the sunnyside of voting

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS Voters are starting to sway from hesitation over third-party candidates (Daily Titan Cal State) States are seeing the two major parties affiliation declining in rank as they witness independent voter affiliations soar.NOTE: This article correctly identifies the Reform candidate as Ted Weill.

OPEN PRIMARIES Party lines detrimental to electoral process (The Telescope - CA) Checking the box on the voter registration form declaring a political party should be removed completely.

CAMPAIGN

• An endless campaign ends for NH voters (By JOHN DISTASO, New Hampshire Union Leader) Today's election will shed further light on the political makeup of the Granite State. Traditionally fiscally conservative, the state turned Democratic blue in 2006 as independents turned from the Republicans to the Democrats.
• Local professor offers insight into today's presidential election (Aiken Standard SC) Push polls that introduce something negative into the campaign can work, Botsch said. In 2000, calls from the Bush campaign against McCain in the South Carolina primary lifted Bush to victory and galvanized his candidacy. The effect can be to depress voter turnout by getting independent voters discouraged.
• Mason-Dixon poll says presidential race still tight in Virginia-As in the Doug Wilder race, a large number of voters remain undecided, pollsters say. (Roanoke Times) Obama does have a 50 percent to 39 percent advantage among independent voters, according to the poll.
• Montana Presidential race a tossup (Montana's News Station) Obama's lead comes by virtue of his 48%-40% advantage with independent voters in the state.

BLOOMBERG/TERM LIMITS A Packed House (Daily News/Daily Politics) Public gathers to speak about Mayor overturning term limits; Also on hand: Lenora Fulani, the controversial Independence Party member who is exploring a mayoral run of her own next fall and could be an impediment to Bloomberg if he decides to seek Row C.

Hankster Vote

Sunnyside Queens at 7:30 am

I voted, but I had to give the poll worker instructions. High emotions! Lots of neighbors!

I'll be heading up to Harlem tonight to take some pictures and hopefully celebrate Obama's election, so stay tuned!!!

Hankster Vote

Line in Sunnyside Queens at 6 am

Hankster Vote

November 4, 2008

Independent voters do not like robo calls!

Think campaigns are getting their money's worth out of the cheap but controversial practice of robocalling? According to the survey, 65 percent of all registered voters polled said they hang up when they receive an automated call and half said the calls are a "minor annoyance." Thirteen percent say the calls make them angry. But candidates may want to take note: Those coveted independent voters are the likeliest to hang up and get angry. Seventy-five percent of registered independents hang up on robocalls and 17 percent get angry. ...(US News & World Report)

machine politics

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OREGON MEASURE 65

• One Final OEA Slap at Measure 65 (The Oregonian) "It's a brazen and cynical act," she said. "It's brazen because they have so much money they know they can get away with it, and cynical because they really don't care what the rest of us think."
• I voted No on Measure 65. Here's why. (Kari Chisholm, BlueOregon) Parties serve an important function. They coalesce disparate interest groups and single-issue opinions into coherent ideologies. NOTE: He opted for the parties over the people... hmmm....

CAMPAIGN

• Final Presidential Estimate: Obama 55%, McCain 44%--Independents break for Obama, boosting Obama’s broad Democratic base (Gallup) The two presidential nominees -- both of whom owe their primary victories earlier this year to solid support from independents -- waged a fierce battle for the independent vote, but in the final poll independents preferred Obama to McCain by 48% to 43%.
• Obama Leads McCain 52% to 46% in Campaign's Final Days (Pew Research) Aside from Obama’s six-point edge among independents (45%-39%), he is nearly even with McCain among white non-Hispanic Catholics (47% McCain, 45% Obama), suburban voters (47%-43%), and white women (47%-44%).

Doctor of Democracy - Lenora Fulani Rally Harlem

Dr. Jessie Fields

coney island

Count Down to November 4, 2008

Hey Hanksteristas!

Here's a couple of suggestions about what do to on Tuesday Election Night:

Get together with some friends and enjoy the evening.

Twitter me.

Record your vote on video (or just take a picture...) and email it to The Hankster...

Go onto IndependentVoting.org and look around....

Consider November 4th as a new beginning... with political independents leading the way!

Power to the People!

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Have the party without me (Houma Today/The Courier - Houma, LA) None of those things influenced my decision more than two decades ago to shun established political parties and register as an independent voter. I did it because I’m more interested in common-sense, practical solutions to problems facing our community, state and nation than I am about political ideology and partisanship. Anyway, I didn’t want to be a part of two clubs that, for my tastes, are more concerned about their own self interests and payback for friends, campaign contributors and other well-connected people and businesses than they are about the common welfare.

THE LATEST ON OREGON MEASURE 65

• Changes to primary aren't a priority now (Salem Statesman Journal) Don't miss the comments!
• Still confused about the ballot measures? (Kari Chisholm, Editor, BlueOregon) Confused? Undecided? Here's a HINT: The choice comes down to whether you want the parties or the people to have the power... Vote Yes for the People.

CAMPAIGN

• Running a Volunteer Operation With a Do-It-Yourself Attitude (NY Times) The Interstate 4 corridor in Florida, an east-west line unusually rich in independent voters, is where the Democratic stronghold of South Florida meets the state’s mostly Republican north.
• Florida Republican Leader Sees a Tougher Challenge This Year (NY Times) some party officials worry that the negative tone alienates independent voters; on the other hand, it has pushed volunteers to great lengths.
• PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS: Poll gives Obama edge - McCain trails by 4 points among likely Nevada voters (Las Vegas Review Journal)
• We Matter. You Don't! (Boston Globe) Last month, Ohio was the hand-wringing center of attention in lengthy stories in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and this newspaper. The state hosted two days of NPR's Talk of the Nation, and our state capital was the choice for CNN's focus group of independent voters who were asked to weigh in on the second presidential debate.
• Galesburg expected to choose Obama (Galesburg Register Mail) Ward 2 showed a strong win for Obama although there were 15 independent voters compared to only 10 Democrats and nine Republicans.
• Election 2008’s Real Loser Will Be Karl Rove And Rovian Politics (By JOE GANDELMAN, The Moderate Voice) A common thread evident in talking to and reading polls about independent voters and many Americans is this: they are sick of the kind of political base mobilization politics symbolized by former Bush political maven Karl Rove.

BLOOMBERG/TERM LIMITS
Public to Give Mayor Earful on 3rd Term (NY Times) And don't miss Lenora Fulani speaking about this pivotal moment...

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OREGON MEASURE 65
http://voteyes65.com/

• Ballot Measure 65: Vote “Yes” (Pioneer Log)
• Ballot Measure 65: Vote “No” (Pioneer Log) the primaries under 65 will simply be an earlier general election, and Nov 4 will just be a round two.
• Guest column: Everyone votes under Measure 65 (News Review Today) Every two years, independents (or non-affiliated) voters help pay for the primary election across Oregon, yet are excluded from voting for the candidates on partisan ballots. If the political parties want to exclude people from the ballot, then the political parties should pay for their private primaries themselves.

CAMPAIGN

• As Americans Vote, the World Holds Its Breath (Utne Reader) Every time Obama talked about restoring America’s standing in the world during those debates, that little CNN widget tracking independent voters’ sentiments spiked.
• The Coming Republican Minority (Marc Ambinder/The Atlantic) while an even larger majority of all voters say the RP should move to the "center to win over moderate and independent voters.

NEW YORK POLITICS/INDEPENDENCE PARTY
GOP gets help from Independence Party (Newsday) Records show New York's Republican Senate Campaign Committee gave $230,000 this month to the Independence Party, the state's largest minor party, for its help in trying to keep the Republicans' last power base in state government. NOTE: Frank MacKay is playing a dangerous game of selling independent votes to the highest bidder.


LAST WORD
Who Are You Voting for - and Why? (Washington Post) Check out this Seesmic interactive post!!

Lenora Fulani

Let the People Decide

Rally for Lenora Fulani

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Black and Purple: How a new generation of black independent voters is changing American politics. (Marcia Ford, Urban Faith)

CAMPAIGN

• Obama Losing Support Among Independents - Unaffiliated Voters Are Leaving Obama, But Into The Undecided Column Rather Than To McCain (National Journal)
• Obama: Rockin' the suburbs (Chicago Tribune/The Swamp)

BLOOMBERG/TERM LIMITS
Angry Enough to Run (Rock Hackshaw, Room 8) Last Thursday evening, the New York City Council shat on democracy’s face. I am mad. I am real angry. I am angry enough to run for public office again.

Community Meeting to Support Dr. Lenora Fulani

Dr. Lenora Fulani spoke to a crowd of 1,000 people at the First A.M.E. Bethel Church in Harlem, October 30, about the abandonment by Mayor Bloomberg of the principles of democracy and independence.

The list of speakers and endorsers is short but important: State Senator Eric Adams, Councilmember Charles Barron, DP Nominee for State Assembly Inez Barron, civil rights attorney Derrick Bell, President of the Grand Council of Guardians Charles Billups (who did a STAND OUT job of emceeing the event), Coalition of Outsiders, President of the Vulcan Society John Coombs, Chair of the James E. Davis Foundation Geoffrey Davis, Producer of the New Heritage Theatre Group Darryl T. Downing, President of Mothers Against Guns Elizabeth Goldsmith, Attorney for the National Action Network and Rev. Al Sharpton Michael Hardy, President of the Van Dyke Houses Tenant Association Lisa Kenner, President and CEO of the All Stars Project Gabrielle L. Krulander, Counselor and Sports Legend Bob McCullough, chairman of the National Latino Officers Association Anthony Miranda, Host of KISS FM Open Line James Mtume, the New York City Organizations of the Independence Party, President of Hip Hop SUV (Stand Up and Vote) Lawayne Perkins, President of IndependentVoting.org Jacqueline Salit, Former President of the Vulcan Society Paul Washinton, Retired NYPD officer Graham Weatherspoon, and Vice President of the New York State Ministers Wives and Widows Dr. W. Ruth Whitney.... and many many others...

Dr. Fulani has been attacked by many of the leaders she has helped the most, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Why? Because Lenora Fulani is a progressive and an independent who fights for the people. She is a leftist and a radical -- and that's not allowed.

New York City is at a crossroads. Mike Bloomberg and other elected officials want to do away with term limits and cement their power. We need to speak out for independent peoples' power and for the leaders who have been there for us!

The black and independent alliance put Mike Bloomberg in office and if we continue to build the movement, he and the rest of the city council and all the other politicians around will have to account to the black and indpendent alliance.

Power to the People.

Stay tuned. More video snipits to come!

Racism and Violence in the Election Process

Like wine, this election process seems to bring out the hidden, nasty truth lurking just below the surface in some people. The threats against Barack Obama at some Republican rallies have been widely reported. The couple that hung an effigy of Sarah Palin as a Halloween decoration didn't think it was anything but funny.

This week, a man I have known for more than forty years forwarded a racist political picture and caption from some woman who thought it was just too funny not to share. I was shocked, embarrassed, angry, and appalled that anyone who knows me would think that I would find it remotely humorous. This inappropriate e-mail came from an educated, upper middle class white man living in a fairly liberal part of the country. It reminded me of the type of racist jokes my father used to tell. They were the sorts that were shared discretely between friends.

My father was born in 1901 in a rural part of the Northeast. Like Joe the plumber, my father was an independent plumbing and heating contractor, though he never made the kind of money that Joe does. My father worked hard to provide a lower middle class living for us--worked hard enough that he literally died on the job. I don't think he realized the impact of those jokes. I don't think he knew any black people personally. The last argument we had was over my right to marry a black woman. It was a theoretical argument because I didn't know any black people either. I was sixteen at the time.

I'm over sixty now. I do know people of every race, major religion, and economic strata. I also know the insidiousness of racist jokes told behind closed doors, or sent over the Internet.

Stop it, America. We're better than that. We don't need ethnic jokes of any variety. We don't need to threaten violence in order to promote our candidates. We can disagree without being repugnant. We cannot make a better America by denigrating each other.

fire

on wall street

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

OREGON MEASURE 65

• School union confuses me (West Linn Tidings - OR) I’m content not being a member of a political party, but must admit, it’s frustrating following primary campaigns for months, only to be denied a voter’s right to show my support for a candidate.
• We can either beat challenges facing us or let them beat us (Lake Oswego Review) Stephen Griffith, 62, is the Republican candidate for Oregon House District 38 endorsement for Measure 65
• OEA Asked to Retract M65 Claims (KAJO 1270 AM)

CAMPAIGN

• Can One Party Rule? (Washington Post) Should voters choose Mr. McCain over Democrat Barack Obama so as not to empower the Obama-Reid-Pelosi triumvirate that Mr. McCain paints in such ominous shades? Alternatively, as some down-ballot Republicans are urging, should voters stick with GOP senators or members of Congress to keep a President Obama in check?
• Seeking the Gridlock Vote - Running against Reid, Pelosi and What's-His-Name. (Wall Street Journal)
• The Anatomy Of Republican Cataclysm and Democratic Victory (Huffington Post) One reason the country is turning to Senator Obama is that we believe Senator McCain has sold his soul to the know-nothing lowest common denominator Republican/fundamentalist/far right crowd.
• New Hampshire Poll Released by WMUR UNH: Barack Obama 58%, John McCain 33% (Transworld News) Obama has also widened his lead among independent voters in New Hampshire – 54% of political independents say they favor Obama, 26% favor McCain, 4% prefer some other candidate, and 16% are undecided.
• Domino's Pizza Tracker Poll: Independents Not Necessarily Undecided - Poll of 295,000 pizza-eating voters shows Obama over McCain by big margin (MarketWatch)
• Behind The Numbers: The Latest Polls (Marc Ambinder/The Atlantic) Obama's lead among independent voters in the Zogby track is 16 percentage points.

BLOOMBERG/TERM LIMITS
Opponents of term-limits extension vow to fight on (Newsday)