Omar Ali and Sal Peralta: Independents to watch out for

Hankster readers, FYI:

Omar Ali is a close friend of mine. He is a professor of history at Vanderbilt University, and a prominent historian of the independent and third-party movements, specifically about the impact of African Americans on and in third party movements. He's a GREAT speaker. You can read about his new book In the Balance of Power -- 2008/Independent Black Politics and Third-Party Movements in the United States

Sal Peralta, who I mentioned on today's Blog Bunker with Joe Salzone (Channel 110 if you're SIRIUS....), blogs at Independent Oregon. You can also check out the competition (NPR) here: Sal Peralta, Secretary of the Independent Party of Oregon, appeared on KLCC's "Sunday at Noon" show on Oregon Public Broadcasting. Topics included the Independent Party's cross-nomination of candidates, third party politics in a two party system, and campaign finance reform.

If you want the latest, you need to check out Omar and Sal -- probably on either SIRIUS or NPR....

The Hankster is SIRIUS about independent voters!

Don't miss The Hankster on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Indie Talk's "Blog Bunker" with Joe Salzone

Channel 110

Tuesday, September 16. From 5-6pm Eastern Time

Be there or be square!

Hankster on SIRIUS Channel 110 at 5:30 ET today

If you tune in to Channel 110 Indie Talk The Blog Bunker with Joe Salzone this afternoon, you'll hear Constitutionalist Party candidate for President Chuck Baldwin, and then Nancy Hanks responding and commenting on third party politics at 5:30. Hope you can catch it!!

Note from the Stratosblog: Obama inexperienced???

I am listening in to Joe Salzone's Blog Bunker on SIRIUS, and I completely agree with Ted in Washington DC who just called in and said that one way to see Obama's leadership skills is to look at how he took down the Clinton machine. Good point, Ted!! It probably takes an independent to say that!!! -NH

News from the Stratosblog: The Hankster in The Blog Bunker with Joe Salzone

The Hankster was a guest on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Indie Talk/Blog Bunker with Joe Salzone yesterday. We created an engaged conversation about independent voters -- who are they, why they're hard to categorize, how candidates can get their attention, and why organizing at the grassroots level is so important. We had 2 calls, one from Phoenix AZ and one from Washington DC (from an independent who had been forced to register into a party in order to vote in the primary).

We also created a new word -- stratosblog -- which describes the environment in which the smaller and more independent bloggers operate.... (btw - if you google "stratosblog" you're asked if you mean stress blog. Hmmmm.... maybe!)

The Blog Bunker is on Monday through Friday from 5 - 6pm ET. Be sure to catch it!

The Hankster on The Blog Bunker Tuesday!

You can call SIRIUS "Indie Talk" Tuesday July 29 between 5 and 6 pm Eastern Time

The Blog Bunker
INDIE TALK 866-99-INDIE

I'll be talking to you!

The Hankster will be SIRIUS on Tues. July 29. Will you?

The Hankster is scheduled to be on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's "Indie Talk" Channel 110, on Joe Salzone's Blog Bunker from 5-6pm. If you're SIRIUS, tune in!

Here's what SIRIUS says about Indie Talk: "Indie Talk, an exclusive, groundbreaking SIRIUS talk radio channel serves as an uncensored forum for nonpartisan independent thought and opinion. Indie Talk has no agenda: the channel gives an equal voice to individuals from any affiliation or background, targets the blogger generation, and is a platform for listeners across the country to react to breaking news, issues and buzz."

By the way, Joe Salzone does a "blog update" every 20 minutes during the day (or at least some of the day) where he reads the headlines from some of the big blogs...

The Hankster gets SIRIUS!

NancyHanks Hey - The Hankster herself will be on Sirius Satellite Radio Indie Talk Blog Bunker Tuesday July 29, 5-6pm. DON'T MISS IT! www.sirius.com/indietalk

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Indie Talk Launches General Election Coverage with 'The Fight for Independents' Special Broadcast Exclusively on SIRIUS (Financial News USA) July 8. Mark your calendar!

CAMPAIGN

• Obama, Clinton won't leave them laughing (Concord Monitor) Obama's real concern in purple New Hampshire is not bitter Clintonistas but the independent voters here who have long swooned for McCain.
• Obama Leads McCain In Four Battleground States (Quinnipiac Poll)
• Inside The LA Times Poll (Houston Chronicle) Independent voters - In a two-way race McCain has an 11 point advantage, in a four-way race that lead goes down to 3, within the margin of error.

UTAH
HERALD POLL: How to fix Utah voting (Daily Herald)

NONPARTISAN PRIMARIES
Say no to partisan primary elections in Clinton Twp. (Recorder Community Newspapers/Hunterdon Review)

REDISTRICTING REFORM
Election-map initiative helps voters, state progress (Sac Bee)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Indie Talk Launches General Election Coverage with 'The Fight for Independents' Special Broadcast Exclusively on SIRIUS (SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Press Release, Sun Herald)

REFORM

• Leveling the playing field-A conservative solution to big labor’s dominance in the political process (Independence Institute, Colorado Libertarian Think Tank, Denver Daily News)
• Restore faith in government (Ponoco Record Editorial) Instead of supporting much-needed redistricting reform, party powers-that-be are abusing a publicly funded office by using it as a campaign support system.
• They did nothing (Bob Heisse's blog in CentreDaily/Back in Happy Valley) Redistricting deadline passes in PA legislature

Indies are SIRIUS

Indie Talk Launches General Election Coverage with 'The Fight for Independents'
Special Broadcast Exclusively on SIRIUS
SIRIUS Satellite Radio
Press Release
Sun Herald
NEW YORK, June 25 -- SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) today announced that Indie Talk, the first radio channel for independent voters, will broadcast "The Fight for Independents" -- a live, town hall style roundtable discussion program. As the candidates and the nation prepare for the general election, political maverick Ron Silver, comedian Pete Dominick, and former Court TV anchor Vinnie Politan, all hosts on Indie Talk, will hold a live open-forum call-in broadcast with independent voters to find out how they plan to cast their votes and why.

The one hour broadcast, airing at 1 pm ET, Tuesday July 8th, will also feature top political analysts from prominent blogs covering the election season, from The Huffington Post to Newsweek's The Stumper to Beliefnet.com, who will share their insight on how the candidates are appealing to independent voters on the campaign trail.

"The Fight for Independents" kicks off Indie Talk's season of campaign coverage designed exclusively for independent voters, including "Indie Watch," weekly segments highlighting independent voters from across the country and the issues most important to them....... [read more from SIRIUS ]