...the one in which GP explains what Mitt Romney and Arnold Schwarzenegger have in common when it comes to video games.

Catch it only on Joystiq...

Like many GamePolitics readers, I was disappointed that none of the videos submitted by gamers made the final cut for last night's CNN/YouTube Republican debate.

To be fair, however, there are many other crucial issues such as Iraq, abortion, gun control, the economy and the influence of religion on politics. Host Anderson Cooper focused on these.

One telling moment for me, however, came when Mitt Romney could not bring himself to condemn the practice of waterboarding. Here's a guy who decries violent video games as part the "cultural cesspool" in which today's children are supposedly swimming but can't even find it within himself to condemn this acknowledged form of torture?

Sen. John McCain - who was a torture victim during his years of captivity by the North Vietnamese - absolutely ripped Romney on the issue and he was right to do so.

For Romney, the take-away is that virtual violence is a horror, but real-life torture is okay.

Governor, your hypocrisy is showing...

Here's the video of McCain-Romney exchange. Full text version after the jump.

UPDATE: Entertainment Consumers Association president Hal Halpin has weighed in on the debate: 

I was disappointed not to see a gamer question in much the same way that I was disheartened not to hear many other secondary, but important, questions posed.

The ECA member I ran into at PAX... put it into context well in that anyone watching a two hour debate on CNN very likely already knows where the candidates stand on the major issues, and it's certainly easy enough to find out otherwise.

What we don't know is where - or even "if" - they stand on the secondary matters. We won't let up however. Consumer rights are topically important and our demographic can and will be motivated to vote, but only if those politicians are willing to make the effort to speak to issues that are important to us.

MTV's Stephen Totilo writes about the gamers who submitted video questions for tonight's CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate.

In particular, Totilo focuses on 18-year-old Jesse Vetters, whose video inspired nearly two dozen fellow gamers to participate in the debate process by creating game issue-oriented videos of their own. Totilo writes:

Over the summer, Vetters started searching YouTube to see what questions had been asked during the CNN/YouTube Democratic debate. "I saw there was nothing on there about anything I really cared about, video games being the main thing..."

Vetters posted his 39-second question to YouTube... and asked aloud what politicians would do to make sure that games weren't vilified by the government.

Totilo also spoke with Entertainment Consumers Association president Hal Halpin, who, after seeing Vetters' video, decided to encourage others to follow suit by offering a free ECA t-shirt to those who submitted their own videos. Halpin commented:

Whenever I'm dealing with the mainstream media, their vision of gamers is apathetic, uninvolved, don't get out to vote. And here's this high school kid (Vetters) willing to jump into the deep end.

Halpin related an experience which occurred at PAX in August when a gamer approached him with a political question:

He was torn between [Barack] Obama and Hillary [Clinton]... [their position on video games is] the issue that could be a tipping point. I bet other gamers out there feel similarly. And that gave me a whole new perspective on what this could mean.

No one knows whether any of the gamer videos will make the final cut. But plenty of gamers will be watching. 

I'm not sure if this guy is an ECA member or not, but he certainly has gamer rights in mind.

I'm guessing from the assault rifles on the wall behind him that he's also in favor of gun ownership. Not the backdrop I might have chosen, perhaps...

 

Is there something you'd like to say about video games to the Republican presidential candidates?

Time is winding down for the Nov. 28th CNN/YouTube debate. As you may recall, the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) is supporting (with free T-shirts!) gamers who submit game-related video questions to the candidates.

We're really hoping one of the gamer videos is selected for the debate as it would help bring game consumer issues front and center to a national audience.

One T-shirt will be mailed to each individual who successfully uploads a video question. Mention of the ECA is not required, but is appreciated. A link to your video along with your contact information (name, address, phone and email) should be sent to info@theECA.com. Contest is open to ECA members as well as non-members. Standard YouTube debate rules apply.

You can also expect to see your video published here on GamePolitics as well as on the ECA’s Facebook and MySpace pages.

You can view all of the previously submitted videos here.

Longtime GamePolitics reader and ECA member Jeff McHale (you may know him better as the1jeffy) has turned in his video for the upcoming CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate.

There's also a nicely done (but very brief)

Halo Machinima

...

The grassroots gamer movement is starting to attract attention.

MTV's Stephen Totilo has taken notice of the recent flood of gamer-created videos. Stephen writes:

 The [ECA], a membership group supporting the rights of video game players, is trying to get a question about games into the... CNN/YouTube debate among Republican presidential candidates set for next month.

Last week, ECA site GamePolitics.com announced a contest encouraging game fans to file their questions and let the group know about it. Anyone who submits a question is promised a free ECA T-shirt, but the bigger prize might be getting the top Republican candidates to discuss the regulation of video games

Over at PrezVid, a site devoted to covering the 2008 Presidential race through the lens of YouTube, editor Peter Hauck gives the ECA's push for gamer videos a nice mention:

As noted previously, video gamers are taking a break from their joysticks and getting political. For the inside story, go to GamePolitics.com — “Where politics and Video Games collide.” The site, part of the Entertainment Consumers Association, does a nice job covering all things political and cultural related to video games...

GamePolitics has jumped on the grassroots gamer response to the CNN/YouTube Republican debate and is now running a contest to spur more video submissions...

Gamers, your grassroots political efforts are not going unnoticed!

Austin from Oregon poses a tough question about about video game legislation to Republican candidates for next month's CNN/YouTube Debate.

And, hey, Austin - we noticed you have logos from GamePolitics, the Entertainment Consumers Association, and the Video Game Voters Network hanging on the wall behind you.

Awesome!

Last week the Entertainment Consumers Association issued a call to action, challenging gamers to create grassroots video questions for Republican candidates participating in next month's CNN/YouTube debate. As a show of support, ECA president Hal Halpin even promised to send an ECA t-shirt to everone who submitted a gamer issue-oriented video.

The response has been unprecedented with new gamer-created videos appearing almost every day. Here are three brand-new submissions:

Jordan from Maine wants to know what the Republican candidates will do to keep his video games safe from censorship. Tim from Pennsylvania wonders how the candidates would help parents make the right video game choices for their children. UGIPhobose from Atlanta wonders if the candidates believe it is the government's duty to censor digital media, including the Internet and video games

To see all of the gamer debate videos submitted so far, click on the Presidential Debate Videos category tag in the right sidebar. And if you're submitting a debate video to YouTube, don't forget to contact GamePolitics or the ECA to claim your t-shirt!

Thaddeus,

who works in a video game store, asks Republican presidential candidates if they are willing to hold parents accountable for buying mature-rated games for their children.

Meanwhile,

Kevin from Detroit

is back with another vid. This time he asks what violence in media -- including video games -- says about our society.



 

11 videos in 3 days... impressive!

Since the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) announced its campaign to foster gamer participation in the upcoming CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate, 11 gamer-created videos have been uploaded to YouTube.

The number and quality of the videos increases the chances that a gamer-centric video question might actually make it into the debate, thus raising mainstream awareness of video game issues. So - keep 'em coming!

Due to the large number of new videos, GP will link them all from a single post rather than creating an individual story for each.

Today we have

Daniel

, a gamer who will vote for the first time in the 2008 presidential election; Dustin, who frames the debate around Grand Theft Auto; Kevin from Sterling Heights, Michigan, who thinks parents should be allowed to choose their kids's games; and Kevin from Detroit, who wonders how future game legislation will be any more effective than the failed efforts of the past.

Eddie from Long Island asks the Republican candidates if they plan to limit violence in video games.

Also of note, Eddie's video was picked up by PrezVid, which remarks:

Looks like video gaming generation is mobilizing. Here’s Eddie — another gamer who doesn’t have a problem with video game violence — and he wants to know if the candidates do.

The video gaming generation is indeed mobilizing. GP dropped PrezVid a note to let them know about the ECA's campaign to back grassroots presidential debate videos created by gamers.

Meanwhile, there is a lively discussion about the YouTube debate videos going on in the ECA section of the GamePolitics Forum.

GamePolitics reader E. Zachary Knight has posted his own YouTube Presidential Debate video in which he asks the Republican candidates how they plan to protect gamers' rights.

Bonus: E. Zachary mentions the ECA!

Andrew, a gamer from Florida, compares the free speech protections aforded books and movies to present-day efforts to legislate video games:

By submitting a debate video, Andrew has earned himself an ECA T-shirt. You can too...

Ryan here has obviously been paying attention.

He knows that, among Republican presidential contenders, Mitt Romney has been hitting the video game issue hard lately.

David Parrish, frustrated by the protracted legal battle over the California video game law, has jumped into the YouTube debate fray with this video...

Okay, the sound quality could be better, but Eli here is making his voice heard nonetheless!

And he's right. There is plenty of room to question the use of Homeland Security personnel to raid mod chippers.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MZuLEiyVAIE

 

This one precedes the big ECA push, having been submitted on July 29th. Still, it's definitely worth a look.

Sign this guy up for the ECA!!

Yesterday the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) announced its support for game issue-oriented videos created for the upcoming CNN / YouTube Republican Presidential Debate.

Everyone who submits a game consumer-oriented video question in accordance with YouTube's guidelines for the debate will receive a free T-shirt from the ECA.

Think it's not important? 

Think again. Those on the other side of the issue are making debate videos as well.

Joystiq's Ross Miller offers even more reasons to make a video.

ECA to Award T-shirts to All Who Participate!

The Entertainment Consumers Association is excited about the 2008 presidential election campaign as well as concerned about how the candidates view issues pertaining to games and gamers. 

The ECA also notes the upcoming CNN/YouTube Republican debate, which will air on September 17th.

In order to encourage true grassroots gamer activism, the ECA will be awarding a T-shirt to anyone who uploads a video question pertaining to game consumer rights to the GOP candidates for the YouTube presidential debate. Standard YouTube debate rules apply.

One T-shirt will be mailed to each individual who successfully uploads a video question. Mention of the ECA is not required, but is appreciated. A link to your video along with your contact information (name, address, phone and email) should be sent to info@theECA.com. Contest is open to ECA members as well as non-members.

You can also expect to see your video published here on GamePolitics as well as on the ECA's Facebook and MySpace pages