Today is primary day and 3.5 million Flori

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

President Obama, Independents, Iraq and Development


Frankly, I just have a simple “thank you” to our President Obama upon the policy decision to withdraw, or at least draw down, from Iraq. Some may see this as an election promise, some may see it as a moral issue.

I see it as a developmental issue — for the independent movement.

When independents put Barack Obama in the White House in November of 2008, we might have not known our own strength.

2 years later, the independent and unaffiliated, the “decline to state“, the “blanks”, the “no labels”, etc. have risen in numbers.

We (humanity) need to develop. And the independent movement needs to develop — and can lead the way politically. Let’s get busy!

See Ed Hornick on Wedge Issues...
Cross posted at The Moderate Voice

Monotheistic Dualism: ( It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.)

By Evan

Few things excite human emotion more than politics. There were three things I was instructed as a youth never to discuss with people I didn't know: Sex, religion, and politics. Sex is a highly personal subject for most and religion has gradually splintered into one just as subjective. Why has politics not followed this increasing diversity of expression? While it's true that politics seems to have gone far beyond the Beaver Cleaver world I grew up in, why have its forms remained relatively static in comparison with other human concerns?

Ward and June Cleaver (not related to Eldridge) were products of a T.V. world which couldn't express the subjective concerns of the individual – only its hopes and wishes; a world where, when the T.V. was off, we were collectively building bomb shelters and most Americans were frantic from the threat of Communism instilled by those idealistic values of “our” government vs. “theirs” – a tactic employed with great success by Middle-Eastern governments and one which provides an easy hook for our own projections. For, concerns anent our own affairs are easily deflected in the face of an imagined or manufactured threat.

Unfortunately, this T.V. world is the mainstay of power politicians – because that is the world in which they are able to maintain their influence. The projection of each party's opposite is safely ensconced in a contrived, sit-com world that's not controversial to them at all. It's not a matter of “democratic ideals” which separates them, or “what's best for the country” – it's “how do we convince an unwitting public that it not only wants our particular brand of manipulation, but needs it?” – and they are quite willing to share the benefits it yields.


It reminds me of what Muhammed Ali said at the close of the Beaver Cleaver era when he was stripped of his heavyweight title by this conspiracy. When asked by a reporter why he had refused to fight in Vietnam, he replied, “Ain't no Vietnamese ever called me nigger!” and he pointed squarely at the reporter, “You my enemy!”... and so the slow, grueling evolution of individual awareness inches on.

The two parties have no reason to confront themselves except in the manufactured form of their own mutually profitable sitcom, and the canned laughter echoes in a make-believe world which must somehow meet the dire exigencies that loom when the T.V. is turned off.

A new Muhammed Ali is needed in the political world – a new minority in this rigged “adversarial” production – this reality show; one where the individual confronts his own real-world needs in an expanding era of diverse, global competition. This competition is yet conceived to be on the battlefield of ideals – a manufactured and inhuman masquerade for those who unwittingly commit to a structure whose priority is to maintain control. Ideals? Whose ideals? Out-dated relics whose rhetoric has changed little since the Holy Roman Empire? They still invoke God (or Allah) for their small purposes – small because their priority is the maintenance of personal power and they still have not weighed the value of human lives against that concern.

Little Alexanders and Napoleons -- little human parodies of grandiosity -- still peer from behind the grinning masks of many politicians and only our recent expanding diversity keeps them at bay. But diversity needs voices more than two sides of the same coin – a need which surely precipitated the election of Obama – yet the rhetoric continues unabated by either party. We are certainly the victims of our own gullibility when demagoguery suffices for plain talk. What does the future hold for an ever-increasingly diverse population whose choices have been limited – by their own proxy – to only two outlets? Who will image this catalyst of change that says, “You my enemy!”? One thing is sure: It won't be a Republican or a Democrat.

It is as Faust remarked to the Devil upon questioning his motivations, “Now, I perceive your worthy occupation:/ You can't achieve wholesale annihilation/ And now a retail business you've begun!” and the Devil replied: “And truly thereby nothing much is done!” This is the perspective of one who has power, but whose power seems never enough to secure its position for fear of its loss. And our politicians will concede only what they are forced to concede by such recognitions. But it is also a reminder: How much can a government do for its citizens when its primary focus is the maintenance of itself?


Evan is an artist, poet, and long-time student of Carl Jung. He is the author of "A Mid-Life Perspective: Conversations with the Unconscious," an epic poem of psychic development in the second half of life inspired by Goethe's Faust. He makes a living as a contractor in the Richmond, Virginia. 

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/31/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
  • With Increase in Partisanship, Fewer Surprises Likely in Governors’ Races (By NATE SILVER, NY Times/FiveThirtyEight) The pattern stems in large part from the long-standing decline in the number of voters, in all types of elections, who are willing to cast ballots across partisan lines. In 1980, some 27 percent of Democrats voted for Ronald Reagan (another 6 percent voted for the independent, John B. Anderson), whereas 11 percent of Republicans voted for Jimmy Carter. This means that a total of 21 percent of partisans (voters who identify themselves as either Democrat or Republican) voted for the presidential candidate of the “opposite” party. In recent elections, however, that percentage has been halved: just 10 percent of partisans crossed party lines in the presidential election of 2000, and just 9 percent did in 2004 and 2008. 
  • Zogby: Romney Beats Bloomberg, Obama (By: Brad O'Leary, NewsMax) Among independent voters, 40 percent would choose Romney and 30 percent would vote for Obama. Just 11 percent would pull the lever for Bloomberg.
OPEN PRIMARIES
  • Primary Concerns - Should D.C. change the way it chooses candidates? (By P.J. ORVETTI, NBC Washington) Fenty’s campaign made a last-ditch attempt to get the Board of Elections and Ethics to allow unaffiliated voters to vote in the Democratic primary, which would have upped the possible voter pool by about 72,400. That effort failed, but it did open a fresh debate about how the District chooses its elected officials.
GEORGIA
NEW YORK
  • Bloomberg Cash Not Yet Returned (By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL, Wall Street Journal) Mr. Messina confirmed Monday afternoon that he still has the money in his possession. "I believe that all parties are coming together in a desire to accomplish a goal, and I'm confident that that goal will be accomplished because of the good faith of the parties," said Mr. Messina, referring to the return of the allegedly stolen funds.
NYC CHARTER REVISION

Monday, August 30, 2010

have an independent day!

South Dakota Voice of Independents

Joelle Riddle, Independent Voters for Colorado 

Independence Party of South Carolina (Wayne Griffin, center)

Pennsylvania Independents

Mitch Campbell, American Independent Movement - Idaho
Randy Miller, Utah League of Independent Voters
Georgia Independent Voters
Michael Lewis, Independent Kentucky

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/3010

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
  • NEWSWEEK Poll: Democrats May Not Be Headed for Midterm Bloodbath - Obama's approval continues to slide, but Bush's legacy still haunts the GOP. (Newsweek) Democratic voters appear just as willing as Republicans to vote for their party. But independents skew heavily toward the GOP. Forty-five percent of independents say they’ll vote for Republican candidates, compared with just 33 percent for Democrats.
  • Poll: Nevada voters unhappy with Senate candidates (By Associated Press, Boston Herald) Two-thirds of Angle’s supporters said they would have preferred another GOP nominee, and nearly 80 percent of registered voters who are undecided or don’t like Angle or Reid said they would have preferred a moderate rather than the conservative, according to the Mason-Dixon Polling & Research survey.... Independent voters and those who say they don’t prefer Reid or Angle said they might vote for "none of these candidates."
  • Most N.M. Voters Give Congress Poor Ratings (By Michael Coleman, Albuquerque Journal) A majority of independent voters in New Mexico — 57 percent — said they disapprove of the job Congress is doing, with 20 percent voicing approval. Twenty-three percent of those independents responding to the Journal poll said they were either undecided, had mixed feelings, didn't know or were unsure of their opinion of the current Congress.
OPEN PRIMARIES
  • Hasten: Say goodbye to party primaries (BY MIKE HASTEN, The Town Talk - Central Louisiana) In most states, party primaries really thin out the crowd of candidates and often only the party winners are on the ballot in the general election.
  • Debate Over Primary Elections Heats Up (Memphis Daily News) Wiseman: Our community is not well served by partisan primaries. … We have enough divisions in the community. Creating these further divisions does not serve our community well.”
FLORIDA
  • FL: Candidates put faith in No Party Affiliation voters (BY DEREK CATRON, Daytona Beach News Journal) They were the fastest-growing segment of registered voters, even before Gov. Charlie Crist bolted the Republican Party for an NPA designation in his run for the U.S. Senate. Now, nearly 1 in 5 voters in Florida carries the NPA designation, making it the third-most popular "party," behind Democrats (41.5 percent) and Republicans (36 percent). And, while the major parties have been watching their percentages decline, NPAs have been on the rise, their percentages increasing almost 2.5 times since 1994.
  • Crist looks for middle ground between two opponents (From CNN's Jeff Simon) According to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted August 11-16, Crist, who is running as an independent candidate, holds a 39 percent to 32 percent lead over Republican candidate Marco Rubio. Rep. Kendrick Meek, who secured the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, trails the two front-runners with 16 percent.
  • District 3 candidate supports open primaries (Submitted by Matt Dixon, Florida Times Union/Death, Taxes & Politics) Martin Terry-Back, an independent candidate running against Corrine Brown, has signed a pledge to support an open primary system.
  • Open primary could heal Florida's low voter turnout (By Matt Dixon, Florida Times Union - Jacksonville) "I think clearly [an open primary] would improve voter turnout," said Aubrey Jewett, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida. "It just seems like the best way to [increase turnout]."
WFP
NEW YORK
NYC CHARTER REVISION

Friday, August 27, 2010

Hankster Summer Friday: Live-blogging Friday Afternoon, August 27, 2010

Howdy Hanksteristas!  It's Friday, it's really really pleasant here in NYC, and it's still summer!

Here's some of what I'm mulling over right now... And please chime in -- what are you thinking about? Email hanks_nancy@msn.com or twitter NancyHanks or facebook NancyHanks. You know the drill... 

So anyways:

It's floodin' down in Texas
All the telephone lines are down

Stevie Ray Vaughn - I was rummaging around on Hankstertube last night among my favorited music videos and couldn't help but appreciate a recording posted on YouTube from a performance of Stevie Ray Texas Flood (the long version!) posted 3 years ago by gabriel, which seems to be from 1983 when the album came out. The YT notes from gabriel says, in part: Texas Flood is an electric blues album by blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band Double Trouble, released in 1983.  Anyway, If you don't know Stevie Ray Vaughn, no time like the present!

h/t to http://twitter.com/SueAnnJohn for picking this up.

6:34 pm the telephones are down in Queens NY but -- the twitter lines are open and this just in from TheIndyExpress (Congrats on the new wordpress blog!) btw -- TheIndyExpress was this week's "Now THAT's Good Bloggin'" feature on The H....


As an independent moderate, I decided to research and locate the entire poll report.  I went to the source at The Pew Research Center.    I appreciate that Pew lists the questions asked in the poll and describe how they were asked.  Anyone who has experience with polls know that how the question is constructed can control the responses.   I am also impressed with the transparency in the Pew Report.   Keep in mind, the poll was taken before President Obama made the remarks about the proposed Muslim facility near Ground Zero in NYC and samples 3,003 registered voters.  The media barrage on the issue did not affect the poll results....

Check it out... and in the meantime.....

Well clouds are rollin'
m standin out in th rain...




Goin where the sun shines every day.... oh yeah....

7:00 pm -- Now from one of my favorite southern poets Evan who submitted this:


Ode to Dylan

The times they are a-changin' the prophet once sang
For the young voice of legions that fervently rang.
And what is left today of that youthful plea
But the trampled remnants of the disenfranchised?
Quietly subjected to their own reality
Which they'd not then known but later recognized.
That prophet got rich in his bargain with fate –
The modern reward for good propheteering –
And all those who raged at society's gate
Remembered that voice at their own inner hearing
As they slowly succumbed to the middle-aged rite
That excuses itself from a younger man's fight.

Age makes sorry victims of its own ideals –
The hard youth's promise to a softer notion yields.
The heavy weight of yesterday reveals its burden.
The sparks that lit the fire of change soon change as well
And the youth that once rebelled is brought back in
Absorbed at last by what it thought it would dispel.
The lure of sirens even stronger than tradition
Force tradition into yet more binding ties
Than even fore-doomed prophets in their raw condition
Ever summoned through the novelty of their young eyes.
The high-flown words of youth must change before its deeds --
And thus to every hope of change tradition leads.

The times changed on top and a generation thought
It had shifted perspectives on the war it fought
But the reasons for another war were soon in place
Right behind the demonstrations that opposed it.
But now the generation had an older face
And they themselves became the force that had proposed it.
What is the net change in the changes we concede?
The Word is still God for those who believe it.
What age has not seen its own youth at long last lead
The scores of unbelievers who could not conceive it?
The old gods are as binding as they've always been
The times are always changin' – but where do we begin?


Thanks Evan!

7:20pm The times -- and even the notion of time -- is always a-changin' -- you can't keep fixin' the same old self --  when *the self* doesn't exist....



Next up: dinner and then upcoming conversations with independent grassroots organizers... stay tuned!

vermont independents

his declaration of independence

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/27/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
  • Time for Obama to Pull a Clinton (By DOUGLAS E. SCHOEN, Wall Street Journal) The independent voters who hold the fate of the Democrats in their hands are looking for candidates who champion, in a bipartisan context, fiscal discipline, limited government, deficit reduction and a free market, pro-growth agenda. If Democrats don't offer this, they will be branded liberal tax-and-spenders.
OPEN PRIMARIES
  • VT: Primary process limits choices (LETTER Rutland VT Herald) I am writing this letter to draw your attention to the injustice that is experienced by ‘independent’ voters during primary elections, which are held year after year.
  • LA: Election is historic, so go and vote (EDITORIAL St. Tammany News) Last closed primary - this will be the last closed primary election for Congressional candidates. The Legislature passed, and the governor signed into law that after the general election in November, all primaries will be open. Currently under the closed primary system, a Republican voter has to vote for a Republican candidate, Democrats for Democrats and so forth.
  • FL: Lawmakers need to write off the write-in loophole - THE ISSUE: Undemocratic fixture remains in elections laws. (EDITORIAL Sun Sentinel FL)
  • DC: DC primaries should be scrapped (by Topher Mathews, Greater Washington.org) But nonetheless, DC's primary election system has no legitimate purpose and should be scrapped in favor of an instant run-off voting system for the general election.
THIRD PARTIES
  • If traditional politics bore you, consider the Toga Party (by Ry Rivard, Daily Mail Capitol Reporter WV) The Democrat, Republican and Mountain parties all have open primaries, which allow voters who are not affiliated with one of the other three major parties to vote for their primary candidates. Among the 130 parties are established if little-known minor parties, like the Constitution Party, a national conservative party that claims about 70 members in West Virginia. There are 1,300 self-identified Libertarian Party members.... There are also 185,000 voters with no party affiliation and 12,200 declared Independents.
  • Delaware politics: Minor parties add candidates to ballot - House, Senate hopefuls slated by Blue Enigma, Independent Party and Working Families groups (By GINGER GIBSON, The News Journal DE)
COLORADO
  • Ballot-bound HD-61 hopefuls weigh in (Gunnison Times) Then there is incumbent Kathleen Curry of Gunnison. During her three-term stint in the Colorado House of Representatives, Curry has risen to become one of the state's most well-known and popular political leaders. Yet her chances of winning re-election this November hinge on being successful as a write-in candidate -- which would be a nearly unprecedented feat for a statewide office-holder.
ARIZONA
  • Post-primary election analysis (by Three Sonorans, Tucson Citizen) Why would so many Independents have chosen to vote in the Republican primary? I think the answer is very simple. The most popular race in the nation for Tuesday’s primary was taking place in Arizona, and JD Hayworth scared the bejeezus out of the Independents, and they decided to vote in the Republican primary for McCain.
  • David Freddoso: McCain's easy win undercuts Democrats' story line (By: DAVID FREDDOSO, Washington Examiner) Here's a tip for gamblers: Most or all of the "unelectable" conservatives will win in November 2010. It will come as a surprise only to liberal pundits, who view most Americans' opinions as outside of the mainstream because they remain stubbornly unlike the opinions of President Obama.
NEW YORK
  • Suffolk’s Ethics Probe Enigma Consumes All - Levy, legislature, DA and Newsday all caught in ethics feud (By Timothy Bolger, Long Island Press) As for the man chosen to wade into the firestorm and report his findings within the next three months, the legislature voted 13-5 to hire Joseph Conway, a Mineola-based criminal defense attorney, former federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York and member of the Independence Party.
  • The Unrepentant Republican Party (By Sam Foster, American Thinker) While the September primaries will likely resolve the Republicans' mistake in NY-1, the damage has already been done in the case of NY-23. Given NY's proclivity for third-party ballot lines, Matt's name will appear on the Independence Party ticket, and Doug Hoffman on the Conservative line, despite the Republican primary outcome. The flagrant hatred exhibited by Republican leaders for Hoffman makes it hard to believe that party bosses could unite under Doug Hoffman's potential candidacy. Thus, another three-way race is brewing in NY-23, and the possibility for the district to shed its sickly shade of blue is quickly slipping out of reach.
NYC CHARTER REVISION

Thursday, August 26, 2010

fenty favors indies

Independent Voters: Pass the Open Primaries, Please!

OPEN PRIMARIES
Arizona and Washington DC
THIRD PARTIES
TEA PARTY
  • Is the Tea Party Ready For Its November Close-Up? (By Rhodes Cook, Wall Street Journal/Capital Journal) Roughly 20% to 30% of Americans sympathize with the views of the Tea Party, according to polls taken over the course of this year. But a basic question is whether it is an independent political movement truly disgusted with both parties, or a very vocal and conservative subset of the GOP? Data tend to point to the latter.
FLORIDA
  • DeFede: Primary Night 2010 Winners And Losers (Jim DeFede, MIAMI (CBS4) In order to win a three way Senate race, Crist needs to not only collect moderate Republican and independent voters, he absolutely has to peel away Democratic voters as well. If Jeff Greene had won, there would have been a stampede of Democratic officials lining up to endorse Crist. 
  • Three-way Fla. Senate race begins without a clear favorite (By Dan Balz, Washington Post) Whether Crist has damaged himself by the decision to run as an independent or whether he has cleverly found the route to political survival is the central issue that voters will decide.
  • Washington Veterans Take Senate Primaries (By DAMIEN CAVE, Washington Post) Mr. Crist released a statement on Tuesday night calling Washington “a swamp of partisan bickering, finger-pointing and destructive political games” and saying “we need independent leadership.”
GEORGIA
  • Roy Barnes' campaign of contrition (By Melissa Maynard, Stateline) “Amazingly, Roy Barnes remains in contention despite the fact that the head of his party nationally, Barack Obama, has reached a phenomenally low level of support in Georgia,” says Matt Towery, the CEO of InsideAdvantage, the firm that conducted the poll. Virtually as many Georgia voters identify as independents as identify with either party, Towery notes, and “the race really boils down to independent voters.”
NEW YORK
  • State Sen. Joe Addabbo Loses Bid For Working Families Party Line (BY GLENN BLAIN, Daily News/Daily Politics) With the Democrats holding only a one seat majority in the Senate, the Addabbo-Como contest is likely to be among the most-closely watched races this year and could determine whether the GOP retains control of the chamber.
NYC CHARTER REVISION
  • NYC Charter Revision Proposals: A Hobson’s Choice (Citypragmatist) Ballot Access: Generally reduce the number of petition signatures needed by candidates for city elective office to appear on a ballot; This would make it easier for newcomers to challenge party regulars, and for third-party candidates to unseat Democrats and Republicans. Several critics, including Jim Brennan, who heads up the State Assembly committee that oversees municipal charter revisions, have cautioned against it. Yes, he’s a Democrat.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

land of prickly independents

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/25/10

OPEN PRIMARIES
TUESDAY'S PRIMARIES
CALIFORNIA


PENNSYLVANIA
SOUTH CAROLINA
NEW YORK
NYC CHARTER REVISION
LAST WORD

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Lt. Governor Maldonado Issues Statement on Successful Open Primary Lawsuit Intervention


From a press release just in:
 
“Today, the court sided with the voters to protect their rights by officially allowing me to intervene in a lawsuit brought by political insiders in an attempt to block implementation of open primaries. I will continue to do everything in my power to defend the open primary system because California voters deserve equal access to the ballot and am looking forward to the court upholding the will of the people.”
 
California voters approved an open primary system by passing Proposition 14 on the June 8, 2010 ballot.
 

It's Primary Day - Do You Know Where Your Independents Are?

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
  • 10 things Republicans must do in 10 weeks (By Ed Hornick, CNN) #8 - Appeal to Independents: "The Republicans know that independents were an absolutely critical partner to Obama in the presidential election in 2008," said Jacqueline Salit, president of independentvoting.org, a national strategy and organizing center for independents. "So there's a lot of energy going into trying to peel independents away and turn them back to center-right."
  • Independent voters getting stronger (by Robert Robb, The Arizona Republic)
OPEN PRIMARIES
THIRD PARTIES
  • In Mich., A 'Tea Party' Is Denied Spot On Ballot (by DON GONYEA, NPR) Richard Winger, who publishes a newsletter called Ballot-Access News, says independent voters are worth watching closely. "When times are bad, people are more interested in getting outside their normal habits," he said. And, Winger says, Michigan's Tea Party controversy aside, it could be the best year for independent candidates and third parties in many decades.
NEW YORK
NYC CHARTER REVISION

Saturday, August 21, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/21/10

Please check out Hankster Blogger of the Week (noted below at NEXT TO LAST WORD
  • 10 Political Practices That Should Hit the Road (by New Hankster blogger friend The Indy Express) Partisans want to eliminate anyone who does not vote the party line, which is a recipe for gridlock and hardship for the country. Nothing will be accomplished except more videos and sound bites for the media and bloggers. The Indy Express
INDEPENDENT VOTERS
  • PRIORITY READINGWedge issues divide politicians from independents (By Ed Hornick, CNN) "This is party politics as usual with respect to all of these wedge issues," said Jacqueline Salit, president of independentvoting.org, a national strategy and organizing center for independents. "I think there's more and more of a steady recognition that these kind of wedge issues and political manipulation, sensationalism and opportunism is exactly what is degrading the American political process and our democracy." NOTE: This article also ran on WTSP Channel 10 - Tampa Bay
OPEN PRIMARIES
  • Nonpartisan Elections in CA, NYC, and the Nation (By William J. Kelleher, Ph.D., opednews.com
  • Maldonado asks to join defense in Proposition 14 lawsuit (Sac Bee/Capitol Alert) "I could not stand by and watch the transparent effort to undermine the voters' right to an open primary system," Maldonado said in a statement. "Voters were crystal clear that they wanted to change business as usual in Sacramento and the effort to derail Proposition 14 is not only without merit, it's more of the same political game-playing that has gridlocked the Capitol for years.
  • Independent testing (Arizona Star) Working in conjunction with the League of Women Voters and relying on funding from groups such as the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and Greater Phoenix Leadership, the project contacted about 33,000 independents in Legislative Districts 26 and 30, which are Tucson districts with a Republican voter edge.
MIDTERMS
  • The 2010 Elections: What's at Stake? (Bob Burnett, Huffington Post) The GOP has claimed the coveted political mantle of "outsider" and, at least for the moment, convinced Independent voters the US is best served by dividing power between Democrats and Republicans. Imagine that in November's mid-term elections, Republicans win control of the House or Senate. What difference will that make?
  • Quinnipiac Poll: Crist Still Ahead In FL-SEN Race (Eric Kleefeld, TPMDC)
  • August 19, 2010 - Sink Inching Up In Close Florida Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Crist Leads Three-Way Senate Race (Quinnipiac)
COLORADO
GEORGIA
OREGON
  • Progressive Party skips Oregon governor's race, aiding Kitzhaber (Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian ) The season for nominating minor-party candidates is drawing to a close and it looks like the winner is...Democrat John Kitzhaber (who also happens to be the candidate of the Independent Party of Oregon)... But a write-in candidacy won't have nearly the power to draw votes. And the way it shapes up, Kitzhaber won't have any candidates running to the left of him....
NEW YORK
BLOOMBERG ENDORSEMENTS
  • Bloomberg Busy Backing Candidates Of Both Parties (by BRIAN NAYLOR, NPR) "Since I've been one of everything in my career at one time or another, I don't think that party matters," he said. "What you want are people who are independent in their views. That they don't listen to the party bosses. That they listen to the issues. They're smart enough to analyze it. [That] they have the experiences that we need in the legislature to know how to address the problems."
  • INDEPENDENT FOR PRESIDENT IN 2012: A VIEW FROM 2010 (by Damon Eris, CAIVN)
NYC CHARTER REVISION
NEXT TO LAST WORD
  • 10 Political Practices That Should Hit the Road (by New Hankster blogger friend The Indy Express) Partisans want to eliminate anyone who does not vote the party line, which is a recipe for gridlock and hardship for the country. Nothing will be accomplished except more videos and sound bites for the media and bloggers.
LAST WORD
  • Obama, Islam And The "Other" (By Reid Wilson, National Journal/Hotline) A higher proportion of self-identified GOPers, 31%, say he is Muslim, while just 10% of Dems and 18% of independents believe it to be so.... Obama won election thanks to a diverse coalition, part of which includes a segment of Dems and independent voters who typically vote GOP in federal races. But, according to the Pew survey, the very voters who put Obama in office are the ones whose opinions seem the most malleable.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Hankster Summer Friday: Live-blogging Friday Afternoon, August 20, 2010

Howdy Hanksteristas!

It's summer, it's Friday, it's early -- it's time for Hankster Summer Friday....! AND -- This just in:

2:45pm - Ed Hornick just posted a really nice article at CNN at noon called Wedge issues divide politicians from independents The article quotes my favorite independent strategist Jackie Salit, president of independentvoting.org. Here's to get you started:


Washington (CNN) -- The current ruckus over building an Islamic center and mosque near ground zero, calls to change the 14th Amendment and other so-called "wedge" issues are roiling up each party's base, but they're turning off independents, analysts say.

"This is party politics as usual with respect to all of these wedge issues," said Jacqueline Salit, president of independentvoting.org, a national strategy and organizing center for independents. "I think there's more and more of a steady recognition that these kind of wedge issues and political manipulation, sensationalism and opportunism is exactly what is degrading the American political process and our democracy."  [Read the rest of the article here.]

3:20pm - Next up:
Remember the group I told you about that my group had a date with a couple of Fridays ago? Well, I just heard that one of the members of their group has died of cancer. They are working on a fundraiser in his honor that would benefit the American Cancer Society for sometime after Labor Day. I have agreed to spread the word. Look for updates...


4:35: Ok, heading off to Lenora Fulani's interview with Charlie Rangel.


More later.... Video at 11 (or whatever...)


Have a good Friday Night!
NH

Lenora Fulani Interviews Congressman Charlie Rangel Tonight in Harlem 8/20/10

Interviews By a Black Independent


Dr. Fulani Interviews
Congressman
Charles B. Rangel

Friday August 20th
6:00pm



Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building
163 w.125th St. Second Floor
On the Corner of 125th and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd (7th Ave)

To RSVP please call 212.962.1699

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Congratulations to Independent Voters for Colorado!

Check out Independent Voters for Colorado at their new website



IVC was formed in July 2009 by independent County Commissioner Joelle Riddle after she became increasingly frustrated with the narrow scope and vision upheld by parties and their ownership of elected officials. In an effort to better represent her constituents and the complex issues facing her community, she changed her affiliation from Democrat to unaffiliated or independent. Shortly thereafter, she discovered the inequitable ballot access law that led to the federal lawsuitchallenging the statue that is currently being appealed by State Representative Kathleen Curry.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Live Blogging Jackie Salit's National Conference Call for Independent Voters: After California and Before the Midterms

UPDATE: Utah independent organizer Randy Miller live-blogged Salit national conference call:



Randy Miller keep building from the bottom up! keep going and stay tuned tohttp://www.independentvoting.org/ or email national@cuip.org -- listen to fairness doctrine radio show http://www.wdisam.com/ orhttp://www.cyberstationusa.com/ 8:59


Independent groups CUIP is motivating, training and supporting an activist network of independent leaders who are building throughout the country.AL, Independent Alabama


Yesterday at 9:01pm ·  ·  · Share · Flag
Randy Miller

Randy Miller if there is a single thing that I have learned in 30 years of independent organizing...only happens from the bottom up.....status of popularity of prez...biggest change Obama made under current circumstances was to get elected...powerful role by indies....thenceafter agenda determined by existing realities and little he could do....press thriving on what groups angry at prez and how....challenge for bottom up is to change political realities 8:58

Yesterday at 8:58pm ·  ·  · Flag
Randy Miller

Randy Miller bottom up movement (in NYC) forced issue onto the stage of non-partisan elections --- caused split in good government union, whole political conversation was changed not because of editorial boards but because of organizing and political power of bottom up independent movement JS 8:55

Yesterday at 8:56pm ·  ·  · Flag
Randy Miller

Randy Miller politically active college students had to confront new questions and issues
should independents have the right to participate in the politcal process
significant and practical political question 8:53

Yesterday at 8:53pm ·  ·  · Flag
Randy Miller

Randy Miller ‎"41% of American College students identify themseleves as independents" JS 8:52

Yesterday at 8:52pm ·  ·  · Flag
Randy Miller

Randy Miller ‎"partisan players don't want to overcome partisanship, they thrive on it" Jackie Salit 8:51

Yesterday at 8:51pm ·  ·  · Flag



JS is still speaking, now about the bi-partisan, nonpartisan, and move beyond labels...

JS: The 2 party system crisis is not being covered by the press... 40% of American voters are independent...
Let's reorganize our ability to reform our structural political reform...
The political parties will not reform...


8:38: JS: what is the CUIP wing of the independent movement trying to achieve? Christian Amanpour saying 2 types of unemployment, says "long time decay",,,

Jackie is talking about medical health and some personal issues of the economic crisis.


***********************************************
8:34 - Nancy Ross setting up the call for Jackie to speak on the call... Open primaries in California big break. Midterms -- independents are concerned about the process.  Activists are knocking on doors.. Jackie Salit has built a large national network...

WDIS am


8:30 - People are logging in from around the country. Certainly one of the most exciting parts of this call....


Here's the link http://bit.ly/aHcjnJ

Hey Hanksteristas!

Live from Queens New York

I'll be live-blogging Jackie Salit's national conference call starting at 8:30 EDT (about an hour from now).

Please check back. And chime in -- email, twitter, facebook - etc!

Topic for tonight's call is After California and Before the Midterms: If Independents Hold the Key, What Door Do We Want to Unlock?

NH