Independents' Midterm Campaign

Dear President Obama,

First of all thank you for volunteering to do something I would never want to do.

I do need to tell you how much I have stuck my neck out for you as an independent leader in an independent state heavily influenced by a conservative establishment.

I served a year in Iraq as a First Lieutenant in the Army in 2004. I was incensed by the ineptitude of Secretary Rumsfeld and the zeal in former President Bush's heart that led him to justify and even defend deplorable human rights abuses of detainees in U.S. custody. I can go into detail some other time about how the treatment of these prisoners is the De facto policy of what the U.S. will tolerate without objection in the treatment of U.S. service members

In the fall of 2008 I purchased a large piece of canvas upon which I spray painted the words "HONOR VETERANS, VOTE OBAMA". I helped a Democratic voter win our election for mayor. Her Republican opponent attends my church and has repudiated me and my family directly and indirectly. I have worked on campaigns for Democratic candidates and non-partisan issues such as independent redistricting. In all this I have never changed my voter registration from anything but unaffiliated, yet I have organized for some local Democrat candidates more ardently even than your own party. You owe me at least one.

I will temper my criticism; I know how lonely leadership can be. Realize however that your best advisers will always give it to you straight.

Leaders make mistakes. Just like in a marriage, conciliation can be powerful even essential. What our country needs is not a liberal agenda, not a conservative agenda or a centrist or even a libertarian agenda. What our country needs is leadership. Washington is a place dominated by oscillating factions of 'bullies on the playground' as it were. Your faction, newly in control of the 'playground' has acted very exclusively and you have gone along with the crowd. Sir, you are in a historic position to make it right or make it worse.

My recommendations:
1. Tell your party to stop it. Enough with the partisanship already. A stiff arm approach tears at the fabric of our Constitution--a system by which disagreements and policy can be settled civilly with consensus. We are like Velcro--we cannot pull too hard in opposing directions without coming apart.
2. Be a leader. Make a bold statement. Change your party registration to none. Right now you are effectively the President and leader of a third of this nation; the DNC third. You have got to assert yourself as the servant leader of ALL. We will continue to languish as a people divided if you cannot find the courage to do this, and it will be lonely for a time.

Come back. Be a uniter. We miss you. God bless you in your efforts to be the servant-leader of ALL Americans; the kind of leader we need--the kind of leader we had before when consensus was in vogue.

Sincerely,

Randy N. Miller
Syracuse, Utah
randy@uliv.org

Dave Glissmeyer commentary on Friedman

Dave Glissmeyer www.congressmandave.org has this to say about Friedman's New York Times article:

"Politics in the U.S. can be pretty discouraging these days, so when a positive development occurs it merits our attention. Accordingly, I take a certain amount of pride in noting that many of the fundamental themes I’ve been hammering home for the past year are now being confirmed by some of the country’s top syndicated writers.

Of great interest, I encourage you to take a minute and read Thomas Friedman’s opinion piece in the New York Times about our decadent two party system and the potential emergence of independent candidates and an independent party."
full text

A Crisis of Democracy? Voter Turnout in the Pennsylvania and Kentucky Primary Elections

...is the non-vote a vote of no confidence in the two-party state and duopoly system of government? Less than a third of all voters participated in the Kentucky and Pennsylvania primary elections. Democratic and Republican US Senate candidates are capable of scoring "major upsets" with the support of just 7% of registered voters. Of course, the apologists of the ruling parties explain such facts away by alternately, and contradictorily, asserting the existence of voter apathy or voter contentment. But is this not a crisis of democracy? read more

Big Hat, No Cattle

Time for open primaries (still)

Last week, another glaring reason to adopt fully open primaries emerged and immediate steps were taken by the Utah GOP to distance themselves from the appearance of anything-to-win subversion. I'm talking about Utah Representative Carl Wimmer's admonition for the state Republican party faithful to infiltrate the Democratic primary election to advance who he views as a weaker and too-liberal-to-beat-Morgan-Philpot candidate Claudia Wright.

Says Wimmer"OK, Time for opperation chaos Utah style. Utah Democrats have an open primary election, so EVERY Republican in the Utah 2nd Congressional District needs to go and vote for Claudia Wright against Matheson. She is very liberal, and would give Morgan Philpot an almost certain victory in that district."

At the heart of this hypocrisy is our election code which allows political parties the discretion to close 'their' primaries or leave them open. (I say 'their' primaries because they do not pay for these elections.) Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman has wisely advocated for open primaries as early as January 2009 and again this month.

The Salt Lake Tribune calls it both ways depending on the year according to its own editorial staff.





Illegal Immigration

The Utah GOP is all abuzz about illegal immigration when Gov. Gary Herbert considered a special legislative session to address the issue then recently backed down. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints admonishes compassionate and reasoned approaches to the matter. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695253048,00.html



The Stats Don't Lie

Legitimate polls of Utah voters chronicle the disconnect between a moderate Utah populous and extremist candidates victorious in the party convention caucuses. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14971056



The Snub

Corporate media chronically excludes non D/R candidates as if these dominant party figures are the only game in town or that there are only 2 sides to the complex issues facing our state and nation.



There is no mention of an independent or Constitution Party candidate in this article? Is it an article or a paid infomercial?

Truth is, it's
Anybody's Game

And don't forget the other legislative shenanigans this year,

1. Afraid of the voice of the people rather than responsive to it, the Utah Legislature made the initiative and referendum process more difficult with SB275

2. Rather than enact an independent ethics review process, the Utah Legislature cobbled together in record time a state constitutional amendment in response again to the voice of the people vis a vis Utahans for Ethical Government The amendment will be difficult to modify when it proves to be more ineffective than the Federal Elections Commission by design. Hopefully the amendment is not enacted as it still must be approved by voters.

Where to From Here?

"The times they are a changin'" Bob Dylan

The traditional left versus right, or in the case of Utah, right vs. righter, is waning in popularity. It never was all that popular unless you were a policy profiteer. Everybody except the extreme right and left it seems, have grown tired of Red rover, red rover, send voter right over. Where to from here is a question only you, the involved and empowered citizen can answer. I am looking forward to your many answers.