<nettime> US election: NYT editorial / candidates on crypto digest [x2]

["nettime's_election_monitor" <nettime@bbs.thing.net>]

sky_mykyta@corrs.com.au
     NYTimes.com Article: The Protest Vote 
Mick Souder <mick@webwhiteblue.org>
     US Prez candidates discuss privacy & encryption at WebWhiteBlue.org

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From: sky_mykyta@corrs.com.au
Subject: NYTimes.com Article: The Protest Vote 
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 22:55:51 -0500 (EST)

This article from NYTimes.com 
has been sent to you by Sky Mykyta sky_mykyta@corrs.com.au.

nettime

No matter which way people are voting, the mere fact that they will take
the time to vote is a good thing. In a country like the US, where the voter
turnout is dismal, it's great to see someone inspiring normally
disenfranchised people to feel that their votes can actually count.

My two cents :), 
Sky

Sky Mykyta
sky_mykyta@corrs.com.au

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The Protest Vote
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/30/opinion/30SAFI.html

October 30, 2000
ESSAY
By WILLIAM SAFIRE

WASHINGTON

 The Desperation Index, a reliable election indicator, shows the
Gore campaign rocketing up the desperation charts.

 Only yesterday, Joe Lieberman   after renewing his offer of
respects to America's most virulent anti-Semite   found nothing
wrong with a TV spot paid for by the N.A.A.C.P. that associates
George W. Bush with dragging a black man to death. While
Republicans condemn such below-the-belt ads by extremist
supporters, desperate Democrats accept all the racist or
senior-scaring help they can get.

 Nowhere is Democratic desperation more evident than in the
liberals' savaging of Ralph Nader. The same crowd that stood on
principle for Pat Buchanan's right to draw votes from Bush now
frantically accuses Nader of hypocrisy, egomania and unforgivable
spoilerism for daring to offer voters a chance to voice their
protest.

 Certainly the enthusiasm for Nader in "safe" Democratic states has
given disaffected liberals a place to go other than to Bush. But
let's take a closer look at the conventional wisdom as expressed by
Minnesota's Democratic chairman, Mike Erlandson: "I don't think
there are a lot of Bush votes hiding in the Nader vote."

 That's based on what happened in 1968, when George Wallace's
support "came home" to Hubert Humphrey in the final weeks. But
though the message of "not a dime's worth of difference" in major
parties is central to Nader's campaign, the nature of the protest
vote has changed. 

 I think the legion of liberal Nader- bashers is mistaken. I
suspect that at least one in three of those in the electorate now
leaning toward Nader would otherwise be voting for Bush. 

 Who are these right-wing protest voters? Among them are hard-hat
union types, frustrated at the support of Nafta by both Bush and
Gore and the fecklessness of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. With the Reform
Party split and the collapse of Buchanan's campaign, they have
gravitated to Nader; the more the liberals attack him, the more
that iso-conservatives are willing to overlook his far-out
greenishness. 

 Another segment of Nader's Republican support comes from
small-business owners and employees. They see both Republican and
Democratic leaders acquiescing in the most competition-crushing
mergers of corporate giants. Years ago, the G.O.P. was the champion
of trust-busting and the protector of diversity in the marketplace,
but now smaller entrepreneurs, mom- and-pop businesses and farmers
have no political home. Nader is their way of sending fat cats a
message. 

 Others on the right feel that their personal privacy is under
attack and neither major party gives a hoot. 

 They   on this particular subject, make that "we"   don't like
being crowded by ever-increasing government surveillance or stalked
by a growing army of Internet commercial snoops. Libertarian
conservatives worry about financial and academic records, as well
as medical records and pharmacy bills, being passed around by
conglomerated banks, insurance companies and H.M.O.'s. Personal
freedom is diminished when the most intimate secrets can be
monitored by employers and merchants. 

 Nader declares "the use and sale of Social Security numbers by
private firms and most government agencies should be banned." Gore
says so, too, but Clinton has waffled. Bush's Senate ally, New
Hampshire's Judd Gregg, is pushing a bill to exempt commercial
snooping firms from state laws that would protect citizens from the
sale of S.S.N.'s. Privacy advocates, long disillusioned by the
Democratic White House, were stunned at how easily Republican
leaders were manipulated by credit-agency lobbyists. 

 Protest movements grow when people doing a slow burn on specific
issues have no place else to go. Nader offers a healthy outlet for
outrage. 

 Contrary to Nader's claim that he's running against Tweedledum and
Tweedledee, Bush and Gore differ on plenty   taxation, education
reform, missile defense   but where they fail to compete, the
consumer advocate offers millions a way out of apathy. 

 Today the 66-year-old Nader drives desperate liberals up the wall
by draining more of "their" votes; tomorrow he may wipe the smirk
off conservative faces as he siphons off more votes loyal
Republicans presume to be "ours." 

 But the votes he gets are not any party's votes. Each one is a
voter's protest vote that says to major-party pols: don't take me
for granted.   
  &nbsp;    


The New York Times on the Web
http://www.nytimes.com

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Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 21:43:17 -0700
From: Mick Souder <mick@webwhiteblue.org>
Subject: US Prez candidates discuss privacy & encryption at WebWhiteBlue.org

Greetings members of Nettime-l:

I thought you all would be interested in the presidential
candidates' position on privacy and encryption.

Best Regards,

Mick Souder
//////////////////////////////////////////

Prez candidates discuss privacy & encryption at WebWhiteBlue.org

The presidential candidates have responded to a question about
encryption technology at the Web White & Blue Network, which is
hosting the 1st-Ever online presidential debate.

Question for 10/30/00:

What's your view on the use of encryption technology for protecting
the privacy of citizens and companies? Do you favor legislation
substantively easing export restrictions for strong encryption
technology or use of encryption technology on the Internet?
   Submitted from Ronin Developer of Slashdot
   through Web White & Blue 2000 (10/30/00)

Go to http://www.webwhiteblue.org/debate/2000-10-30/ and
scroll down to Question of the Day for the candidates' answers.
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  Mick Souder - Web White & Blue 2000 Outreach Team
  E-mail: mick@webwhiteblue.org
  Voicemail: 1-877-464-0029 - Toll Free

  Join thousands of WWB Participating Sites today.
  Web: http://www.webwhiteblue.org/participate
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