Hankster Blog Round-Up on Independent Voters

INDEPENDENTS ON THE BLOGS

• The "Myth" of the Myth of the Independent Voter (by Todd Eberly, Assistant Professor of Political Science at St. Mary's College of Maryland, The FreeStater Blog… Where the Old Line meets the On-Line) Of those respondents who self-identified as an independent Democrat in 2000, 31.4 percent no longer identified with the Democratic Party in 2002, nearly as many, 29.8 percent, no longer identified with the party in 2004. For Republican Leaners the results were similar, 27.2 percent no longer identified with the Republican Party in 2002, 26.1 percent in 2004.
• Independent's Day (RUDNICK for Philadelphia City Council Blog - The web log of BRIAN RUDNICK 8th District, Independent Green, for Philadelphia City Council) I have changed my registration from Green to no affiliaton.
• OneMaine (Zeb Pike, Inside Zebster) NOTE: Zeb Pike, a Hankster alumnus, has rejoined the independent blogosphere and is now a contributor to The H. WELCOME BACK, ZEBSTER! -- Announcements: The first of my posts for The Hankster is now posted. I will post it here later but please visit that multi-author blog for independent news, newsfeeds and editorials. -- Those of you who know me personally or have read enough of my writing know that I am nothing if not fiercely independent.  That means that not only do I not always vote for one party in elections, it also means that I strongly support maintaining my right to be independent, not affiliated with any political party; therefore, not having pressure from my chosen party to go along with something I disagree with.
• Rational Irrationality (John Cassidy, Obama’s Mini-Surge, Posted by John Cassidy, The New Yorker) #3. Independents. Obama’s rebound has been particularly noticeable among voters who identify themselves as independents. The conventional wisdom is that this is where elections are decided. In September, Gallup found that among independents Obama was trailing the generic Republican candidate by 27 per cent to 48 per cent—a massive gap. In the new poll, he has pulled back to even. Both he and the generic Republican get 38 per cent of the independent vote.
• Live Blogging of CBS News/National Journal Republican Debate (Amazing Bloggers - Blog and etcetera) My focus is on how the participants come across in the race and the possible impact on independent voters — who are not a monolithic group — rather than who I agree with or not. These are the reactions of an independent voter who has belonged to both parties. NOTE: This post is a link to Joe Gandelman's post at The Moderate Voice.
• Research Log 4- UPWARD MOBILITY (by TAZMAN, Why Dems can't lead & Repubs can't govern) Article take from Zakaria, Fareed, "The downward path of upward mobility" Quote: "Most Americans are increasingly concerned over the growing gap between the rich and the poor. The biggest causality seems to be the shrinking American middle-class. In Fareed Zakaria's article, he shows how this argument is quickly divided among party lines with liberals wanting some sort of government intervention and Conservatives saying let the free market find its equilibrium. The all powerful and ever vacillating Independent voters are leaning towards the Liberals."

Congress Cares More About Placing Blame Than Resolving the Debt Ceiling Issue

As Hankster readers might know, I sometimes cross-post at The Moderate Voice, whose founder and Editor-in-Chief Joe Gandelman attended the February 2011 national conference of independents in New York City. My post yesterday elicited 3 great comments which I want to share with yo. Thanks to all!!!

From davidpsummers: One symptom is that the politicians are clearly putting as much effort into who might get the blame for the crisis as to the actual crisis. In fact, most of the partisan pundits find who will get the blame, and spin on that topic, as important as anything. In the end, all either side really cares about is partisan advantage.
    I have not doubt that either side would be willing to let the crisis happen if they thought the other side would get the blame. Or, in fact, even just get “more” blame, since they know the two party system doesn’t give voters any alternative to the two parties. That is why we need structural reform.
    I think it is time to mention instant-runoff voting again…

From Allen: Congress is to blame for all of it because Congress has the purse strings. No budget bill has been passed in Congress as yet.
    The Republican party has a minority stake in our government and they are trying to control the majority by holding the financial security of the United States, even the world, as ransom.
    Republicans will no doubt get the blame, domestically, and, internationally.

From ph447sf: This Aug. 2, debt ceiling thing isn’t a crisis. So many times the debt ceiling just gets raised; raise it. Our oversized debt is a problem, but the two shouldn’t be lumped.
    The debt problem can be solved:
    -Roll back the Bush tax cuts.
    -Cut military spending
    -Big Pharma needs to give the USA the prices it gives Canada
    -Change our trade policies
    -Stop giving Corporate Welfare
    -Get out of these crazy wars
    There you go, debt problem solved! I could go on, but that alone would probably do it.


DEBT CEILING
The Debt Crisis: Systemic and Uncontrolled Disease of Partisanship (Posted by Nancy Hanks, The Moderate Voice) Dr. Jessie Fields (she asks the last question) tells us ‘I’m not an expert on the economy, I’m a 25 year physician and I recognize disease when it’s systemic and uncontrolled, and the two parties are strangling our democracy. We as a nation need to turn our attention to reforming the political process. As independents we support comprehensive nonpartisan restructuring of the political process; we think that’s at the heart of this crisis. What are your thoughts, ideas, about solutions?’
The Debt Ceiling Debacle (Robert L. Borosage, President, Institute for America's Future, Huffington Post) Progressives need to learn not so much from the Tea Party as from their own history and build an independent movement to stand with working Americans... The American Dream Movement, championed by Van Jones, Moveon.org, the Center for Community Change, the Campaign for America's Future that I help direct and others, is beginning to build that uprising.

Upon Waking

on a Saturday morning

with fresh eyes

Beyond Libertarianism
POSTED BY PETER J. ORVETTI IN AT TMV.
JUL 24TH, 2010

Before coming to realize that mine is a moderate voice, I spent some time in the libertarian movement. Part of that was just the idealism and extremity that often is a part of youth, but part of it was my own innate sense of the importance of freedom and individuality.
and 
… where I took
my first steps in society
smelling faintly of horse shit:
"Peasant!" Roberto called me
that first day of class
in the Infantile section,
and he gave me a hard shove …


have a good sweltering day wherever you are!
NH

Broken Government: CNN's Don Lemon interview independent panel Dr. Omar Ali, Joe Gandelman, Nicole Kurokawa

Broken Government: Independents Speak Out

Don Lemon's CNN interview of Dr. Omar Ali, Joe Gandelman and Nicole Kurokawa aired at 10:30pm Eastern Time Sunday night, the 7pm show having been postponed because of the Chile earthquake coverage. Here's the VIDEO.


Just came across this post from E.J. Dionne "Mindful Partisanship" on The Moderate Voice:

The point is not that Republicans are heartless and Democrats are compassionate. It’s that Democrats on the whole believe in using government to correct the inequities and inefficiencies the market creates, while Republicans on the whole think market outcomes are almost always better than anything government can produce.

That’s not cheap partisanship. It’s a fundamental divide. The paradox is that our understanding of politics would be more realistic if we were less cynical and came to see the battle for what it really is.

Yes, the country is divided. Yes, it's a two-party system. Yes, there's a difference between the two major parties. My objection to partisanship isn't that it's mindless, quite the contrary -- it's very very mindful! Partisans miss the fact that so many Americans are getting turned off by partisanship for that very reason. And speaking of which, here's Jackie Salit and Fred Newman on "Broken Government, Unscientific Psychology" in last week's Talk Talk:

Salit: Then we watched a discussion on CNN about the Conservative Political Action Committee meetings. They’re doing their thing. There’s a parade of presidential wannabes and leading lights, including Dick Cheney. John Avlon, CNN commentator and author who is an independent, said that the conservatives and the Republican Party need to be careful here. They can build a bridge to independents on fiscal conservatism and, insofar as that’s their rhetoric, they will connect with independents. But if they go beyond that, in his words, ‘If they go to making this a battle with socialism, independents won’t buy that.’ That will be a bridge too far in terms of trying to coalesce with independents.

Newman: I was telling you about Pat Choate’s new book “Saving Capitalism” where he says that insofar as the central ideological battle between conservatives and liberals is framed as a battle between capitalism and socialism, the fight is badly framed. Because it’s not really a fight between capitalism and socialism. It’s a fight, as he says – and I think he’s fundamentally correct about this – between state capitalism and free market capitalism. But I don’t think it’s seen that way, by and large.

Here are the news headlines for independent voters from across the nation:


OPEN PRIMARIES

• Partisanship in politics has gone too far (LETTER Statesman Journal)
• Florida Governor candidate Peter Allen questions future of campaign (Lake County Elections 2010 Examiner, W. Scott Bowlin) Allen has laid out a campaign that is based largely on term limits for current officeholders, ending Florida's closed primary system, as well as standard tax issues and criminal justice system flaws.
• Voters switching their allegiances (By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE and BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, Washington Daily News) The state GOP backed away from the proposal to close its primaries for fear that it might alienate voters who could be useful to them in the general election.

TEA PARTY

• Fisher Ahead In Ohio Dem Primary, But Trails Portman (Quinnipiac University Poll) -- Tea Party Scores Better Than Dems, GOP  -- But voters have a 32 - 23 percent favorable opinion of the Tea Party movement, with 43 percent who haven't heard enough about it to form an opinion. Democrats view the Tea Party unfavorably by 42 - 7 percent, while Republicans are favorable 53 - 8 percent and independent voters like it 36 - 20 percent. Men like the Tea Party 40 - 25 percent, while women like it 25 - 22 percent. 

VIDEO: Independent Voters--Angry, Diverse, and Looking for Reform (President Obama, Are You Listening?)

Ok, so CNN Anderson Cooper 360 ditched the roundtable they had scheduled for last Friday night, BUT, at late notice, Don Lemon interviewed Dr. Omar H. Ali, Nicole Kurokawa of the Cato Institute in D.C. and Joe Gandelman in San Diego of The Moderate Voice. Video here. 

Dr. Ali is a professor of history at Towson University in Maryland and a national spokesperson of the independent movement. His book, In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third Party Movements in the United States, has been described as a "landmark work" by The National Political Science Review.

Getting Loud

The Hankster got a nice mention on The Moderate Voice the other day! Thanks, Joe!!!

Blogging the World: An Online Stage for Activists (Or Performatory Blogging for Everyone)

Are you ready to perform your political opinion?

We now have the schedule or our Blogging the World workshop, a session of Performing the World. I hope you can make it!

"Bloggin the World"
Sunday, October 5,
9-10am ET
All Stars Project
543 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036

The full schedule is now posted. This is a jam-packed conference/performance festival. Of course you would like to attend each session -- they ALL look very interesting!

I chose the title "Blogging the World" because it reflects my vision of a unified independent grassroots-driven movement that could be part of changing the world.

The format of Blogging the World is conversational, bringing together cutting-edge bloggers and community activists from across the country to talk to each other about what's needed to build a new world.

Please join us for bagels and lox
Sunday morning, October 5, 9-10am
at the All Stars Project
543 W. 42nd St.
New York, NY 10036


THE "Blogging the World" PANEL:

Justin Gardner
Donklephant http://donklephant.com/
Justin Gardner is the founder and editor of Donklephant, a popular multi-partisan political blog where readers are encouraged to discuss the ideas of the day in an respectful, honest forum. Since launching in July 2005, Donklephant has drawn over 2.5 million page views and boasts a roster of over 20 authors. (via satellite)

Robert Koulish
Kouflo Memo http://koulflo.wordpress.com/tag/koulish/
(Robert Twitters at http://twitter.com/koulflo)
Robert Koulish is an Associate Professor of Law and Society at the University of Philadelphia. He blogs at Koulflo Memo, a politically progressive blog that emphasizes immigration, democratic media and electoral politics, as well as the occasional personal experience. Robert also works in experiential and community based teaching and learning, and is co-founder of a youth-based media and education collaborative called co-lab, and a micro-radio coalition called Baltimore Community Radio Coalition (BCRC).

Shaun Mullen
The Moderate Voice http://www.themoderatevoice.com/
Kiko's House http://kikoshouse.blogspot.com/
Shaun Mullen was born to blog. It just took a few years for the medium to catch up to the messenger. Over a long career with newspapers, this award-winning editor and reporter covered the Vietnam War, O.J. Simpson trials, Clinton impeachment circus and Osama bin Laden, among other major stories. He also is a columnist at The Moderate Voice and is writing a murder mystery. One pundit describes Mullen as 'a free agent who looks at the world as a magical, ever-changing buffet and sorts issues on a practical rather than an ideological basis.'

Jacqueline Salit
CUIP http://independentvoting.org/index.html
The Neo Independent http://www.neoindependent.com/
Jacqueline Salit is a 20-year veteran of the independent political movement. Executive editor of THE NEO-INDEPENDENT magazine, a bi-annual journal that covers the independent political movement and the independent voter, Jackie is also the President of the Committee for a Unified Independent Party (http://www.independentvoting.org/), a national 15 year-old think tank giving leadership to grassroots independents. Jackie ran NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg's successful 2001 and 2005 mayoral campaigns on the Independence Party line, effectively creating a game-changing black and independent alliance that is challenging politics-as-usual.

Lanya Shapiro
Traction http://www.gettraction.org/
Lanya Shapiro is the founder and Executive Director of Traction, a community of young-ish (Gen X&Y) progressives and an innovative civic engagement and leadership development organization. Since 2003, she's immersed herself in progressive grassroots organizing – from the Howard Dean grassroots to consulting with SEIU, EchoDitto, Institute for America's Future, etc. Lanya's background is in public health and social work, and she spent years designing and managing award-winning large-scale health behavior change programs. Traction promotes civic participation using the same social marketing principles – more Malcolm Gladwell than politics as usual. Some say if activism is the drug, Traction is the dealer...

HOST
Yours truly: Nancy Hanks
The Hankster http://grassrootsindependent.blogspot.com/
Nancy Hanks is a long-time activist in independent politics and community-building. She started The Hankster, a blog/news source for independent voters, in April 2006, during the midterm elections when independent voters led a successful anti-war electoral revolution. She is a full-time grant-writer for an international homeless youth program and a volunteer fundraiser for the Committee for a Unified Party. She is on the research staff of the Neo Independent magazine. Nancy is a frequent guest commentator on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Indie Talk Blog Bunker with Joe Salzone.

Conversations on Obama

Guest Voice on The Moderate Voice - Walking Think Tank - has succinct analysis of Obama’s challenge (one he has yet to meet).

But Obama has not been able to weave his critique of Hillary’s Iraq vote into the broader narrative of his campaign – that he is a different kind of politician who can unite the country.

Obama’s challenge is to show he possesses the leadership capacity to move the nation forward while simultaneously exposing Hillary’s greatest vulnerability. His opportunity is to propose legislation that seeks to ensure the nation never again goes to war the way we did in 2003 - a cause that should unite both war supporters and war opponents.

And I would just add that Congress never really had a debate, premature or otherwise, on authorizing force in Iraq because they are too busy jockying for positions within their parties instead of listening to and acting on the wishes of their constituents.

Conversations on YearlyKos

I'm a little slow on this, but I just discovered you can go on the YearlyKos convention site and watch live-streaming video of the proceedings! They're talking about voting right now, and when someone suggested a federal INDEPENDENT redistricting process, it got a big cheer from the audience!

That might be handy tomorrow (Saturday) for the Presidential Leadership Breakout Session at 12 noon (and btw -- the ever negotiating Hillary will be there before the session to answer questions....). Some Congresspeople will have to be on The Hill for the end of the session..

Chris Cizzilla at the Washington Post notes that Stan Greenberg - whoever he is (there are actually testimonies on his promo that say "Clinton’s pollster, Stan Greenberg, provided the game plan... "Five major changes of government in seven years. And Greenberg was instrumental in each. " hmmm.... but I digress...) - had some advice for the progressive bloggers: Think big. Chris comments: As in, big gains for Democrats in both the House and the Senate in 2008.... Okay.

Also on the Washington Post: Yes, there IS power on the blogosphere - where "The fact is, the Net roots cannot win elections by ourselves," Markos "Kos" Moulitsas Zúniga, founder of Daily Kos and the namesake of the event, said this week. "But we can be a key component to a winning Democratic strategy...." Again, okay..... [And BTW, I agree that bloggers can't pull votes -- as they say, PEOPLE pull votes....]

In YearlyKos Convention Underscores Blogging’s Tricky Political Role Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice thinks that's an indication that the original Kos is "much more the hard-nosed political realist". I beg to differ. If Kos were a player in any game other than the Democratic Party, he'd be soft.

Which leads me to Gun Toting Liberal (now on The Hankster sidebar)- who seems independent enough... He's NOT going to YearlyKos and here's why:

While I may be a bleeding heart, dyed in the wool “Liberal”, I’m proud of the fact I am INDEPENDENTLY SO. Just tacking a “D” behind your name isn’t going to earn my endorsement. While I’m both grateful and proud of the traffic and readership stats we receive here at The GTL™, there’s no doubt in my mind at all if I were to tack that “D” behind our moniker, and completely surrender any form of independent (small “I” on purpose) thought, that daily readership would swell tenfold, and quickly.... Well, you get the idea, so read the rest...

Conversations on Independence

• Thanks to Pete Abel's Center of Attention on The Moderate Voice for mention of The Hankster, AND for taking us to Jim Satterfield's blog where he revisits the age-old question, “Does money equal speech?” and considers what democratic dialogue is...
• And while you're there, be sure to read Joe Gandelman's post on the Washington Post study "Study: Diverse Independent Voters Could Swing 2008 Race" where he says of The Moderate Voice: ...Please note that we’ve repeatedly said this about reaction to this site: being a “moderate” or “independent” does NOT mean coming down lockstep on an issue with other moderates. Some may be center, center-left and center right and vary, depending on the issue. And there is not an opinion poll that shows that independent voters and/or moderates think totally alike on any given issue...
• Meanwhile, Steve Perez at A New America wonders what good fusion voting does...
• And Paul Scott, an Iowa independent voter, tries his hand at blogging with a post about independents' interest in Barack Obama on BarackObama.com...