2012 Presidential Election: Who Are the Independents That Will Determine the Election?

Hey-Ho Hanksteristas! This week's attacks in the mainstream media/academia against independents gave me pause. I thought about Fred Newman, my long-time friend and colleague, who died last July. Newman was the leading political strategist behind and architect of the current US independent political movement. I thought about the increasing psychologicalization of politics and the inherent politics of psychology (and every other field of study, for that matter!)

It seems rightful that as more and more Americans identify as independents (aka quitting the parties) the existing powers and institutions that be, including the ubiquitous corporate American press, would conduct studies to prove that independents are not really independents. After all, that's the function of established institutions -- maintain the status quo.

There is a vital and growing independent movement in the country (I highly recommend the historical account from Jackie Salit in her new book Independents Rising -- a down-to-earth primer on the history of the movement.

Not only are Americans increasingly declaring their disassociation from the major parties, in fact seems they don't like parties at all!

Bring it on!
NH

PRESIDENTIAL

• Dem registration down in key states (By CHARLES MAHTESIAN, Politico) A new report on voter registration trends finds that Democratic voter registration is down by more than 800,000 since 2008 in eight key battleground states. GOP registration has also declined — but by only 79,000, a tenth of the Democrats’ losses. Meanwhile, registered independents are on the rise, increasing their numbers in those states by nearly half-a-million.
  
• Just How Independent Are Independent Voters? (Sam Sommers, Professor, Tufts University, Huffington Post) New research just published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests that Independents may not be quite as independent as they claim they are. Across a series of studies, researchers at the University of Virginia presented respondents with different policies to evaluate and examined the extent to which political affiliation colored their perceptions.
  
• Obama’s costly investment not yielding new voters (Brian C. Mooney, Boston Globe)
  
• In Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Colorado, and Nevada — tossup states where direct election-year comparisons could be drawn — the numbers are striking. Democratic rolls increased by only 39,580, less than one-tenth the amount at the comparable point in the 2008 election. At the same time, GOP registration has jumped by 145,085, or more than double for the same time four years ago. Independent registration has shown an even stronger surge, to 229,500, almost three times the number at this point in 2008.
• Few Voters Are Truly Up for Grabs, Research Suggests (By REBECCA BERG, NY Times)  “There is so much pop psychology surrounding swing voters, but there is very little evidence that there are key demographics in the population that are inherently swing voters,” said John Sides, an associate professor of political science at George Washington University... Part of the difficulty in identifying swing voters derives from confusion about the term “swing voter” itself. These voters might describe themselves as “undecided,” for example, or as “persuadable.” Often, they call themselves “independents,” although many who identify that way are not. Myths about the behavior of these voters are pervasive and persistent: For example, that undecided voters break for the challenger as Election Day nears. (Data have shown this is often not the case.)
  
• Will the real independents please stand up? (Phys Org) Psychological scientists Carlee Beth Hawkins and Brian Nosek of the University of Virginia decided to use a tool called the Implicit Association Test, or IAT, to explore the unconscious biases that churn deep inside the Independent mind.
  

BONUS CLIP
Democalypse 2012 - Cockblock the Vote - Ohio's Voting Laws (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) Stewart calls for nonpartisan elections after flap with Ohio partisan voting hours. [SEE BELOW] Fewer citizens voting doesn't enhance democracy, but it does secure the power of the parties...

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Party Politics from a Psychological Perspective

by Evan 

Among human concerns, politics is a vital one – it governs the way we approach our lives in a most personal way; not only the way we relate to ourselves, but the group we most relate to. How we conceive these relations is part of the foundation upon which our realities are based. It should be a vital concern to inspect these foundations closely; for these relations just happen – and not until they are consciously considered can they be changed....

“Hence the god, when he began to put together the body of the universe, set about making it of fire and earth. But two things alone cannot be satisfactorily united without a third; for there must be some bond between them drawing them together.” 

So wrote Plato in his Timaeus in the fourth century B.C. – an intuitive illustration of the way people have long perceived the dynamic forces of life. 

To see how such ideas apply to party politics, read with me as the noted Swiss analyst, C.G. Jung, reflects upon this philosophical notion: “The number one claims an exceptional position, which we meet again in the natural philosophy of the Middle Ages. According to this, one is not a number at all; the first number is two. Two is the first number because, with it, separation and multiplication begin, which alone make counting possible. With the appearance of the number two, another appears alongside the one...” 

As Jung goes on to explain, this results in opposition and conflict: “Also associated with the number two is the idea of right and left, and remarkably enough, of favorable and unfavorable, good and bad.” But as Plato observed, there is a “bond drawing them together.” Jung continues: “The One will not let go of the Other because, if it did, it would lose its character; and the Other pushes itself away from the One in order to exist at all. Thus there arises a tension of opposites between the One and the Other. But every tension of opposites culminates in a release, out of which comes the “third.” In the third, the tension of opposites is resolved and the lost unity is restored.”

***********

Similarly, if we look round to see where the two-party system has landed us, an analogy begins to emerge. The close presidential elections of 1960 (49.7% to 48.6%), 1968 (43.4% to 42.7%), 1976 (50.1% to 48%), 2000 (48.38% to 47.87%), and 2004 (50.7% to 48.3%) appear to express a division which may be seen in terms of energy. Frequent attempts by the two-party system to keep a third party off the ballot in many states, the stagnation Congress represents as a result of such division, and the ineffectiveness of government in providing the individual with basic protections all conform to a general trend. 

Of course, no analogy can make it to first base in the mind of a modern reader without scientific validation, and the laws of energy point in this direction. The principle of equivalence states that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. The law of entropy states that, in an energic system, differences in intensity are gradually reduced to an even temperature, whereby any further change is prohibited. This is how energy works and it is as applicable to social dynamics as it is to quantum physics – or even political processes, for as Jung writes, “The psyche, too, can be regarded as such a relatively closed system, in which transformations of energy lead to an equalization of differences.”

These transformations have been described by Jung in his eighth volume, and one more quote from it (the last – I promise!) pushes the analogy further: “These functions are based on the principle of the exclusion of the inappropriate, or unsuitable, which might bring about a deviation from the chosen path. The elements that “belong” are left to a process of mutual equalization, and meanwhile are protected from disturbing influences from outside. Thus after some time they reach their “probable” state, which shows its stability in, say, a “lasting” conviction or a “deeply ingrained” point of view, etc. How firmly such structures are rooted can be tested by anyone who has attempted to dissolve such a structure, for instance to uproot a prejudice or change a habit of thought.”

You can see now where the analogy is headed: for this tension of opposites to be  resolved and for change to occur, a third viewpoint is required.

Webster's dictionary defines democracy as: “Government exercised either directly by the people or through elected representatives.” The popular vote was invalidated by the 2000 election, and our representatives are elected – but not unless they are first approved by the two parties. Our representatives are elected by the parties, and that is who they represent. Who is representing us? I think we will have to find an independent party for that.

Evan is an artist, poet, and long-time student of Carl Jung. He is the author of "A Mid-Life Perspective: Conversations with the Unconscious," an epic poem of psychic development in the second half of life inspired by Goethe's Faust. He makes a living as a contractor in the Richmond, Virginia.  The illustrations above are his.

Dr Rafael Mendez Speaks for Youth in Support of Nonpartisan Elections at Brooklyn Charter Revision Hearing 4/20/10

Mary Says: Create "New York Plays," a series of “community PLAYgrounds” in NYC

Dear friends,

My friend Mary has asked me to let you know about an opportunity to support a progressive cause. This is a great organization and, being a friend of Mary's, I'd love to introduce you to "New York Plays". I could go on and on about the great work of the East Side Institute around the world, but, why don't you check it out for yourself and I'll let let Mary talk about the opportunity:

Through “New York Plays” the East Side Institute continues to make new friends around the world and introduce the power of play to communities the world over. We are receiving many votes from Africa and made it to the 140s by reaching out to everyone we know. Here are 8 ways you can help:

1. Vote again, and up 10 times/day, at http://www.refresheverything.com/newyorkplays
 2. Put this in your status update on Facebook: Help us win this grant by voting for New York Community Plays (with link): The project has gone from 350 to 146 in just a few days and with your help, we can make it to the top ten, which means $50,000 to make this project a reality.
3. Are you on Linkedin? Put this in your status update: A great organization is in the running for a $50,000 Pepsi grant. Vote here to Help New Yorkers Play
4. Change your email signature to add a link  hanks_nancy@hotmail.com
5. Get your Twitter following involved: http://twitter.com/NancyHanks My Friend Mary Says: Have You Refreshed Pepsi Today? Support "New York Plays": Dear friends,  My friend Mary has a...http://bit.ly/cbEs8a
5.B Add this: Vote Create New York Plays on Pepsi Refresh grant $50K to help New Yorkers play http://pep.si/atHHjy 6. Are you on any listservs concerned with grow, play, development, performance, etc.? If you are, let your communities know.
7. Vote every day. Rinse and repeat the previous 6 steps.
8. Do you have any other ideas? Let us know. Help us spread the word! Imagine hundreds of New Yorkers from all walks of live coming together to play with each other - creating new conversations and new confidence in themselves as agents of change. Your support will make a difference! Thanks for anything and everything you can do!
Mary

You can email Mary directly at mfridley@eastsideinstitute.org

More News Headlines for Philsophical Independent Voters

Ok ok I admit it there is more news for independents than Bloomberg and the NYC Independence Party....

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• From 'Post-Partisanship' To Polarization - The Partisan Divide In Obama's Approval Ratings Has Widened Considerably, But Does It Matter? (by Amy Walter, National Journal)
  
• Inside Politics - Despite calls for a “post-partisan” presidency, a recent Pew Research Center study found that President Obama has the most polarized job-approval ratings for a new president in 40 years. (By Sean Lengell, Washington Times)
  
• Watch The Independents - With Partisanship Still Strong On The Hill, Obama Will Need To Keep Up His Clout Among Non-Aligned Voters (by Charlie Cook, National Journal)
  
• CBS News/NY Times Poll: Obama’s Approval Rating Hits New High (By JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief, The Moderate Voice)
  

LAST WORD

The End of Philosophy (By DAVID BROOKS, NY Times)

 NOTE: Thanks to Baylah Wolfe for this who wrote this on Brooks' post:

I appreciate what you have been grappling with, as you reach for the critical inclusion of emotionality, cooperation and communal life activity in our contemporary historical world. I urge you to read Dr. Lois Holzman’s new book, "Vygotsky at Work and Play". Dr .Holzman is a developmental psychologist and activist, who is challenging, in theory and practice, the cognitive-emotional divide; Holzman and sees philosophical dualism as holding back human growth and development. Lev Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist who conducted ground-breaking research with children and in particular with disabled children, after the Soviet revolution in 1917. Vygotsky engages dualistic understandings of thinking and speech, learning and development, etc. and his discoveries have come into prominence in recent decades in the fields of developmental psychology and education Building on a 25 year intellectual partnership with philosopher/psychotherapist Dr. Fred Newman, Holzman shows a performatory practice of the unity of theory-practice, cognition-emotion, being-becoming, etc. in projects they have built on-the-ground (in the US and internationally) in the arenas of therapy, education, youth development, medicine and corporate training. Philosophy is dead but philosophy with a small p is alive and growing.

Thanks, Baylah!

PTW 2008 Blogging the World Ken and Mary Gergen and banjo

Always keep on the critics' side...!

PTW 2008 Blogging the World Ken and Mary Gergen

If you're an independent, you need to know who Fred Newman is!

... And now there's a website so you can...!

"Fred Newman is the public philosopher who for 30 years has translated the mostprogressive ideals of the 1960s into effective instruments of social and personal transformation. The centerpiece of Newman’s work in culture, psychology and politics is our capacity to create the conditions for our own development.... "

Fred Newman Ph.D. is highly recommended by The Hankster! (now on The Hankster sidebar)