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Definition: PUMA

CitizenSugar — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:58:50 -0700

It's not a cougar nor is it high-end soccer gear, but a political acronym you could have heard when Hillary Clinton halted the roll call and released her delegates into the wild. PUMA stands for "Party Unity My Ass," and, no, not the Democratic Donkey ass.

The term originated in the comment section of a pro-Clinton blog, and later became the name of a political action committee protesting Barack Obama's place as the Democratic nominee. The term later underwent a PC transformation and now officially means "People United Means Action."

PUMAs can be found protesting the Democratic National Convention in Denver, encouraging a Clinton write-in campaign for November, or voting for John McCain.

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Definition: NATO

LibertySugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:00:00 -0800

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) addresses the common security concerns of its 26 member countries from North America and Europe. Created in 1949, to combat the spread of communism in Europe, NATO has a defensive purpose. All decisions are made by consensus, meaning all countries must unanimously agree before NATO takes action. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO faced a bit of an identity crisis.

NATO's mission in Afghanistan marked the first time ever NATO took action outside of the Euro-Atlantic area. There are currently 50,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, working toward security and stability. NATO had no part in the Iraq invasion, but since August 2004, it has been active in training Iraqi security forces. In Kosovo, NATO leads 15,000 international forces. Its UN-mandated presences, intended to maintain Kosovo's security, will be tested by Kosovo's recent declaration of independence and the Serbian response.

Since the end of the Cold War, former communist countries, as well as ex-republics of the Soviet Union have joined NATO. The swallowing of countries formerly under Russia's influence troubles Putin and may cause Russia to obstruct US policy going forward. Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security council, may make it difficult for the US to do what it wants with Iran, for example.

For some useful sources on NATO,

Definition: Superdelegate

LibertySugar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:00:09 -0800

Superdelegates are party officials and elected officeholders from across the country that have an individual vote at their respective party's nominating convention. They include Senators, Congresspeople, governors, former presidents and vice presidents. Other superdelegates are ordinary people who work in state and local party operations.

At the Democratic National convention almost 800 superdelegates will vote with the 3,000 pledged delegates chosen through primaries and caucuses. Because superdelegates control 40 percent of the votes needed to secure the nomination, their existence makes sure the party establishment approves of the nominee. The candidate who wins the most total delegates, committed and super, wins the nomination.

Right now both Democratic campaigns are putting enormous pressure on the superdelegates. According to party rules, the superdelegates are free to vote with their conscience, but many believe it will be undemocratic if they defy the voters' choice and bolster the candidate who did not win the majority of pledged delegates, giving him or her the nomination. Being political creatures, the superdelegates are likely to consider political factors when making their decisions.

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Definition: The European Union

LibertySugar — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:07:18 -0800

The European Union is a group of 27 democratic European countries working together for Europe's common values such as democracy, freedom and social justice. Without the purpose of replacing existing states, the EU member states have created common institutions including the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. The Presidency of the Council rotates every six months, giving each country a turn to set the agenda.

Europeans have more influence on the world stage if they speak with a single voice. With almost 490 million citizens, the EU represents its members in the WTO and observes at G8 summits and at the UN. For more details,

Definition: Caucus

CitizenSugar — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:24:17 -0800

Usually grouped together with presidential primaries, a caucus, refers mostly to the method of voting. Most famous are the Iowa caucuses, where small groups of like-minded people — the caucus — assemble to air opinions and reach a consensus. In the case of Iowa democrats, that consensus is reached by forming groups of supporters for each candidate and public discussion. Republicans caucus by what they call a "straw vote," which mimics a more traditional ballot-style election. Whether a state elects delegates by caucus or primary and what the delegates do with those results at the convention also varies by state, but the outcome is a party's candidate, officially named at the convention.

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Definition: Primary Election

CitizenSugar — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 06:14:43 -0800

With the wall-to-wall coverage of primaries and caucuses these days, it can be tough to sort out what it all means. Primary elections determine which hopefuls from each political party will advance to earn that party's nomination and represent that party during the general election. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, if you think your vote directly influences that outcome, it's not as straight forward as it sounds.

Each state gets to choose whether to have an open or closed primary (or somewhere in between.) If your state has an open primary, it means you can cast a ballot for any candidate regardless of your party affiliation. This method leaves the choice open to sneaky strategies like using your vote to make sure the opposing party gets stuck with the weakest candidate.
Curious about your own state? Check here for a run-down.

The tricky feature to remember is that during a primary, you're not actually casting a direct ballot for a candidate – you're casting a ballot for a state delegate, who will then take the state's ballot totals to the convention. Each party's national committee distributes the allotted amount of delegates for each state. The outcome of your vote at the primary, is a delegate vote at the convention, and an eventual majority of delegate votes for one candidate — and now the election really starts!