A State Senator who was running for reelection stopped at a local middle school some time back.

If someone personally showed up at my house I might actually be convinced to vote for them O_o

My parents host some representatives in election years. We've hosted people from at least three parties. State reps make the rounds pretty well I think, as do local Congresspeople.

I've had a city council candidate come door to door through the neighborhood to introduce himself and discuss his positions. I've also been on the campaign team of a county supervisor who cold-called everyone in the district who voted in the prior election (or at least those for whom we had numbers) to personally talk to them.

Our state senator did that his first election.

We get that a lot in the UK when there's an election coming up. It doesn't make any difference (at least to me).

In local/council elections I tend to vote for the candidates who live nearest me - on the grounds that they wont let a motorway be built through their own back yard.***

In national and European elections I vote for UKIP (UK Independence Party). UKIP are currently polling higher than the Tory's coalition partners, the Lib Dems, so watch for UKIP becoming the third party of UK politics in a few years time.

*** - this worked once, the local council were going to allow a quarry pit to be dug in the forest at the back of the estate I lived on; but there was a local council election before it could start and 3 people, all independents (not associated with any nationwide party) from my estate were voted onto the council - that was the end of the quarry pit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQy0_QyEZ2w

UKIP's Godfrey Bloom calls Martin Schulz an 'Undemocratic Fascist'

As much as I like Nige and consider him a great man to talk to over a pint, I can't see UKIP making any gains at Westminster with first past the post in place. I can't see them making much progress in the local elections either, to be honest. Still, they should remain a powerful force in the British European elections for some time, and we a better off for it :).

To be honest I can't recal an MP ever visiting my house. They usually leave that to their underlings in the youth movements and party faithful. I've seen them walking the streets in shopping centres a few times, and to their credit they do genuinely talk to you. Labour's Ben Bradshaw was quite good at that sort of thing, but Hannah Foster (Conservative) managed to pip him. Had a great chat with her about the dangers of global warming and amazingly enough the next time I met her she remembered it! I'd always assumed they just read off a mental script and instantly forget it.

I was spoiled for choice at the time, really :)

Oh, I should also say that if anyone cold calls me they automatically lose my vote, no matter who they are. I think a lot of Brits would feel this way.

"As much as I like Nige and consider him a great man to talk to over a pint, I can't see UKIP making any gains at Westminster with first past the post in place. I can't see them making much progress in the local elections either, to be honest. Still, they should remain a powerful force in the British European elections for some time, and we a better off for it :)."

<misread Nige as Nigee, and wondered what the heck Octavious was talking about

"and wondered what the heck Octavious was talking about"

I get that a lot :)

what the heck are you talking about????? You never get that

:P

@Speakertoaliens - The tories and Lab parties have been very successful in keeping the UKIP party out of general elections. They have developed a 'referendum wave' They build up this wave with vague promises in the run up to elections and then forget they made any such non-promises as soon as they are elected, and then build up another wave of non-promises but strong talk in the build up to the next election. All pretty effective stuff and very little UKIP can do to break through.

I'm generally pro-europe but think the cae for a referendum is strong.

I know my state senator and his family personally. He was pastor of my church, I taught his kids in a youth group and he was the guy that married my wife and I.

Some sort of referendum is inevitable. The most likely solution for the eurocrisis is much more federalism, which would require every member to agree to the treaty changes. If the population of the United Kingdom is one thing, it isn't federalist. The people won't tolerate being subsumed into a European superstate without a referendum. Whether the question will be simply in/out or include some special opt-outs I don't know, but there will be a referendum in the UK simply because the EU needs fundamental reforms if it is to survive.