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Politics
3rd Edition

by Ann DeLaney
Politics For Dummies®, 3rd Edition
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Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents at a Glance
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Part 1: Politics and You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CHAPTER 1: It’s Politics, Baby!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
CHAPTER 2: The Money-versus-Vote Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Part 2: Making Your Voice Heard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

CHAPTER 3: Be a Part of the Solution — Vote!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
CHAPTER 4: Contributing Your Time or Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
CHAPTER 5: Telling Politicians What’s on Your Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Part 3: Politics is a Team Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

CHAPTER 6: Partying with Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
CHAPTER 7: Taking Sides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
CHAPTER 8: Joining a Special Interest Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
CHAPTER 9: Getting Political Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Part 4: It’s All Marketing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

CHAPTER 10: Harry Handler Meets Carly Candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
CHAPTER 11: Selling the Candidates, Warts and All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
CHAPTER 12: Truth in Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
CHAPTER 13: Casting That Vote!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Part 5: Let the Campaigns Begin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

CHAPTER 14: Who Says Talk Is Cheap? (Where Your Contribution Goes). . . . . . . . . . 191
CHAPTER 15: For Whom the Campaign Polls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
CHAPTER 16: Dodging the Issues: What You Can Do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
CHAPTER 17: Campaigning for Your Vote. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
CHAPTER 18: Negative Campaigning: The Dark Side of Politics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
CHAPTER 19: The Money Thing: Is Reform Possible?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Part 6: Presidential Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

CHAPTER 20: Throwing Their Hats in the Ring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
CHAPTER 21: Getting the Party Started: National Party Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
CHAPTER 22: The Electoral College and the 2000 and 2016
Presidential Elections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
CHAPTER 23: Filling Some Really Big Shoes: Electing a President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Part 7: The Part of Tens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
CHAPTER 24: The Ten Commandments of Modern Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
CHAPTER 25: Ten Things to Teach Your Children About Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
CHAPTER 26: Ten Common Political Mistakes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
CHAPTER 27: Ten (or so) Quotable Quotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Appendix: State ID Voting Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What Is Politics?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Why You Need This Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
How to Use This Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
How This Book Is Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Part 1: Politics and You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Part 2: Making Your Voice Heard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Part 3: Politics Is a Team Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part 4: It’s All Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part 5: Let the Campaigns Begin! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part 6: Presidential Politics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part 7: The Part of Tens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Icons Used in This Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Where to Go from Here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

PART 1: POLITICS AND YOU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CHAPTER 1: It’s Politics, Baby! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Elected Politicians — a Quick Look. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Federal officials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
State officials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Local officials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Politics versus Government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Politics has spin doctors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The government has spokespeople. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
What Do You Want from Your Elected Officials?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

CHAPTER 2: The Money-versus-Vote Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The Factors behind Any Political Stance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Weighing public opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Counting the money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Money Makes the World Go ’Round. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Fundraising. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Leverage and money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Senate money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Hatred Is a Greater Motivator than Love. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Evil versus good. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
But who is the bad guy?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Your Stake in the Election. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Is the legislation good for you? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Does the legislation touch your life?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Table of Contents v
 PART 2: MAKING YOUR VOICE HEARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
CHAPTER 3: Be a Part of the Solution — Vote!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Should You Register to Vote?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Upsides and downsides of registering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Why Vote in Primaries?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Taking your chance to choose the candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Declaring your party affiliation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Do Elected Officials Care What You Think? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Your opinions are worth real money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Giving voters what they say they want. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

CHAPTER 4: Contributing Your Time or Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Donating Your Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Finding your niche. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Spending your time well. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Money Talks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Deciding who should get your money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Putting your wallet away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Knowing what to expect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Which Kind of Contributor Are You?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Party backers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Ideological givers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Kingmakers (and queenmakers). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Special interest groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

CHAPTER 5: Telling Politicians What’s on Your Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Reaching Out and Touching Your Representatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Town Meetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Putting It in Writing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
More sometimes means less. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Multiplying your opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Teamwork Is the Name of the Game. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Other officials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Recognized organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
The media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

PART 3: POLITICS IS A TEAM SPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

CHAPTER 6: Partying with Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Why We Have Only Two Parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
The big-tent theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Third parties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Independent candidates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

vi Politics For Dummies

 Departing from the party. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Voters value independence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Legislation requires cooperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Those Were the Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Television and the decline of party power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
The cost of campaigning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Contributors gain the upper hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Voters can be duped. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Straight-Ticket Voting versus Ticket Splitting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Political Parties Serve a Purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Ensuring a fair election. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Getting out the vote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Providing information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Amplifying your voice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Choosing the Candidates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Party nominees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Primaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
The role of ideology in candidate selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

CHAPTER 7: Taking Sides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Putting Parties in Their Place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Identifying by Political Party. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Registering as a Democrat or Republican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Asserting your independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Joining a third party. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Separating the Democrats from the Republicans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Running with the elephants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Joining the donkeys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Making Your Own Choice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Evaluating the platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Listening to the candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

CHAPTER 8: Joining a Special Interest Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Identifying Special Interest Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Enlisting Lobbyists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
What a good lobbyist does. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Special interests and the government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Making Political Contributions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Getting action with PACs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Contributing to nonlegislative candidates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
I’ll help you if you help me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Table of Contents vii

 Getting the Same Access as Special Interest Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Are Special Interest Groups Contributing Your Money? . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Finding out who contributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Local races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
State races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Federal races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

CHAPTER 9: Getting Political Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Understanding Politics on the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Government Websites versus Campaign Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Engaging with Elected Officials and Candidates Online. . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Visiting a website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Subscribing to an email list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Liking a Facebook page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Following a Twitter account. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Sample resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

PART 4: IT’S ALL MARKETING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

CHAPTER 10: Harry Handler Meets Carly Candidate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Handling a Campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Examining the profile of a political handler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Moving around within the party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Working for a common goal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Developing a Marketing Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Checking out the candidate’s appearance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Improving a candidate’s image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Identifying the message. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Responding to a Handler’s Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

CHAPTER 11: Selling the Candidates, Warts and All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Fixing the Warts: A Nip Here, a Tuck There. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Let’s get personal: Personal questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Just for the record: Officeholder record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Oops — I forgot about that: Illegal warts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
But I’m innocent!: Legal warts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Some professions are just wart-filled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Preparing for the Worst: Handlers Dig for Dirt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Beware of Your Opponent: Fending Off Attacks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Ignore the attack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Tell the rest of the story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Diffuse the wart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Take the offensive and attack first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Insist that candidates should always tell the truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

viii Politics For Dummies

 Highlighting a Candidate’s Beauty Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Celebrating a candidate’s upbringing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Making the most of a candidate’s parents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
How important are beauty marks?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

CHAPTER 12: Truth in Advertising. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Truth Plus Truth Doesn’t Always Equal Fact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Drawing a false conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
The art of set-up legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
The Media Can Help You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Getting the media analysis you need. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Hounding your news media: Review the ads and
get on the stick! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Whose Side Are the Media On, Anyway?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Taking the good with the bad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Acknowledging that there’s such a thing as being
too objective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
If You’re on Your Own. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Listening to neutral parties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Learning the truth yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Don’t Let Either Side Manipulate You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Beware of straw men or appeals to emotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
If you don’t want to be manipulated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
It’s Go-Time: Demanding Answers to Your Questions
from Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

CHAPTER 13: Casting That Vote!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Reach Out and Ask Someone: Others Can Help You Decide . . . . . . . 181
Voting by party. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
If Frank likes this guy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Checking out endorsements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Making Up Your Own Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Gathering information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Looking to the campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Making your choice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Knowing when to make your decision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

PART 5: LET THE CAMPAIGNS BEGIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

CHAPTER 14: Who Says Talk Is Cheap? (Where Your

Contribution Goes). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Campaigning at the Local Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Going door-to-door. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Alternative contacts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Table of Contents ix
 National and Statewide Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
You have to see it (on TV) to believe it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Buying the time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Getting Out the Vote: Just Do It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Where Your Money Won’t Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Campaigns Never Say, “Enough!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Fundraising wars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Looking beyond the money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

CHAPTER 15: For Whom the Campaign Polls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

The Role of Polls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Who gets polled?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Who polls? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Polls Are Expensive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Size of the sample. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Length of the poll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Benchmark Polls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Knowing what to expect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Learning from the pollsters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Telling pollsters which arguments p ­ ersuade you. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Is the Candidate’s Message Getting Through? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

CHAPTER 16: Dodging the Issues: What You Can Do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Tough-versus-Trivial Issues in a Campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
To win, a candidate must build support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Proposing change is risky: I’ll take vanilla instead . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Sticking to symbolic issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Using Diversions to Avoid Risks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Dodging with diversions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Diversions may not build support, but they don’t
jeopardize it, either. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Stick to Your Guns! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Speaking up at local forums. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
Getting help from the media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Completing candidate questionnaires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
When all else fails, don’t forget the direct approach . . . . . . . . . . . 224

CHAPTER 17: Campaigning for Your Vote. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Launching a Direct Mail Campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Freedom from scrutiny. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Advantage of the delayed reaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Target the right voters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Why is your mailbox full of political mail? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

x Politics For Dummies

 And Now a Word from Our Sponsors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
When and how candidates advertise on TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Are you a target? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Attack of the Killer Phone Calls!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

CHAPTER 18: Negative Campaigning: The Dark Side

of Politics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
The More Things Change . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Slinging mud in the 1800s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Joining the TV generation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Two Important Principles of Campaign Communications. . . . . . . . . . 239
Candidates try to make you like them. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Candidates try to make you dislike the opponent . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Separating the Good from the Bad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Above-the-belt ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Below-the-belt ads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
Selling Negativity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Product comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Laughter covers faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Why Use Negative Advertising?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Countering Negative Campaigns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250
Preventing negative campaigning from d ­ iscouraging
good candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Give ’em a pat on the back. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

CHAPTER 19: The Money Thing: Is Reform Possible?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Campaigns Cost Too Much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Contributors get better access to politicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Voters end up paying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Campaign Finance Reform. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Federal campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
State campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Getting More Good People Involved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
You Can Improve the System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .260

PART 6: PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

CHAPTER 20: Throwing Their Hats in the Ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Welcome to Iowa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Welcome to New Hampshire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Being the first. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Who goes to Iowa and New Hampshire?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Getting off to a good start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Table of Contents xi
 Staying in the Spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Getting a bounce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
The media can also hurt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
A day at the races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Conducting Straw Polls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Introducing the Nominees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

CHAPTER 21: Getting the Party Started: National

Party Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Sending Delegates to the National Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Conventions don’t choose presidential nominees. . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
What happens at the national conventions?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
The Politics of the Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Creating the right effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Concentrating partisan energies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Playing Your Role as a Voter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

CHAPTER 22: The Electoral College and the 2000 and 2016
Presidential Elections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Explaining How the Electoral College Affected the
2000 and 2016 Elections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Examining the Electoral College’s Messy History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Looking at other controversial elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Gauging the impact of the electoral college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Arguing for the electoral college. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Arguing against the electoral college. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Changing the Electoral College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

CHAPTER 23: Filling Some Really Big Shoes:

Electing a President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Contributing to the Nominee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Shaping a Candidate’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Identifying issues in your region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Keeping candidates abreast of change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Acknowledging that the primary message may not
be the final message. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Acquiring the Information You Need to Vote for President . . . . . . . . 300
The media loves a presidential campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Turning to nontraditional media: Can we talk?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
The Electoral College and You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
The road to 270 electoral votes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
The candidate versus the party. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

xii Politics For Dummies

 A Game of Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
The game plan: Vote, and vote for me! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
You are the target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Volunteer in a presidential campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

PART 7: THE PART OF TENS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

CHAPTER 24: The Ten Commandments of Modern Politics. . . . . . 313

All Politics Is Local . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
You Can’t Beat Somebody with Nobody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Dance with the One That Brung Ya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Never Say Never . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
The Three Most Important Ingredients in Politics: Money,
Money, and Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
The Best Defense Is a Good Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
You’re Never Too Far Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Most Political Wounds Are Self-Inflicted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

CHAPTER 25: Ten Things to Teach Your Children

About Politics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Voting Isn’t Only Your Right — It’s Your Duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Public Service Is a Good and Honorable Profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Never Pin Your Future to the Outcome of the Next Election . . . . . . . 318
Never Trust Anyone Who Lies, Including a Politician. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Democracy Is the Best System of Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Avoiding Politics Makes You More to Blame for Its
Failures, Not Less. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
Learn the Facts and Form Your Own Opinions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
You Have to Wait ’til 18 to Vote, but You Don’t Have
to Wait ’til 18 to Help Others Vote Wisely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Politicians Are Just Like the Rest of Us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
When Politicians Make You Promises, Make Sure
You Want What They’re Promising. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

CHAPTER 26: Ten Common Political Mistakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Believing That Anything Is Secret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Giving a Reporter an Interview “Off the Record” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Failing to Answer an Opponent’s Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Promising Not to Run for Reelection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Not Taking a Poll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Taking a Poll and Ignoring the Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Table of Contents xiii

 Not Knowing When to Retire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Believing That Public Officials Can Have a Private Life . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Thinking That the Federal Treasury Is Your Piggy Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Failing to Follow the Strict Letter of the Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

CHAPTER 27: Ten (or so) Quotable Quotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

On Politics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
On Being President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Did I Really Say That? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
On Participation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
On the Press. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

APPENDIX: STATE ID VOTING REQUIREMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . 331

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

xiv Politics For Dummies

Introduction
W elcome to Politics For Dummies, 3rd Edition.

Like many older women who grew up in a traditional two-parent family with a
mother who never worked outside the home, I was taught that a lady was men-
tioned in the newspaper when she was born, when she married, and when she
died — and certainly at no other time. Politics wasn’t a topic that was discussed
in our home at the dinner table. I think my parents voted, but I couldn’t tell you
how, and I know they never went to a fundraiser for a candidate or volunteered for
a campaign.

When I became active in politics and began appearing in the press and on televi-
sion with some regularity, my mother wondered where she and my father had
gone wrong. What I had discovered, to my parents’ dismay, was that politics
wasn’t all that complicated and actually could be fun. It could also be tough, even
dirty and nasty at times, but winning and being part of something bigger than
yourself bring a tremendous sense of satisfaction and control, even if your only
involvement is to vote for the candidate of your choice. You’re exercising your
rights, and the candidates have to consider your views. You are in control!

What Is Politics?
What exactly is politics? That depends on who’s doing the defining. Some people
use the word politics as an expletive. Suppose you’ve just seen a particularly vicious
negative political advertisement on TV, where one candidate challenged the hon-
esty, patriotism, or parentage of the opposing candidate. You would not be alone
if you dismissed the ad by saying, “That’s just politics.”

Many of us use the phrase “That’s just politics” to express our displeasure with
everything we see wrong with the US political system. We get disgusted with spe-
cial legislation that gives certain types of people tax benefits. We dislike seeing
officials get favorable treatment from regulatory agencies for constituents or
contributors.

Introduction 1
 Many of us are offended by Congress’s generosity to itself (pensions, free lunches,
and golf trips from lobbyists). We disapprove of members of Congress saying one
thing and voting for another (such as supporting term limits but not retroac-
tively). And we tend to condemn these activities with our disgust: “That’s just
politics!”

It may be “just politics,” but after you learn the ropes, you can have an impact on
politics. You can find out how candidates stand on issues of importance to you.
You can make elected officials listen to your concerns and those of your neighbors.
You can make a difference!

Politics is more than just what is wrong with our system. Politics is our system. It
orders our lives. It determines who wins and who loses when governments make
decisions. It determines whether the future will be brighter or bleaker for our
children.

Here’s just a sample of the many things that politics determines:

»» Who serves in office and for how long

»» The policies our governments enact
»» Who wins and who loses when groups compete for resources or favorable
legislation

»» Who pays taxes, how much, and what kind

»» Whether a landfill opens near your neighborhood despite your concerns
about having potentially toxic waste close to where your children play

»» What your children are taught in school, what tests they take, and what scores
they must achieve to graduate

»» How much you pay to send your children to a state-supported college and
whether student loans are available to help you pay the cost

»» When your garbage is collected and what items are accepted

From the sublime to the ridiculous, politics is everywhere!

Regardless of how you define it, politics is the glue keeping our entire society
together and determining the relationships of all the members of that society. You
can’t avoid politics. You can refuse to participate in the process by not registering
or voting, but the process will still affect you and your family every day of your
lives, in ways you know and in ways you can’t imagine.

2 Politics For Dummies

 You can’t avoid it, no matter how far you try to bury your head in the sand. So, you
may as well find out enough about politics to understand what’s really happening.
As soon as you understand politics, you can act to improve your position in those
decisions that have an impact on you, your family, and your neighborhood. Who
knows, with Politics For Dummies, 3rd Edition, at your side, you may decide to run
for president of the United States or at least for school board or county or city
council. Anyway, you can make politics work for you.

Why You Need This Book

Americans have been taught to think that politics is something that decent people
don’t know anything about and certainly don’t participate in. The combination of
late-night talk shows and jokes at the expense of politicians has convinced most
people that politics is dirty, sleazy, and incomprehensible to normal people.

Most people will never run for office. They’ll never work in a political campaign or
directly give money to a political party or to a candidate. A substantial number of
people in the United States, more than one-half of eligible voters, will either never
register to vote or won’t vote regularly. Most adults know little or nothing about
politics, but they’re not to blame. The process by which people serve in elected
office, and what they do when they get there, remains a mystery to most. What-
ever meager attempts are made to teach civics in schools are limited to how a bill
becomes a law and the like. Schools make little if any effort to prepare students to
understand politics.

This book can help you understand what’s going on, how people are trying to
influence or manipulate you, and what you can do about it. Whether you like it or
not, politics affects your life, for better or worse, in many different ways. ­Wouldn’t
you like to have a voice in these decisions that have a direct effect on your life? You
have opinions on these issues. Those opinions should be considered before such
decisions are made. Because you can’t avoid politics, you may as well understand
it and make it work for you.

The key to understanding politics is to realize that it isn’t all that complicated.
Selling a candidate isn’t really much different from selling a product, any
product — even deodorant! The words the media uses on the nightly news and
never bothers to define — such as caucuses, primaries, pollsters, and political action
committees — are just jargon.

This book tells you what really happens, starting from when you register to vote.
It helps you sift through the many conflicting messages you see and hear in the
media and from the campaigns. Then you can vote for the candidate who is right
for you — the one you can trust with important decisions that affect your life.

Introduction 3
 I hope that this book will peel away the layers of misperception and distrust so
that, after you understand politics, you can also understand how politics can work
for you. Who knows? As soon as you understand what’s going on, you may decide
that politics can be fun, even as a spectator sport!

How to Use This Book

This book is meant to be a reference that you can take off the shelf whenever you
have questions about what’s happening politically. You can read it through from
cover to cover, if you like, and if your social life is at an unusual lull. Politics For
Dummies, 3rd Edition, is designed to answer your questions by easy reference to
the table of contents, the index, the icons, and the sidebars. As your questions
arise, you can find exactly what you want to know without having to read the
entire book.

This book answers the questions most frequently asked by intelligent people who
have avoided the perils of politics to date. If you have little or no knowledge of
politics, don’t be embarrassed. You’re like most people, and this book can help you
understand and make politics work for you. If you have some knowledge and want
to increase it, this book is the vehicle to do so.

How This Book Is Organized

Each chapter attempts to answer a frequently asked question about politics. The
chapters are organized into parts, each of which covers an area of politics. Here’s
a summary of what you will find in each part.

Part 1: Politics and You

This part is all you need for intelligent cocktail party conversation to demonstrate
that you’re in the know and taking the first step in any kind of political activity.

Part 2: Making Your Voice Heard

In Part 2, I tell you how to communicate with the big shots as well as how to start
changing the world as we know it by becoming a political player. Here, you can
find out how to start getting yourself involved in politics. The last chapter opens
up the world of politics on the Internet. Politics is one of the top three topics on
the Internet, so whatever your political beliefs, there’s a website out there for you.

4 Politics For Dummies

Part 3: Politics Is a Team Sport
Part 3 discusses why the United States has only two major parties and all sorts of
minor parties and independent candidates. It tells you some of the differences
between Democrats and Republicans, how to become a member of a political
party, and what happens when you do. Are you part of a special interest? This
chapter tells you what special interest groups are, how to join one, and how to
make them work for you.

Part 4: It’s All Marketing

In Part 4, you find out how a campaign introduces and sells the candidates, and
you see how to separate the truth from the advertising run by the campaigns. All
this should help you choose which candidate you want to vote for.

Part 5: Let the Campaigns Begin!

This part talks about campaigns at the local, state, and national levels. Find out
where the money goes and where the special interests are. The parties also want
to know what you think about everything under the sun, so I include a chapter
telling you about all those polls that the parties — and the media — like so much.
Then I talk about the issues that candidates and parties don’t want to discuss in
public because you might not like what they have to say. This part also explores
the dark side of politics — the whys and wherefores behind negative campaigning
and the reforms needed for politics to clean up its act.

Part 6: Presidential Politics

Part 6 covers the presidential campaigns: from the Iowa caucuses to the national
party conventions to the electoral college. Turn here to find out what actually goes
into electing a president.

Part 7: The Part of Tens

Part 7 is the famous For Dummies part that’s all lists. Here, I’ve included the ten
things you need to teach your kids or yourself about politics, the ten command-
ments of politics, and, of course, the ten most common political mistakes, just so
that you can see whether the latest candidate might have figured out a new way to
screw up.

Introduction 5
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Inventors of gas apparatus should note that the municipal authorities
of Brussels have decided upon holding a competition, with a view to
ascertain the best means of using gas for heating and cooking
purposes. A large sum is to be offered in prizes to the successful
competitors. Apparatus for trial must be forwarded not later than
September next, and all particulars regarding the matter may be
obtained from the chief engineer, M. Wybauw, Rue de l’Etuve,
Brussels.
In the island of Skye, large deposits of the very useful mineral called
diatomite have recently been found. Under the German name of
kieselguhr, this absorbent earth has been extensively used in the
manufacture of dynamite, which consists of nitro-glycerine rendered
more safe for handling by admixture with this porous body. It is also
used as a non-conducting compound for coating the exterior of
steam-pipes and boilers, as a siliceous glaze for pottery, for the
manufacture of silicate paints, and for many minor purposes. In this
particular deposit the varieties of diatoms are singularly few, only
sixteen species of these wonderful microscopic organisms being
represented. The deposit is estimated to yield a total of between one
and two hundred tons.
At a recent meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Dr A. B.
Griffiths read a most instructive paper on ‘The Effect of Ferrous
Sulphate in destroying the Spores of Parasitic Fungi.’ The value of
this salt—the common ‘green vitriol’ of commerce—as a plant-food
has long ago been established; but Dr Griffiths points out the
important antiseptic property it possesses in destroying certain low
forms of plant-life. As a preventive of potato disease, it is most
effectual, although the spores of that fungus possess such vitality
that they may be kept as dry dust for eight months without losing
their power for mischief. Dr Griffiths also notes that in damp warm
weather, the potato disease is actually encouraged by the use of
potash manures. He advocates the treatment of manure with a weak
solution of the iron salt before its application to the land. Wheat when
treated with the sulphate is rendered proof against mildew.
A clever method of damascening metals by electrolysis is described
in a French technical journal. The process consists of two distinct
operations, and is based on the well-known fact, that when two
copper plates are hung in a bath of sulphate of copper and
connected with the opposite poles of a battery, a transfer of metal
from one to the other will take place. In the case before us, a copper
plate is covered with a thin layer of insulating material, as in the
etching process, and this is drawn upon with an etching needle so as
to lay bare the metal beneath. This is now submitted to the action of
the electric current, so that the metal is eaten away to a certain
depth in the exposed parts. The plate is next washed with acid, to
remove all traces of oxide of copper in the bitten-in lines, and is then
transferred to another bath by which metallic silver or nickel is
deposited in the etched parts, with the result that the sunk lines are
ultimately completely filled with the new metal. When the plate is
relieved of its waxy coating and is polished, it is impossible to say
whether or not the beautiful inlaid appearance has been produced by
a mechanical process or by skilled handiwork.
Two remarkable finds of old coins have lately occurred—one at
Milverton, a suburb of Leamington; and the other at Aberdeen. In the
first case, some labourers were digging foundations, when they
found a Roman amphora, which they immediately smashed to
ascertain its contents. It contained nearly three hundred coins in
silver and copper. These were of very early date, and in a state of
excellent preservation. The Aberdeen treasure trove came to light in
excavating Ross’s Court, one of the oldest parts of the city. Here the
labourers found a bronze urn filled with a large number of silver
coins. These coins also are well preserved. They are all English, and
are mostly of the reigns of Edward I. and Edward II. Some of these
coins are of extreme rarity, and the discovery has great antiquarian
interest.
The largest installation of the electric light, worked from a central
point, which this country has yet seen has been recently completed
at the Paddington terminus of the Great Western Railway. The lights,
which are equivalent to thirty thousand ordinary gas jets, are
distributed between the Paddington passenger and goods stations,
the ‘Royal Oak,’ and Westbourne Park Stations, the terminus hotel,
and all the various offices, yards, and approaches to the railway
Company’s premises. The district covers no fewer than sixty-seven
acres of ground, and is one mile and a half long. The two Gordon
dynamos which are used to generate the current weigh forty-five
tons each, and give sufficient power to serve four thousand one
hundred and fifteen Swan glow lamps, each of twenty-five candle-
power; ninety-eight arc lamps, each of three thousand five hundred
candle-power; and two of twelve thousand candle-power each. The
current is kept on day and night, except for a few hours on Sunday
morning, and each individual lamp is under separate control by a
switch, so that it can be turned off and on just like a gas jet. Every
detail has been well thought out, and the vast scheme is a success
in every way. We understand that the contractors, the Telegraph
Maintenance and Construction Company, have undertaken to supply
the light at the same price as would have been charged for gas
lamps giving the same light-value.
From a paper read by Mr C. Harding before the Royal Meteorological
Society on ‘The Severe Weather of the Past Winter,’ we learn that
the cold lately experienced has been of the most exceptional
character. The persistency with which frost continued for long
periods was quite remarkable. In south-west England, there was not
a single week from October to the end of March in which the
temperature did not fall below the freezing-point; and in one town in
Hertfordshire, frost occurred on the grass on seventy-three
consecutive nights. Since the formation of the London Skating Club,
nearly sixty years ago, the past season has been the only one in
which skating has been possible in each of the four months
December to March. We therefore must note that we have just
passed through an unusually severe season.
Fresh fruit from the antipodes, of which two large consignments have
recently reached London, is now being daily sold to eager
purchasers in the Australian fruit-market at the Indian and Colonial
Exhibition. Grapes, apples, pears, and other fruits, in splendid
condition, and with their flavour unaltered by their long separation
from their parent stems, can now be conveyed by the shipload,
packed in cool chambers, in the same way that meat is imported
from the same distant lands. The success of the enterprise opens up
a wide field of promise to those in temperate lands who have been
dazzled by the reports of travellers as to the luscious nature of
foreign fruits, which hitherto have been quite out of reach of stay-at-
home Britons. We seem to be fast coming to the time when fairy
tales will be considered tame and uninteresting, from being so far
eclipsed by current events.
A correspondent of the Times notes a most important means of
escape from suffocation by smoke, a fatality by which many lives are
lost annually. He points out that if a handkerchief be placed beneath
the pillow on retiring to rest so as to be within easy reach of the
hand, it can, in case of an alarm of fire, be readily dipped in water
and tied over the mouth and nostrils. As an amateur fireman, he has
gone through the densest smoke protected in that manner, and he
alleges that such a respirator will enable its wearer to breathe freely
in an otherwise irrespirable atmosphere.
Professor Dewar lately exhibited at the Royal Institution, London, the
apparatus he employs for the production of solid oxygen. If we refer
to the physical text-books of only three or four years back, we find
oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen described as permanent gases, for
no one had ever produced either in any other form. At length all three
had to give way before scientific research, and they were by special
appliances reduced to the liquid state. Professor Dewar is the first
experimenter who has taken the further step of producing one of
these gases in a solid form. His method consists in allowing liquid
oxygen to expand into a partial vacuum, when the great absorption
of heat which accompanies the operation causes the liquid to
assume a solid state. It is said to resemble snow in appearance, with
a temperature greatly below the freezing-point of water. It is believed
that a means of producing such a degree of cold will be of great
service to experimental chemistry.
Mr W. Thomson, F.R.S.E., has devised a new process for
determining the calorific power of fuel by direct combustion in
oxygen, which promises to supersede, by reason of its greater
accuracy, the methods hitherto in use. The process consists in
placing a gramme of the coal or fuel to be tested in a platinum
crucible covered with an inverted glass vessel. The whole
arrangement is placed under water in a suitable receptacle; and the
fuel, burnt in oxygen, burns away in a very few minutes, giving off
much heated gas, which escapes through the water. The
temperature of the water, compared with its temperature before the
operation, gives the data upon which the heating power of the coal
can be calculated. The question of heat-value in fuel is of course one
of first importance to railway Companies and other large consumers
of coal. It is, too, in a minor way of importance to householders, who
often find, by painful experience, the little heat-value of the fuel
which has been shot into their cellars. If coal-merchants were to
furnish some guarantee based on a scientific test as above
described, they would find it to their own profit, as well as to the
advantage of their customers.
We do not hear very much in these days of mummy wheat and
barley, but many people firmly believe that the seeds of both plants
found with Egyptian mummies, and supposed to be three or four
thousand years old, will sprout if put in the ground. A few years ago,
such wheat was commonly sold as a curiosity; and we believe that
many purchasers succeeded in raising a small crop from it.
Professor Bentley, who has recently commenced a series of lectures
on the Physiology of Plants, asserts most emphatically that no grains
which with certainty have been identified as contemporaneous with
the deposit of the mummified corpse, have ever come to life. In
cases where the so-called mummy wheat has germinated, it has
been introduced into the coffin shortly before, or at the time of
discovery of the body. Professor Bentley does not name a limit to the
time during which seeds retain their vitality, but he says that very few
will germinate after being three years old.
Dr Kosmann of Breslau has designed a safety cartridge for use in
fiery mines, but it has not yet passed the ordeal of practical
employment. It depends for its efficiency upon the sudden evolution
of a large volume of hydrogen gas, which is brought about by the
action of dilute acid upon finely divided zinc. The ‘cartridge’ consists
of a glass cylinder pinched into a narrow tube at the centre, so that
interiorly it is divided into two compartments. One of these contains
the powdered zinc, and the other the dilute acid, the passage
between them being closed by a rubber cork. The borehole into
which it is inserted is first of all made gas-tight by a lining of clay;
then the cartridge is put in position, with an iron rod in connection
with it so placed that, when struck with a hammer from the outside of
the hole, it will drive in the rubber cork, and so bring the acid into
contact with the zinc. We shall be interested to hear how the method
answers in practice.
 JACK, THE BUSHRANGER.
AN AUSTRALIAN REMINISCENCE.
Reading in your Journal (writes a correspondent) an article headed,
‘A Bushranger Interviewed,’ recalls to my memory a strange incident
which occurred some years ago to my own brother, when on his way
from Sydney to the gold-fields, and for the accuracy of which I can
vouch.
At the time of his arrival in Australia, the country was in a state of
panic: a reign of terror existed, caused by the daring outrages
committed on parties on the journey to and from the diggings.
Robbery with violence, escorts shot down, and large consignments
of gold carried off, were of daily occurrence. The bush was infested
by a gang of desperate bushrangers, whose leader, under the
cognomen of ‘Jack,’ seemed to bear a charmed life. For years he
had evaded all the efforts made to capture him, though the military
scoured the bush. No sooner was an outrage perpetrated, than all
trace of the perpetrators was lost, as if the ground had swallowed
them. He had a perfect knowledge of the most secret movements of
the parties he attacked. He seemed ubiquitous, outrages occurring in
such rapid succession and far apart. Such an air of mystery hung
about him, that a superstitious feeling mingled with the moral terror
he inspired. He was represented by some persons who had seen
him, as a fine powerful-looking man, with nothing forbidding in his
appearance.
Even the mad thirst for gold could not induce the bravest persons to
undertake the journey alone. The gold-seekers travelled in large
cavalcades, well armed, and determined to fight for their lives and
property; one of these parties my brother joined. He was a fine
handsome young fellow, all fun and love of adventure, and he soon
became a general favourite. The ‘track’—for there were no roads at
that time—ran for the greater distance through the bush, some parts
of which were so dense as scarcely to admit daylight. Every man
was well armed. My brother had brought with him a first-class
revolver, purchased in London. This he kept with other valuables
carefully hidden on his person, his other belongings being stowed
away in one of the wagons. When they bivouacked for the night,
care was taken that it should be in an open space, where a good
look-out could be kept, to make sure against a sudden surprise. The
wagons were placed in the middle, sentries posted, and scouts
placed so that the flight of a bird or the fall of a leaf could not pass
unnoticed. All were on the qui vive. For some days all went well,
nothing unusual or alarming occurring. They were then well into the
bush, and consequently, if possible more vigilant, believing that even
a mouse could not intrude itself amongst them.
One morning it was found that, during the night, they had been, spite
of all their vigilance, mysteriously and unaccountably joined by a
stranger, who stood in their midst as if one of themselves. No one
could imagine how or whence he came, and utter astonishment
prevailed. He was a fine portly man, from thirty-five to forty years of
age, with an open, prepossessing countenance and good address—
one who, under other circumstances, would have been looked upon
as an acquisition to the party. Not in the least taken aback or
abashed by the scant welcome he received or the undisguised
surprise his presence created, he came forward boldly, and told a
most plausible story, to the effect that he was a stranger making his
way to the gold-fields, that, notwithstanding the stories he had heard
in Sydney of ‘Jack’ and his comrades, he had ventured so far alone;
but as he got farther into the bush he lost heart, and determined to
join the first party he met.
It looked strange that he had no luggage of any kind, not even
provisions, or anything to indicate that he was bound for a long
journey. He made no attempt to account for his mysterious
appearance, entered into the arrangements of the cavalcade, and
made himself quite at home. Every man amongst them, with the
exception of my brother, believed that no one but ‘Jack’ himself could
have so taken them by surprise, the general belief being, that it could
only be from personal experience the terrible bushranger derived the
perfect knowledge he displayed when making his raids.
The party agreed that the wisest course would be to await the
progress of events, watch his every movement, and let him see that
they were prepared to sell their lives dearly, if driven to do so.
The stranger seemed to have an unlimited supply of money, and to
be generous about it, paying his way freely. He took at once to my
brother, and the liking was mutual; in diggers’ parlance, they became
mates, chummed, walked, and smoked together. My brother found
him a well-informed, agreeable companion, a vast improvement on
their rough associates; and he seemed thoroughly to enjoy the
society of the jovial young Irish gentleman. A sincere friendship
sprung up between them, notwithstanding the disparity in years.
The other members of the party became very anxious, fearing the
man would take advantage of my brother’s unsuspicious, trusting
nature to obtain information that would be useful to him when
forming his plans for the attack which was hourly expected, in fact
looked upon as imminent. Nor were their fears allayed when, after a
little, he would leave the beaten track and walk into the bush,
remaining away for hours, and returning at the most unexpected
times and places; showing a thorough knowledge of the bush and all
its intricacies and short-cuts, quite inconsistent with the story he had
told on joining.
One thing struck my brother as strange, but without exciting any
suspicion on his part. When walking together, he would suddenly
stand, become quite excited, and say: ‘Oh, it was here such an
outrage occurred.’ ‘It was on the spot on which we are standing that
the escort was shot down and a large consignment of gold carried
off. They did fight like demons.’ He seemed to take the greatest
pleasure in giving minute details of the different outrages as they had
occurred, and always spoke as if he had been an eye-witness. But
so thorough was my brother’s belief in his new friend, that even this
did not shake his faith.
When within a few days of the journey’s end, the stranger suddenly
and quite unexpectedly declared his intention of parting company.
He offered no explanation as to his reason for doing so, though all
through he had seemed anxious to impress it on them that he
intended to go the entire way to the diggings with them. No
questions were asked.
After a general and hearty leave-taking, which, however, did not
inspire much confidence, as they were still within range of a possible
attack, he asked my brother to take a last walk with him, and led the
way into the bush farther than he had ever brought him before, and a
long distance from the beaten track. The first words the stranger said
were: ‘Mate, don’t you carry a revolver?’
The answer was: ‘Yes, and a first-class one. Not such as is got out
here. I brought it from home.’
‘Show it to me,’ said the stranger; ‘I love a real good weapon;’ and
without the slightest hesitation, my brother handed him the revolver,
which he examined carefully, and saw that the chambers were
loaded. He remarked that it was the ‘prettiest weapon’ he had
handled for a long time.
He walked a few steps in advance, and turning round suddenly, he
presented the revolver at my brother’s head, calling out in a
commanding tone, ‘Stand!’ his countenance so changed as scarcely
to be recognised.
At last my brother felt that he stood face to face with the terrible
bushranger, but did not lose his presence of mind.
For a moment there was a profound silence, first broken by the
stranger saying: ‘Is there anything on earth to prevent my blowing
out your brains with your own weapon, placed in my hands of your
own free-will? The wild bush round us, I know its every twist and
turn. The man is not living who could track my footsteps through its
depths, where I alone am lord and master. Speak, man! What is
there to prevent me?’
With a throbbing heart and a quickened pulse my brother answered:
‘Nothing but your sense of honour.’
The man’s face brightened, and his voice resumed its friendly tone,
and handing back the revolver, he said; ‘We stand now on equal
footing. You hold my life in your hands, as I held yours a moment
ago. Yes, boy; and your own fortune too. But I trust you, as you
trusted me. I would not hurt a hair of your head, and I have spared
others for your sake. How, you will never know; but they owe you a
deep debt of gratitude. You are a noble-hearted fellow; and through
the rest of my stormy life, I will look back with pleasure on the time
we have passed together. But, mate, you are the greatest fool I ever
met. I brought you here to-day to give you a lesson, which I hope
you will bear in mind. You are going amongst a rough, lawless crew;
never, as long as you live, trust any man as you have trusted me to-
day. Where you are bound for, your revolver will be your only true
friend; never let it out of your own keeping, to friend or foe. You are
far too trusting. There was not a man but yourself amongst those
from whom I have just parted who did not believe from the moment I
joined that I was Jack the bushranger. Well, mate, I am not going to
tell you who or what I am, or how or why I came amongst you; but of
this rest assured, that you have no truer friend. You will never know
what I have done for your sake.—Now, mate, good-bye for ever. We
will never meet again in this world, and it is best for you it should be
so.’ Then leading him back to the track by which he could rejoin his
party, he wrung my brother’s hand, turned and walked quickly into
the bush, leaving no doubt upon my brother’s mind that the friend he
had so loved and trusted was indeed the dreaded bushranger.
They never did meet again. My brother came home to die; and
unless my memory deceives me, Jack was shot dead in a skirmish
with the military.
THE BIRDS AT SOUTH KENSINGTON.
South Kensington has of late years been so inseparably identified
with Art, that it will seem natural to the readers of this article for Art to
form its subject; but it will probably surprise the frequenters of these
buildings to be asked to bend their steps towards the Natural History
Department—which one naturally supposes devoted to scientific
objects—to examine works of art quite equal in their way to any to be
found in the building devoted ostensibly to that purpose.
Many must have been struck by the artistic and natural grouping of
the birds, with their nests and young, in imitation of the surroundings
they frequent while living. How much more one is impressed with the
beauty of the creatures, when one sees them arranged in the
positions they assume in a state of nature, than when placed in the
old-fashioned style, mounted on boards or badly imitated stumps of
trees! Justly, this admirable grouping calls forth exclamations of
delight from the beholder; yet there is a fact connected with this
artistic grouping that is as well worthy of the admiration of the visitor
as the scientific facts here intended to be represented.
The surrounding of each of these nests is a work of art in itself,
constructed, with the most painstaking regard to accuracy of detail,
by a lady, whose name, though not appearing in this connection, is
not unknown to fame. The sods—if the bird be a ground-builder—are
dug up with the nest and surroundings as they are found, and are
submitted at once for the modeller to copy the various weeds and
flowers exactly as they grow. The sods are then dried and cleaned,
and the modeller fixes into them the flowers and weeds she has
constructed, and paints up the grass, to restore it to its original
colour. They are then deposited in the places they are destined to
occupy in the Museum.
The material employed for making these artificial flowers and weeds
has been called by the inventor, who is also the modeller, the ‘New
Kensington Art Material.’ Boughs of trees, the minutest flowers and
weeds, even the hair-like filaments that many flower-stems possess
as a protection against the ravages of insects, are copied with such
scrupulous accuracy as to defy detection by ordinary means; and the
union between the real wood and its artificial representation is
concealed with the same regard to reality. The secret of the
manufacture of the material is strictly preserved.
At the International Exhibition of 1851, Mrs Mogridge—then Miss
Mintorn—in conjunction with others of her family, took the first prize
for models of wax-flowers; notably a model of ‘Victoria Regia’ lilies,
taken from the first to bloom in England, by permission of Her Grace
the Duchess of Northumberland. Of late years, Mrs Mogridge has
used the new Art Material in place of wax, on account of its superior
strength, and indestructibility, it being unaffected by heat, the great
enemy to all work in wax. Moreover, it admits of more perfect
colouring; no shade being unattainable in this composition, and
permitting of the most brilliant effects of pigmentation.
It is adaptable to all artistic decorations on account of its greater
strength; and flowers made in it can be mixed with living foliage so
as to be a perfect deception, when the real flowers are unattainable.
It may be interesting to notice that naturalists will find a ready means
of enhancing the value of their collections, not only of birds, as
before noticed, but of insects. Lord Walsingham, we are told, has a
large collection of butterflies and moths which are mounted in this
way, surrounded by the smallest weeds and plants on which they
feed.
Botanical specimens for all purposes, particularly in schools, &c.,
where botany is taught, may be made of this material with
advantage, as the natural specimens are so easily destroyed with
handling. Its value for designs for china-painting, where the choice
flowers, such as orchids, &c., cannot be procured in their natural
state, will be easily appreciated; and models made of it are, in fact,
already used by the artists at the Royal Porcelain Works at
Worcester for this purpose, as all the detail is faithfully carried out,
from the flower of the common nettle to the large oak-bough.
 THE LINDSAY’S BRIDAL.
[The first marriage of Colin, Earl of Lindsay and Balcarres,
to Maurizia de Nassau, took place in extreme youth, at the
court of James II., under the circumstances and with the
result narrated.]

In blithe London Town

Ne’er such bridal was known
As this of Earl Colin the Lindsay so gay:
O’er the Border, in sooth,
Never came bonnier youth,
And the king’s self shall give the fair lady away.

The bridemaids and bride

Are here in their pride,
But why ere the rite this long pause and delay?
’Tis for Colin they wait—
The ‘Light Lindsay’ is late:
The bridegroom forgetteth his own marriage-day!

The envoy was meet,

And the bridegroom is fleet,
He stands at the altar in bridal array:
But what lacks he now?
Why this cloud on his brow?—
The ring that should make her his countess for aye!

Oh, a ring’s easy found

’Mid the guests standing round!
And a borrowed ring served on that strange marriage-day:
But when spoke was the oath
That united them both,
She looked on the ring, and she fainted away.
 ’Twas a ring with a tomb
And a legend of gloom,
And she wist that to death she was wedded that day.
They cheered her amain;
But, alas, ’twas in vain!
And she drooped and she died ere a year was away.

Jetty Vogel.

The Conductor of Chambers’s Journal begs to direct the attention

of Contributors to the following notice:
1st. All communications should be addressed to the ‘Editor, 339 High
Street, Edinburgh.’
2d. For its return in case of ineligibility, postage-stamps should
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If the above rules are complied with, the Editor will do his best to
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Printed and Published by W. & R. Chambers, 47 Paternoster Row,

London, and 339 High Street, Edinburgh.
All Rights Reserved.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S
JOURNAL OF POPULAR LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART,
FIFTH SERIES, NO. 130, VOL. III, JUNE 26, 1886 ***

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