Elections 2012

  A Look At The Humanitarian Crisis In Syria
President Obama has said that although we have evidence of chemical weapons being used inside of Syria, they don’t know when or who used them. While the administration is considering increasing aid to the country, it has stopped short of providing lethal aid to rebel groups. Two years after the start of the revolution, Syria has descended into a civil war with over 70,000 citizens killed and over one million refugees seeking asylum outside of the country.

Winning The White House In 2016: Rule 5
Are presidents today more empathetic than they were in the past? To win the presidency in 2016, a candidate must seem to deeply care about American citizens. University of Washington department of communication chair and professor David Domke explains why that is the expectation now and how it is different from the past.

Art Of Our City: Mother For You I Made This
Dancer and choreographer Ezra Dickinson created a series of solos to honor the woman who guided him to a dance career, his mother. But Ezra Dickinson has a different relationship with his parent than the one most of us have.  Dickinson’s mother is schizophrenic, and she spent a good portion of her adult life on the streets.  He has woven the solos together into a single performance he hopes will spark conversation about the American mental health system.

Story last updated by Phyllis Fletcher on March 20, 2013 at 1:50 p.m.

Starbucks holds its annual shareholders’ meeting Wednesday in Seattle. On the agenda: a proposal from a group of investors that’s meant to limit the company’s involvement in elections.

In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Mitt Romney said that failing to reach minority voters was his biggest mistake of the 2012 campaign. What will it take to win the next election? UW Professor David Domke says winning over voters in so-called "carve-out states" — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — will be one key to victory. He joins us with rules of the road for winning the White House in 2016.

A campaign is mounting to switch up how Seattle City Council members are elected. Currently, members can live in any part of the city and their job is to represent the whole of Seattle. A campaign called Seattle Districts Now aims to divide the city into seven smaller districts with a council seat based in each one. Voters in each district would then elect a council member to represent their specific neighborhoods and interests.

The Seattle City Council is thinking about developing a publicly-funded approach to campaign finance. The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission would develop a detailed plan and voters would decide whether to approve it later this year. The idea to use public money to fund city campaigns is meant to open up the political arena to candidates who might not otherwise run for office. On Thursday, city councilmembers will meet with representatives from Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles to see how publicly funded campaigns have played out in their cities.

America's deadline poet Calvin Trillin presents this talk about the 2012 presidential election -- in verse. With wry humor, Trillin discusses politics, campaigns and poetry, including the frustrating difficulty of trying to rhyme words with presidential candidate names. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on December 10, 2012.

Last week Seattle voters approved funding for rebuilding Seattle's waterfront seawall. But some waterfront businesses say the construction schedule will hurt the tourist trade. Ross talks to Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the transportation committee.

The charter school initiative has passed by a narrow margin, according to the Associated Press. The vote stands at 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent. That's a difference of about 44,000 votes. Statewide, 269,000 ballots remain to be counted. The No on 1240 campaign Facebook page says campaign managers won't consider the race over until every vote is counted.

The 1st District was supposed to be the Republican Party’s best chance of picking up a Congressional seat in the state this year. But after Democrats won the seat decisively, Republicans are pointing fingers over who is to blame.

It’s Friday — time to review the week’s news. Joni Balter, Eli Sanders, Peter Jackson and C.R. Douglas join us to wrap up the presidential race and the week's big national, state and local election stories. What’s your take? Call us at 206.543.5869 or write to weekday@kuow.org.