An Internet hub with domestic and international news, analysis, original reporting, and popular features from the left, center, indies, centrists, moderates, and right
« Souter and the GOP Conundrum
Obama’s 5/2/09 Weekly Radio You Tube Address: Don’t Panic Over Swine Flu »
Independents: Yes, We Can
Four more percentage points and Independents will be the largest political force in the U.S. [H/t Daily Dish.]
4 Responses to “Independents: Yes, We Can”
If the country has only one relevant political party, does it matter if people call themselves independent. In November 2008, most people went to a polling place where there was probably not one competative election. Does it really matter that people call themselves free on party politics
Since Independent covers such a huge swath of political land I don't think it matters. Because that survey only gives three choices, Independent could be anything from an American Nazi Party member to a Communist Party USA member or any of the several dozen in between.
Looks like a big number when they are lumped together, but when examined closely Independents do not represent a unified challenge to dems or repubs.
TheMaineView's right. But — I wonder whether there are any issues on which this vast swath of people have common cause, and whether there's any way to specify them?
I'm fantasizing here of course. That would require a viable third party.
Independent voters can agree on the most important issue in American politics today, free and open elections, which do not exist at this time. For example, in my state, Arizona, an independent voter running for statewide office was required to obtain almost 23,000 nomination petitition signatures to appear on the ballot in the last election, while a Republican candidate for the same office was required to obtain 5,184, a Democrat was required to obtain 4,580, and a Libertarian was required to obtain 85. Other states with similar nomination petition requirements are North Carolina, South Carolina, and most recently, Alabama, which last year raised its signature requirement for independent voters.
Forget political parties. They are incapable of good government. When the United States began, all voters were independent voters, which means that they were United States citizens registered to vote. The first President of the United States said that political parties were “self-created societies” which had the capacity to destroy freedom and urged Americans to not form or support parties. When the Republican-Democrat Party took over the government in 1800, party politicians began at state level to pass laws that favored party politicians and excluded independent voters from becoming candidates for office, a process that has continued to this day.
Recent attempts of independent voters to resolve the issue through the courts have met with party interpretation, which is that whatever requirements are put upon independent voters are Constitutional if there are eccentric billionaires or well known party mavericks who are capable of meeting those requirements by paying large quantities of money for ballot access.
The biggest obstacle to political candidacy of independent voters is the news media, which, starting with the campaign by Andrew Jackson and Martin van Buren in the 1830's to convince Americans that political parties were necessary, have refused to publicize the candidacies of independent candidates without financial inducement since that time, while political party candidates have increased the amount the news media receives for political coverage with every election by raids on public revenues.
Independent voter will have to just start ignoring political parties and start registering as candidates in elections, not expecting to be immediately elected. As soon as this happens, political parties are done in this country.