Barron: Don't Let Cuomo Hide Behind Paladino's Big Mouth

There's a debate coming up on Monday night  at Hofstra University that includes all the New York governor candidates.  See Celeste Katz's article below for info on the debate.

Please read Frank Lombardi's interview with Barron in the NY Daily News  "I'm In It To Win, Not To Spoil, Not To Entertain". The Brooklyn Councilman had this to say about the Dem/Repub (although, Cuomo is also running on the NY Independence Party line) dynamic duo: "I’m saying Paladino is not going to win. He’s not going to win. He doesn’t have a chance of winning really. But Cuomo is hiding behind this loose cannon to neglect dealing substantively with our community. He’s hiding behind that..."

Monday's Gubernatorial Debate: The Lowdown »

BY CELESTE KATZ

Here's the latest on Monday's big gubernatorial debate at Hofstra University, which is co-sponsored by Newsday and News12.

Your candidates, in alphabetical order, are:

• Charles Barron (Freedom Party)
• Andrew Cuomo (Democratic/Independence/and Working Families Parties)
• Kristin Davis (Anti-Prohibition Party)
• Howie Hawkins (Green Party)
• Jimmy McMillan (Rent is 2 Damn High Party)
• Carl Paladino (Republican/Conservative/Taxpayers Parties)
• Warren Redlich (Libertarian Party)

The 90-minute debate starts at 7 p.m. and will be telecast live and commercial-free on News 12 Long Island, News 12 Westchester, News 12 Hudson Valley, News 12 The Bronx, News 12 Brooklyn, Time Warner Cable’s NY1, NY1 Noticias (with Spanish interpretation) and YNN. The debate is also being made available to National Public Radio stations throughout New York State.

If you want to be there in person, 100 tickets are being made available to the general public through a random drawing at www.hofstra.edu/2010debate, so go there to register before Friday, October 15, at 9:00 a.m. (Ie., step on it!)

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Wooing Hearts and Minds in Land of Independents (By DEVLIN BARRETT, Wall Street Journal) In the state's heated U.S. Senate race, Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Republican Linda McMahon are locked in a bruising battle to win over Connecticut's more than 900,000 unaffiliated voters, who outnumber about 800,000 registered Democrats and some 400,000 registered Republicans.
• Independent Voters Could Decide Congress "American Voices": Katie Couric Talks With Voters Seeking Political Compromise at Philadelphia's Independence Hall (CBS News)
• The Rise of Middle-of-the-Road Radicals (By GERALD F. SEIB, Wall Street Journal)

IDAHO

• Independent candidate given rare opportunity to join Idaho gubernatorial debate (By Ben Botkin - Magic Valley Times-News) In round three, the Democratic challenger and Republican incumbent were joined by Jana Kemp, an independent candidate who had a rare opportunity to get the same level of public exposure that Republican and Democratic candidates routinely receive.

CALIFORNIA

• Maldonado for lieutenant governor (Long Beach Press Telegram) He's smart, moderate and is one of the few legislators who's single-handedly changed the broken political system in California by giving Prop. 14 a shot with voters.
• PROP 14, CALIFORNIA'S OPEN PRIMARY MEASURE, IS ALREADY BEGINNING TO EXERT ITS INFLUENCE (by Greg Lucas, CAIVN)
• June's Prop 14 – A Threat to the Democratic Majority (By Paul Mitchell, California Progress Report)

NEW YORK

• Charles Barron On Monday's Big Debate: "I'm In It To Win, Not To Spoil, Not To Entertain" (BY FRANK LOMBARDI, The Daily Politics by Celeste Katz, NY Daily News/Daily Politics) ”No, not that if things were equal. I’m saying Paladino is not going to win. He’s not going to win. He doesn’t have a chance of winning really. But Cuomo is hiding behind this loose cannon to neglect dealing substantively with our community. He’s hiding behind that. And that’s more dangerous because if Cuomo wins and we don’t make him held accountable, just by what he’s saying is dangerous.
• Green Party vs. Tea Party at Hofstra Gubernatorial Debate (Huffington Post, Alan Singer - Social studies educator at Hofstra University)
• Activist groups trying to reform dysfunctional Albany (Jill Terreri, Democrat and Chronicle) New players in the mix are a good thing, said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a group that has pushed for fair redistricting since 2005. "I think it reflects a growing feeling of New Yorkers that reform is necessary in Albany," he said. "The more organizations and resources devoted to the fight for reform, the better. ... People really want to see change."
• Struggle For Power: Independents Could Tip Outcome Of Upstate Senate Race (By: Erin Billups, NY 1)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 10/14/10

Pollsters and election statisticians have turned an eye to registration numbers in an effort to keep their heads above water in the sea change that is taking place in American politics. More people are becoming independent, choosing candidates not parties. There's chatter about a third party... And as Jackie Salit pointed out in her recent Report from the President at IndependentVoting.org 

"Right now, it’s very hard for the American people to express themselves.  The media has molded politics into a blood sport.  And the political system channels everything into a left/center/right, Democratic/Republican paradigm that undermines progress and rewards division. Independents are trying to make a statement about all of that. But even so, we barely register as “real,” even though, paradoxically, we now decide many important elections." 

One of the ways independents have taken on this fight is by challenging partisan attempts by both Repubs and Dems (depending on which party is the "minority" party in the state legislature) to close primaries. Such is the case in Idaho where a federal judge will hear testimony in a trial that could have national implications. Idaho voters do not register by party. Californians voted in June for a Top Two open primary referendum that enfranchised 3.4 million decline to state independents.


The gov race in New York has just gained new life.  New Yorkers have two good choices in November -- Andrew Cuomo on Column C the Independence Party line, or Brooklyn City Councilmember Charles Barron -- who I personally believe deserves support in his challenge to the Democratic Party establishment. Councilman Barron, a former Harlem Black Panther Party activist in the sixties, has taken a very positive step forward in the attempt to create ballot status for the new Freedom Party. Freedom needs 50,000 votes on Column J. 


More below...

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Wooing Hearts and Minds in Land of Independents (By DEVLIN BARRETT, Wall Street Journal)  Independent voters will be crucial to congressional races all over the country, and nowhere more than in Connecticut, where the biggest party is no party at all.
• Registration Trends in ‘Purple’ America (By Rhodes Cook, Wall Street Journal) From the late 1980s to 2008, the share of Democratic voters decreased from a slight majority of all those registered (51%) to 43%. The number of Republicans remained virtually unchanged, slipping slightly from 33% to 32%. Meanwhile, the proportion of those that chose not to identify with either party spiked upward from 16% in 1987 to 25% in 2008.
• Voters want a different change (By CHUCK RAASCH • Gannett National Writer, Oregon Statesman Journal) All across the country, independents — many of them struggling blue-collar workers — are making similar calculations. Many helped elect Obama in 2008 and solidified the Democrats' hold on Congress. They appear to be just as engaged in this new season of discontent, but on the opposite side.
• Our Opinion: Can Anyone Really Tap Into Voter Frustration? (Press & Dakotan) Frankly, other than its condemnation of the failures of both political parties, the independents’ proclamation relies on dashes of familiar rhetoric and promissory populism as it tries to tap into a widespread anger, now mostly loudly presented by the Tea Party, without aligning itself with any particular political ideology.
• Election Unlikely to Change Policy or Politics (John Zogby, Forbes/DATA PLACE) The strongest trend in our politics is contempt for both parties that is greatest among independents, but also includes voters affiliated with both parties. These people want solutions and cooperation; and if neither party offers that, I believe they would be very open to a third party that offers it.
• Triage Time for Democrats - Who can be saved with money, and who needs operational help that can't be delivered in time? (by Charlie Cook, National Journal/Off to the Races) Since ideologues and partisans are pretty much diametrically opposite of independents, tackling both jobs -- stimulating the base while reaching out to independent voters in a tough environment -- is awfully hard.
• MediaPlanIQTM: How to Influence Independent Voters - Still Time to Sway Votes for Midterm Elections (marketwise)
• Partisan Voter Registration Totals (Michael P. McDonald, Huffington Post) Twenty-nine states plus DC offer persons the option of declaring a party affiliation when they register to vote. Party registration totals thus provide a snapshot of the overall partisan balance within a state. Comparisons of these statistics over time provide a broader picture of overall trends.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Trial begins in GOP closed primary lawsuit (By Ben Botkin - Magic Valley Times-News writer) “It would have national ramifications,” said Harry Kresky, an attorney for IndependentVoting.org, an intervening party in the case that represents 11 independent voters in Idaho.
• Idaho GOP to make case for closing primary (KHQ Associated Press) Testimony Wednesday focused on a survey by a Republican pollster that found support for the idea that Democrat and Independent voters crossover into Republican primaries.
• GOP argues for closed primary (Todd Dvorak Associated Press, The Spokesman Review - WA) The survey found that 41 percent of those voters identified themselves as non-GOP voters. Of those, 39 percent who identified as Democrats or likely to vote for Democrats said they usually take part in Republican primaries.
• Dennis: Republican Vs. Republican (Spokesman Review - WA)
• Republican Vs. Republican, Mad Magazine-style (DennisMansfield.com) It is a trial of huge proportions, because it is a trial the outcome of which will mold the future of the state - who will run for office, who will serve in office and what policies will be followed for education, for the sanctity of life, for spending and for so many other vital issues.
• Closed primary trial kicks off in federal court (Spokesman Review/Eye on Boise)
• A positive step away from partisanship (By Harvey Platt, The Oregonian) One positive step toward inclusion would be establishing an "open primary" in Oregon, much like both California and Washington have recently enacted. The systematic exclusion of up to a third of independent eligible primary voters in our state is regrettable.

BLOOMBERG

• Green Party Candidates Race to Join the Committee to Draft Michael Bloomberg Press Conference This Thursday (PRESS RELEASE PR Newswire, Committee to Draft Michael Bloomberg)

WFP

• Still Working for Working People (Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation/Editor's Cut) As WFP executive director Dan Cantor told New York Magazine, “We’re looking to get a good vote on the Working Families line and use the power that accrues to that vote to influence outcomes.”

NY GOV DEBATE

• Jeremy Morlock: The Circus is Coming to Town (East Aurora Advertiser) Charles Barron is a former Black Panther running on the newly formed Freedom Party line. The outspoken councilman from Brooklyn arranged for the dictator Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to be honored with a reception at New York's City Hall in 2002. Barron decided to run in a protest bid for governor after becoming upset that the Democratic Party's statewide slate included only white people. "The Freedom Party will not stand by & allow the Democratic Party or anyone else to continue to take the Black & Latino vote for granted," the party website states.

Talk/Talk: Making (Non) Sense of an Irrational World

Authored by Fred Newman, Jackie Salit
Introduction by Omar H Ali
Edited by John Opdycke
For many years, Fred Newman and Jacqueline Salit-two leading activists and intellectuals within the independent political movement-have met on the weekends to have coffee and watch political talk and interview shows. They watch Charlie Rose, Chris Matthews, Meet the Press, This Week with George Stephanopoulos (now Christiane Amanpour), The McLaughlin Group, Hardball, and other shows. After they watch them, they have a conversation. In early 2005, they began transcribing these conversations and distributing them to their friends and followers. Over the years, their "talk about the talk"-hence the name Talk/Talk-developed into a popular weekly missive that is presently distributed via e-mail to tens of thousands of readers worldwide. Making (Non) Sense of an Irrational World is a compilation of some of their most popular and thought provoking discussions from the last five years.


Hankster recommended! Independents and progressives of all stripes should read this book. Several times!

earthly extravation

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 10/13/10

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Trial About to Begin in Idaho Republican Party Lawsuit to Create a Closed Republican Primary (Ballot Access News)

THIRD PARTY

• Cokie and Steve Roberts: Voter discontent could result in a third party (Muskegon Chronicle - MI) Will a third party emerge and play a major role in the elections of 2012? History says the answer is no, and that’s probably a good thing. 

BLOOMBERG

• NYC mayor to campaign for redistricting in Fla. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Miami Herald)

TEA PARTY

• Poll examines Tea Party faith values - Nearly Half of Tea Party Movement also identify with Christian Conservative Movement (By Public Religion Research Institute) They are largely Republican partisans. More than three-quarters say they identify with (48%) or lean towards (28%) the Republican Party. More than 8-in-10 (83%) say they are voting for or leaning towards Republican candidates in their districts, and nearly three-quarters (74%) of this group report usually supporting Republican candidates.
• Tea party convention hears congressional hopefuls (By TYLER WHITLEY, Richmond TIMES-DISPATCH) Asked at the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Convention whom he would support for Speaker of the House, Golden answered "Ron Paul."

FLORIDA

• Q Poll Shows a Dead Heat in Governor's Race; Independents Shift? (Sunshine State News/KENRIC WARD'S BLOG) Independent voters appear to be shifting the race. Independents, who backed Scott 46-40 at the start of the month, now support Sink 51-34.
•  QUINNIPIAC POLL
• Wild swings in Florida gov. race (By: CNN's Jeff Simon)

CALIFORNIA

• Maldonado, Bowen should keep jobs (BY San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD) Maldonado is highly unconventional by California political standards, a Republican willing to buck the GOP establishment and work with moderates and across party lines.

COLORADO

• 527 equals sleaze (LETTER The Aspen Times) One canvasser came to my door and told me — incorrectly — that I might as well vote for Wilson because there is no way independent candidate Kathleen Curry, who is running for re-election as our House District 61 state representative, can win as a write-in candidate.
• In fact, as a widely respected legislator and the only candidate in the race with actual elected experience, Kathleen is clearly the leading contender.
• Curry sees tough fight for the election (by Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News) Curry was a democrat until dis-affiliating in December, citing frustration with the increasing bitterness of the two-party system. She is attempting to do what many political observers say is impossible: Win as a write-in candidate.
• Curry's dedication should earn votes (LETTER Glenwood Springs CO Post Independent) I encourage other citizens of the Roaring Fork Valley in joining me in demonstrating our support for rational centrist policies by writing-in Kathleen Curry for State Representative. Let's lead Colorado in making this election day Independent's Day as a rejection of political extremism and partisan gridlock!
• Korkowski sticks to conservative principles (by Curtis Wackerle, Aspen Daily News) “It didn’t look like there was a solid conservative candidate in the race ... so I decided to do it,” said Korkowski, who is in a three-way race to represent House District 61 with democrat Roger Wilson of Missouri Heights and unaffiliated candidate Kathleen Curry of Gunnison.

FLORIDA

• Meet Charlie Crist's unconventional U.S. Senate campaign team (By Adam C. Smith, Times Political Editor, St. Petersburg Times)

MAINE

• Race for Maine Governor 2010: Who the candidates are, and what they stand for (By Steve Mistler, Lewiston Sun Journal) Maine voters this November will have five distinct options for governor, along with five declared write-in candidates.

SOUTH DAKOTA

• Other View: Shutting out independent voters sends bad message - Every vote counts. That phrase is tossed about whenever an election is so close, a single vote can determine the outcome. It rarely happens, but that doesn’t diminish the value of each vote cast in every election. (Mitchell Daily Republic)

NEW YORK

• New York’s Debate Gap (NY Times) Mr. Paladino’s insistence that any debates include the minor candidates, and that excluding the African-American and female candidates would be unfair, has given the front-running Mr. Cuomo cover to avoid a two-candidate debate.
• Poll: 58 % of Voters Say a 3rd Political Party is Needed (Reported by: Jane Flasch, WHAM Channel 13 ABC Rochester) Barron is a New York City Councilman.  He broke with the Democratic Party over Andrew Cuomo’s choice of Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy for a running mate. “The Democratic Party has taken us for granted,” he said in announcing his run.  “The Republican Party has ignored us.”  Barron is seeking 50 thousand votes to make his “all Black” Freedom Party a recognized party on the state ballot.
• Avella lands teachers union nod (BY LISA L. COLANGELO, NY Daily News) RECENT POLLS may show former Councilman and Democratic state Senate candidate Tony Avella lagging behind Republican incumbent Frank Padavan. But last week, Avella unveiled an endorsement he thinks is key to winning in the Democratic-leaning 10th Senate District.
• AG candidate Dan Donovan believes opponent Eric Schiderman is part of the problem in Albany (Tom Wrobleski, SI Advance)
• New Yorkers’ Anger at Politicians Doesn’t Fuel a Surge in Voter Registration (By SAM ROBERTS, NY Times) Despite professed outrage over dysfunctional politicians, few unregistered New Yorkers have been motivated enough to register to vote in November, according to election officials.
• Dan Donovan Clears Independence Party Chief In Loan Probe (BY CELESTE KATZ
• Daily News/Daily Politics)
• Real Estate Flexes Muscle - Industry Backing Both Democrats and Republicans in Aggressive Campaign Push (By ELIOT BROWN, Wall Street Journal)
• Freedom Party event launches election campaign (By Dee Knight, Bronx, N.Y., Workers World) An exciting event launched the Freedom Party campaign on Oct. 3 at the Church of the Resurrection, which also serves as home to the South Bronx Community Congress. Charles Barron and Ramon Jimenez, candidates for governor and attorney general, respectively, both spoke eloquently about the emerging Black and Latino/a alliance that sees well beyond the Nov. 2 elections to a new “people’s power bloc” that can genuinely fight for and protect the interests of working people in the city and state of New York.
• 'General' mayhem - AG debate bares 'party' animals (By BRENDAN SCOTT NY Post Correspondent) The Rev. Al Sharpton, Pedro Espada Jr. and Carl Paladino unexpectedly took center stage in yesterday's testy attorney-general debate, as both candidates sought to force the other to carry his party's baggage.

imagine

WEEKEND News Headlines for Independent Voters 10/9/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• King: This country could use more independent voters (By BILL KING, Houston Chronicle) Washington must be rolling over in his grave today as politicians from both sides adamantly defend the highly partisan political life we now endure. Many argue that the parties are an essential element of the American political system to justify their quasi-legal status. Sorry, but our Founding Fathers disagreed and so do I.

MIDTERMS

• Voter Disgust Isn’t Only About Issues (By MATT BAI, NY Times/Politics) Independents: These voters did not hate politicians. They simply saw both parties, along with the news media and big business, as symptoms of the larger societal ailment. And this underlying perception, that politicians in Washington conduct themselves just as childishly and with the same lack of accountability as the students throwing chicken casserole in the lunchroom, may well be the principal emotion behind the electorate’s propensity to vote out whoever holds power.
• Marco Rubio takes fire from Meek, Crist in Florida Senate debate (By Philip Rucker, Washington Post) Crist tried to rise above the partisan fray and present himself as a level-headed, common-sense alternative.

2010

• Michael Bloomberg and Third Party Dreams (Posted by MICHAEL CROWLEY, Time mag) But I was struck by how firmly Bloomberg's close friend (and investment manager) Steve Rattner seemed to dismiss the idea on "Morning Joe" a couple of days ago
• The independent herd - Is the nation in the midst of an unheralded political realignment? (By STEVEN STARK, The Boston Phoenix) The big news in this election cycle is the rise of the Tea Party. Fair enough. But since every action causes a reaction, passing under the radar is an accompanying development that could have even more far-reaching consequences — the rise of an emboldened third force in our politics. This could even lead to the emergence of a new independent party that could alter the outcome of the 2012 presidential election, not to mention the future course of our history.
• You're Fired, Mr. President!--Donald Trump's New Hampshire poll may just be a front or billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg. (By CARL KELM, Wall Street Journal/Political Journal)

CALIFORNIA

• Appeal filed over open primary (Santa Cruz Sentinel) Fremont attorney Gautam Dutta, who opposes the open primary system established under Proposition 14, is appealing the court decision that upholds the measure… Last month, a San Francisco Superior Court judge dismissed Dutta's arguments and allowed the open primary system to proceed.
• Minor party governor candidates rally for more attention (Sac Bee/Capitol Alert) People walking by the Capitol's west steps around 1 p.m. today would have seen Green Party candidate Laura Wells, Libertarian Party hopeful Dale Ogden and Chelene Nightingale of the American Independent Party talking to about 10 people, most of them supporters and aides of the candidates.

KENTUCKY

• Independent seeks House District 35 seat held by long-time Democratic incumbent (By Nancy C. Rodriguez, Louisville Courier Journal - KY) Independent Michael P.W. Lewis wants the seat held by Democrat Jim Wayne since 1991. Lewis, who won national exposure on CNN earlier this year when he pushed for passage of a bill that would have allowed registered Independents to vote in Kentucky primaries, said he wants to take partisan bickering out of state government, and “bring the government back to the people.”

SOUTH DAKOTA

• Independent votes should count (Rapid City Journal Editorial Board) Not that long ago, women and minorities were denied the right to vote, making the privilege that much more important to them. One man, one vote is the backbone of our democracy. If you buy all of that, Ben Nesselhuf has a message for you. The Democratic challenger for Secretary of State wants South Dakota to allow independents to vote in primary elections.

MARYLAND

• Third-party candidates hope voters are ready to take a chance on them (By Adam Bednar, Carroll County Times - MD) Dr. Omar H. Ali, an associate professor at University of North Carolina at Greensboro who has studied third-party politics in America, said traditionally third parties have been based around advocacy on single issues, such as slavery, women's suffrage and labor issues.
• Independent Voters (RADIO CLIP Michael Eric Dyson Show) Politicians in both the Republican and Democratic parties are working to galvanize their voter base in November. But, they’re not the only two parties involved. Dr. Omar Ali, an associate professor of African-American and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, joins us to discuss third-party politics and its role in this particular election.

NEW YORK

• Democrats Seek To Rally Base (Politics on the Hudson) For example, Cuomo’s initial hesitation with accepting the endorsement of the liberal Working Families Party and then their backing after they agreed with his platform shows he can build a coalition, Jacobs said.

just passin through

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES FOR INDEPENDENT VOTERS 10/8/10

MIDTERMS

• David Plouffe: 2010 Election Won't be Like 1994 (Posted by Robert Hendin, CBS News/Political Hotsheet) As for the chances of keeping the House and Senate in November, Plouffe said that the Democrats are making progress but need to continue that trajectory. He doesn't see another surge by the GOP in the last few weeks, though he admits Republicans are in a better position with independent voters than they were in either of the last elections.

CALIFORNIA

• California lieutenant governor candidates trade sharp barbs (By Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times) In a dramatic 60-minute debate in Silicon Valley, Republican Abel Maldonado, the incumbent, and Democrat Gavin Newsom trade accusations of pampering criminal illegal immigrants and slashing public school funds.

MASSACHUSETTS

• Shaking it up - State needs diversity in its congressional delegation (By Ann Murphy, Boston Globe) The largest party affiliation in Massachusetts, as in many other states, is “unenrolled.’’ This group of independent voters without a party makes up 51.44 percent of all registered voters in the state and it’s growing.

UTAH

• Utah media shuts out independent candidates (Examiner Salt Lake City Political Buzz, Alison Peek) Following an investigation by the Utah League of Independent Voters (ULIV), it seems some stations have specific policies about how well a candidate is doing in the race before they are invited to the debate. KUED only allows candidates with poll numbers of at least 5%.

BLOOMBERG 2012

• Draft Michael Bloomberg Committee Press Conference (PRESS RELEASE PR Newswire) Thursday, October 14, 2010.Combine Independents, Independence and Green Parties to create critical mass to create America's Third Major Party
• Bloomberg: A Liberal in Moderate’s Clothing (by Mark Impomeni, Human Events - Leading Conservative Media Since 1944) New York City Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson, the former communications director for Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign, summed up Bloomberg’s national appeal. “He's an independent who comes to his positions, not based on an ideology or a party identification,” Wolfson said. “We live in a political moment where people are tired of partisanship, and the mayor is a leading independent in this country. Candidates are very eager to have his endorsements, from both parties.”
• Poll: Republicans remain revved up about Nov. 2 elections (Miami Herald, Steven Thomma) Marist: In a 3-way Obama-Palin-Bloomberg race, Bloomberg would take 11 percent of Democrats, 21 percent of Republicans and 23 percent of independents. His strongest base: independent men, 29 percent. His weakest: Democratic women, 11 percent.

NEW YORK

• Fulani espouses the mantra of ‘two good choices’ (By STEPHON JOHNSON, Amsterdam News) As a founder of the Independence Party of New York, Fulani has promoted the political entity’s causes for two-plus decades. Looking for another option for politically minded Black folks, Fulani believes that the key to challenging the current two-party dominance is investing in independence. “It is a vehicle to challenge the partisan and corrupt self-interests of the state’s Democratic and Republican parties and bring reform to our judicial system, which is so desperately needed,” said Fulani.
• New York City Independence Party Files Amicus in Support of Conservative/Working Families Lawsuit Over How to Count Certain Ballots (Ballot Access News)
• Trail Mix (By JENNIFER FERMINO and DAVID SEIFMAN, NY Post) Democratic gubernatorial nominee Cuomo, GOP rival Paladino and all minor-party contenders are now scheduled to debate Oct. 18 at Hofstra University for the campaign's first televised slugfest. That Battle Royale, to be carried by News 12, NY1 and YNN, will include Howie Hawkins of the Green Party, the Anti-Prohibition Party's Kristin Davis, Jimmy McMillan of the Rent is Too Damn High Party, the Freedom Party's Charles Barron, and the Libertarian Party's Warren Redlich.
• Q Poll: Cuomo Pulls Away (By David Freedlander, NY Observer) "After the dust settled from Paladino's big primary win, the big switch was in the independent vote - a small edge for Paladino two weeks ago turns into a small edge for Cuomo this time," said Quinnipiac Poll director Maurice Carroll.

LAST WORD(S)

• Will America Get a Third Party? The Independent Movement is Growing (POSTED BY NANCY HANKS, The Moderate Voice)
• The New Republic: This Is Not The End Of US Power (by DAVID A. BELL, The New Republic/NPR)

Third Party Rising, Tweeting (Which) Revolutions, and Human Development

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Third Party Rising (By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, NY Times) We have to rip open this two-party duopoly and have it challenged by a serious third party that will talk about education reform, without worrying about offending unions; financial reform, without worrying about losing donations from Wall Street; corporate tax reductions to stimulate jobs, without worrying about offending the far left; energy and climate reform, without worrying about offending the far right and coal-state Democrats; and proper health care reform, without worrying about offending insurers and drug companies.[
  
  

  • NOTE: Left blogs are aghast...  Nate Silver has tons of calculus to show that Odds Against Third-Party Bid Not as Long as They Seem...]
• Tom Friedman, Naderite? (Ezra Klein, Washington Post/Voices) The worst illusion pundits foist on the populace is the idea that if we just elect the right guy (or gal) to be president, everything will be fine. It won't be. If you don't like how our laws are being made, you have to change how our laws are being made. [NOTE: I agree -- we need structural political reform. I also think there's a real shot for the American people to elect an independent President. -NH]
• • • Independents not buying Dems' core messages (Greg Sargent, Washington Post/The Plum Line) A plurality of independents, 44 percent, agree with the core Dem claim that Dems are better for the middle class. Only 31 percent of indys pick the GOP.
• • • HALPERIN’S TAKE: The Third Man (Mark Halperin, Time mag) If unemployment's 10 percent and if it's Bloomberg-Petraeus against Sarah Palin and whoever against Obama, and Bloomberg spends $3 billion, who would you bet on?" 
      With VIDEO

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Independent votes should count (Rapid City Journal Editorial Board) The more people participate in elections, the more representative the government becomes.
• The process shouldn't involve manipulation. It shouldn't involve disenfranchising anyone who doesn't embrace a party line. Nesselhuf rightly observes that allowing independents to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries would provide needed balance.
• It should encourage an outcome that represents the will of the people, all of the people - or at least as many as possible - not a small minority that bothers to get out and vote.
• Secretary of State candidate calls for open primaries (Rapid City Journal - SD) The challenger in this fall's Secretary of State election is calling for the state to allow independents to vote in primary elections in South Dakota.

MIDTERMS

• Keep Murkowski (by David A. James, Fairbanks, LETTER Fairbanks Daily News Miner) Joe Miller’s supporters want a senator who consistently votes the party line. They have the right to feel this way. However, if I wanted a senator who took a predetermined position on every issue, I would vote for a robot. I don’t want a senator who does as told by party bosses. And given the fact that 52 percent of Alaska voters are unaffiliated with any party, I have good reason to believe that plenty of others agree with me.

POLLS

• American Values Survey: Religion, Values and the Mid-Term Elections (Public Religion Research Institute) Nearly half (47%) of Americans who consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement say they are also part of the Christian conservative or religious right movement.

CALIFORNIA

• Abel Maldonado for lieutenant governor (The Bakersfield Californian) Endorsement: Abel Maldonado risked his political hide to help California get a budget deal a year and a half ago, voting to accept a temporary tax increase -- since expired -- to help close a $42 billion deficit. In the process, he helped steer the Legislature away from its debilitating partisan extremes, convincing his fellow legislators, as part of his agreement to reach across the aisle, to put the question of an open primary on the June 2010 ballot.
• Independents Endorse Maldonado for Lt. Governor (H/T Jason Olson, IndependentVoice.org) Abel Maldonado proved he's willing to risk his political career and take on both major parties when he used his budget vote leverage to place Proposition 14, the open primary, on the ballot. Because of his courage, 3.4 million independent voters in California will have a full voice in our elections beginning in 2012.  That's the kind of tough and non-partisan leadership independent voters are looking for. 

COLORADO

• Political mailers full of believe-it-or-not gems (By Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post) When state Rep. Kathleen Curry left the Democratic Party to join the ranks of unaffiliated voters, plenty of party members begged her to reconsider. So the Gunnison lawmaker was both annoyed and amused when voters in her vast House district recently received a political mailer that she says insinuates Democrats rejected her.
• Big showing by Tancredo could hurt GOP and adopted third party (By Jessica Fender and Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post) "It would require huge percentages of unaffiliated and a vast majority of Republican voters. There's never been any indication in his career that he can do that," Ciruli said. "And there's going to be a residual vote for Maes hanging on there."
• 527 groups again active in area elections - House candidates seek to steer clear of smear campaigns (John Stroud, Post Independent Staff, Glenwood Springs, CO) A political organization that District 61 State Rep. Kathleen Curry of Gunnison once actively supported has now turned on her with a slew of negative mailers and robo-calls while she seeks re-election as a write-in candidate.

MINNESOTA

• Hein represents a new direction (LETTER Post Bulletin) Isn't it time to look at a candidate that promises reform in the form of term limits and open primaries where we all choose whom we elect? Join us and vote for Al Hein for the Minnesota House of Representatives.

NEW YORK

• Lenora Fulani Seems to Endorse Charles Barron, Freedom Party Nominee for New York Governor (Ballot Access News)
• Hoffman speaks (Maggie Haberman, Politico) “It was never my intention to split the Republican vote in the 23rd District. So today, I withdraw as a candidate from this race."
• Poll: Cuomo leads Paladino by 24 points (By: CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser) Cuomo leads Paladino by 67 points among Democrats, 11 points among independent voters, and trails Paladino by 34 points among Republicans.
• Making 'Fair Share' Fairer (by Eddie Bautista, Gotham Gazette) In November, however, a new iteration of fair share will be on the ballot, and it is a proposal worthy of support. If approved, community districts overrun by private and public waste management and transportation facilities will begin to have a more complete picture of their environmental burdens. 
• Man of the People: The dodges and counters of Pedro Espada Jr. (Albert Samaha, NY Urban Policy Examiner)
• Paladino Blasts McCall-Cuomo Alliance (Adam Dickter, Assistant Managing Editor, The Jewish Week) McCall’s endorsement is important in helping Cuomo, the state attorney general, gain minority support as some, including Brooklyn City Councilman Charles Barron, accuse the Democratic nominee of ignoring African American concerns until shortly before the election. Barron, a former Black Panther, has launched his own campaign for the statehouse on the newly created Freedom Party ballot.

TECHNOLOGY
NOTE: I for one am grateful for Malcolm Gladwell's perspective in his article Small Change, and for his statement about Clay Shirkey's stupid and racist example of how social media helps mobilize people.  I also think Alan Rosenblatt makes a good point that "technology is a tool" in his very thoughtful piece. I couldn't help wonder in reading both these pieces if we need to be more clear about what we mean by the word "revolution" (as Rosenblatt suggests) and if indeed we might need to overthrow our way of thinking about what a revolution is. The internet, Twitter, connectivity, and all the other instruments and terms of the new technology, are way in advance of   human development. As human beings, we need to catch up with our own smartness before we do each other in. And while we're at it, you might want to check out Harry Kresky's "Political Reform and Human Development" -- somehow, I think this all goes together.

• SMALL CHANGE: Why the revolution will not be tweeted (by Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker) Article contrasts the civil rights movement of the sixties with today's social media "activism" -- "Social media can’t provide what social change has always required."
• Which Revolution Will Be Twittered? (Alan Rosenblatt, Huffington Post) Technology is a tool in the hands of the revolutionary. And while, as McLuhan wrote, technology is not ideologically neutral (and therefore favors some revolutionaries over others), it is the revolutionary's cause that drives the revolution. Without a cause that a mass movement can urgently organize around, there can be no revolution, in the sense that Gladwell describes it…. Revolutions of method are different from political/social revolutions.
• Online Party of Canada - OPC is not just another political party. It is a revolutionary introduction of Internet technology to the political process. (from a press release)

Lenora Fulani: Two Good Choices -- Charles Barron on Freedom Party Line or Andrew Cuomo on Independence Party Column "C"

Fulani  Says “We have Two Good Choices”

in Governor’s Race

Urges Vote for Charles Barron on Freedom Party line or Andrew Cuomo  on Independence Party’s Column “C”

Either Vote Advances “Twin Causes of 

Independent Politics and Black empowerment”

New York, NY—Dr. Lenora Fulani held a press conference Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 at 10:30 am at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem, 2116 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., to recommend two choices in the November Governor’s race—Charles Barron on the Freedom Party line or Andrew Cuomo on the Independence Party’s Column “C.”  Both, says Fulani, will advance the “twin causes of independent politics and black empowerment.”

Dr. Fulani is a founder of the Independence Party of New York.  Cuomo received the state party’s endorsement for Governor in May.   Councilmember Charles Barron, also a candidate for Governor, needs 50,000 this November to obtain ballot status for the fledgling Freedom Party. 

“I welcome Charles Barron’s entry into independent politics and his bid to create the Freedom Party,” said Fulani.  “And I want to urge the Harlem community, together with independent-minded people across this state, to help the Freedom Party get the 50,000 votes needed for ballot status.”

“The Independence Party, of course, has a gubernatorial candidate this year, Andrew Cuomo, a traditional liberal who says he wants to reform Albany,” continued Fulani. “On the one hand, Democrats say that every year. But this year is different because Cuomo is not just running as a Democrat. He is running on the Independence Party line – New York’s premier pro-reform party. And in this, the voters of New York finally have a real choice.  They can vote for Mr. Cuomo on the Independence line, or they can vote for Mr. Barron on the Freedom Party line.  With either vote, the twin causes of independent politics and black empowerment will be advanced. “

Bringing independent options to the black and progressive communities has been a motivating principle of Dr.Fulani’s over the course of her 25 year career as a political activist.  Political independence is increasingly popular within communities of color.  Today, of the roughly 800,000 non-aligned independents in New York City, 20% are African American, 24% are Latino and 11% are Asian-American.  Nationally, 30% of African Americans between 18-29 consider themselves independents. 

An alliance between black and independent voters first appeared in New York City elections on a dramatic scale in the 2005 mayoral contest when Michael Bloomberg received 60% of the independent and 47% of the black vote running on the Independence and Republican Party lines.  In the 2008 presidential election, black and independent voters powered Obama’s upset victory in the Democratic primaries and cemented the coalition that carried him to victory in the November general election.

Performing the World in NYC: Be Back Soon!

Lenora Fulani's Harlem Tour

Performing the World in NYC: What does democracy mean to you?

Independent political blogger Nancy Hanks of The Hankster and NYC Independence Party chief organizer Cathy Stewart will host a New York City breakfast of coffee, bagels and political conversation – and a preview of raw video footage of Performing the World attendees answering the question:

What does democracy mean to you?

...in your life, in your city, your country, in the world?

Executive Conference Room

Sunday morning

9 am

Blogging and Slogging: Performing Grassroots Democracy

 in America and Around the World

Performers of the World, Unite!

If you are attending the conference, please join us!

Photo of opening night by Christopher Street

WHAT IS PERFORMING THE WORLD?

September 30th through October 3rd, 350 artists, activists, young people, educators, scholars, practitioners and business people from 31 countries, all who use performance in their work as a new way of relating to, transforming and understanding the world, will gather at the All Stars Project headquarters at 543 West 42nd Street for the Performing the World Conference; Can Performance Change the World?  The All Stars Project and the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy are co-sponsors of the conference. 

One hundred presentations over the three-day conference will showcase work being done with performance in the fields of health, wellness, education, mental health and theatre.    

Plenary session panelists include: Patch Adams, Founder and Director, Gesundhiet Institute; Andrew Burton, Founder and Artistic Director, Street Spirits, British Columbia; Lois Holzman, Co-Founder and Director, East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy; Woodie King, Jr., Founder and Producing Director, New Federal Theatre; Fernanda Liberali, Catholic University of Sao Paulo and SIAC - Simposio Acao Cidad; and Judith Malina, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, The Living Theatre and moderater Dan Friedman, artistic director of the Castillo Theatre.  A second plenary session on "The Performance of Blackness" will be facilitated by Dr. Lenora Fulani, co-founder, All Stars Project. 

Workshop leaders include Huizhu Sun, President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy; Eva Brenner, artistic director of Projekt Theater Studio in Vienna, Austria; Dan Baron Cohen, an advisor to the Secretary of Cultural Citzenship in the Brazilian Ministry of Culture; Miguel Cortez, director of the Fred Newman Social Therapy Center in Juarez, Mexico; Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John's Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles, CA; and Shahid Nadeen, Pakistan's leading playwright and director and founder and playwright in residence for Ajoka Theatre.

Letters of welcome for Performing the World have been received from New York Governor David Patterson; Osmar V. Chohfi, Consul General of Brazil in New York; Daniel Sullivan, Consul General of Canada; Philippe Lalliot, Consul General of France; Felix Augustin, Consul General of the Republic of Haiti; and Asaf Shariv, Consul General of Israel. 


Read more at Broadway World.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 10/1/10

MIDTERMS

• If Voters Choose Divided Power, What Then? (By Morton M. Kondracke, Roll Call Executive Editor, CQ Politics) But the arrangement we haven’t tried lately — and which sort of worked when we did — had a Democrat in the White House and Republicans in control of Congress, from 1995 to 2001. Of course, Republicans impeached Bill Clinton and they shut down the government. But he and the GOP also forged an agreement on welfare reform and balanced the budget.
• Murkowski’s Write-In Candidacy Surging Ahead of Teapartier Miller (ChattahBox Political News) Murkowski’s double-digit lead over the fringe extremist candidate Miller is attributed to her ability to attract Independent voters, as well as a number of moderate Democrats. Miller on the other hand, who believes unemployment benefits are unconstitutional and wants to do away with Social Security and Medicare, is only drawing the very conservative voters of Alaska.
• Boehner urges congressional reform as vote nears (By DAVID ESPO, Seattle Post Intelligencer) Both criticisms were obviously aimed at majority Democrats, but Boehner did not mention them by name. Instead, his speech appeared designed in part to win the support of independents as well as other voters troubled by the partisan bickering in Washington.

NEW YORK

• NY mayor talks to Letterman about job, money, bugs (By SARA KUGLER FRAZIER (AP) Before Bloomberg went onstage at the start of the segment, a tree was partially blocking the camera and people were sipping coffee at small tables on the set... From behind the camera, Letterman was informed that "during the commercial break, Mayor Bloomberg installed a pedestrian plaza."
• Bloomberg, Murdoch Push for More Skilled Immigrants in U.S. (By Devlin Barrett, Wall Street Journal/Metropolis)
• Bloomberg Would Extend Tax Cuts For Two Years (by Alex Roarty, National Journal)
• Thousands see support for Freedom Party (Workers World) On Sept. 19 the Freedom Party marched in the 41st annual African-American Day Parade in Harlem, N.Y., the largest Black parade in the U.S. New York state gubernatorial candidate Charles Barron and Attorney General candidate Ramon Jimenez proudly led the Freedom Party contingent of approximately 150 supporters, wearing Freedom Party T-shirts and buttons. Barron, who is African American, is a New York City councilperson. Jimenez is a Puerto Rican lawyer and activist.