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Caffeine Queen on “Unaffiliate!: The 50% Solution!”

By Uppity Woman on November 28, 2008 at 8:05 PM in Current Affairs

The original post on the 50% solution appeared here at Oh…my valve.

This piece strikes to my heart, because I too have been struggling with whether to remain a Democrat in name only or pull the plug on my disgusting party and just register as an Independent.

Caffeine Queen makes a great argument here. As it stands now, the Democratic party had to ACORN itself into this presidential election. Why would either party have to tweak elections (and they BOTH have done it) in order to win? The answer is simple: Perhaps their rolls just aren’t big enough to carry the day, particularly when they continually irritate entire segments of their membership in deference to another segment. Case in point: Women were seriously screwed by the Democratic Party this year.

Just think: If the Unaffiliated voting block grows much larger, the number of voters who refuse to kowtow to a party could just outweigh the size of either of the two despicable major parties that no longer represent anybody but themselves and their special interests.

What do you think?

Unaffiliate! The 50% Solution! With Update
November 26, 2008 by caffinequeen

You’ve probably heard of the 30% Solution by now which I support. Women make up 52% of the population yet we are represented by a paltry 17% in government. The book The Tipping Point by Malcom Galdwell is about social trends and the point at which a trend or movement becomes viable and is actually able to influence policy.

The 30% solution is dedicated to voting more women into positions of power. At the point where a movement or trend reaches 30% change becomes not just possible but inevitable. Many of us PUMAS are already dedicated to this solution.

UPDATE: If you have not heard about the 30% Solution read about it here: http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/the-30-percent-solution-why-democratic-women-are-voting-for-mccainpalin/

Now here’s a post from Shtuey at Oh…my valve! that discusses another solution that I also take to heart and support. I, like many of you have been struggling with what to do. It seems that we are not being listened to or respected by our parties and politicians. In fact quite the opposite.

I have tried to figure out should I stay a Democrat and try to fix the party from within or become an independant or even joining the Republicans in hopes of moving their party more to the center. Truthfully it is an agonizing decision many of us have been dealing with.

Well I will struggle with it no more as I believe the 50% Solution that Shtuey wrote about in this excellent post makes a lot of sense to me. I will not abandon the 30% Solution as I still believe and strongly support it but I feel we can do both.

Here is a couple of excerpts but you really should go read the entire post. It is quite inspiring.

1. The federal government is now operating with not a care as to the opinions of The People. They are no longer even beholden to our votes. If numbers don’t look good Democrats have ACORN to pump up the votes. Republicans have their own fraud machine, which is apparently only willing to go to work for candidates that fit their ideological preference.
2. Politicians in office have one purpose; to maintain power for their party—NOT FOR YOU.
3. The federal government is operating outside the Constitution; they have gotten away with this because you are letting them and now, in their unmitigated hubris, they are taking liberties with your rights (this is being done by both parties so leave the partisan acrimony at home please).

This being the case, what do we do? How do we initiate the paradigm shift that must take place in order to change this? In order to answer this we must look at the sources of the problem. The way I see it, there are two main culprits: Partisanship, and External Financial Interests.

Snip

Currently, statistics show that approximately 30% of registered voters are Unaffiliated. Some of them lean to the right, some to the left. Why is it that there are this many people in the American electorate who are not members of either major party? I think it’s safe to say that it is because of the reasons I have stated above; and the numbers of us here in the Lagoon of the Unaffiliated seem to be growing with each passing election cycle. It is no wonder then that the Democrat Party, in conjunction with the Pampers campaign, unleashed such a widespread campaign of voter registration fraud; they must no longer have the numbers to win elections based on their legitimate voter rolls.

What do you suppose would happen if the American electorate, over the next two to four years, shifted from 30% unaffiliated to 50%? Suddenly both parties would actually give a damn about what the people think, what they want, where they want the country to go. Suddenly the levers of Roe v Wade, Reproduction, Gayness, etc would no longer matter. Both parties would be forced to ideologically disarm, and for once have a national discourse on policy

So what do you think? Could you support this solution? Do you think we might have more influence and ability to hold the politicians accountable with voting block that is larger than either of the two parties? I do!

I will unaffiliate myself and support both the 30% and the 50% solutions! Please read Shtuey’s post and join us!

Steve_in_KC

Being an Independent voter is the only way to go!!

I’ve written on the subject of Independent voters banding together to form a Third Party, and the possibility of PUMA being the seeds for such a Party, but I’m still undecided about if formalizing a new political party would be the best way to go.

On the one hand, there is strength in numbers. On the other hand, organization requires capitalization, election of leaders, adopting a platform with broad appeal that isn’t duplication of the platforms of the other political parties. It kind of defeats the purpose of independence.

The advantage of being independent is that you tend to keep your mind open because you are not beholden to your Party. You vote your own mind instead of party tickets.

There is potential strength in voting blocs, and PUMAs and Independents can certainly work on growing our numbers and creating a unified bloc of voters in upcoming elections. We probably could not reach a concensus between enough voters to be a viable party just yet, but definitely we can influence elections.

Galt

There’s a third option. First option is the two party system. Second option is adding a third party. The third option is what keeps getting overlooked. I’ll give you a hint, its “educational.”

DAB

It appears that next to “solidifying your base” (hard-core partisans), “courting the Independent voter” became a high priority for both parties this election season. Because of this I believe that disaffiliating oneself from any political party would provide some modicum of power.

I have not done so yet purely because in my state you have to belong to a particular party in order to vote in that primary. There has been talk that this might change and Independents would be allowed a voice, but that has not yet happened. Despite this deterrence, I intend to change my registration very soon. I believe that is the only choice that I have — particularly since the label “Democrat” now leaves me cold.
SonicNinjaKitty

Why don’t we form a third party called the Honesty and What’s Best for Our Country Party? (needs work on the acronym) Oh, sorry–I guess there would be no candidates for such a party. We’re doomed.

Ferd Berfle

Oh, sorry–I guess there would be no candidates for such a party. We’re doomed.

There would be candidates–you probably know many who would fit the bill. It really is just that no one would bother to pay attention because upstanding, hard-working, tax-paying citizens are “boring” and apparently aren’t worth the public’s or the MSM’s time.

SteveS

“Upstanding, hard-working, tax-paying citizens” keep the engines of this society going, and have little time for the commitment that politics requires. Oh, sure, they (we) can spare some time for it, but unless political activity is a paying career, these citizens (us citizens) have higher priorities and higher responsibilities than mucking about in the political trenches.

They (we) will not form a [third] political party – it takes committed professionals to do that. But I suspect many are ready to seriously consider an alternate to the paff that we are currently being fed.

Margaret

There is strength in working on the inside of the Party and on working on the outside of it; change requires both.

I was registered as an independent prior to this election, but this was the first presidential election in which I ever voted a Republican ticket. I don’t know if I’ll ever vote a Democratic ticket again; the party has left me and gone off a leftist deep end. Though I considered myself a liberal before this election cycle, I can no longer identify with the term so now consider myself a moderate. I can’t consider myself a Republican because I am not a conservative. So, I’m a moderate independent.

I think there are a vast amount of moderate independents in this country and I would agree that we can influence elections, except that elections are a sham due to corruption.

Steve_in_KC

Here’s the real problem, Margaret.

You are a Moderate Independent. I’m an Independent Moderate. We can never see eye to eye!

Ferd Berfle

LOL
HARP

Oh shit….now I`m confused.
Margaret

hee hee hee

mimi

I’m already in.

I voted for McCain as a Dem. And then became ‘Unaffiliated.‘

Works for me!
HARP

The more Independants there are the better. This will gradually destroy both parties. Once they become irrelevant maybe we can truly have democracy that is BY the people and FOR the people. While we are changing things, lets put term limits on both houses. Right now there are more “vegetables” than a tossed salad serving the country. Rotating on a regular basis brings fresh ideas to an ever more complicated world.

Ferd Berfle

I agree on all points. I will never go back to the Democratic party and I’m not about to join the Republicans. Let the parties atrophy.
imustprotest

….now I’m hungry and strangely, I have a yen for a delicious salad!
Ferd Berfle

Rotating on a regular basis brings fresh ideas to an ever more complicated world.

It might have the added benefit of limiting lobbyist influence, as well.

HARP

Spot on.

TeakWoodKite

Rotating on a regular basis brings fresh ideas to an ever more complicated world.

It appears to me, at times, that the reality set is greater than a means to deal with it. In light of the institutional infirmities we suffer from, “by” and “for” only own less than a minority share of this corporation called “to big to fail”.

Me thinks a salad from Galt’s would be better than the going to look for a “used car” as Galt did and we have just elected.

bemused

I’ve been an Independent for years. Pros: very little campaign literature, and you can tell both sides off without being bullied by guilt. Con: you cannot vote in most primaries and are stuck with the Big 2 candidates.
nancysabet

INDEPENDET PARTY, that is seems the only possible way. If in fact there are 30% and can gros to 50% , they will be the majority. Both parties are not to be truste.
I, myself, after 36 years, left the Dems and I am registered independent now!

jbjd

Be careful; there is an American Independent Party. Ambassador Keyes was their Presidential candidate. In our state, to signal our independence, we register as “Unenrolled.” (Of course, if that becomes the name of a political party then, I will have to change my registration in order to signal my independence.)

Ellen D

In our state it is “Decline to State”. An MYOB Party?
saving face

Actually there is only one party right now. Both parties have decided the most important issue is Welfare for the Rich. One industry after another is going to be feeding off our taxes–while giving nothing back to Ordinary Americans. When the people want bread the media gives us circuses. If we are to be true Independents we need to be independent of the media as well as the 2 parties.

cathnealon

I like and agree with Ferd’s comment about regular, tax paying hard working citizens who might want to run are too ‘boring” for the MSM and the public. I think that the two extremes, left and right, Republican and Democrat are opposed to us ‘boring’ people who are trying every day to do an honest day’s work, watch out for our children, pay the bills, love our spouses and significant others and help anyone who needs us in the meantime. Maybe we should play the ‘commonplace, everyday, normal’ card and start calling everyone who criticizes us biased against the boring.

Ferd Berfle

biased against the boring.

Too cool, cath. We could call it the National Association for the Advancement of Boring People (NAABP).

betty

Here is what I would like to do. I would like to start our own party. Called the US House Party and limited to electing members to the US House of Representatives. The party would base the candidate selection on a lottery. It would cost $5 to join the party and the only commitment would be to vote for the party candidate with out fail, warts and all. The money collected would go into a fund which would be subdivided into good sized chunks to go to additional lottery picks.

It is the only type of revolution the American people will get involved in. They will have a chance to win at least $10 thousand every two years, with probably the best odds they have ever had of winning.

The Representative would look to the people of the district for guidance and if they didn’t, well they only serve for 2 years and would have to face the people at home when the 2 years were up.

It is the US House that controls the budget, all our tax payer money. Lobbyist would have to come to the communities to gain support for their hair brained schemes and best of all it would be such a slap in the face to those who think they control everything.

I can’t tell you how I despise the politicians that stole my party and my democracy from me and my grandchildren.

Maybe I have been fooled for a long time about living in a democracy but I just found out about it this past year and I am angry.

We just need a prototype, one district to elect by lottery and have fun doing it and we would spread like wild fire.

Steve1

betty, well said!

Bud White

the number of voters who refuse to cowtow to a party could just outweigh the size of either of the two despicable major parties that no longer represent anybody but themselves and their special interests.

So true, Uppity. Neither Party represents me and I was a fire-breathing Democrat until about May 2008. But it seem everything either Party touches goes to hell, not to be pessimistic — but it’s truly how I feel.

Ani

My hubby and I both switched from lifelong Dems to Indies this year — and there we shall stay.

If enough people do this — maybe someone will get the message.

You know who would give a lot of coverage to this…Lou Dobbs.

Call in, write, let him know.

Steve1

Our democracy has been corrupted by the monopoly which both parties have on our political system! One way to remedy this situation is to support third parties. Tbig money which supports both parties controls our governmnet, that’s why Congress does not listen to the people. We find a similar situation with MSM. Large corporations control the flow of what is deamed news, they manuliplate the political process. We are in big trouble. Education and use of internet is one avenue to correct this sitution. Supporting third parties must be pushed to stop this take over of our country.

betty

I agree Steve1, we are in big trouble. We can’t fight the big money or the media. Big money is given to politicians to control them and the politicians use the big money to dominate in elections.

The only way to fight back is to not need money to get elected and not need the media to pay attention. In the US House party the candidate would be picked at the last possible moment before an election and since everyone has agreed to vote for the winner no matter what, it wouldn’t matter what the media or money bags political parties or politicians could dig up about the lottery candidate. After the election, if the candidate wins all the membership money would be divided into $10 thousand dollar bundles and distributed by random number drawing.

The winning candidate would get the salary of a member of the House of Representatives which is over 100 thousand dollars, I think. Eventually, if enough got elected a law could be enacted that mandated the employer grant a leave of absence for the 2 years of service.

The lure to get people to join the party would be the dividing up of the member ship fee. If 300,000 people represented the majority of a congressional district and each person payed a 5 dollar annual membership fee they would have a 300,000:1 chance to win one of the 150 $10 thousand dollar prizes.

This could be a great political experiment. A reality show that is real.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Three-Basic-Parenting-Styles&id=744499 Northwest rain

Years ago I was an Independent for many of the reasons stated above. Then somehow I started to identify myself as a Dem — and in this state we don’t have to choose a specific party.

Now I’ve returned to Independent — I feel more in control. I do my own independent research and even refuse to vote for either party’s candidate — if I’m not given a good choice.

The 50% solution is the only option to save democracy.

melisa

My story is alot like your, but different.
I was independent, then republican, now independent again, and feel more in control of my own ideology.
I understand that there needs to be a party to form a consensus, but feel that that no longer is what happens. Instead, party leaders set the agenda, and then try to sell it to us.
Maybe this is just the way it has always worked, but something far more grassroots fits my bill.
Think that is why I liked Palin.
Thanks to all here at noquarter for letting a wide range of people express a wider range of ideas. This is a very civil place to be…

saving face

Melisa — Former Dem now Indie–I loved Sarah Palin. She spoke so clearly about what she believed in and what she would do. She was a breath of fresh air. I would vote for her in a heartbeat.

elise

Revolutions always seem to contain the seeds of their own destruction.Supporting third parties would only defuse the power of the numbers.

It isn’t as though the founding fathers didn’t recognize possible problems. Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin understood the only way to insure their ideas would work is to educate the public and maintain a free press.

Alexander Hamilton believed only land owners should be permitted to vote, convinced they were the only citizens sufficiently educated and informed to make such an important decision.

The media as it is now, will not inform and will even misinform if it suits them. Radio, TV and newspapers are, in general, owned by corporations which influence and benefit from the elections and subsequent administrations.

Can we agree to disagree on issues and, at the same time, work together to change the system? If we identify the specific problems, can we work together in spite of our conflicting beliefs, to come up with solutions?

Will everyone agree the most important changes we can make are informing the public and finding a way to stop the flow of money to candidates many of us wouldn’t buy a used car from? The Internet still allows an open expression of ideas (for now anyway). Isn’t there a way we can all use the information we have and distribute it to those who don’t normally pay attention?

Obama won this election and a large portion of his supporters knew nothing about the important problems he will be facing as president. And, whatever they want to say, his money didn’t come from small donors so nothing will change. I wonder if things have gotten bad enough yet for a true grassroots movement or whether we will have to completely crash and burn before we put a stop to this rape and pillage.

In order to make any significant changes, the Parties have to lose members so I like the 50% solution.
TeakWoodKite

…

number of voters who refuse to kowtow to a party could just outweigh the size of either of the two despicable major parties that no longer represent anybody but themselves and their special interests.

.

Critical mass is not far beyond this threshold. The question is, where there is spark, will there be fire?

Is it necessary to run a ground game that is based on co-opting existing structures, instead of building intra-community assets as has been suggested?

Are there any people with leadership and communication skills, who can strike common cause with the Constitution of these United States and in doing so, give No Quarter when speaking Truth to Power?
jbjd

Wanna know the easiest way to kill the skewed power of the two major political parties? Amend your state law. That’s right. It’s your state law that says, the name of the candidate nominated at the party’s nominating convention is “entitled” to be placed on the state’s general election ballot. It’s your state law that disallows any state involvement with the party’s abuse of its operating rules and regulations, notwithstanding the state pays for the party’s primary/caucus. And, even in those states that have enacted laws requiring the delegates pledged to named candidates, to vote for those candidates at the party’s nominating convention, no one enforces these state laws, anyway.

The laws in many states say that if a party fails to place the name of a candidate for POTUS on the general election ballot, it loses the right to automatically get onto the ballot in the next general election. I would argue in those states that, the parties failed to place the name of eligible candidates on the ballot; and this would end their entitlement to get onto the ballot the next time. (This means, they would have to follow the steps in place for a ‘regular’ candidate, that is, they need to get signatures on petitions; and prove their eligibility.)

I encourage you to get to work on these local initiatives, AFTER we complete the task of preventing the Electoral College from rubber stamping BO’s fraudulent candidacy.
Shtuey Shtuey

As the originator of the 50% solution (credit must also be given to Diamond Tiger at Logistics Monster as it was through our deliberations that my post came about), I’d like to interject a few thoughts.

There is no reforming the Democrat Party. Surrender the notion. It’s lost. Now, don’t you feel better?

A comment here has said that a con of disaffiliation is that you can’t vote in primaries. In most cases that’s true. But since we know now that the primary process is a complete sham who really cares?

The 50% principle is about taking away the parties’ ability to control the agenda. If independent voters outnumber the memberships of both parties then we become the arbiters or what they stand for. They must come to us and compete for our votes, like any business advertising for your consumer dollar.

The manipulation of voting blocks that we create can also work to strip the parties of their power.

At present I do not support the formation of a third party as they are too easily marginalized, cannot compete for dollars, and are routinely shut out of debates.

TeakWoodKite

Shtuey Shtuey, This goes back to the loss of the native toungue of the Lackota Americans you spoke of early. I think the 50% solution will only work when every voter is a stake holder and KNOWS IT. Not made apathetic by

The loss of the native words to express and inject meaning into one’s life and the liberty required to do so, go right to the heart of Uppity Woman’s article.

Shtuey Shtuey

It’s a common thread that unites many movements. When political bodies circumvent your will and your rights you can either take them back, or watch them fade.

I’ll be writing on the Fourth Wave of feminism soon. The way I see it, the real action in the women’s rights movement is happening where women are creating their own institutions, using them to create a base of power for themselves, and then using it to lift up those around them.

It’s the same as the 50% solution. We are going to fashion ourselves into a new institution that no one can control but us. Not something concrete like a political party that can be easily marginalized, but an incorporeal mass where politics, rights, and ideas get souped together. It’s the “I own my vote” statement on steroids.

saving face

shtuey — We who come to this site care about issues and what happens to our great nation. Most Americans however, latch on to a phrase like War on Terror or Hope and Change and know nothing about issues. They vote based on a slogan.

How do we get the yobs to care? Seems on the day after Thanksgiving they were so anxious to get their bargains that a Walmart employee was trampled and killed. Until all Americans realize that we have the power to make real change possible — we are all screwed.

Shtuey Shtuey

saving face; one of the greatest challenges we face is a largely uneducated electorate. Most people couldn’t tell you the basic functioning of our government, or tell you the difference between a republic and a direct democracy. That is why along with actions like the 50% solution and the 30% solution, we must also be launching a grassroots effort to go to grassroots America and educate the masses. They need to know what happened in 2008. They need to know that their parties are corrupt. Most importantly, they need to know that they have the power to break the partisan cycle that is killing our republic.

The corruption that we now so plainly see has been around for years. It’s on;y now in 2008 that it became so obvious that there was no hiding it, which is why the media was working overtime to praise the messiah from Chicago. There is so much work to do it’s ridiculous. We’re going to have to learn to multitask, and quick.

Deborah

I left the Democratic Party on June 1st….or maybe they left me. Regardless, I have never felt so free politically and I can’t see any time in the near future where I will register as a Dem again.

I’m enjoying being an Independent. I live in CA where indies CAN vote in primaries. The Dems can come crawling on their knees to me for my support just like the Republicans.

Shtuey Shtuey

Exactly Deborah. It’s time the electorate stopped looking to the parties to set the agenda as it is typically a self-serving process. The 50% solution shifts the model. Without their built-in audience they actually have to be thoughtful about the process, and the product.

I’ve been unaffiliated since 2000. It’s the way to go.

hootnannie

As I see it, the biggest problem with the American public is disinterest in politics. Too many people are overconfident that our republic will remain solid and pretty much as it is, or they believe both major parties are about the same. But I don’t see what good it does to declare onself an indie. One still has to vote D or R or cast a ballot for a third party, none of which go anywhere because of the blase attitude of too many people. I don’t believe Obama would have been elected if over a third of people hadn’t bothered to vote. And voters are still quite capable of crossing party lines.
I personally feel, however, that most things come out in the wash, so to say. Insiders like Brazile may have thought the Dems had them one far leftie in Obama, but it looks like he’s going to govern like a moderate Dem surrounded by Clintonistas. I’m not an insider, so all I can do is try to influence my representatives to vote in the way I feel is correct. Any pol, regardless of party, can govern in a manner that suits a majority of constituents. Certainly, those from the Deep South look at things differently than those from the West Coast. They can’t just vote in Congress anyway they like, or they’ll be out of office after the next election.
Sassy

Uppity, your observations are accurate. In my state, we do not register by party, but I and mine went to the Republican side of the ledger after Senator Clinton was eliminated.
My first conclusion about this election:
Ted Kennedy pulled together a coalition to defeat the Clintons, once and for all.
John McCain only carried white males and seniors over 65, in the data I saw.
Blacks, Hispanics, women, Catholics, Jews and all other minority voters went democratic.
President Clinton is out to pasture now, working with individuals on world economic issues. Senator Clinton is now a go-fer for the “O”, and has lost the clout that one Senator can exert by putting holds on nominees and legislation.
My second conclusion:
The “O” is going to have to be A-One perfect on the economy, national security, and all the issues…thus the inner circle of oldies.
There is always some antagonisim to an incoming administration, and as the economy worsens, more jobs are lost, and things continue to flare up around the globe, I expect the support for the “O” to start to plummet.
eriezindian

I had decided to become an Indie after the general election. Then I started hearing Tweety and the chance of running for Senate in PA. Here in PA an Indie cannot vote in the primaries. I will never again be a Dem, as I was,( monthly donations, blind obedience to party line, etc) but may stay one until I can vote against him in the primary. Hopefully he will have a decent opponent….if not, good old Arlen will be my choice in fall, if he runs again.
ford

I have been an Independent since 1991. It is been a great sense of freedom for me, and I recommend it.

The up side is you have no dogma to massage in order to vote for your choice. The down side is that I have lived in 4 different states, and the rights you have are dependent on the state you live in. Some states let Independents vote in the primary, some not.

I live in NH now and Independent is great here, you get all the voting rights of the parties, and you remain the swing vote, everybody wants you!

The other states SC, NV, UT were really tough, but it was still where I needed to be to not contribute to the 2 monopolies….

Leave the side of the swimming pool, even if you have to tread water, it’s better than being part of the herd, and giving permission for the Pubs and the Dems to run us further into the dirt.
mountain girl

I’ve been an independent for almost 20 years. I generally have supported Democrats, as I was raised a Democrat and thought I was a liberal/progressive. I left the Democratic party because it was clear that it was no longer the party I grew up in..the base was gone and it was now just a collection of special interest groups.

This year I moved from John Edwards to Hillary to McCain/Palin and now I am leaning toward Libertarian. The whole time, I retained my Independent registration. (although in the state I live in now, it is called unaffiliated). I realize I have always been a Libertarian, although I do not agree with them on all positions. Particularly on caring for those who can not care for themselves. But, they are the closest to what my beliefs are. I think I’m going to a meeting next week to find out what they are talking about.
Barbara J. Davis

After the June DNC debacle, I Knew that I would definitely NOT vote for B.O. but my affiliation with the Democratic Party was a difficult decision. I actually let the Party make the decision for me. I wrote them a number of times indicating that if Party convention was not totally transparent and if Hillary’s delegates were not allowed to vote for her AND IF ALL THE STATES WERE NOT ALLOWED TO CAST THEIR VOTES FOR ELECTORS then I would quit the party after 35 years. While watching the casting of votes, I at first thought they were going to do the right thing….and then it was over so fast with Pelosi drowning out the dissenting voices. So, it was a done deal!! I reregistered as an “independent” the very next day and have had ABSOLUTELY no regrets. I’ll gladly join a third party as a PUMA/JSND/Or whatever it would be called.