After a series of gaffe's made by Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney overseas, many are wondering whether Romney's overseas trip was a success or an epic failure.
Our OutFront Political Strike team weighed in on whether Romney would have been better off staying home.
Dr. Omar H. Ali:
No. In our largely he said-he said partisan-driven political culture, negativity will trump positive messages and efforts to create meaningful dialogue every time… The reason why so many people are abandoning their partisan affiliation (currently 4 out of 10 voters are now independent) is because of widespread and increasing recognition that the parties are more interested in winning (and keeping their offices) than creating healthy, meaningful dialogue for the nation's development.
Jason Olson: California's independent voters are big winners in Tuesday's primary election (Visalia Times Delta) Even before the first vote is counted, Tuesday's statewide primary election had a big winner: California's independent voters. For the first time in more than a decade, the votes of the state's 3.6 million independent voters (now called "No Party Preference") actually mattered in state legislative and congressional elections. The political impact on the state's elections has been dramatic. NOTE: This article also ran on The Hankster on Monday
California voters mixed about new top-two primary (By Jim Sanders, Sac Bee) The new system also gives more clout to no-party-preference voters, whose ranks have jumped from 10.7 percent of California's electorate in 1996 to 21.3 percent today. Republican Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria, as a state senator, forced the top-two primary onto the 2010 ballot by making it one of several demands to Democratic legislative leaders in return for his pivotal vote to end an 81-day budget impasse in 2009.
Incumbents advance in low turnout Calif. primary (Juliet Williams, RealClearPolitics) Feinstein, the 78-year-old incumbent Democrat, easily advanced to the general election, where she will face the next highest vote-getter. Elizabeth Emken, an autism activist who won the GOP's endorsement, had a healthy lead in a crowded field of 23 challengers, 14 of them Republicans.
I don't like being told how to vote (LETTER Arizona Republic) Regarding the letter Saturday about America having a three-party system -- "(R)epublicans, (D)emocrats and (I)ndecisives": It was cute. It was also far from the truth.
Senate teams clash over a schedule for debates Brown, Warren OK 2 on TV; rest in flux (By Noah Bierman, Boston Globe Staff) Mickey Edwards, a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma who owns a home in Hingham, said both sides are seeking public relations advantage. “They’re playing strategy games,’’ he said. “The feeling would be probably, OK, because Brown was the first to say, ‘I would do this,’ then the Warren campaign says, ‘Let’s call for more to make him look like he’s afraid of debates.’ ’’
DECLARATION OF THE INDEPENDENTS (By Omar H. Ali and Donna Moser, News Observer) The widely-discussed yet continually misunderstood "independent voter" is neither ideologically driven nor a closet partisan (be it Democrat nor Republican). We are not "swing voters,"' nor are we "moderates." Rather, we come from across the political spectrum and the one thing we agree upon is the need to minimize partisan control over the political process.
The Impact of Independent Voters (WUNC) Host Frank Stasio talks with three of the event’s participants: Omar Ali, associate professor of African-American Studies and History at UNC-Greensboro; Donna Moser, co-founder of North Carolina Independents; and Brittany Rodman, a young, registered independent voter.
Will Open Primaries Shake Up Politics in Arizona? (Pamela Powers Hannley, Huffington Post) Open primaries -- where all candidates regardless of party affiliation are listed on one ballot -- would give voters, rather than political parties, a greater voice in government, says Ted Downing, Ph.D., research professor of social development in the Arizona Research Laboratories at the University of Arizona and one of the initiative's architects.
Will Arizona's GOP Self-Destruct? (By Terry Greene Sterling, Daily Beast) The Arizona GOP already has a set of challenges that it hasn’t faced before. Herstam notes that an energetic petition drive for open primaries is underway. If it gathers enough signatures in the next five months, it will show up on the November ballot. If passed, the open primary system will likely unseat extremists now in the Arizona legislature. Expect both parties to oppose it.
Arizona Top-Two Initiative Has Collected 100,000 Signatures So Far (Ballot Access News) It is believed that California multi-millionaire Charles Munger, Jr., is providing much of the financial backing for the initiative, so there seems little doubt that it will qualify.
In recent days, lots of attention has been directed towards the Iowa caucus. At nearly 1,000 miles away, North Carolinians may be wondering why this is important to them. WFMY News 2 spoke with Dr. Omar Ali, Independent Political Analyst and Historian at UNC Greensboro to bring you more information.
WFMY: Why do we, here in the Triad and across the country, need to care about the Iowa Caucus?
Dr. Ali: In 2008, 13% of GOP voters self-identified as independent which translated into about 16,000 Iowa voters participating in the GOP caucuses as independents. On the Democratic side, about 20% self-identified as independent which translated into about 50,000 voters. What this means is that In 2008, independents made a very strong statement in Iowa when 75% of them chose to vote in the Democratic caucuses. Given that there isn't a competitive Democratic caucus this year, the voter turnout among independents will give some indication of how compelling voters find the GOP case against Obama and his administration.
WFMY: How does money factor into early primaries (especially this year when so many states moved their caucuses/primaries so early)?
Dr. Ali: Money is always a factor. Having more money has helped candidates such as Romney who had a relatively late start in Iowa this go-around make a strong showing in the polls. Money can buy organizations, but what money doesn't do is necessarily win the caucuses. Iowans are independent-thinking and are looking for candidates who will meaningfully address the state of our economy, part of which means having a president who can equally address the partisan gridlock of Congress. Each state legislature will offer its own explanation as to why they moved things up. What we do know is that moving things up certainly favors those with cash in hand.
WFMY: Is Iowa (or any early states) really a good representation of voters in the US?
Dr. Ali: Obama and his team will be watching closely, not just to see who wins and places but to see what, if anything, they can learn about the movement of independents. There are strong progressive voices and leaders in the independent movement - like Jackie Salit, leader of IndependentVoting.org - and the Obama people may find that they want to make an alliance with that wing of the independent movement so that it can influence the direction of independents in the general election. And, yes, Iowa is overwhelmingly white (and largely evangelical) but it's also the case that in terms of the "independent vote" (which is the most undecided group of voters) Iowa could project more broadly. The undecideds, as you know, are what the Republican candidates are most concerned with.
SPECIAL REPORT: Omar H. Ali Speaks Out About Occupy Wall Street and Need for Political Reform
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Representative Darrell Issa Leads List Of Wealthiest Member Of Congress (Written by USA Today) VIDEO: Ali on CBS discussing money and politics, emphasizing the need to increase the political participation of the 99% through structural reforms as opposed to trying to regulate the 1% (which has not worked since McCain-Feingold). NC Occupy movement takes stock - Occupy movement in NC takes stock after 2 months (WAVY NBC Channel 10 - Portsmouth VA) NOTE: Above AP article also picked up by Boston Herald Race and Occupy Wall Street (by Frank Stasio and Ginny Mueller, WUNC North Carolina Public Radio) AUDIO The Occupy Wall Street movement has spread across the country and
captured the attention of millions of Americans. The movement deals
with national issues, but it doesn't necessarily represent all factions
of society. Are minorities being well represented in the revolution of
the 99 percent? Host Frank Stasio talks about Occupy Wall Street and
race with Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP; Omar Ali,
an African-American studies professor at the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro; and Marcella Robinson, an Occupy Raleigh
protester and member of the group Mortgage Fraud in North Carolina. A New Poll Reveals Only 17% of Americans Are Happy With The Direction Our Country Is Headed (Written by Rosemary Plybon, CBS Good Morning Show, WFMY News 2) Occupy Greensboro Movement discusses social equality (by Yasmine Regester, Carolina Peacemaker) The Occupy Greensboro Movement stemmed from the Occupy Wall Street
protests that began in New York in early September directed against
economic and social equality. The protests have since spread across the
U.S. The slogan for the movement has been "We are the 99%" which
according to Dr. Omar Ali, University of North Carolina Greensboro
(UNCG) Associate Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies and
panelist, it refers to the 99 percent that are not wealthy and have
been hit hard with the downturn in the economy.
OCCUPY WALL STREET 'The New Tammany Hall' (By MATTHEW KAMINSKI, Wall Street Journal) Fred Siegel: The institutional barriers to change have grown, too. The Working Families Party, founded in 1998, is the political arm of government unions and a driver of turnout in local elections. Though little known outside New York, the influence of this third party can be seen on the City Council, which has come to tilt heavily left. So far, says Mr. Siegel, the party has a better political track record than Tammany. "With the exception of Giuliani, they've never lost an election. No matter who wins, they're OK."
The Occupy Wall Street movement has spread across the country and
captured the attention of millions of Americans. The movement deals
with national issues, but it doesn't necessarily represent all factions
of society. Are minorities being well represented in the revolution of
the 99 percent? Host Frank Stasio talks about Occupy Wall Street and
race with Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi NAACP; Omar Ali,
an African-American studies professor at the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro; and Marcella Robinson, an Occupy Raleigh
protester and member of the group Mortgage Fraud in North Carolina.
INDEPENDENT VOTERS Ali interviewed about elections (University of North Carolina Greensboro News) WITH VIDEO Historian Omar Ali spoke to WFMY about the Nov. 8 elections. The election results reflect the same distrust of government and the two major parties that has sparked the Tea Party and Occupy movements, he said.
Independent Voters Want President's Attention (NPR, WFDD FM 88.5, North Carolina) On Tuesday, October 18, he heard President Obama speak in Jamestown. According to Dr. Ali, while the President and other politicians talk about how they plan to create new jobs, unaffiliated voters are frustrated with bipartisan politics. He tells WFDD's Kathryn Mobley there are about 1.5 million unaffiliated voters in North Carolina. But he says he believes that number would be higher if there were open primaries. Ali speaks to WFMY about Obama visit (UNC Greensboro University News, Posted by Dan Nonte) SEE VIDEO BELOW
Obama Shouldn't Use Bush's Reelect Strategy - Bush-Cheney '04 may have scraped through a victory, but the same tactics won't work for Obama. John Avlon on five reasons 2012 is different. (The Daily Beast)
On the Agenda: Independent voters still up for grabs in 2012 (By: Harvey Kronberg, YNN Austin) Independent voters broke left in 2008, galvanized by a visceral dislike of Sarah Palin combined with anxiety that John McCain was over his head facing the possible financial apocalypse. While there is not yet a Republican candidate to contrast, the 2012 independent voter is now deeply unhappy with Barack Obama.
Discrimination denies independent voters fair access (By OMAR H. ALI, News Record Greensboro NC) Across the world, here in North Carolina, where my own little family now lives and where I teach history at UNCG, I am part of a different movement for democracy. I am part of a movement of independent voters who do not want to be marginalized through election laws and regulations set by Democratic and Republican legislators.
INDEPENDENT VOICES August 'Gus' Preschel and Dr. Omar Ali (WFDD Voices & Viewpoints, Denise Franklin) Dr. Ali describes some of the challenges of being a Muslim American post 9-11.
Listen (mp3) here.
CLEAN ELECTIONS PSN 2011 Election Reform Roundup: Conservatives Push Voter Suppression Nationwide (Cristina Francisco-McGuire, Progressive States Network) Advocates such as Project Vote, Demos, ACLU, Lawyers’ Committee, and NAACP have also played a key role in defending democracy throughout the states. Not only have they filed challenges against legislation such as Florida’s Voter Suppression Act and Missouri’s voter ID ballot initiative, but lawsuits to ensure state agency compliance under the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA) have been refreshingly successful. In 2011 alone, lawsuits in Indiana and New Mexico resulted in settlements that reinforce the NVRA’s mandate that public assistance agencies offer voter registration materials to clients. Lawsuits in Louisiana and Georgia are ongoing, while advocates have filed notice in Michigan and Texas regarding similar NVRA violations.
On SundayCNN’s Don Lemon brought back his independent analyst panel to get their reactions to the debt ceiling limit crisis. He has had this panel composed of TMV’s Joe Gandelman, Dr. Omar Ali, and Nicole Kurokawa Neily on approximately seven times since November 2009 — often tracking members down when they were traveling.
Independent Voices in Debt Debate (Don Lemon, CNN) Joe Gandelman, Nicole Neily, and Omar H. Ali. "If President Obama wants to attract independent voters, he has to take a firm stance in favor of issues that will open up the political process. Right now we have 80% of Americans who are unhappy and don't trust the government and 9.8% unemployment--that's a crisis. There is a connection between the political process and the economy." VIDEO
Independents More Likely Than Others To Say The U.S. Is In Decline (Ricky Kreitner, Business Insider) 48% of non-affiliated voters said the U.S. is in decline… The most optimistic voters, it seems, are Democrats, blacks, and young people. Over half of respondents in each group said they believed America's best days were yet to come.
The Hill Poll: One in 3 voters say the US has passed its peak (By Elise Viebeck, The Hill) Blacks and whites differed markedly on economic questions, with 78 percent of blacks saying their situations had either stayed the same or improved since Obama took office. Among whites, an overwhelming proportion (87 percent) said their situations had stayed the same or gotten worse.
Pew survey analyzes Independent, Democratic, and Republican voter trends (by Christopher A. Guzman, CAIVN) Overall, partisan affiliation with the Democratic party has fallen from a quarter century high in 2008. From 1990 to 2011, Independents have grown steadily from 28% to 34%. This outpaces the percentage of Republicans, whose current identification of voters matches the 28% that Independents had a few times in the past eleven years.
Today, Sunday, July 31st at 7:00 pm/ET, Dr. Omar Ali, Joe Gandelman and Nicole Kurokawa will appear as a guest on CNN as host Don Lemon brings back his independent panel for commentary on the week's political news.
Omar is Editor of The Neo-Independent who latest installment is available here.
Joe Gandelman is the founder and Executive Editor of The Moderate Voice.
In case you missed them, below are links to recent CBS and Fox news segments featuring voices from the IndependentVoting.org network.
IndependentVoting.org President Jackie Salit appeared on Fox & Friends introducing herself as a member of the "anti-Party" and among the 38% of Americans who don't like parties and don't like partisanship. "There is no middle ground, but there is a way to bring Americans together, and the way to do that is around the issue of structural political reform" said Salit.
Time is running out to raise the debt ceiling before the U.S. begins to default on its obligations, a deal appears to be nowhere in sight, and Democrats and Republicans only seem to be getting angrier at each other.
So, who's to blame for the debt lid gridlock in Washington? "The Early Show on Saturday Morning" put together a panel of independent voters to address the question.
This "Fox and Friends " segment Tuesday on the budget negotiations featured independent voters John Odycke from New York, Greg Moohn in the DC bureau and Linda Ricke in Tallahassee, Florida.
"Negotiations implies the assumption that the two sides are actually listening to each other, not just talking at each other."
"The Republicans want spending cuts. The Democrats want to preserve the safety net. Obama believes that his job is to stitch together a solution that draws from both. Put another way, he's trying to be the non-partisan President. And no doubt, the President's advisors hope that independent voters - who decided the last two elections - (actually three, since independents in open primary and caucus states picked Obama over Hillary Clinton) will see him that way."
Wednesday, July 27th at 8:15 am/ET, catch independentvoting.org's Jackie Salit on "Fox and Friends."
Jackie Salit, a twenty-year veteran of the independent movement, is president of IndependentVoting.org and launched The Neo-Independent magazine in the Spring of 2004. A prominent leader in the fight for open primaries, she conducts regular national conference calls with over 150 grassroots independent leaders from around the country. An independent political strategist and journalist, she managed Michael Bloomberg's independent campaigns for Mayor of New York City in 2001, 2005 and 2010, and has appeared as a commentator on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. She produced the documentary "How the Independent Movement Went Left By Going Right" as well as the video "Can Independents Reform America?" Salit lives in New York City.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Ali told the audience that the book would not have been possible absent his experience working as a political organizer.
He said being an activist had allowed him to see things differently so that when, as a graduate student, he approached the subject of black political history in America, he saw gaps in the existing scholarship and unattended clues. He then began a process to uncover and piece together the largely unknown and untold story of black populism in America—the largest independent black political movement prior to the civil rights movement.
When it comes to independent voters and their location in American politics, a lot of people are seeing things in a new way.
Dr. Ali's book is a success. So much so that Charles Postel, author of The Populist Visionwhich won the Bancroft Prize—the highest award given for works of historical scholarship—drew upon his work in a reshaping of the history of populism in the late nineteenth century.
When it comes to independent voters and their location in American politics, a lot of people are seeing things in a new way. That’s because the American people—all of us—are collectively going through the experience of our country becoming more independent, whether we’re affiliated with a party or not, politically active or never voted. One impact of that process is that what was once common, becomes questioned.
Take for example a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal entitled “New Law on Ethics May Face Challenge.” It reports on a controversy in New York surrounding who would be allowed to serve on a newly formed ethics body with the power to investigate state officials who run afoul of ethics rules.
The fact that power on the board was divvied up evenly between Republicans and Democrats raised sharp objections from leading First Amendment scholars and constitutional lawyers prompting them to warn that the new ethics body may be destined for legal challenges in federal court if the possibility for independents to serve on it was eliminated.
Where once an equitable power sharing arrangement between Democrats and Republicans would be welcomed and applauded as fair, it has become suspect. That’s the power of a 40-year trend towards political independence making itself felt and allowing things to be seen in new and unexpected ways.
Sarah Lyons is the Director of Communications for IndependentVoting.org, a national association for independents with organization in 40 states. She is based in New York City. She can be reached at 212-962-1824 or slyons@cuip.org
This "Fox and Friends " segment Tuesday on the budget negotiations featured independent voters John Odycke from New York, Greg Moohn in the DC bureau and Linda Ricke in Tallahassee, Florida. 
