Conversations on Independence

Steve Soto on The Left Coaster thinks Mitt Romney may be positioning himself as an alternative for independent voters.... Nathan on MySpace thinks a bi-partisan ticket would appeal to independents.... RJ Eskow's piece Play-It-Safe 'Centrists' Are Weakening the Democratic Party is posted at his interesting blog Night Light... and Dick Arney at Time magazine's blog Swampland thinks independents will be voting their pocketbooks in '08.

'Independent' means no party links

I wonder what Ohio Sec of State Jennifer Brunner (Columbus Dispatch) would have to say about Sen. Lieberman's campaign last year? (See The Hankster from May 25 "When partisans run as independents")

Independents Rule New Hampshire

Partyless, Unpredictable Voters Could Sway Primary...Again
This article in ABC News Go, By Rick Klein, June 4, 2007 , is definitely worth a read. With the media blitz about the candidates (and that's ok - it's an American election, and that's what American elections are all about....), it's nice to see a little attention paid to the voters! See what New Hampshire independents Betty Ward and Russ Ouellette had to say....

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Major parties choking democracy, grass-roots efforts (Des Moines Register Iowa View)
• Opening the Space in American Politics (The Conservative Voice)
• A Failure of Leadership in a Flawed Political Culture (Washington Post)
• Unity Limps On, Recruiting 106 Delegates a Day (Irregular Times)
• Spoilers or swing voters? Independent Texans founder Linda Curtis discusses corridor, politics with area group (Victoria Advocate)
• Idaho GOP’s Move to close primary concerns some (KTVB)
• Don't take independent voters for granted (Letter from Betty Ward to Concord Monitor)

Conversations on Independence

So, how are independent voters doing? MRF Buckley at NewsPopping: Internet Journalism Blog had this astute analysis of the debates and the candidates. LiberalArtsGuy at An Ordinary Person and Politics in America has developed a very interesting schmooze strategy for meeting other independents, and while you're there, check out Fence Sitter (Not!). And where can a passionate anti-war activist get a break? On CNN? No, baby -- On Swiftspeech! This is a great blog - not to be missed. And you'll want to read Jackie Salit's statement posted here on The Independent View: "Contrary to the statement by Senator Clinton, Iraq is not George Bush’s war. It is Washington’s war—signed, sealed and delivered by both political parties."

I'd say independents are doing quite well. What do you think?

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Mike Gravel Given 30 Seconds to Answer Each of 10 Somewhat Irrelevant Questions (Absurd Realities)
• McCain still commands attention from voters (Concord Monitor)
• Running the Realm of Red & Blue in Nonpartisan Elections (The Texas Blue)
• A New Poll Suggests That Play-It-Safe 'Centrists' Are Weakening the Democratic Party (RJ Eskow, HuffingtonPost)
• Connecticut Green Party Court Hearing (Ballot Access News)

More Conversation on Independence and the Dem debate

Lots and lots of type on the Hillary/Obama question relative to the polls and Iraq. Seems right. There’s a lot going on. And not so much…

Here's my take:
Starting off with Fred Newman and Jackie Salit's Talk/Talk "Back to the Future", read about this tautology and by the way, if you're an independent, you might want to send an email to the author of any post talking about Bloomberg's 08 independent run. Let them know what it takes to get the support of independent voters—it’s not automatic, whatever that is. Neo Independent editor Jackie Salit says that independents don't want to be a third party -- they want to be a third force in US politics (ABC News.com) New York indies made that clear and got a non-partisan municipal elections ballot referendum.

I was totally taken by Andrew Sullivan's "Has She Come Undone?" I agree that Hillary was "luminescent (What’s the”almost”????) Now what? Joe Gandelman suggests that Hillary might not be over. And if Obama tries to get votes with a corrected position on Iraq, he'll lose. Independents are not interested in the correct position. Independents are interested in politicians who step out and say what has to be said. And not just independents but grassroots Dems and Repubs.. Even the New York Times noticed: “America Is Not Safer Since 9/11,” Obama’s clarification of his position regarding the Iraq war. Sen. Obama – if you’re going to run against Hillary, don’t trail, lead, please!

Speaking of Obama, and living in Sunnyside Queens as I do, I can’t help but notice this article in the Irish Echo calling Obama “wildly courageous”—let’s hope so! Barak Obama clearly is a challenge to business as usual, says Terry Golway...

Conversations on Independence

Referring to the recent USA Today poll showing Obama neck and neck with Hillary, Jonathan Singer on MyDD takes note of the power of independents to determine the outcome of elections... What he misses is the power of independents to create a national dialogue on what the issues are. It is independent voters who are sufficiently on the outside to be able to say the unsayable as they did in the midterms when they led the move to challenge US foreign policy. Independent voters are doing much more than getting major party candidates elected. We're challenging partisan politics and the culture of winning.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• New Hampshire: This year, some independents are joining forces to make sure their concerns are heard. (ABC News)
• Texas: Just about every organization is disappointed with its officials, Russell Pruitt said, and his group believes the independent movement could help. (Victoria Advocate)
• Obama now virtually tied with Clinton, poll shows (USA Today)

Memo: Voter Referendum on Education from DC Independents for Citizen Control

The Hankster received this email from DC ICC:

MONDAY 4 JUNE 2007 — www.DCIndependents.org
TO: DC & US Media
FROM: Miriam Moore, Vice Chairperson, District of Columbia Independents for Citizen Control (DCICC)
ABOUT: Commentary on Voter Referendum on Education

COMMENTARY:
Teach Our Children by Practicing Democracy
Mayor Fenty believes the District of Columbia parents and average citizens who are fighting for a voter referendum on his proposed school governance plan are hurting children. That's the new Big Lie for 2007. They would rather have us put democracy on our children's "just say no" list, and allow a speedy coronation of mayor Fenty as king of D.C. schools.
Many District citizens and I certainly agree plenty is wrong with our public school system. However, can we also agree that the success of our children has less to do with a top-down governance structure, and is more related to real community control of our schools? A genuine partnership between superintendent Clifford Janey, the D.C. school board and local school communities produced our master education plan. This plan will be in effect regardless of who runs DCPS.


Dedicated teachers will still educate our children with available resources. They will do it in the same developer targeted crumbling buildings caused by long-term multilevel D.C. government incompetence and politics. We will still send our kids to school and be involved in their education while working full or part time jobs, fighting poverty, avoiding violence, surviving D.C.'s coming fiscal imbalances, and challenging self-serving elected officials on decreasing citizen rights.
My child will still get educated, whether through DCPS, charter schools, low-cost tutors, or a more family-friendly area outside of D.C. While parents may not do it perfectly, we will do our best. The needs of our children will always trump the phony rhetoric and plagiarized plans of District bureaucrats .

Real leaders create partnerships, not adversaries among the citizens that elect and pay them. A partnership with the citizens in the education trenches should begin with a civics lesson to our children on real democracy and due process. Supporting the voter referendum on school governance may earn mayor Fenty a B+ among citizens and children .
Mr. Fenty, you cannot afford to fail this important lesson in "government of the people, by the people, for the people."



Miriam Moore, Vice Chairperson,District of Columbia Independents for Citizen Control (DCICC)www.DCIndependents.org.
###

CONTACT:
Miriam Moore
202-441-8528
dcindependents@gmail, miriam@DCIndependents.org

Conversations on Who won the debate

Kevin Drum, on the Washington Monthly's Political Animal, reported that the "left blogosphere seems to be virtually unanimous that Hillary Clinton won (for whatever definition of "won" you prefer)"and a number of comments are worth looking at. As an independent, I agree and I'd say "winning" in this case is losing unless you're a party boss. Take a look at some like comments on SCORING THE DEBATE...

I also like what Ben Smith, newly of The Politico, said--he'd rather hear what others think. Also worth a read. Spin Me! Similarly, Ron Gunzburger at Politics1 was in France on vacation, but his eyes were 151 comments on the question....

So let me know what you thought!! If you're an independent voter, the Hankster wants to know your opinion on the debate...

Conversations on Independence

One thing you can say about tonight's (Sunday's) Dem debate from New Hampshire, where independents outnumber both Dems and Repubs, is that it was NOT a conversation on independence. Other than the point where Obama challenged the premise of the question on whether English should be our "official" language, it was the Dems running against Bush in the language of political campaign rhetoric.... and on those terms, I guess Hillary wins... Random Jack has a point system and he's rated them, ending his post with a call to "Vote independent. End the war."

Interesting post by brent called "A bunch of donkeys": Barack looks pretty presidential. He really IS articulate. And black. It's a shame that he's a democrat. If he were independent with some better principles behind him, he'd do very well." Yes, I agree--Obama started his campaign by articulating at least the need for a new vision for America and a new politics. For all we know, he's still doing that at the grassroots but that kind of talk doesn't translate well on national network tv... This goes to the point that we independents need to work that much harder to show ourselves, to speak out, to come together so that if any of the candidates want to break out of the party line, they will have our support.

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• DEBATE SUNDAY: Iraq, Economy May Be Key Issues In Debate (WMUR)
• Mackinaw Policy Conference: Who will be next president? D.C. pundits unsure-In the last election, when Congress' control swung to the Democrats, independent voters favored Democrats by an 18-point margin, largely because of the war. (Detroit News)
• Rasmussen Poll on How Voters Self-Identify (Ballot Access News)
• Texas Governor Vetoes Voting Rights Bill HB 770 (Ballot Access News)

News EXTRA for Independent Voters

• Number of Republicans in U.S. Hits New Low, Number of Democrats Also Decline (Rasmussen Reports)
• 27% Likely to Vote for Bloomberg as Third Party Candidate (Rasmussen Reports)

EXTRA Conversations on Independence

The Moderate Voice was among several blogs today to feature the May Rasmussen poll showing the decline in party identifiers. Independents Rising--Sort Of by Chris Bowers on MyDD shows the long-term independent voter registration figures from 1961 to 2004 rising from 1.6 to 21.7%. Chris also shows the decline in third party registration. American Taíno (nice blog, by the way) tells us that "Fifty-eight percent (58%) of American adults say it would be good for the United States to have a truly competitive third political party."

A new political reality in America (or is that one of the "original" American realities?) is that most people don't like political parties. I don't think the 58% figure contradicts this. Given the dismal record of our political parties (corruption, coersion, control), it's no wonder we're not so hot on the party structure as a way of representing US. But if there was another party that could take on the Big Guys, we love a good fight. That's what happened in 1860. Tragically, that played out in a costly Civil War in this country. Will it ever happen again? Maybe. I suspect the "lives" lost will be more like the political "jobs" lost, as in a patronage system that is so deep we can't begin to imagine. In the meantime, check out a national network of independent voters who are not counting on a party structure, or the Big Shots, to carry the ball to the finish line.....