tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76542242024-03-08T08:14:45.754-08:00Black Independent Voter NetworkA network where Independent voters in the United States can discuss issues that are ignored by politicians in the "two-party" system.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-71449935256675351562019-06-19T19:53:00.000-07:002019-06-19T19:53:27.368-07:00Juneteenth 2019: Declare Your Political Independence!June 19 is a great opportunity to <a href="https://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm">acknowledge, educate and celebrate Juneteenth</a>. It's also an opportunity for Black voters in the United States to declare their independence from the so called two party system. This is the time when we need to learn about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_reform_in_the_United_States">electoral reform</a>. We must teach why this is important for us to know by being informed voters and changing the political system to benefit everyone.<br /><br />What issue around electoral reform will you focus on to teach in your community and work towards change?Black Independent Voter Networkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09783152047487481379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-72380111382070886592018-05-06T10:32:00.003-07:002018-05-06T10:33:39.320-07:00Is It Time for Black Voters in the United States to Form Our Own Political Party...Again?Black Americans have been slow or fearful about supporting a political party outside of the "majority two-party" system or registering as an independent.<br />
<br />
In an interview in 2017, BET founder Robert Johnson mentioned that African Americans need to start an independent party. The interview is available to listen to at the link below.<br />
<a href="https://woldcnews.com/1580782/robert-johnson-carl-nelson-independent-black-party/">https://woldcnews.com/1580782/robert-johnson-carl-nelson-independent-black-party/</a><br />
<br />
It has been done in the past in the United States. However, are we as a people ready to move on from our votes being taken for granted and being the last...if at all...to see the results of support from the elected officials we put in office.<br />
<br />
Please let us know your thoughts. Do Black people in America who can vote go towards forming their own party?Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-1385881091200268582016-09-21T20:15:00.001-07:002016-09-23T18:30:22.383-07:00To the Black Voters in the United States: You and your vote are still being taking for granted.The Founders of the Black Independent Voter Network are frustrated that African Americans continue to allow their votes to be taken for granted. Now, they are being pressured, bullied and using fear tactics by some of the leaders in the two major parties to vote for them. This is happening big time in interactions with people who are affiliated with the Democratic party.<br />
<br />
We hope that you realized by now that when you vote for the "lesser of two evils," this is your result by that choice. It's time to move on and get off the "plantation" of these organizations.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-3346131453662949072016-03-13T19:45:00.000-07:002016-03-13T19:45:02.095-07:00Black People Are "Feeling the Bern"We are dusting the spider webs off this blog. It's time for us to get out here and support independent minded candidates to run for public office.<br /><br />We are amazed and glad to that Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Senator who is an Independent, is a candidate for president of the United States. We are glad to see that there are Black people that are supporting his campaign. They have become empowered and now letting the establishment know that they do not own our votes.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-38553867237852835722011-10-05T18:45:00.000-07:002011-10-05T18:51:01.920-07:00Black Independent Voters Facebook group<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Black Independent Voters - and PROUD OF IT!!</span><br />There is a Black Independent Voters group on Facebook where you can express your views and connect with Independents. This blog does now own or manage the group, however, we encourage you to join it and tell others about it. Check it out at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/254441151252494/">http://www.facebook.com/groups/254441151252494/</a>.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-88974242236129912632010-11-20T19:27:00.000-08:002010-11-20T19:55:49.138-08:00We are not 'feeling' the current security procedures by TSAWe like how Ron Paul explains the TSA search problem:<a href="http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2010/11/ron_paul_remove_tsa_immunity_a.html"><br />http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2010/11/ron_paul_remove_tsa_immunity_a.html<br /></a><br />This is humiliating and very tacky for cancer survivors to go through this type of search. We believe that it also violates a person's right to privacy due to their medical condition.<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40278427/ns/travel-news/"><br />http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40278427/ns/travel-news/<br /></a><br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40291856/ns/travel-news/">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40291856/ns/travel-news/</a><br /><br />This blog story also notes the security procedures used by the Israeli airline El Al that could be effective here in at US airports.<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-michaelson/pass-the-john-tyner-bill-_b_784199.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-michaelson/pass-the-john-tyner-bill-_b_784199.html</a><br /><br />It's our government wasting tax dollars again that will not be effective in the long run.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-41203654606410864052010-11-18T08:03:00.000-08:002010-11-18T08:08:31.628-08:00DC Councilmember Marion Barry discusses welfare reform<em>Marion Barry: White Advocates Want to Continue Enslavement of Blacks<br />From Washington City Paper<br /><br />Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry went on the Fox Business Channel today to kick off his tour as the poster child for welfare reform. At about the four minute mark, Barry makes the claim that African Americans are supportive of his proposal to impose a five-year limit on welfare payments while the white advocates who testified Monday against his proposal are basically trying to keep poor people of color "powerless" and "enslaved," albeit "less so" than before.<br /></em><br />Why do people keep voting for him? Slavery is a state of mind. It's time for him to retire.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-52335539292551743972010-11-14T15:01:00.000-08:002010-11-14T15:08:04.418-08:00Americans Want A New PartyVideo clip: <em>David Collison, the chairman of the Reform Party of the United States, takes a moment to discuss the vitality of a legitimate third party movement. </em><br /><br />America is about choices and taking risk. Are you brave enough to vote for the candidate that you represent what YOU believe? Will that candidate make your county, ward, state or country better than what it is now?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwwYi0GpO5w">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwwYi0GpO5w</a>Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-60667062610691913672010-11-14T14:18:00.000-08:002010-11-14T14:27:59.472-08:00Why won't the GOP compete for African American votes?<em>"In many ways, it's a shame that African Americans will vote overwhelmingly for Democrats. "</em> ~Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post<br /><br />This article is a prime example of why Black voters will not advance in the US if they only vote...or put their eggs in one basket a.k.a the Democratic party. What major improvements has African Americans experienced lately? Has the number of Blacks in prison decrease nationally? Probably not and that is due to the fact that our political leaders also have their own agenda that they want to accomplish.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-9092807445994528122010-11-14T13:52:00.000-08:002010-11-14T14:07:28.466-08:00Back on the BlogThis blog has been on hiatus for over a year as the members of the the network has been involved in community projects across the country. We have decided to get back into the political arena to be a resource for Blacks who want to participate in the Independent movement. The writers of this blog are moderates (socially liberal, fiscally conservative), however, we want Black independent voters from all political spectrums to share their opinions and provide feedback on what we can do to ensure the political process truly represents the best of America.<br /><br />We also want to be a resource for other races who want to recurit Black voters in the Independent movement. We understand that cultural and regional challenges are roadblocks to bring people of color in this movemnent. However, communication and the willingess to respect each other are the keys to get the United States of America back on track and continue to be a leader in this world.<br /><br />We invite you to participate in this blog and be part of history. Please contact us by leaving a comment and someone will contact you on how to move forward.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-69748942793395625432009-07-21T08:54:00.000-07:002009-07-21T09:27:58.850-07:00Criticism of President Obama by Blacks - should we?The opinion article in USA Today (7/21/2009) focuses on one of the core reasons why this blog exist. The lack of knowledge Black voters have about the "two-party" system structure and how it keeps them from being self-reliant.<br /><br />Yes, we need to express criticism of President Obama. We also need to hear criticism about who and what we do as a race that is not benefiting the people and that is...and continues...to hurt Blacks. We cannot continue to say that 'white folks will not us get ahead' because we are responsible for what happens in our lives.<br /><br />We need to view him as America's CEO and remember that our tax dollars pay his salary. When he was elected to office, he was chosen based on what he said during the campaign. Now it the time to put the words in to action, but he can only do so much because of Congress. At the same time, if his numbers in the polls continues to decline because Americans do not believe he is not doing his job effectively, he will not serve another term.<br /><br />The majority that needs to be done requires Blacks to go out and do research on public affairs. The library has plenty of books on American Government and how it works. Only the educated Black voter will have the ability to empower others and see how the two-party system do not benefit Americans. In order for that to happen, the voter must educate people about current affairs in order to see their communities thrive and succeed.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-26404663099860196372008-11-16T10:34:00.000-08:002009-07-21T08:46:30.983-07:00Book: In The Balance of PowerIn the Balance of Power — 2008<br />Independent Black Politics and Third-Party Movements in the United States<br />By Omar H. Ali<br /><br /><em>(The bloggers for the Network will provide a review by mid-August 2009)</em>Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-55443882748407342012008-11-16T10:26:00.000-08:002008-11-16T10:32:10.050-08:0018 Million Independents Vote for Barack Obama.From IndependentVoting.org<br />November 2008<br /><br />CUIP President Jackie Salit gives a post-election analysis of the independent movement and the 2008 presidential elections.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbFe11Bh40M">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbFe11Bh40M</a>Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-50395222622717105882008-11-04T19:20:00.000-08:002008-11-04T19:22:45.695-08:00Voters are starting to sway from hesitation over third-party candidatesThird-party candidates face several challenges in a two-party system<br /><a href="http://www.dailytitan.com/1.893636">http://www.dailytitan.com/1.893636</a>Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-90259544748652149992008-09-20T06:39:00.000-07:002008-09-20T06:42:37.817-07:00McCain Winning IndependentsBy <a title="Posts by Deborah Creighton Skinner" href="http://politics.blackenterprise.com/author/deborah/">Deborah Creighton Skinner</a> on September 9th<br />Politics<br />Black Enterprise<br /><br />John McCain is still seeing a big bounce in the wake of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, according to a recent Gallup poll.<br /><br />The GOP senator got a six percentage-point climb in voter support “explained by political independents shifting to him in fairly big numbers, from 40% pre-convention to 52% post-convention in Gallup Poll Daily tracking.”<br /><br />“Clearly, he is moving on the independents,” Gallup Poll editor-in-chief <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/09/independents-flock-to-mccain-after-convention/');" href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/09/independents-flock-to-mccain-after-convention/" target="_blank">Frank Newport told </a>the Washington Times of McCain.<br /><br />The surge in independents who favor McCain marks the first time since Gallup began tracking voters’ general-election preferences in March that a majority of independents have sided with either of the two major-party candidates, according to Gallup.<br /><br />That’s not all. After the Democratic National Convention and the RNC, <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/http://www.gallup.com/video/110131/McCain-Strong-Leadership-Effective-Governance.aspx ');" href="http://www.gallup.com/video/110131/McCain-Strong-Leadership-Effective-Governance.aspx" target="_blank">McCain had </a>a five-point lead over Obama Monday in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update, putting the Arizona lawmaker at 49% to Obama’s 44%.<br /><br /><em>Deborah Creighton Skinner is the editorial director for BlackEnterprise.com.</em>Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-983276928628968532008-09-06T18:35:00.000-07:002008-09-06T18:45:06.476-07:00Black Americans running for President of the United States<a href="http://www.barackobama.com/">Barack Obama</a> (Democratic Party)<br /><a href="http://mckinney2008.com/PRESIDENT/">Cynthia McKinney</a> (Green Party)<br /><a href="http://www.alankeyes.com/">Alan Keys</a> (American Independent Party)Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-65518244230116246892008-09-06T12:48:00.000-07:002008-09-20T06:59:28.804-07:00JESSE VENTURA 2012?By Domenico Montanaro<br />MSNBC.com<br />Tuesday, September 02, 2008<br />From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann<br /><br />MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Ron Paul supporters may have found a new champion.<br /><br />In boisterous remarks at today's Rally for the Republic, former Minnesota governor and professional wrestling personality Jesse Ventura suggested that he is open to a presidential run in 2012 if enthusiasm for "The Revolution" stays strong.<br /><br />"If I see it over the next two to three years," thundered Ventura at the conclusion of a speech to several thousand Ron Paul supporters in the Target Center in Minneapolis. "If I see it start to rise up and if this country shows me that it's worth it for me, then maybe in 2012… ."<br /><br />The crowd -- which has raucously booed allusions to this year's presidential candidates and cheered Paul's hands-off ideals at the all-day rally today -- burst into deafening applause at Ventura's suggestion.<br /><br /><a href="http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/02/1328026.aspx">http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/02/1328026.aspx</a>Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-14134303855393313682008-09-06T12:28:00.000-07:002008-09-06T12:47:12.785-07:00Ron Paul's counter-convention; Jesse Ventura takes overThe New York Times - Blog<br />September 2008<br /><br />MINNEAPOLIS -- The crowd cheered at Rep.<a href="http://topics.latimes.com/politics/people/ron-paul" target="_blank"> Ron Paul’s</a> daylong counter-convention in Minneapolis. As many as 12,000 disillusioned Republicans and independents, according to organizers, had showed up at the Target Center, an NBA basketball arena, to cheer for the former Republican presidential candidate who raised so much money and so few delegates.<a onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=600,height=598,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false" href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/09/03/jesseventura.jpg"></a><br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-ronpaul3-2008sep03,0,5526968.story" target="_blank">Paul told the crowd that he</a> was told by Republican National Convention officials that he would need to be chaperoned if he showed up at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.<br /><br />But who wants to go to a boring old Republican convention that goes on and on for days in St. Paul when you can spend nine eternal hours indoors in Minneapolis listening to a host of conservative and libertarian speakers preach the virtues of the Republican congressman's libertarian-type politics?<br /><br />But then came former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. He suggested that there may be a government conspiracy covering up what....<br /><br /><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/09/ron-paul-ventur.html">http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/09/ron-paul-ventur.html</a>Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-91337242902858390812008-08-31T18:08:00.000-07:002008-08-31T18:13:57.671-07:00My Turn: Frustrations of a true independent voterBy Frederick Shute<br />Saturday, August 30, 2008<br />Publised in The Camp Verde Bugle <br /><br />What does it mean to be an independent voter?To me it means to be able to vote for the best individuals I feel will represent my system of values and beliefs for the political offices they seek.The political platforms of both the Republican and Democratic parties represent to me the lesser of two evils - and I am not sure which is more degenerate. Both political parties are controlled by the pharmaceutical, petrochemical, banking and military industrial powers that essentially control everything. John McCain and Barack Obama answer to the same masters. Anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.<br /><br /><a href="http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=20916">http://campverdebugleonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=20916</a>Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-45283837773765590762008-04-27T14:32:00.000-07:002008-04-27T14:33:17.958-07:00McCain taking different approach than Bush to pursue black votersBy Alexander Bolton<br />Posted: 04/22/08 07:18 PM [ET]<br /><br />Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is making an appeal to black voters this week, but he has taken a different approach than President Bush did during his 2004 reelection campaign.<br /><br />While Bush highlighted an amendment seeking to ban gay marriage and other social issues to court black voters, McCain is championing education and other populist ideas. Part of McCain’s strategy is to make the case that the Democrats’ tax plan will negatively affect citizens across the economic spectrum.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-78440648044757623532008-04-27T14:04:00.000-07:002008-04-27T14:31:06.973-07:00Rice hits U.S. 'birth defect'March 28, 2008<br />By Nicholas Kralev<br /><br />Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the United States still has trouble dealing with race because of a national "birth defect" that denied black Americans the opportunities given to whites at the country's very founding.<br /><br />"Black Americans were a founding population," she said. "Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together — Europeans by choice and Africans in chains. That's not a very pretty reality of our founding."<br /><br />As a result, Miss Rice told editors and reporters at The Washington Times, "descendants of slaves did not get much of a head start, and I think you continue to see some of the effects of that." "That particular birth defect makes it hard for us to confront it, hard for us to talk about it, and hard for us to realize that it has continuing relevance for who we are today," she said.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-38493090864829722262008-03-18T18:28:00.000-07:002008-03-18T18:33:32.842-07:00Obama's Platitudes vs. National Black Independent Political Party's 1980 Charter40 Demands of Black Independent Party Still Haven't Been MetBlack Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-2400901838035691642007-10-24T20:24:00.000-07:002007-10-24T20:30:57.183-07:00New Voice for IndependentsSuite talk: Finding a way<br />By: Aoife McCarthy<br />The POLITICO<br />October 8, 2007<br /><br />Focusing on opening up the political system, Thomas D’Amore, Bill Hillsman, Laureen Oliver and Dean Barkley announced they have formed the independent political consultancy D’Amore, Hillsman, Oliver & Barkley. The firm will make it easier for independents to get on the ballot and then compete.<br /><br /> “Independents or candidates who want to challenge the system quickly find out that the electoral deck is stacked against them,” says Hillsman.<br /><br />“Democrats or Republicans who wish to challenge incumbents or party-anointed candidates in a primary are discouraged from running and receive little or no support from the parties and their consultants. Independents who want to run for office rapidly discover that there is no support system to help them, and that most party-affiliated political consultants will not work with them. We’re here to bridge the gap.”<br /><br />The firm is focused on four key client areas: independents running for public office, challenger candidates, independent expenditure groups and ballot propositions. Each of the firm’s four partners has a demonstrated commitment to political independence.<br /><br />Barkley is a former independent senator from Minnesota. He also chaired Jesse Ventura’s successful third-party campaign for governor and worked on independent Arianna Huffington’s campaign for governor of California.<br /><br />D’Amore is a partner in a public affairs consulting firm, Doyle, D’Amore & Balducci, which he will continue to run outside DHOB. He is a former chair of the Connecticut Republican Party, but he has also worked on independent campaigns for governor in Massachusetts and Virginia.<br /><br />Hillsman is the founder of North Woods Advertising in Minneapolis, which he will also continue to run outside DHOB. He was a media consultant for the senatorial campaigns of Paul Wellstone in Minnesota and Ned Lamont in Connecticut and the presidential campaign of Ralph Nader.<br /><br />Oliver is the co-founder of the Independence Party of New York state and focuses on ballot access. She has previously worked with D’Amore and Hillsman on independent candidate Russ Potts’ campaign for Virginia governor.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-37858517814694709522007-02-10T09:41:00.000-08:002007-10-11T07:49:04.931-07:00Independents are Ready for Barack Obama. But is Obama Ready for Black Independents?February 10, 2007<br />By Lenora Fulani<br /><br />Two weeks ago, I spoke at a national conference of independent voters. There were 500 activist independents, from 31 states – over a third of whom were African American. This conference was the latest indicator that black voters are more politically volatile these days, more independent in their voting and thinking. Many will be receptive to Barack Obama and his presidential campaign. A pressing question is whether he will return the interest. Independents may be ready for Obama. But is Obama ready for us?<br /><br />With independent voter registration growing in Harlem, Oakland and Newark, there is a new constituency in African American politics – the Black Independent. As many as 35% of younger black voters now identify as independent, rather than Democrat. Forty-seven percent of African Americans deserted the Democratic nominee in the 2005 New York City mayoral race to re-elect the Independent Republican Mike Bloomberg. Last year, 32% of Augusta, Georgia voters rejected a Democrat incumbent state legislator and cast ballots for the black independent Helen Blocker-Adams. Black America is no longer a political monolith. Traditional partisan politics have lost their appeal.<br /><br />Barack Obama is a critic of partisan politics whose road to prominence did not pass through the standard Democratic Party stopping points, i.e. the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, the local empowerment machines of the 1970s or the Rainbow surge of the 1980s. He would seem to be a natural fit for black independents.<br /><br />But as soon as Senator Obama got into the first “scrap” of his campaign – the ridiculous remarks made by Senator Joe Biden about how “clean” and “articulate” Obama is – his response made black independents totally invisible.<br /><br />Obama issued a statement that listed prior black presidential candidates to show Biden that he wasn’t the first clean-cut African American to run for the White House. The list included nearly everybody – Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Carol Mosley Braun and Shirley Chisholm – everybody, that is, but me, the black independent who ran for president twice, and who made the history books for being the first African American ever to get on the presidential ballot in all 50 states. Even the “white bread” USA Today included me in its recent historical review.<br />Perhaps Senator Obama left me off the list because I’m not clean enough. The New York Post does generally refer to me as the “odious Lenora Fulani,” but I always took that to be a right wing political polemic, not a comment on my perfume. No, I suspect I was left off because I’m not a Democrat. I wouldn’t be shocked if his advisors told him – “Don’t put anyone in your statement who isn’t a Democrat.” If that’s true, it’s a very unfortunate piece of advice. Because in leaving me off the list, Senator Obama crosses a growing portion of black America off his list, too.<br /><br />Being black is not synonymous with being a Democrat anymore, as much as the Clintons – and others – would have us believe. No less a figure than Reverend Al Sharpton has made that point loud and clear, including when he has spoken out against attempts by white Democrats, like Senator Hillary Clinton, to drive black independents like me out of politics.<br /><br />Barack Obama has just made it official. He’s running for president of the United States. His message is that it’s time to put principles ahead of partisanship. Black independents have been acting on that idea for years. How he relates to us is the first real test of his principles.Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7654224.post-1130264392486495752005-10-25T11:08:00.000-07:002005-10-25T11:19:52.520-07:00Black Voters Declaring Independence<strong>New York Sun </strong><br /><strong>October 4, 2005 Edition</strong><br /><strong> Black Voters Declaring Independence</strong><br />By JOHN P. AVLON<br /><br />"Crime - I'm conservative. Prostitution - I'm liberal," says the reigning King of Comedy, Chris Rock. The libertarian-sounding riff received rounds of laughter and applause from the audience recorded for his recent HBO special, but it hits on a deeper trend whose ripples could build up to rock underlying assumptions about American politics. African-Americans are de-aligning from the Democratic Party, but Republicans have so far failed to pick them up in significant numbers. The result is a shift that could increase the influence of, and competition for, African-American votes, while swelling the rising tide of independent voters across the nation.<br /><br />Until recently one of the truisms of American politics that blacks were the most dependable constituency of any party in America, with over 90% of their votes going to Democratic candidates. This trend began when the FDR New Deal coalition reached out to the dispossessed during the Great Depression and claimed the allegiance of many blacks from the Party of Lincoln.<br /><br />This was compounded during the 1960s when the Republican Party embraced the philosophy of states rights, leading Barry Goldwater to win 87% of the vote in Mississippi while Lyndon Johnson and his Great Society civil rights legislation won a nationwide landslide victory. When Ronald Reagan chose to symbolically kick off his 1980 presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Miss. - where, coincidentally or not, the CORE trinity of Cheney, Schwerner, and Goodman were murdered by the KKK - these perceptions were highlighted in a way that the substantive elevation of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice has not yet been able to eliminate.<br /><br />But something has been happening in the African-American community. Just as the Reverend Al Sharpton hasn't gotten the memo that there is no position titled "Leader of Black America" available anymore, the diversification of the black community economically and politically is changing the landscape. One recent sign of this is the surprising amount of support for Mayor Bloomberg among African-American voters. In a city where local elections have too long been defined by ethnic algebra, Republicans have had a hard time winning over black voters. But Mr. Bloomberg has made an appeal to African-Americans a cornerstone of his re-election bid, while straining to show his independence from the national Republican Party. A recent WNBC/Marist poll showed the mayor receiving 50% support from black voters in a race against Fernando Ferrer with the election five weeks away.<br /><br />Rev. Sharpton's endorsement of Mr. Ferrer has so far failed to shift that balance, and while the mayor's mistaken decision to not attend a debate at the Apollo Theater in Harlem this Thursday may somewhat impact his support, the break in the often-invoked "coalition of color" in favor of a Republican mayor is extraordinary. It has also been fueled by the New York Independence Party's enthusiastic campaigning for Mr. Bloomberg among the African-American community with a voter push titled "Bloomberg on C," offering people the chance to re-elect the mayor without pulling the Republican lever. There is evidence that this trend is not limited to Mr. Bloomberg. In St. Petersburg, Fla., the conservative Republican mayor, Rick Baker - a close ally of the governor, Jeb Bush - is cruising to re-election with an unlikely 85% support among African-American voters in a city that had been deeply divided by race. The reason? Mr. Baker spent serious time and effort rebuilding a previously ignored center of the city, now know as Midtown. A national analysis of shifts in the black community shows that the move away from the Democratic Party and towards political independence is strongest among young African- American voters. According to a paper titled "The Political Orientations of Young African Americans" by David A. Bositis published in the journal Soul, this year, underwritten by the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University, one quarter of African American voters under the age of 35 now identify as political independents, in contrast to 10% of senior citizens. The growing trend is broad as well as deep - in 1998 only 5% of African-American voters between the age of 51 and 64 identified as independents, but by 2002 that number increased fourfold to 21%.<br /><br />This analysis shows that 25% of young black voters are self-described conservatives, while 31% are moderates. On education policy, 66% support school vouchers for public, private or parochial school - a major point of policy difference between the Republican and Democratic Party - while nearly 80% favor partial privatization of Social Security. This is in sharp contrast to African-American elected officials in particular, of whom 70% over the age of 40 oppose school vouchers.<br /><br />This growing disconnect between the liberal African-American political establishment and young voters should cause serious concern among Democratic Party power brokers. The national spokesman for the Congress On Racial Equality, Niger Innis, believes that "the trend of younger black voters moving away from the plantation to the independent line, if not the Republican Party, is reflective of a moderation of tone, a movement away from the traditional left wing."<br /><br /> "That momentum scares the beejezus out of the establishment left-wing black leadership," Mr. Innis continues. "That's why they're getting more caustic and extreme with their language, because they want to stroke paranoia among the black community so that nothing changes." This, in turn, only fuels the generational divide which is evident when you compare younger African-American elected leaders such as Rep. Harold Ford Jr. to a former Black Panther such as Rep. Bobby Rush, or Senator Obama of Illinois to Jesse Jackson.<br /><br /> A realignment is under way: The question is whether the Republican Party can convincingly reach out to African-American voters, or whether further de-alignment toward independents will occur in this absence. In any case, it is a healthy sign of a nation that is slowly evolving past crippling left/right, black/white limitations and toward a fundamentally freer time when an individual's political beliefs are assumed to be more than skin deep.<br /><br /><em>John P. Avlon is a columnist and associate editor of the New York Sun, former chief speechwriter for Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, and author of the new book Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics (Random House, 2005). Contact him at </em><a href="http://by104fd.bay104.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=9ed0f7cc5a0b753c63a61c52dae661c31a502b685837f606cf895b34aa93b5c6&mailto=1&to=javlon@nysun.com&msg=18D76FEF-D20F-41B3-AD01-975DA0362A2C&start=0&len=9905&src=&type=x"><em>javlon@nysun.com</em></a><em> and visit his website </em><a href="javascript:ol("><em>http://www.independentnation.org/</em></a><em> </em>Black Independent Voterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07172296042812560611noreply@blogger.com19