Tonight was Caucus Night in Minnesota. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) and the Republican Parties had local caucuses in numerous places throughout the state. The Green Party had a caucus in Duluth and I know not where else. The Independence Party had a caucus somewhere in the Twin Cities plus an online caucus. As The Party of One I stayed home and had a caucus with myself.
This caucus reviewed the stances of the other parties and found them wanting.
The Republicans think government can do no right and corporations know best. The only time government can do right is when it decides to go to war. They are all for individual choices except when they don't like the choices. They seriously believe that anyone can succeed with hard work.
The DFL has an anti-corporation bias as its members drove to the caucuses in cars and took notes on laptops and tablets. They generalize that those who aren't well off got that way because of corporate greed and an inadequate safety-net.
The Green Party is like the DFL except it wants even more renewable energy and conservation.
The Independence Party is sort of like the Republican Party without the rough edges.
While all members of these caucuses were reinforcing themselves in their beliefs, the Party on One caucus sat in front of the fireplace with another glass of wine and then a cup of coffee. It pondered all the above and then took a nap. It did resolve to vote in every election, most likely for DFL candidates. The Party of One might support other parties if they nominate candidates who truly want to make government work for the public good.
Showing posts with label Independence Party of Minnesota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Independence Party of Minnesota. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
Monday, March 26, 2012
Voter ID laws may be illegal
The Independence Party of Minnesota has an interesting article on voter ID, "Voter ID requires elimination of all license fees and faster service", Peter Tharaldson
That is, if a driver's license is required to vote and a fee is charged for obtaining a driver's license, is that not a poll tax? A poll tax is prohibited by the 24th Amendment to the Constitution:
That is, if a driver's license is required to vote and a fee is charged for obtaining a driver's license, is that not a poll tax? A poll tax is prohibited by the 24th Amendment to the Constitution:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.Where are the strict constructionists on this issue?
Monday, October 17, 2011
Quote of the day – money and Congress
"Money is not evil. Buying and selling Congress to protect Wall Street, is."
Sign carried by Sally Paulsen, Treasurer, Independence Party of Minnesota, at OccupyMN on 2011-10-07. See "IP impressions of OccupyMN".
Her colleague Ted C. Williams gave a more jaundiced view. He thought many of the demonstrators wanted to show they were mad but that they didn't have any answers. How many problems throughout our history have been pointed out by those who were mad before anything concrete was done? Taxation without representation, slavery, women's suffrage, alcohol abuse, labor laws, civil rights, wars…
Sign carried by Sally Paulsen, Treasurer, Independence Party of Minnesota, at OccupyMN on 2011-10-07. See "IP impressions of OccupyMN".
Her colleague Ted C. Williams gave a more jaundiced view. He thought many of the demonstrators wanted to show they were mad but that they didn't have any answers. How many problems throughout our history have been pointed out by those who were mad before anything concrete was done? Taxation without representation, slavery, women's suffrage, alcohol abuse, labor laws, civil rights, wars…
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Is Gov. Charlie Crist really an independent?
Given that the National Republican Senatorial Committee has been leaning towards Marco Rubio for the upcoming Florida Senatorial election, Gov. Charlie Crist is considering filing as an independent. As one who would like to see the Republicans behave with more of the individual freedom that the Party espouses, I would be very interested to see Crist run as an independent.
But how independent is Crist? If you look at his campaign contributors, I would say not very much. Open Secrets lists several corporate contributors as giving him more than $30,000. In contrast, Marco Rubio has two contributors giving more than $30,000.
My wife pointed out that if I believe people who can't vote for a candidate shouldn't contribute, then should I comment on people who I can't vote for. OK, dear! I'll make some comments about candidates closer to home, especially an Independence Party candidate.
Tim Olson was elected by the Eighth District Independence Party Convention to go against long-time Democratic Representative Jim Oberstar. See http://www.timberjay.com/detail/6813.html. From what Timberjay reported of his speech, he sounds more like a Tea Party candidate than a person with some independence.
I went to Open Secrets to check on Olson's campaign contributions. He is not listed, but Oberstar and some Republican contenders are listed. Oberstar really takes the cake for non-voter contributions. Six of his top ten contributors are unions. Granted, some of the union members can vote for Oberstar, but what portion of the membership of the contributing unions are they? In the top twenty of his contributors are the PACs for American Waterways Operators, American Council of Engineering Companies, and Associated General Contractors. Do I smell pork?
I think I'll be casting a blank ballot for Congress this November. It's the only way to vote for none of the above.
But how independent is Crist? If you look at his campaign contributors, I would say not very much. Open Secrets lists several corporate contributors as giving him more than $30,000. In contrast, Marco Rubio has two contributors giving more than $30,000.
My wife pointed out that if I believe people who can't vote for a candidate shouldn't contribute, then should I comment on people who I can't vote for. OK, dear! I'll make some comments about candidates closer to home, especially an Independence Party candidate.
Tim Olson was elected by the Eighth District Independence Party Convention to go against long-time Democratic Representative Jim Oberstar. See http://www.timberjay.com/detail/6813.html. From what Timberjay reported of his speech, he sounds more like a Tea Party candidate than a person with some independence.
I went to Open Secrets to check on Olson's campaign contributions. He is not listed, but Oberstar and some Republican contenders are listed. Oberstar really takes the cake for non-voter contributions. Six of his top ten contributors are unions. Granted, some of the union members can vote for Oberstar, but what portion of the membership of the contributing unions are they? In the top twenty of his contributors are the PACs for American Waterways Operators, American Council of Engineering Companies, and Associated General Contractors. Do I smell pork?
I think I'll be casting a blank ballot for Congress this November. It's the only way to vote for none of the above.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Arguments for new political parties
I've had in my notes for a week a couple of articles about this year's elections, but haven't taken the time to comment on them. This morning a change of plans had me staying at home, and I took the time to catch up. Catching up included scanning the New York Times web site for articles of interest. The first I chose was "Paranoia Strikes Deep", by Paul Krugman, New York Times, 2009-11-09. When I started to write a note about it, I rediscovered the two older opinion articles and the three seemed to tie together.
Ross Douthat is now the resident "conservative" at the New York Times, David Brooks apparently not being conservative enough. However, Douthat is not a conservative in the current sense, but an older, more respectable sense. Instead of saying no to anything "liberals" propose and adhering strictly to a set of conservative "principles", he says, "Wait a minute, let's think about this" and looks at issues from many perspectives.
Last week Douthat wrote "Three's Company", about the governor's race in New Jersey and the Congressional race in New York. He praised the "spoilers" for shaking things up. He wrote that we need more third parties to break up the corruption of one-party states (both red and blue) and the inertia caused by an intransigent minority. He hoped that new local parties would emerge that would address local issues locally rather than along national fault lines.
David Brooks, "What independents want", New York Times, 2009-11-06, wrote that independents want stability. Independents are moving to the right because they don't see government solving the problems that affect their lives. This should not be seen as a ray of hope for Republicans except in that independents will most likely give less support to Democrats. Brooks didn't write it, but I wonder if too many independents stay home when they are unhappy rather than vote against the party in power. I wonder what would happen if these unhappy independents voted with blank ballots instead of staying home. Or better yet, if a new moderate party arose that promised more stability.
Paul Krugman wrote that the paranoiacs have essentially taken over the Republican Party. Newt Gingrich is now a voice of moderation but he has no power. The power resides in, surprise, the media - Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sarah Palin. The result will be that we have "a rump party with no interest in actually governing" but enough power to prevent anybody else from governing.
I think Douthat is on to something. Instead of looking for new parties to start at the top around some popular figure like Colin Powell, we need to have parties start around local and state issues. Jesse Ventura did it once; can someone else do it with more pragmatic issues. "Rest assured", we really do need more choice in politics.
Ross Douthat is now the resident "conservative" at the New York Times, David Brooks apparently not being conservative enough. However, Douthat is not a conservative in the current sense, but an older, more respectable sense. Instead of saying no to anything "liberals" propose and adhering strictly to a set of conservative "principles", he says, "Wait a minute, let's think about this" and looks at issues from many perspectives.
Last week Douthat wrote "Three's Company", about the governor's race in New Jersey and the Congressional race in New York. He praised the "spoilers" for shaking things up. He wrote that we need more third parties to break up the corruption of one-party states (both red and blue) and the inertia caused by an intransigent minority. He hoped that new local parties would emerge that would address local issues locally rather than along national fault lines.
David Brooks, "What independents want", New York Times, 2009-11-06, wrote that independents want stability. Independents are moving to the right because they don't see government solving the problems that affect their lives. This should not be seen as a ray of hope for Republicans except in that independents will most likely give less support to Democrats. Brooks didn't write it, but I wonder if too many independents stay home when they are unhappy rather than vote against the party in power. I wonder what would happen if these unhappy independents voted with blank ballots instead of staying home. Or better yet, if a new moderate party arose that promised more stability.
Paul Krugman wrote that the paranoiacs have essentially taken over the Republican Party. Newt Gingrich is now a voice of moderation but he has no power. The power resides in, surprise, the media - Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sarah Palin. The result will be that we have "a rump party with no interest in actually governing" but enough power to prevent anybody else from governing.
I think Douthat is on to something. Instead of looking for new parties to start at the top around some popular figure like Colin Powell, we need to have parties start around local and state issues. Jesse Ventura did it once; can someone else do it with more pragmatic issues. "Rest assured", we really do need more choice in politics.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
The time for a moderate party is now
Today's Star Tribune printed a column by David Brooks that they titled "Moderates, this is your call to action". The original was published in the New York Times on March 3 as "A Moderate Manifesto".
I hope all non-Limbaugh Republicans, all Democrats who think President Obama and Congress are overreaching, and those who have no party affiliation but think seriously about governance will start to come together to form a real third party - a party that both marginalizes those with a narrow agenda and reigns in those who think the federal government should be concerned with everything. It has been 155 years since there was a viable third party; we are long overdue for a new major party.
I have had some hopes that the Independence Party of Minnesota would be one of the catalysts, but they have or had two problems.
First is the problem of "throwing votes away" by voting for a third party. This is a serious problem in the U.S. We keep getting the "lesser of two evils". I wonder who threw their votes away in the latest Minnesota vote for U.S. Senator - those who voted for Al Franken or those who voted for Norm Coleman?
Second, the Independence Party had too many gimmicks in its platform or principles. Two that come to mind are calling for a unicameral legislature and instant-runoff voting. I mentioned this to Dean Barkley, the unsuccessful Independence Senatorial candidate when he sent me a solicitation email. I kept telling myself to send my own thoughts to the party, but I never got around to it. I think others may have had some of my concerns; I couldn't find unicameral and IRV on the current pages of the Independence Party.
David Brooks, I hope this blog is a contribution to your call to action.
See also "The Moderate Manifesto", Reader Weekly, 2004-11-18
I hope all non-Limbaugh Republicans, all Democrats who think President Obama and Congress are overreaching, and those who have no party affiliation but think seriously about governance will start to come together to form a real third party - a party that both marginalizes those with a narrow agenda and reigns in those who think the federal government should be concerned with everything. It has been 155 years since there was a viable third party; we are long overdue for a new major party.
I have had some hopes that the Independence Party of Minnesota would be one of the catalysts, but they have or had two problems.
First is the problem of "throwing votes away" by voting for a third party. This is a serious problem in the U.S. We keep getting the "lesser of two evils". I wonder who threw their votes away in the latest Minnesota vote for U.S. Senator - those who voted for Al Franken or those who voted for Norm Coleman?
Second, the Independence Party had too many gimmicks in its platform or principles. Two that come to mind are calling for a unicameral legislature and instant-runoff voting. I mentioned this to Dean Barkley, the unsuccessful Independence Senatorial candidate when he sent me a solicitation email. I kept telling myself to send my own thoughts to the party, but I never got around to it. I think others may have had some of my concerns; I couldn't find unicameral and IRV on the current pages of the Independence Party.
David Brooks, I hope this blog is a contribution to your call to action.
See also "The Moderate Manifesto", Reader Weekly, 2004-11-18
Friday, February 20, 2009
Temperature: It's all relative!
When we went skiing today at Bridger Bowl, many people were complaining that it was cold. I think it was in the low twenties; I hardly noticed. As of 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, the snow report said it was 20 at the base and 15 mid-mountain. Since the slopes are east-facing, I would imagine that the temperature dropped quite a bit as the sun sank over the mountains.
My gosh! Temperatures in the 20s at Spirit Mountain in Duluth would be a warm winter day.
My gosh! Temperatures in the 20s at Spirit Mountain in Duluth would be a warm winter day.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Am I important or is a third party working harder?
I just had a personal call, not a robo-call, from Dean Barkley, the 2008 Minnesota Independence Party candidate for the U.S. Senate. He was asking for donations to the party.
I told him that I had been thinking about sending email to the party about having gimmicks in its party platform, namely instant run-off voting and unicameral legislature. He said he would pass my thoughts on.
I suggested that a key word to use was "appropriateness"; for example, the question is not that taxes are too high or too low, but are they appropriate for what we as a society need done. He said that he was a believer in infrastructure and that he thinks a bit before driving across a bridge.
What I didn't tell him that I had been the "Party of One" columnist for the Weekly Reader. For years I have sometimes donated to candidates I particularly liked, but I can't remember when I last contributed to a party. Maybe it was 1981 when my term ended as a precinct finance chair for the Republican Party in Plymouth MN. I had wanted John Anderson as the Republican candidate in 1980 and did contribute to his independent campaign. Too bad people threw their votes away voting for the "major" party candidates:)
I told him that I had been thinking about sending email to the party about having gimmicks in its party platform, namely instant run-off voting and unicameral legislature. He said he would pass my thoughts on.
I suggested that a key word to use was "appropriateness"; for example, the question is not that taxes are too high or too low, but are they appropriate for what we as a society need done. He said that he was a believer in infrastructure and that he thinks a bit before driving across a bridge.
What I didn't tell him that I had been the "Party of One" columnist for the Weekly Reader. For years I have sometimes donated to candidates I particularly liked, but I can't remember when I last contributed to a party. Maybe it was 1981 when my term ended as a precinct finance chair for the Republican Party in Plymouth MN. I had wanted John Anderson as the Republican candidate in 1980 and did contribute to his independent campaign. Too bad people threw their votes away voting for the "major" party candidates:)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Simple platform for a moderate party
Many party platforms are laundry lists of ideas and proposed legislation that members want or oppose. It is impossible for candidates to act on so many ideas or even present coherent views on all of them. The 2004 platforms were 43 pages(Democrats) and 92 pages (Republicans). In 2008 The Independence Party of Minnesota has a reasonably simple platform, but its seven-page platform contains too many gimmicks as solutions to certain problems.
I would feel more comfortable supporting a party that had a simple platform like the following:
1. A civil society needs to strive for a balance between individual freedom and the common good.
2. The U.S. Constitution should be a starting point for determining this balance.
3. A civil society will never have complete agreement as to where the balance is.
4. Today's solutions may become tomorrow's problems.
5. All else is commentary.
I would feel more comfortable supporting a party that had a simple platform like the following:
1. A civil society needs to strive for a balance between individual freedom and the common good.
2. The U.S. Constitution should be a starting point for determining this balance.
3. A civil society will never have complete agreement as to where the balance is.
4. Today's solutions may become tomorrow's problems.
5. All else is commentary.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Taxes and the common good; lack of linking the two is too common
"...just when you thought it was safe to spend your own money again..."
- Andy Aplikowski, residualforces.com, quoted by Tim O'Brien, The Blog House, Star Tribune, 2008-02-28
How do you spend your own money for roads, police and fire, defense, and education?
Today's ideological conservatives just don't understand the need for a balance between individual choices and the public good.
My wife added, "They inherited the public good without any notion of how it got there."
And I added, "How can we earn our money without the investment in the public good by people in the past?" Or, as the bumper sticker says, "If you can read this, thank a teacher."
See also
- Andy Aplikowski, residualforces.com, quoted by Tim O'Brien, The Blog House, Star Tribune, 2008-02-28
How do you spend your own money for roads, police and fire, defense, and education?
Today's ideological conservatives just don't understand the need for a balance between individual choices and the public good.
My wife added, "They inherited the public good without any notion of how it got there."
And I added, "How can we earn our money without the investment in the public good by people in the past?" Or, as the bumper sticker says, "If you can read this, thank a teacher."
See also
Time for Republicans of integrity to bolt the party
I've long been disenchanted with both "major parties" and been unhappy that the election process locks in the choice between "excessive government" and "excessive individualism (except for what they don't like)".
Six Republican Minnesota legislatures supported an override of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of a transportation bill. For this "breaking of party discipline" the minority leader has stripped them of their committee positions. Very strange considering that Republicans pride themselves on being for individual choice and responsibility.
I think this may be an excellent opportunity for these legislatures to bolt their party, especially considering that they represent districts that are voting more Democratic. However, the Democrats are not really the answer for these legislatures. Rather, I think they should either start a new moderate party or join an existing moderate party.
A new moderate party would have a relatively simple principle: the need for a balance between individual choice and the common good. Anything more could lock the party into positions that would be irrelevant or counterproductive in the future.
An existing moderate party is the Independence Party of Minnesota. You can find its principles at http://www.mnip.org/principles.shtml. This page has links to the party's platform and other information. Personally, I find the platform has too many details.
If you think that a vote for the Independence Party will be a "wasted vote", remember that third-party gubernatorial candidate Jesse Ventura, last in the polls, was elected governor in 1998. And if you keep voting for either the left or the right, you might be left right out of a bright future.
See also "Voting is not a horse race".
Six Republican Minnesota legislatures supported an override of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto of a transportation bill. For this "breaking of party discipline" the minority leader has stripped them of their committee positions. Very strange considering that Republicans pride themselves on being for individual choice and responsibility.
I think this may be an excellent opportunity for these legislatures to bolt their party, especially considering that they represent districts that are voting more Democratic. However, the Democrats are not really the answer for these legislatures. Rather, I think they should either start a new moderate party or join an existing moderate party.
A new moderate party would have a relatively simple principle: the need for a balance between individual choice and the common good. Anything more could lock the party into positions that would be irrelevant or counterproductive in the future.
An existing moderate party is the Independence Party of Minnesota. You can find its principles at http://www.mnip.org/principles.shtml. This page has links to the party's platform and other information. Personally, I find the platform has too many details.
If you think that a vote for the Independence Party will be a "wasted vote", remember that third-party gubernatorial candidate Jesse Ventura, last in the polls, was elected governor in 1998. And if you keep voting for either the left or the right, you might be left right out of a bright future.
See also "Voting is not a horse race".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)