Obama, Bloomberg Hold Mystery Breakfast Meeting

Mayor Bloomberg had a breakfast meeting this morning, November 30, 2007, with Hillary Clinton's main opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination: Barack Obama.

The billionaire mayor and the Illinois senator chatted over eggs and potatoes early Friday at the New York luncheonette on East 50th Street. "We are trying to push our agenda because it helps New Yorkers, and because what's worked in New York will work elsewhere," said Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser. "There are a lot of people we'd like to speak to and we're going to continue to press our case."

Thursday night, November 29, 2007, Obama made his first trip to Harlem as a presidential candidate, and the Apollo Theater was packed with a sold out crowd to see him. Before his visit to the Apollo, Obama paid his respects to one of Harlem's top powerbrokers - Reverend Al Sharpton, who says he hasn't decided who he is supporting, but the meeting sent a warning to Hillary Clinton that Harlem could be up for grabs.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg dined with Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, so today's mysterious photo-op with the Democrat Obama may be his way of showing how non-partisan he is in the presidential race.

Bloomberg speaks well of Hillary's publicly, but there is speculation he wanted to annoy Clinton, because she did not endorse him when he ran for mayor as a Republican. The two last met at the Sept. 11 anniversary ceremony, and their last private meeting was in March, Loeser said.

Use the above link to view raw footage of the meeting.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Lincoln asks the candidates

The next debate is the Republican YouTube/CNN debate being held on Wednesday, November 28, 2007, at 8 pm. Rock the Debates submitted a question, asking the candidates whether they would support general election debates that include qualified independent candidates, since the Republicans were once a 3rd party themselves. Sponsored by RocktheDebates.org, with Lincoln played by Lee Williams of Wiota, Iowa.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Claiming Democracy Conference

Long time independent and election law attorney Harry Kresky (above right with CUIP's Nancy Ross and Citizens in Charge's Paul Jacob) led a workship at the Claim Democracy conference which took place on the campus of the University of District Columbia Law School November 9 - 11, 2007.

Use the above link for more information.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

In NH, the Independent Voters who count first

Meet some of New Hampshire's freethinking and increasingly dissatisfied independents, who quite possibly hold the key to the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. They dwarf the ranks of registered Democrats or Republicans in this state. What they're thinking may well signal which themes will strike a chord with the roughly 20 percent of voters nationwide who consider themselves independents.

View flash video of some of NH's Independent Voters.

Use the above link to read about NH's Independent Voters.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

The 8th Annual New York County Independence Party Anti-Corruption Awards

The 8th Annual New York County Independence Party Anti-Corruption Awards will be held this year on Tuesday, December 18, 2007.
On behalf of the entire New York citywide host committee, we invite you to attend and support the event. The Anti-Corruption Awards is the signature event of the New York City Independence Party, a moment when we come together to celebrate our success and honor political and civic leader figures who are activitely building bridges to independent voters and the independent movement.

Use the above link for more information.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Woman's Voices. Woman's Vote

The 2008 election is less than one year away and I wanted to make you aware of the launch of a new ad campaign aimed at THE fastest growing large demographic group for the ‘08 election: unmarried women.

For the first time in history, the number of unmarried women equals the number of married women. Unmarried women span all ages, are independent, and are the largest demographic group of non-voters in the country -- 20 million single women did not vote in 2004!

Women's Voices. Women Vote, a non profit, non partisan organization, just launched a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign. Cast by some of Hollywood's leading actresses including Julia Louis Dreyfus, Christine Lahti and Amber Tamblyn, and extraordinary women from all walks of life, "20 Million Reasons" is set in the Oval Office to a moving rendition of "America the Beautiful", sung by Barbra Streisand.

Use the above link for more information and to view the videos.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Election Day 2007

Instant runoff voting earned landslide support on ballots across the country. A whopping 77% of voters in Aspen (CO) voted to move to instant runoff voting. Sarasota (FL) voters topped that margin, voting 78% for IRV and prompting the Sarasota Herald Tribune to call the city “a model of election reform.”

In a particularly important election for next year, 65% of voters in Pierce County (WA) voted on a charter amendment to keep IRV on track for the hotly contested 2008 county executive race.

In rural western Washington, voters in Clallam County narrowly rejected establishing IRV as an option in their charter. Several cities also held ranked voting elections.

San Francisco held its fourth IRV election overall, and its first for mayor, with first-round winners in three citywide races.

Takoma Park (MD) smoothly held its first IRV election for mayor, with nary a single spoiled ballot out of more than 1,000 cast.

The city of Hendersonville (NC), following in the footsteps of Cary (NC) in using IRV this fall, had a strong first IRV election for two city council seats. As one voter put it, “There’s nothing to it.”

As a bonus, a graduate student in Cambridge (MA) won a city council seat in an upset victory under the choice voting system of proportional voting, now in its seventh decade of use.

All this good news comes at a particularly fortuitous time as FairVote hosts Claim Democracy 2007 this weekend at the University of the District of Columbia, a major pro-democracy conference drawing hundreds of reformers from across America, and celebrates a decade and a half of reform with its 15th Anniversary Gala at Union Station.

Use the above link for more information about the conference.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Governor Bloomberg?

I was at AD:TECH, a expo about advertising on the web, in New York City today. While walking the floor and speaking with some of the vendor representitives, a number asked what was happening with Mike Bloomberg. Was going to run for something? I thought not for President but maybe Governor. To my surprise, when I returned home and looked at the online news a came across this article:

A top aide to Mayor Bloomberg has secretly contacted one of the state's best-known Republican strategists about helping Bloomberg run for governor - against Gov. Spitzer or anyone else, The New York Post has learned. Hizzoner, a multibillionaire with a 75 percent job-approval rating, is widely described by Republicans and Democrats alike as the most formidable potential candidate against Spitzer in 2010.

As a member of his first and second team for his Mayor run, I would work the street for his run for Governor.

What do you think?

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

National Popular Vote

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee a majority of the Electoral College to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The bill would reform the Electoral College so that the electoral vote in the Electoral College reflects the choice of the nation's voters for President of the United States.

Use the above link for more information.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Ramblings

The current talk about drivers licenses for undocumented/illegal means they have cars. How did they get them? Tighten their ability to buy a car and then they won't need licenses.

More than half of white evangelical Republicans would consider voting for a conservative third-party candidate should the 2008 presidential race have Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton against Republican Rudy Giuliani.

Ron Paul could be the Ralph Nader of 2008. Only this time, a third-party candidacy could hurt the Republicans, not the Democrats.

Third-Party and Independent candidates are still being ignored in local and national debates. We have to find a way to give them a VOICE.

We need a way to easily verify spoken words by the candidates, the pols, officials. I have looked at some of the fact-checker sites but it gets more complicated trying to get under their meanings. How are we to make decisions when we do not get the facts so we can decide what it means and how it will affect me.

I just began reading "Spoiling for a Fight" by Micah L. Sifry. It's about Third-Party Politics in America. I will post my thoughts in the future. Since I read many books at the same time it might be awhile.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us