Paging Political Junkies

I just found this new political commentary site. Mark Halperin worked at ABCNews.com. He now is at Time and just launched The Page. It is a 24/7 operation that covers the political world.

Use the above link to view this new site.

Michael H. Drucker
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CAMPUS POLITICO

Use the above link to check out this new section of the POLITICO geared to the youth vote on campus.

Michael H. Drucker
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The Claim Democracy 2007 Conference

The 2008 elections are almost upon us. Electoral reformers are coming together to ensure we're ready for the immediate and future challenges of running fair elections, protecting voting rights and winning reform.

The Claim Democracy 2007 Conference, November 9th-11th at University of District of Columbia School of Law in Washington D.C., will be the largest gathering in years of national, state and local leaders working for electoral reform, voter protection and media reform. There will be high-profile speakers, hands-on breakouts, and training sessions. Join with activists and experts from across the nation to learn, connect and get involved.

Use the above link to find out more and register.

Michael H. Drucker
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CONNECTING AMERICA’S INDEPENDENTS

On October 7th, 2007, Jacqueline Salit, the Political Director for CUIP and Executive Editor of the THE NEO-INDEPENDENT Magazine, hosted a National Conference Call for Independent Voters.

Across the country, ordinary Americans are taking a stand. They're standing up against a political process that is run by the Parties and the Special Interests. They're standing up to create a voice for ordinary Americans.

Use the link above to hear the entire conference call.

Michael H. Drucker
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Independent voters make voices heard

Jacqueline Salit, executive editor of The Neo-Independent magazine and national president of the Committee for a Unified Independent Party, addresses the New Hampshire chapter on issues affecting independent voters on Sunday at Alpine Grove conference center in Hollis.

Use the above link to read about the Independent Conference in NH, October 15, 2007.


Michael H. Drucker
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Web fails to snare Iowa voters

Campaigns concede that many caucusgoers in Iowa are happily encased in an old-media bubble, immune to the digital overtures of the modern presidential campaign and much more tuned in to commercials on television than to videos on a candidate’s Web site.

Campaign aides say the ramped-up Internet efforts are intended to build buzz and positive press, with little expectation that they will translate directly into votes.

Use the above link to read the MSNBC.com article by Julie Bosman, October 13, 2007.

Michael H. Drucker
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Campaigns must take young voters seriously

Young people are not only voting for Democrats but also, for the first time in several years, identifying as Democrats. Just a few years ago, young people were split evenly among Democrats, Republicans and independents. Now, 43 percent of young people say they are Democrats, only 31 percent say they are Republican and a shrinking 26 percent say they are independents.

This is Jane Fleming Kleeb's find in her POLITICO.COM article.

Use the above link to read the article. It also has a link for the transcript of a chat with Ben Adler about his college voting article.

Michael H. Drucker
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Campus voting access not making the grade

If you’re a candidate counting on those enthusiastic college voters, don’t. For some college students, getting to the ballot box can be as difficult as registering in that Nobel laureate’s honors seminar.

Turnout on college campuses has been depressed by some simple but strong barriers. Some students are unable to register where they attend school. Others encounter long lines or are likely to have their right to vote challenged. Still others face identification requirements they cannot meet or are given confusing and sometimes intimidating information.

Use the above link to read the entire POLITICO article by Ben Adler, October 9, 2007.

Michael H. Drucker
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Congressman Kucinich Announces Plan to Build Alliance with Independent Voters

Congressman Kucinich Announces Plan to Build Alliance with Independent Voters

Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential candidate announced today that he plans to meet with independent leaders across the country as part of a process to reach out to and build a direct alliance with independent voters. Independent, non-aligned voters are now 42% of the national electorate. With 29 states holding open presidential primaries independents could substantially influence both the Democratic and Republican primary contests.

Kucinich has met with Jim Mangia, Co-Chair of Independent Voice.org, an organization representing California’s 3 ½ million independent voters and Linda Curtis, Director of Independent Texans. He will soon meet with independent leaders in New Hampshire (an open primary state) and New York.

“Independent voters are a critical and growing constituency in American politics that must be related to and recognized as a major progressive force in our democracy. Independents are leading the charge for political reform and social change,” stated Congressman Kucinich. “When independents gave the Democrats control of Congress in 2006, it really hit me that these are the voters fueling a pro-democracy movement in America and voters with whom we must align if we are to change politics in America. We must clean up and open up politics in America, reinvigorate our democracy and an alliance between Democrats and independents in the open primary states will send a clear message of the direction our country needs to take. I am proud to be an independent spirit working in the Democratic Party to bring an end to war as an instrument of policy, enact a universal nonprofit health care system and lead a concerted effort to end poverty in America!”

A recent poll published in the Wall Street Journal indicated that 42% of Americans now self-identify as independents. These voters span the political spectrum on a variety of critical issues but are united in their concerns to reform our political system, challenge partisanship and political gridlock, eliminate the influence of special interests, and reinvigorate our democracy.

Kucinich Campaign Contacts:
David Bright, (207) 234-4226, david.bright@kucinich.us
Sharon Jimenez, (310) 478-0114 or (310) 409-3306, enzah@aol.com

Michael H. Drucker
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Ramblings

I heard Kinky Friedman on a MSNBC morining show last week. He said if he ran again in 2010 he wold have to be as an Trojan Horse. He would join one of the major parties but become a Independent if he won. So, in the future do we have to find our Trojan Horses?

The pols talk about a shared investment for the war. One way is to share the cost with a tax and that would make the anti-war movement to get stronger. But the only way to end this part of the war, Iraq, is a shared understanding that congress will need a override veto vote, and that means electing candidates that want this war to end. I separate the war in Iraq from the war on Terrorism.

I just finished "Legact of Ashes", The History of the CIA. In the spring of 1990 Saddam began buiding up for the Kuwait invasion. The CIA said "Iraq is Bluffing." During the war the CIA was to pick the bombing targets and all they did was kill hundreds of woman and children with their wrong selections. Then during the first Gulf War, we bombed everything we could but we missed Iraq's nuclear-weapons development facility. So when Cheney became the VP his trust that the CIA could provide any intelligence worth using was nil. The second Iraq War was always going to happen.

Michael H. Drucker
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Independents Making Our Voices Heard

The New Hampshire Committee for an Independent Voice (NH-CIV) is hosting a forum on Sunday, October 14, 2007.

Guests will include local officials, representatives from the national affiliate-CUIP, and presidential candidates. Currently they have confirmation to attend from Rep. Kucinich, and invitations are out to others. It will be a town hall style format, and independents will be able to speak directly to the speakers. Also, it will allow independents throughout the state to meet one another and get an update on NH-CIV activities.

Use the above link for more information.

Michael H. Drucker
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Independents and the Primaries

Are the media ignoring the Independent vote in the upcoming Primaries?

Here are some views:

Andrew Smith, the director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, said the biggest change he has found among independent voters was the extent to which they were more likely to identify themselves as Democrats. In a survey he released last week, about 45 percent described themselves as leaning Democrat, up from about 30 percent in 2000. About 30 percent in this survey identified themselves as leaning Republican, a figure that is essentially unchanged from 2000.

Aides to Mr. Obama, pointing to the ideological and demographic make-up of Independent voters and the kind of maverick candidates to which they have historically been drawn, are looking to them to offset Mrs. Clinton's strength among registered Democrats here. In this scenario, Mr. McCain's loss could prove to be, in the topsy-turvy world of New Hampshire politics, Mr. Obama's gain. This is the first time both Republicans and Democrats have held primaries since 2000, creating what is in effect a rivalry between two parties for independent voters.

Independent voters, or undeclared voters as they are called in NH, make up 45 percent of the New Hampshire electorate, up from 28 percent in 1996, the year the legislature changed the law to simplify same-day registration. And by every indication, these voters, who voted overwhelmingly in the Republican primary of 2000, have veered sharply Democratic since than, reflecting growing anti-war sentiment here while powering a general shift of this state to the Democratic column.

It seems campaigns understand a little about Independent voters but it has not got to the main media. They look at Independent voters as different in many ways from most other voters. They say "Independent voters tend to pay less attention to the contest until the very end and are less likely to vote. As a group, they are volatile and unpredictable, which accounts for much of the uncertainty".

I think we know who we are and what we are looking for. What do you think?

Michael H. Drucker
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