"Can Independents Reform America" National Conference a Success

Bill Kelleher and daughter 

Hankster Editorial Assistant Charles Perez
mans the camera at Skirball event for independents

Joe Gandelman (top right) of The Moderate Voice, blogger section at Feb. 12 independentvoting.org national conference;  Nia Ngina Meeks blue top next left

left to right: Pat Gale (Americans United to Rebuild Democracy) 

Rai-mon Nemar (LEGENDmag) and Jameson Small 

(Americans United to Rebuild Democracy) 

• INDEPENDENTS GATHER FOR NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK CITY (by Damon Eris, CAIVN) On Saturday, hundreds of Independents from across the country gathered in New York City for the CUIP’s National Conference of Independents entitled, “Can Independents Reform America?”
• Unpeeling the power of Independents: Part IV (Nia Ngina Meeks, Nia Means Purpose blog) ‘We want to see change in how the system operates,” said Jackie Salit, president of IndependentVoting.org, sponsor of the conference, Salit had helped manage Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s winning independent run for a third term at the helm of New York.
• “We are the country. We don’t have to ‘take it back.’ We do have to take control of our democracy,” she told the audience. “This has been hijacked by the political parties. We believe in creative self-governing activities, with or without a party.”
• Independent Voters in Major Conference in New York City: A Growing (But Dissed or Taken for Granted) Movement (POSTED BY JOE GANDELMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, The Moderate Voice) New York, NY — It’s a low key gathering of concerned citizens young and old, former members of the two political parties who were in office and quickly disillusioned about the priority placed on partisanship over real reform and solid policy, longtime organizers who’ve been trying (fruitlessly) for years to establish a strong third party or strong independent party, some top academics even an independent voter analyists from CNN. The event: a national conference of independents sponsored by the Committee for a Unified Independent Party aka IndependentVoting.org at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Peforming Arts.
• Find Love in the Battle (by celitheactress, The Life of the Actress "N" Such blog) On Saturday, Feb.12th I attended an amazing conference hosted by independentvoting.org – CAN INDEPENDENTS REFORM AMERICA? Thousands of independents from over 39 states came together Saturday morning to discuss the importance of the independent movement in this partisan dominated political system. As a young political independent continuing to find my way, this confrence really shed light to the inequalities in the poltical system in this country.  I heard amazing stories from independents around the country fighting for the issue of a non-partisan elections. It gave me chills and tears to hear how thousands of Americans are fighting for this, it is truly inspirational.
• The Independent Groundswell (By Solomon Kleinsmith, WNYC/It's A Free Country blog) I’m flying halfway across the country again because I want to meet more of the people spearheading this groundswell across the country. I talk to people like this all of the time through the contacts I’ve made on my blog, but I rarely get to meet any of them in person. As I look around the country I see more and more signs that people not only are rejecting the major parties and declaring their independence, but that the giant vacuum between the two major parties is beginning to be filled. As far as I know, this is the only national event that tries to bring some of those people together in one place.
• National Conference of Independents 2011 Update (Michael Drucker, Independent View) Thanks to The Hankster for inviting me to her group for lunch. At our table I meet Joe Gandelman and Rai-mon Nemar...
• Can independents reform America? Nat'l Conference of Independents this weekend (Ken Bingenheimer, National Common Ground Examiner) Can independents reform America? That theme is at the heart of the efforts of a growing number of groups these days, and it will be the focus of Committee for a Unified Independent Party (CUIP) Saturday in its National Conference of Independents. The conference will be held at the Skirball Performing Arts Center at New York University in New York City.
• National Conference of Independents in NYC (by D. Eris, Third Party and Independent Daily)
• NOTE: The Field Negro ran a link to the livestream of the conference