Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and Let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.


- Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838
  Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

The rise of the Independents

It is time.

Quietly, and without much notice... all across the country, Democrats and Republicans alike are leaving their stagnant, corrupted parties behind and becoming Independents.

Cindy Sheehan recently announced that she was leaving the Democratic Party. Numerous Republicans have left their party as well. I have heard from various sources that the ranks of the Independents have now swelled over 40% - out of the total population of registered voters.

I have noticed that since I quit the Democratic party, I have experienced a resurgence of national identity as opposed to party affiliation. I have also found that I am now free to 'see' alliances where I might not have been able to see them before, through the colored lenses of partisan prejudices.

I have to laugh when I imagine... how much harder this will make it for those trying to steal elections. Imagine trying to figure out on a case by case basis which Independent to block from voting, and which one to let through?

Earlier in the week, Mayor Bloomberg expressed his disgust with the state of the 2008 presidential race, and especially the debates, saying:

"They have absolutely nothing to do with the job and the qualifications. And they don't tell you anything about whether or not any of those candidates would be good or bad presidents. What they really say is, did they memorize their notes of ‘What to say if …' and whether their staff was able to anticipate," the mayor said. "If you look at both debates, they pandered, what I would argue, the same ways."

Today, Mayor Bloomberg formerly left the Republican Party.

Michael R. Bloomberg, a longtime Democrat who switched to the Republican Party to run for mayor of New York City in 2001, announced this evening that he is changing his party status and registering as an independent. His office released this statement at 6:05 p.m. (EST):

I have filed papers with the New York City Board of Elections to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party. Although my plans for the future haven’t changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our city.

A nonpartisan approach has worked wonders in New York: we’ve balanced budgets, grown our economy, improved public health, reformed the school system and made the nation’s safest city even safer.

We have achieved real progress by overcoming the partisanship that too often puts narrow interests above the common good. As a political independent, I will continue to work with those in all political parties to find common ground, to put partisanship aside and to achieve real solutions to the challenges we face.
Bravo. Let's get it done.

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1 Comments:

Blogger Nancy Hanks said...

Nice blog! I too am an independent and I want to encourage you to read Jackie Salit's "The Bloomberg Story" posted on my blog The Hankster. "...Actually, the record shows that Mike has become more conservative and less willing to go to bat for independents, the longer he has been in the political game. But, in the early days he took stands on behalf of independents in numerous situations."


I too applaud the Mayor's non-partisan move. We'll see how much of a political ploy it is....
Nancy

10:18 AM  

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