Inside Zebster: On this Independence Day

Thanks to Inside Zebster: On this Independence Day for the invitation to do a "blogger chain-letter" for Independence Day. For me and many of my colleagues in the New York Independence Party, Independence Day is a great opportunity to build independent politics. Because of the state petitioning rules, we get up early to comb the neighborhoods of Bayside and Jamaica, Queens, the Village and Harlem in Manhattan, Eastchester and the Bronx River Housing Project in the Bronx, Bed-Stuy and Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, and Staten Island, gathering signatures to put our candidates on the ballot. This year we are forming County Committees in every borough to fight for local control and grassroots democracy. The state IP leadership has threatened the New York City organization by putting county leadership "interim county organizations" in trustee-ship and even attempted disenrollment of key activists and party members. We take this very seriously, and IP members all over the City are responding to this attack by hack politicians who control the the State Committee from their upstate positions. Thousands of City IP members are signing up for County Committee positions. On this Independence Day 2006, the fight is still to have the voice of the people be heard. It's the Good Fight!