Recall the Presidential Election of 2000, and how the Democratic Party blamed their defeat and the resulting Bush presidency on Ralph Nader and the Green Party. Third parties and independents have always been advantageous scapegoats for both of the two major parties because the Democrats and the Republicans constantly need to convince Americans of their legitimacy and destroy any opposition to their 150 year partisan lean on our government.
Political parties are not mentioned anywhere within the U.S. Constitution, and were created to circumvent intentions of the Founders. Parties soon restricted debate and controlled change in every aspect of political life. Today, third parties or independents that reject party politics are not allowed to participate equally in government because they threaten the two party balance of control. They are constantly denounced as bad for genuinely American interests, and their ability to win elections are firmly restricted and controlled by laws enacted by the Democrats and the Republicans.
One example of these restrictions is in the simple matter of ballot access. To run for President as an independent candidate for the first time, one needs to gather up to forty times the number of signatures than either of the major parties. Ballot access laws should be rewritten to facilitate rather than discourage candidates from running. Reforming access to the ballot is crucial for greater political participation of eligible voters and candidates in the U.S.
In 2000, the fact that Ralph Nader managed to garner 2.5 million votes (even after he was shut out of the presidential debates) gave the Democratic bosses the perfect opportunity to extinguish the leftwing 3rd party threat by blaming the Green Party for the loss of such a close election. This blame affectively halted the growth of the Green Party because many people are convinced they must vote for a Democrat rather than a Green in order to defeat the Republicans.
Democrats and Republicans are currently in a near 50/50 split for voters and seats in our government. But does this really reflect a split in the views of Americans on the direction of our country and the state of our political system? Could it be that the 50/50 split is as a result of very little difference between Democrats and Republicans? The fact that over 35% of the electorate identify themselves as independent (those who vote or who would like to vote outside of the two party system) rather than Democrats or Republicans is telling of the uncompetitive state of our democracy. Independents are quickly dismissed as “swing voters” by the media, ignoring the fact that we have reasons to be independent, and little reason to vote at all.
Independent voters reject party politics. They feel that partisanship and corruption by special interests are bad for democracy, and bad for the American people and the country as a whole. Political parties exist for the interest of their own preservation, special interests, and corporations who fill their campaign coffers. Not the interests of the people. While individuals within the two major parties do represent the interest of the people, they are often significantly restricted in their efforts to.
What are independents to do? What can be done about the extreme partisanship of our electoral system? In recent years, a national grassroots movement of independents has been growing to call attention to independents looking for reforms that allow for multi-party and independent participation in elections, and getting the two parties to address their concerns. The Committee for a Unified Independent Party (www.cuip.org) has been focused on such efforts for years and is currently leading the Choosing An Independent President 2004 (ChIP 2004) process.
Over the last year, ChIP 2004 has brought five presidential candidates from the Democratic Party into the process of connecting them with grassroots independents from across the country. At ChIP’s national conference of independents in New Hampshire this January 10-11th, two weeks before the start of the Democratic primaries, independents will meet to discuss the 2004 presidential race by evaluating the field and allow for every presidential candidate that has participated in ChIP to address the conference in person.
The conference will also bring together independents from across the nation to report on grassroots work and consider the next steps and longterm strategies to make independents a significant force in national politics for 2004 and beyond. An option being left open at this point is for independents to endorse a Democrat (if there is one) willing to appeal to such reforms as campaign finance reform, instant runoff voting, open primaries, ballot access reform, term limits, initiative and referenda, open & inclusive debates, nonpartisan municipal elections, and same day voter registration. If no Democrats are willing, which is likely because they are part of the system, independents will once again have to find a third party or independent to represent them.
Throughout history, Wisconsin has played a leading role in many areas of reform, and last January the Independents of UW-Eau Claire sent a delegate representing Wisconsin to the ChIP national conference in New York City. College Independents, and other student groups of independents, are sprouting up across the nation as the result of the massive frustration and disenfranchisement of Americans willing to stand up to the corruption of our democracy.
We are out to create a new paradigm that does not simply herd progressive independents into the Democratic Party, nor insist that independents must only back independents or 3rd parties. Independents can project their identity and concerns as independents and determine their own destiny as a major political force for progressive and democratic change in America by participating in the national ChIP process underway.
Jeremy Gragert is the President of College Independents, and a leading student organizer for the national independent movement and the Choosing An Independent President 2004 process. Those interested in meeting other independents and becoming involved may email him at gragerje@uwec.edu
