Jesse Ventura Speech Rally for the Republic: Rock the Debates!!

Be sure to click on the video at the top of The Hankster and listen to former Minnesota Gov Jesse Ventura speaking on September 2, 2008 about the need for independent voices in the presidential campaign. The two parties are destroying our country, says Jesse. He talks about RockTheDebate.org, a grassroots independent organization working for inclusion of independent candidates in the debates. RockTheDebate's co-founder Bob Sullentrup recently delivered a letter to the Committee on Presidential Debates (a company owned jointly by the Democratic and Republican parties to control the presidential debates) detailing demands to change the criteria by which candidates are authorized to be included in a national debate (I'll try to get a copy of this for you).

Read more here on Sound Politics, and here in the Hawaii Reporter from August 25, which says: The poll released by Zogby showed that 55 percent of likely voters want Bob Barr included in the debates. Of the respondents, 69 percent of independents felt that Bob Barr deserves a place in the debate, while 52 percent of Democrats and even 50 percent of Republicans agreed.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Over 200 supporters packed the Woolworth Tower Kitchen Restaurant Tuesday night for the 8th Annual New York County Independence Party Anti-Corruption Awards. The Anti-Corruption Awards is the signature event of the New York City Independence Party, that to celebrates independents' success and honors political and civic leader figures who are activitely building bridges to independent voters and the independent movement. The event, one of two major fundraisers for the IP each year, raised over $56,000. Tuesday night's awardees included Michael Hardy, Al Sharpton's long-time attorney; Bob Sullentrup and Larry Reinsch accepted on behalf of Rock the Debates, Betty Ward and Russ Ouellette accepted on behalf of the New Hampshire Committee for an Independent Voice, and other community activists. [Look for more awardees over the next several days here on The Hankster....] Past awardees have included Michael Bloomberg, Mike Gravel, and local elected officials such as Senator Charles Schumer, State Senator Joseph Bruno, State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, and Councilman Leroy Comrie, in addition to grassroots builders of the Independence Party of New York City. [Check The Hankster for photos from the event, and see the video at the top for Larry Reinsch's remarks on RockTheDebates.org]

• What does the MSM call an anti-war libertarian Republican candidate for president who is raising millions from the grassroots? How about Spoiler? (CBS News)


• Ron Paul's "revolution"--“Maybe I’m more in the mainstream,” he said. “Maybe the extreme is what we’ve been living with.” (Portsmouth Herald News Seacoast Online)


• Mayor's 2008 Move Depends on Primaries: "The conventional wisdom says Mr. Bloomberg wouldn't run against Senator McCain because he's a centrist, Governor Romney because he's a fellow businessman, or Senator Clinton because they share so many of the same natural base of supporters. But conventional wisdom can't tell us how voters will feel about any of the nominees once their opponents have finished slicing and dicing them during the next 10 weeks of campaigning. Name any pair of candidates, and there is a scenario that allows Mr. Bloomberg to conclude he has a decent shot at winning. But decent does not mean likely, and odds are Mr. Bloomberg will sit out the race.... "(New York Sun)


• Three Nader Ballot Access Cases from 2004 Are Still Alive (Ballot Access News)