions (2), and Purple represents states holding elections for both parties

Map Source: Wikipedia