Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Lenora Fulani: No More Fergusons Means No More Partisan Manipulation (reddingnewsreview.com)
No More Fergusons Means No More Partisan
Manipulation
By Dr. Lenora Fulani
Sept. 5, 2014, 6 p.m. - Grief
can be a terrible blinder. Tears of rage and sorrow can fill
our eyes and make it hard to see, even though we have the
experience that we have become more lucid, more knowing and more
capable in the face of tragedy. My fear is that the death of
Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York
will make us, will make black people blind and will foster
illusions about the political actions we must take. We should
not allow that to happen.
Read more of Redding News Review here
Congressman John Lewis, whom I deeply admire and whose service to the cause of civil rights and voting rights is legendary, is among those now on the stump. "Ferguson has made it crystal clear to the African-American community and others that we've got to go to the polls," he said. Rev. Al Sharpton, with whom I just marched in Staten Island and who had me speak at his rally there, observed, "People feel like they would be betraying the spirit of what happened in Ferguson, as well as enabling this impeachment rhetoric, if there's a low turnout.” We are truly caught in the crossfire. How? Because we, who have been victimized by a profound and never-ending racial violence, are to be blamed if we do not turn out in record numbers to prevent the Democratic Party from losing seats in the US Senate. Who made up those rules? Not us, that's for sure.
It is well known in the Black community and in political circles that I am an independent. I ran for president twice as an independent in 1988 and 1992. In the first run I became the only African American and only woman to access the ballot in all 50 states. In the second, I used my candidacy to forge an alliance with the Perot movement and through the founding of the Reform Party propelled the earliest development of a new movement for political reform, one aimed at opening the electoral process to include independent voters of all racial backgrounds and political persuasions. This was based on the belief that the political parties - Democrat and Republican - were becoming completely vested in their own self-preservation and less willing or able to address the crisis of rising poverty, the breakdown of social infrastructure, and to reverse an interventionist foreign policy that undermines peace.
Read more of Redding News Review here
Today 42 percent of Americans are independents and that includes many, many Black, Latino and Asian voters, especially young people. The political system is very hostile to these voters, locking us out of primary voting in many states, forcing us into a second class status as participants in the political process. I have appealed to the Black community on many occasions to use its power to be independent as a means of leveraging our interests.
Recently, when Black voters cast ballots in the Republican primary runoff in Mississippi against the far right Tea Party candidate and for a moderate Republican, the whole world took notice. Mississippi is a state with an open primary, where all voters can choose which primary to vote in. Through this system Black voters were able to slam the door on right wing extremists.
In New York City in 2005, through the NYC Independence Party, I led a powerful coalition of Black and Latino independents and Democrats to pull 47 percent of black voters away from the Democratic Party and for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Democratic Party bigwigs from Hillary Clinton to Eliot Spitzer (remember him?) went on a rampage to undercut the independent movement. We survived, but the message to the Black community was clear. Stay put, politically speaking, or you will pay a serious price. For the most part, we have stayed put. And we continue to pay a heavy price for that immobility, do we not?
These instances of exercising independent political power were just the faintest beginnings of what can and should be a tool for Black empowerment. It's old news that we are taken for granted by the Democrats and that our political power is greatly diminished by being entirely predictable. Need I mention that the Governor of Missouri and the Mayor of New York City are both Democrats? Missouri and New York are where the two recent episodes of the excessive use of force by police took place. And yet we are being asked, some would say coerced, to buy the idea that the Democratic Party is our savior and the Republican Party is evil incarnate. Neither is true.
Each party represents a segment of the American public and both want to prevent new forces and new alignments from changing the game. This is why the growing movement for political reform - in particular that wing which is focused on reforming the primary system to downgrade the power of the parties and upgrade the power of the voters - is so important. I am a strong supporter of that movement and I want the Black community to join me in doing that. That is how we build our political power. We need to be part of new coalitions, with diverse interests that develop our capacity to grow our political strength. We need a system that encourages—rather than represses—new coalitions.
Barack Obama, who was elected president by winning the support of independent voters in the Democratic Primary in sufficient numbers to defeat Hillary Clinton, will be leaving office in two years. Electing him was a great accomplishment for the nation and for Black America. His ability to lead, however, was greatly impaired by the demands the Democratic Party placed on him to re-enforce its power. He turned down many overtures from the progressive wing of the independent movement to develop a new majority coalition and this has greatly weakened the country and, ironically, the Black community. Sadly enough, the legacy of America's first black president may be to leave the Black community more isolated, deprived and underdeveloped than it has been for 60 years. Black people feel very protective of Barack Obama. He is Black, and he has come under vicious attack from the Right Wing. But the Democratic Party opportunizes off of that and tries to extend it to require loyalty to the party above all else. Promoting the idea that justice for Ferguson means voting for Democrats is one more manipulation in that game.
As far as the upcoming Senate races are concerned, my message to the black community is this. Make sure the candidate you support gives their support to all forms of voter mobility - open primaries, nonpartisan primaries, nonpartisan redistricting, etc. No voter, regardless of race, political creed or color, should be required to join a political party in order to participate in an election. That is a violation of the most fundamental of voting rights!
Nothing can bring Michael Brown or Eric Garner back to life. Both were poor Black males, like millions of others, for whom this country cannot find a place, other than in jail or in the grave. We must be willing to make real and significant changes in the way our political process works if we mean to take these deaths seriously. The same slogans, the same funeral grief, and the same voting patterns simply are not enough.
Recently, in response to pressure from independents and the nonpartisan reform movement, New York Senator Charles Schumer, the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee responsible for electing Democrats to the US Senate, reversed his prior position and publicly endorsed a Top Two nonpartisan election system in which all voters - Independents, Democrats, Republicans, third party members - get to vote in every round of every election. This is a sign of the growing strength of that movement, a movement in which my very dear friend and colleague Jacqueline Salit is a major leader.
However, the conventional wisdom is that Black people will not rally to this cause, that we have one and only one political home and that is in the Democratic Party, so the inclusion of non-Democrats is of no value to us. We must defy that conventional wisdom! First of all, many of us are independents –about 31 percent according to some polls. And second, we need to coalesce with other Americans who share our belief that the system is no longer working for the American people. 63% of independents in New York, according to a recent Quinnipiac Poll, say that the death of Eric Garner "was a tragic thing and there is absolutely no excuse for how the police acted."
My colleagues Dr. Jessie Fields and Alvaader Frazier, Esq, are leading a campaign directed at Schumer demanding that he lead the fight for nonpartisan elections in New York. Hundreds of signatures were gathered in just a few hours at Harlem Week. The Black community is hungry to find new ways of expressing ourselves. We must do more than go to funerals and weep, but then turn a blind eye to the political changes that must occur. We must free up the Black community to become more powerful. Join me in building a national Black Reformers Network.
Dr. Lenora Fulani
is a developmental psychologist, education innovator and the country’s
leading political independent. In 2006, she initiated Operation
Conversation: Cops and Kids, a successful, alternative approach to
addressing police / community relations.
Thanks to Read Redding News Review here
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Federal judge rejects councilwoman's challenge to NJ primary system
Federal judge rejects Morristown councilwoman’s challenge to New Jersey primary system
August 19, 2014 by
 | |
| Community Activist Tia Williams talking to voters in Jersey City |
“The Supreme Court has drawn an important distinction between casting a ballot in a general election, which implies the ‘fundamental’ right to vote, and nominating a candidate for general election, which does not,” wrote Judge Chesler, granting New Jersey Secretary of State Kim Guadagno’s motion to dismiss the case.
Harry Kresky, one of the lawyers representing Feldman and eight other plaintiffs, said they are weighing an appeal.
 |
| Harry Kresky, Councel for independentvoting.org |
 |
| Morristown NJ Council President Rebecca Feldman Photo by Kevin Coughlin |
“This is only the first round,” said Feldman, an Independent on the town council, in a statement. “The other plaintiffs and I never thought it would be easy to get beyond the hold the major parties have on our election system.”
Go to independenvoting.org for more information about the national movement for a fair and open -- and nonpartisan -- primary election system.
A tip -- you can read more from Harry Kresky about our current constitutional crisis here.
- NH
Federal judge dismisses law suit challenging NJ primary election system
Aug. 18, 2014
Federal judge dismisses suite challenging NJ primary election system
by Karen Sudol in The Record
...“By denying over 2.6 million New Jersey voters the right to cast a vote in primary elections, the state has disenfranchised nearly half of its electorate, thereby, giving private political parties a state subsidized advantage and partisan voters greater and unequal access to the voting franchise,” the lawsuit contended.
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”...
Federal judge dismisses suite challenging NJ primary election system
by Karen Sudol in The Record
...“By denying over 2.6 million New Jersey voters the right to cast a vote in primary elections, the state has disenfranchised nearly half of its electorate, thereby, giving private political parties a state subsidized advantage and partisan voters greater and unequal access to the voting franchise,” the lawsuit contended.
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”...
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpuf
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpuf
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpuf
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpuf
The Record
Independent voters who challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s
primary election system by claiming they had a right to vote in
elections that nominate candidates for general runoffs received a blow
last week when a federal judge determined that the system will remain
intact.
Judge Stanley R. Chesler of U.S District Court in Newark wrote that while the plaintiffs in the suit believe the fundamental right to vote extends to primary elections conducted by political parties of which they are not members, that is not the law established by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has drawn an important distinction between casting a ballot in a general election, which implicates the fundamental right to vote and nominating a candidate for a general election, which does not,” he wrote in his 12-page decision that dismissed the suit on Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed in March by seven registered voters – four unaffiliated, including one from Bergen County, and three registered with a party – and two non-profit organizations that represent independent voters. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who serves as the acting secretary of state, was named as the defendant because she administers the state election system.
The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s primary election system that allows political parties the right to use taxpayer money to pay for the elections. By appropriating public money for private purposes, it forces unaffiliated voters to pay for an election process that denies them full participation, according to the lawsuit.
“By denying over 2.6 million New Jersey voters the right to cast a vote in primary elections, the state has disenfranchised nearly half of its electorate, thereby, giving private political parties a state subsidized advantage and partisan voters greater and unequal access to the voting franchise,” the lawsuit contended.
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
Representatives of the governor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday evening.
- See more at:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpufJudge Stanley R. Chesler of U.S District Court in Newark wrote that while the plaintiffs in the suit believe the fundamental right to vote extends to primary elections conducted by political parties of which they are not members, that is not the law established by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has drawn an important distinction between casting a ballot in a general election, which implicates the fundamental right to vote and nominating a candidate for a general election, which does not,” he wrote in his 12-page decision that dismissed the suit on Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed in March by seven registered voters – four unaffiliated, including one from Bergen County, and three registered with a party – and two non-profit organizations that represent independent voters. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who serves as the acting secretary of state, was named as the defendant because she administers the state election system.
The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s primary election system that allows political parties the right to use taxpayer money to pay for the elections. By appropriating public money for private purposes, it forces unaffiliated voters to pay for an election process that denies them full participation, according to the lawsuit.
“By denying over 2.6 million New Jersey voters the right to cast a vote in primary elections, the state has disenfranchised nearly half of its electorate, thereby, giving private political parties a state subsidized advantage and partisan voters greater and unequal access to the voting franchise,” the lawsuit contended.
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
Representatives of the governor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday evening.
The Record
Independent voters who challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s
primary election system by claiming they had a right to vote in
elections that nominate candidates for general runoffs received a blow
last week when a federal judge determined that the system will remain
intact.
Judge Stanley R. Chesler of U.S District Court in Newark wrote that while the plaintiffs in the suit believe the fundamental right to vote extends to primary elections conducted by political parties of which they are not members, that is not the law established by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has drawn an important distinction between casting a ballot in a general election, which implicates the fundamental right to vote and nominating a candidate for a general election, which does not,” he wrote in his 12-page decision that dismissed the suit on Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed in March by seven registered voters – four unaffiliated, including one from Bergen County, and three registered with a party – and two non-profit organizations that represent independent voters. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who serves as the acting secretary of state, was named as the defendant because she administers the state election system.
The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s primary election system that allows political parties the right to use taxpayer money to pay for the elections. By appropriating public money for private purposes, it forces unaffiliated voters to pay for an election process that denies them full participation, according to the lawsuit.
“By denying over 2.6 million New Jersey voters the right to cast a vote in primary elections, the state has disenfranchised nearly half of its electorate, thereby, giving private political parties a state subsidized advantage and partisan voters greater and unequal access to the voting franchise,” the lawsuit contended.
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
Representatives of the governor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday evening.
- See more at:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-nj-primary-election-system-1.1069358#sthash.77x0Bn8J.dpufJudge Stanley R. Chesler of U.S District Court in Newark wrote that while the plaintiffs in the suit believe the fundamental right to vote extends to primary elections conducted by political parties of which they are not members, that is not the law established by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has drawn an important distinction between casting a ballot in a general election, which implicates the fundamental right to vote and nominating a candidate for a general election, which does not,” he wrote in his 12-page decision that dismissed the suit on Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed in March by seven registered voters – four unaffiliated, including one from Bergen County, and three registered with a party – and two non-profit organizations that represent independent voters. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who serves as the acting secretary of state, was named as the defendant because she administers the state election system.
The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey’s primary election system that allows political parties the right to use taxpayer money to pay for the elections. By appropriating public money for private purposes, it forces unaffiliated voters to pay for an election process that denies them full participation, according to the lawsuit.
“By denying over 2.6 million New Jersey voters the right to cast a vote in primary elections, the state has disenfranchised nearly half of its electorate, thereby, giving private political parties a state subsidized advantage and partisan voters greater and unequal access to the voting franchise,” the lawsuit contended.
Harry Kresky, one of three lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said they were considering an appeal.
“Judge Chesler treated the case from a vantage point that the plaintiffs who were mainly independent voters were seeking to vote in the primaries,” he said. “That’s not what they’re seeking – it’s whether the state can fund and conduct an election system that gives favorable treatment to voters who are members of major parties.”
Representatives of the governor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday evening.
Monday, July 28, 2014
An Open Letter to Sen. Charles Schumer: End Partisan Primaries, Save America
Dear Senator Schumer,
Thank you for writing “End Partisan Primaries, Save America” in the July 21st edition of The New York Times. You are right---closed party primaries do “poison the health” of our democracy, and we need to move to Top Two Open Primaries all across the country, including here in New York. As you described, in a Top Two open primary system, all voters can vote and choose from all the candidates. The top two vote getters would then appear on the November ballot.
In your oped, you call for the formation of a national movement to bring this reform to all the states in the country. There is one, led by forces such as IndependentVoting.org, Endpartisanship.org, and many others across the country. This fall, a Top Two Open primary initiative will be on the ballot in Oregon. Plans are underway to put it back on the ballot in Arizona in 2016.
Here in NYC, the NYC Independence Party, former Mayor Bloomberg, and the Citizen’s Union have championed this reform. Right now in NYC, there are more than a million voters independent of the two major parties who are locked out of our primaries, where most elected officials are actually chosen. In New York State that number is over 4 million.
We applaud and welcome you to the movement for nonpartisan primary reform, Sen. Schumer. Yours is an important voice. We call on you to help make Top Two nonpartisan primaries a reality here in New York.
Yours truly,
The Hanksteristas
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Ohio Independent Voters Protest Voting Restrictions
Independent voters across the country are protesting exclusion from party-run private primaries.
In Ohio check out their website at http://independentohio.org/ or email Cynthia Carpathios at ccarpathios@independentohio.org
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/05/independent_voters_protest_ohi.html
Rick Robel at protest in Columbus.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
PA Independents: I Can't Vote Today - Ask Me Why
Friday, April 18, 2014
Friday, April 11, 2014
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
Jackie Salit: Something's Rotten In...
...New York State politics?
No! That couldn't be! "...Don’t miss the latest drama about the Independence Party in which Governor Cuomo is cast as Hamlet, deciding whether “to IP or not IP.” Independents must consider our alternatives. Here’s the backstory..."
Jackie Salit helped establish the Independence Party in 1994
and managed all three of Mayor Bloomberg's campaigns on the Independence
Party line. She is the author of Independents Rising.
No! That couldn't be! "...Don’t miss the latest drama about the Independence Party in which Governor Cuomo is cast as Hamlet, deciding whether “to IP or not IP.” Independents must consider our alternatives. Here’s the backstory..."
Independence Party founder, Jacqueline Salit weighs in on
the Governor's race and
the fate of the Independence Party in
Jackie Salit just posted an opinion piece on the NYC Independence Party website calling for Lenora Fulani to challenge Gov Cuomo in 2014. In it, you'll get her take on the Governor's race and the political gamesmanship and controversy currently surrounding of the New York State Independence Party.
Jackie Salit helped establish the Independence Party in 1994
and managed all three of Mayor Bloomberg's campaigns on the Independence
Party line. She is the author of Independents Rising.
This
is all sad commentary on the Independence Party’s fate. All the
players in this drama, either directly or indirectly, propped up MacKay
as he did their bidding, stripping away the party’s independence and
vision. Now, it’s time to kill it off, they say. Just as the child who
murders his parents and throws himself on the mercy of the court
because he is an orphan, these anti-independent schemers beg for
justice.
The climax will star the embattled Cuomo, who, in Hamlet-like fashion, must resolve whether “to IP or not to IP.” Either he does business with MacKay or becomes a full-fledged Working Families Party-allied Democrat, even as the WFP is going through its own public handwringing. He is caught between the Devil and deep blue sea.
- See more at: http://www.ipnyc.org/home/opinion-somethings-rotten-in/#sthash.6tGQcfte.dpuf
The climax will star the embattled Cuomo, who, in Hamlet-like fashion, must resolve whether “to IP or not to IP.” Either he does business with MacKay or becomes a full-fledged Working Families Party-allied Democrat, even as the WFP is going through its own public handwringing. He is caught between the Devil and deep blue sea.
- See more at: http://www.ipnyc.org/home/opinion-somethings-rotten-in/#sthash.6tGQcfte.dpuf
This
is all sad commentary on the Independence Party’s fate. All the
players in this drama, either directly or indirectly, propped up MacKay
as he did their bidding, stripping away the party’s independence and
vision. Now, it’s time to kill it off, they say. Just as the child who
murders his parents and throws himself on the mercy of the court
because he is an orphan, these anti-independent schemers beg for
justice.
The climax will star the embattled Cuomo, who, in Hamlet-like fashion, must resolve whether “to IP or not to IP.” Either he does business with MacKay or becomes a full-fledged Working Families Party-allied Democrat, even as the WFP is going through its own public handwringing. He is caught between the Devil and deep blue sea.
- See more at: http://www.ipnyc.org/home/opinion-somethings-rotten-in/#sthash.6tGQcfte.dpuf
The climax will star the embattled Cuomo, who, in Hamlet-like fashion, must resolve whether “to IP or not to IP.” Either he does business with MacKay or becomes a full-fledged Working Families Party-allied Democrat, even as the WFP is going through its own public handwringing. He is caught between the Devil and deep blue sea.
- See more at: http://www.ipnyc.org/home/opinion-somethings-rotten-in/#sthash.6tGQcfte.dpuf
Must read for independents everywhere!
- NH
Don’t
miss the latest drama about the Independence Party in which Governor
Cuomo is cast as Hamlet, deciding whether “to IP or not IP.”
Independents must consider our alternatives. Here’s the backstory. -
See more at:
http://www.ipnyc.org/home/opinion-somethings-rotten-in/#sthash.6tGQcfte.dpuf
This
is all sad commentary on the Independence Party’s fate. All the
players in this drama, either directly or indirectly, propped up MacKay
as he did their bidding, stripping away the party’s independence and
vision. Now, it’s time to kill it off, they say. Just as the child who
murders his parents and throws himself on the mercy of the court
because he is an orphan, these anti-independent schemers beg for
justice.
The climax will star the embattled Cuomo, who, in Hamlet-like fashion, must resolve whether “to IP or not to IP.” Either he does business with MacKay or becomes a full-fledged Working Families Party-allied Democrat, even as the WFP is going through its own public handwringing. He is caught between the Devil and deep blue sea.
- See more at: http://www.ipnyc.org/home/opinion-somethings-rotten-in/#sthash.6tGQcfte.dpuf
The climax will star the embattled Cuomo, who, in Hamlet-like fashion, must resolve whether “to IP or not to IP.” Either he does business with MacKay or becomes a full-fledged Working Families Party-allied Democrat, even as the WFP is going through its own public handwringing. He is caught between the Devil and deep blue sea.
- See more at: http://www.ipnyc.org/home/opinion-somethings-rotten-in/#sthash.6tGQcfte.dpuf
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Jackie Salit: Arizona a Bellwether of National Independent Political Trend
Please visit http://bcove.me/khcb5tbo
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Alex Myers Gets Revolutionary with Politics for the People April 13
So what else is new in the independent political movement?
Not exactly new, but Cathy L. Stewart is hosting the next P4P Book Club conference call with author Alex Myers. Read his book Revolutionary and call in for the book club call with the author on Sunday, April 13th at 7 pm EST.
Revolutionary by Alex Myers
“In 1782, during the final clashes of the Revolutionary War, one of our young nation’s most valiant and beloved soldiers was, secretly, a woman. When Deborah Samson disguised herself as a man and joined the Continental Army, she wasn’t just fighting for America’s independence—she was fighting for her own."
This is Alex Myers' first novel. Born and raised in Paris, Maine, Alex was raised as a girl and attended boarding school at Phillips Exeter Academy. In his senior year, Alex came out as transgender, the first ever at Exeter. After Exeter, Alex earned his bachelor’s at Harvard University, also the first openly transgender student at Harvard, and worked to change the University’s nondiscrimination clause to include gender identity.
Very timely on all accounts. Highly recommended!
NH
Sunday, March 16, 2014
RT America with #EndPartisanship's Chad Peace on Breaking the Party Grip on Our Democracy
Hey hey Hanksteristas!
Lots of breaking news in the independent movement lately! If you have not seen this piece by RT America, check it out now:
RT America invited #EndPartisanship’s legal counsel, Chad Peace, on their ‘Breaking the Set‘ segment to discuss the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that have been used to conduct closed partisan primary elections.
Host Abby Martin [Move over, Rachel Maddow, WAY over!] discussed the record low turnout rate in states like New Jersey and New York where less than 5% of eligible voters ultimately decide who can be their state’s next Governor or even Senator.
Stay tuned -- more to come from America's growing independent movement!
NH
Lots of breaking news in the independent movement lately! If you have not seen this piece by RT America, check it out now:
RT America invited #EndPartisanship’s legal counsel, Chad Peace, on their ‘Breaking the Set‘ segment to discuss the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that have been used to conduct closed partisan primary elections.
Host Abby Martin [Move over, Rachel Maddow, WAY over!] discussed the record low turnout rate in states like New Jersey and New York where less than 5% of eligible voters ultimately decide who can be their state’s next Governor or even Senator.
Stay tuned -- more to come from America's growing independent movement!
NH
Monday, February 10, 2014
Una solución a la polarización en los Estados Unidos
BI PARTIDISMO UN PROBLEMA EN NUESTRA POLITICA
Disculpa que me haya desaparecido. He tenido un invierno muy dificil y mucha nieve. Estoy de regreso porque creo que es importante en el 2014 educar a la gente sobre nuestra politica.
Aqui le dejo en enlace para que entiendan un poco sobre como los partidos controlan todo y una de las muchas soluciones en los que ellos no quieren ejercer.
Por favor lean, vamos a educarnos.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
"Hold Your Horses on the Partisanship, Boys! Our Revolution for Independence didn't include political parties!"
That's what George Washington said as he was leaving office as our first and thus far only nonpartisan President. Captured here on Wall Street, Geo. W.
Check out independentvoting.org, IVN and the coalition called EndPartisanship.org
Yes, the movement for independence in America did not end in 1776!
Let's continue the revolution, and let's develop!
-NH
Check out independentvoting.org, IVN and the coalition called EndPartisanship.org
Yes, the movement for independence in America did not end in 1776!
Let's continue the revolution, and let's develop!
-NH
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
An Independent View of NJ's Gov Christie "Traffic-Gate" Scandal
From Cathy L. Stewart's Politics for the People blog:
Here is what Phyllis had to say:
To the Editor:
Re “ ‘Very Sad’ Christie Extends Apology in Bridge Scandal” (front page, Jan. 10):
As an independent, I look at the politically engineered traffic jam in Fort Lee, N.J., as a product of the partisan political culture. The email exchanges between a member of Gov. Chris Christie’s staff and his Port Authority appointee speak volumes about the norms and values of this culture, in which political operatives’ overriding obligation is to their own side’s interests....
Read more to see what the (all the news that fits the party bosses) Times left out...
An Independent View of NJ’s Christie scandal
Imagine my delight on Saturday morning, when reading the editorial page of the New York Times, I came across a letter by a dear friend and independent activist, Dr. Phyllis Goldberg. She was the lead letter to the editor under the heading “Christie’s Efforts at Damage Control.”Here is what Phyllis had to say:
Re “ ‘Very Sad’ Christie Extends Apology in Bridge Scandal” (front page, Jan. 10):
As an independent, I look at the politically engineered traffic jam in Fort Lee, N.J., as a product of the partisan political culture. The email exchanges between a member of Gov. Chris Christie’s staff and his Port Authority appointee speak volumes about the norms and values of this culture, in which political operatives’ overriding obligation is to their own side’s interests....
Read more to see what the (all the news that fits the party bosses) Times left out...
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