By Alex Hammer

As you’ve heard, “There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”

We’ve shortchanged ourselves as a nation by ceding our collective non-partisan, solution-oriented strength to those with partisan interests.

It’s not that we have the government we deserve, but rather the government we have allowed.

Here is where we all come in — independents and moderates and non-partisan sleeping giants of the world. Look at the links on this Web site, as only one example; all of the centrist, moderate, and/or independent voices, strong voices, in this country.

These links lead to other links, other voices, and still others.

Here’s a question: What would happen if we started to take back our country one blogger at a time?

One powerful voice at a time.

More effective yet, what if we networked our influence? What could our country look like then?

Maybe the government we allow would rise up to become the government we truly deserve.

New media, and social media, are sources of potential great new political power. The major political parties have dominated the mainstream press but as bloggers and citizens we now have our own “presses” and the ability to network as we choose.

Also, while established major party candidates and interests can and do build up large Twitter and Facebook networks, they have to increasingly compete with non-partisan individuals, and potentially groups, as well.

Although you can be sure that established interests (not only political but also corporate, media, etc.) will invest large sums in an attempt to co-opt and dominate these new media, there is the potential for a great democratization effect from these tools.

Here’s another question: In my home state, Maine, we have more Independents (registered, unenrolled) than either Democrats or Republicans, and yet we do not have even a single, Independent, non-party elected state representative or state senator in the entire legislature. How representative a democracy is that?

What does it look like in your state?

Twenty-six per cent of Mayor Bloomberg’s re-election votes in New York City this past week — well over 140,000 votes — came on the Independence line and not on the Republican line.

Think about that for a minute, and why the national media keep it “hush hush.”

Independents are a sleeping giant in this country.

And we’re starting to stir.

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Alex Hammer is an Independent candidate for Governor of Maine. You can learn more about him at Redux, or follow him on Twitter or Cinch.