13 September 2009
1900-1940
National Telephone Conference Call
Highlight: Jackie Salit and her organization, which assured the elections of both Mayor Mike Bloomberg in New York City and Barack Obama by the thinnest margin that would not have been achieved without 19 million Independents, is seeking help from the public and all organizations interested in democracy, help in challenging Barack Obama to fill the two vacant seats on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) with Independents or members of parties other than the two-party tyranny (our word, not hers). The FEC has six commissioners and historically has been a joint venture between the Republican and Democratic parties, excluding all others–just as the Presidential Debate Commission stolen from the League of Women Voters (LWV) excludes Independents and all others.
Extended Notes:
1. Nancy Ross, one of the key senior staff, opened the call by observing that 40% of the eligible voters now are registered as Independents, with a visible presence in 40 of the 50 states.
2. Jackie Salit and Nancy Ross are both diplomats, both speaking truth gently. It is clear to them that the two-party partisan process is toxic, and that for the sake of the Republic we must focus on bottom-up co-creation.
3. The media is difficult to engage. CNN taped her on unity, and then dropped the segment in favor of the “You Lie” bit from the floor of Congress.
4. The overarching theme of Independent Voting.org, which is an educational non-profit, NOT a party or even a shadow party, is that Indpendent Progressives exist in their own right and are NOT “shadow” Democrats.
5. The importance of the movement (not a party) is that in 1992 19 million Americans voted for Ross Perot, and in 2008 19 million Americans of Independent persuasion voted for Barack Obama.
6. Jackie Salit paid great heed and respect to Dr. Lenora Fulani and the black progressive movement that is neither Republican nor Democrat but rather Independent. [Phi Beta Iota: Unlike the “token” black leaders that are trotted out by the two mainstream parties, the web suggests that the black progressive movement is its own cultural circle, and not at all interested in partisan politics as much as progressive advance.]
7. There is an emergent black progressive/white independent alliance that is known to the power brokers on the left and the right, but is being under-reported by the media.
8. The heart of her call to America came out just prior to the conclusion in which she asked for help in getting one or two appointments to the FEC from other than the two parties in power. Read her letter to the President.
+ Both the left and the right, both the Republicans and the Democrats, like the two-party system and the partisan divide. Indeed, as the FEC and all other government elements show, the government seems to only recognize the two parties, and discriminates against all others.
+ Both the left and the right are deliberately unethusiastic about the Independent movement and both of the main parties seek to marginalize indpendents and prevent them from becoming a force in their own right.
+ In a most compelling turn of phrases, she said “we need Affirmative Action for Independents.”
+ In a note graciously delivered but laden with disappointment, she observed that the right is at least wooing Independents, but the left has not been good to Independents, thinking that they are inherently Democrats. A strong sense of “we've been had” by the Obama Administration was NOT evident, but could easily have been voiced were t his a less diplomatic person.
We support her appeal to the President, and we support any other initiative that will take down the two-party tyranny and make it possible for all Americans to be represented with clarity, diversity, integrity, and transparency. Should you wish to do so, click on the letter above and use the White House and Senate links to express your views.
