One election debrief (mine)

I now have a life experience that I share with a very small group of people; I ran for public office as a non-partisan candidate in a partisan race. (and I polled over 20% in doing so, even 39% and 42% in the 2 highest precincts)

Utah is home to 1.5 Million registered voters, 51.5% of which selected "unaffiliated" on their voter registration. Not to come off as a statistician, but I postulated that the votes cast in my race would not deviate far from a representative sample of voter identification (which for Davis County is 49% R, 42% u, 8% D and 1% all others)*----
*From memory, not authoritative

Well, needless to say, I did not prevail in the race. It was hard not to take disappointment personally when the results didn't even match a reasonable projection of a point spread. Near record low voter turnout clearly did not help. Initially I wanted to write something like losing doesn't feel good no matter how unlikely a victory was at the outset. Upon closer examination of the results I can make a more realisitic even optimistic assessment by comparing the experience to scrimmaging an NFL team with close friends and family, some borrowed dirty practice jersey and no pads or helmets. While we took a shellacking, we put some numbers on the board against the pros, and that feels pretty darn swell!

		it took over 70 years of organizing to enfranchise women

So, since Nov. 2nd until now, I have had to pinch myself daily to remind myself that it (the election) never was about me. It was about people having representation without a party obstacle in an admittedly very obscure office.

I am positive I am not the first or last independent just this year bemoaning the fact that a better, more pro-active, better qualified candidate could not surmount the illogical sole support for a candidate based on partisan affiliation.

		Personal relationships are paramount

After working so hard distributing flyers and posting engaging content (facebook.com/Davis.PLS), writing white papers, speaking at meet the candidate nights and filling out candidate questionaires for a handful of groups and newspapers, the week following the election was somewhat of a personal vacuum. That and the pay cut I have taken in this economy will now persist for the forseeable future.

But, it is what it is, and 0-1 is a record for quitters. And it is only a loss if I forfeit for nothing worse than being a little behind at halftime against a professional party machine.

Lessons learned

1. "There is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come" Victor Hugo. While that may be true, I have learned to expect to slow down. Just because the public is ready to promote systemic political reform does not mean it will burst onto the scene just like that. (It took 13 years to ratify the constitution and over 70 years of organizing to enfranchise women).

   
   

2. Personal relationships are paramount. In a recent conference call with independent organizers, Jackie Salit, President of CUIP stated 'the media has figured that the internet will change everything. Not so. People change things.' While I agree with that, I will add that the internet is simply another arrow in the quiver to sustain connections. The internet is not the end-all-be-all, but it can be a powerful component in networking. And the internet is turning the advertising revenue model of media outlets upside down. Traditional media now has millions of competitors just like that--including me!
   

   
   I'm convinced that personal relationships are the untapped power of an independent force in our wayward and exclusive politics. It is also the crutch many partisan candidates lean on--the personal relationships of others in the party that they did not cultivate themselves.
   

   
   

3. Don't quit
   
4. Success is how you define it
   
5. Never stop networking
   

Happy Holidays

Randy

American independents: The success of the two parties is also their failure

by Randy Miller
Every American, every thoughtful student is an independent at heart. Many however by means of cowardice and dereliction or perhaps just being uninformed choose the easy path of partisan loyalty over the hard right of independence, liberty and organizing.

Every substantial positive and empowering step in our quest for a more perfect union has sprung up from an independent movement of citizens motivated to organize.

Your children are free to go to school without being exploited for their industry; thank you organized labor.

Women are now free to vote and to own property. I'm sure the women of our state and nation will raise a glass to honor the lifetime sacrifice of those stalwart independent women who took on the establishment repeatedly.

The independent paradigm that is taking shape today is both epic and historic.

All people regardless of race, creed or color can now be citizens and vote. This right always existed. The 2 party aristocracy just needed it's wings clipped. Thank you black independent movement.

Segregation is no longer legal. It was always morally wrong. Thank you again black independent movement, the score is now 2 for you and 0 for the two-party establishment.

The two parties have historically evolved to either oppose or take credit for these popular uprisings.

Women's suffrage, equitable labor conditions, black enfrachisement, desegregation--all these prominent and equitable conditions are great, but there is another shackle that must be cut. This new direction, this new paradigm is bigger than all those great and victorious developments.

We see today segmented uproars over nearly every piece of legislation and a constant castigation of partisan figures of the prominent 2 parties. The success of the two parties is also their failure. The uproar of every jot and tittle is a testament that the voice of the people is not being heard and acted upon. If 'We the People' had a shred of confidence that we were being heard then policy that doesn't go 'my' particular way would be more palatable. Individuals would be convinced that the people had spoken and that they had just been at odds with that voice and lost. However, this confidence does not exist. The two parties in their successful quest to dominate elected positions and policy conversations, have established an accurate portrait of an out of touch aristocrcy with 2 factions.

The independent paradigm that is taking shape today is both epic and historic. We are confronted with the task of completely changing the way we do politics and conduct elections. We are charged with returning to a government by and for the people. It is a remarkable form of government. It is not a suitable governing framework for a lazy and apathetic citizenry. It requires involvment. It requires discourse. It requires reconciliation and apology at times. It requires that we now begin doing what the two parties have taken upon themselves to do for us. It requires that those factions who are disappointed by the various outcomes of the voice of the people remain committed to our union of states and not let insurmountable differences fester with the feverish plague of secessionist thinking.

Thanks to Nancy Hanks for urging me to prepare this and for posting on her blog The Hankster
And for blogger Politea for inspiration and information