THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENTS:

WHY DISGUSTED DEMS AND REPULSED REPUBS ARE FLEEING THEIR PARTIES IN DROVES

At this moment in our history, something amazing is happening in America. And as usual, our elected representatives, those overpaid political pundits, the mainstream media and most of the presidential candidates fail to see it coming.

Or perhaps they are simply shielding their eyes from an inconvenient truth. A truth so powerful it challenges all their conventional wisdom and long-accepted notions of political reality. I’m talking about the emergence of a growing independent populist movement which will prove to be a major deciding factor in the 2008 election.

Loyal lifetime Democrats have grown increasingly disgusted with our party’s lack of action on the most important issues, while more and more Republicans are repulsed by the policies of the Bush administration and can no longer support their own president in good faith. Members of both parties feel completely alienated. They think that their core political values are being ignored; that the people elected to represent them are miserably corrupt, even contemptible. In a word, they feel betrayed.

“WE’RE AS MAD AS HELL AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”

One year before Americans go to the polls and choose a new president, many already believe that the proverbial “fix” is in. The party nominees have already been chosen for us months before the primaries even begin. Some would even go so far as to say the next president has already been selected. Therefore, input from the people will hardly be necessary. If that is indeed the case, why do we even bother having elections anymore?

If we are going to continue passing the gauntlet back and forth between the Bush and Clinton royal families, then why don’t we just choose one family or the other to be our sovereign and be done with it? Are we prepared to say that America is no longer a representative republic, but a limited monarchy?

Are we willing to admit that our elections are not free and fair, that the top-tier candidates they offer us are false choices, specially selected to do the unquestioned bidding of their powerful corporate controllers? That we are not a country of, by, and for the people, but in fact a fascist state?

Are we ready to accept that? I think not!

So, what are we going to do about it? Sure, we could just stay home on election day. (What if they threw an election and nobody came?) We could easily convince ourselves that our vote doesn’t matter anyway, so why even participate in the process? We can complain endlessly about the multitude of phony choices we are being offered. We can bemoan the fact that the only honest presidential candidates in both parties are long-shots at best who have no chance of winning..and so on and so forth.

We could just roll over and go back to sleep, asking anyone who still gives a shit to wake us when it’s all over next November.

On the other hand, we could surrender to the inevitable, walk into the voting booth holding our noses, push a few buttons, walk out after casting our votes and vomit. We can be angry with ourselves for continuing to elect the same dirty rotten scoundrels over and over again, for we really only have ourselves to blame if we do.

Or we can finally get pissed off enough to get off the bench and into the game. We can reject this hopelessly corrupt two-party system entirely and vote with our feet.

That is exactly what many of us are doing. We are leaving our former parties in droves, refusing to support “business as usual” candidates with our precious volunteer hours and financial contributions. We are changing our voter registration status in numbers that will make people take notice. Call it a ”Declaration of Independents.”

WE WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN

The growing Independent Populist movement is a curious mix of strange bedfellows; traditional conservatives and libertarians who want to see Ron Paul leave the Republicans behind and run as an Independent after the primaries. Liberals and progressives who would love nothing more than to see Ralph Nader or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. enter the race as Independents and “teach the Democrats a lesson.”

These two normally opposing factions now find themselves allied in a common cause for the simple reason that they love their country too much to sell it out. They are willing to set aside differences over smaller issues to fight for the bigger ones such as saving our Constitution and Bill of Rights. They know that in order to do this, partisan bickering must be set aside for the greater good. They realize that real change cannot happen until we all learn to work together. Only then can America be truly great again.

The Unity `08 party is a fascinating example of this new mindset. Although whether Unity `08 can gather enough momentum to make a difference in the general election remains to be seen, the very notion of crafting a presidential ticket of one Democrat and one Republican is more than a mere novelty. To many, it’s a damned appealing idea and will no doubt be an unparalleled experiment in the American political landscape over the next year.

As the number of former Democrats and Republicans who are willing to vote for third-party and independent candidates continues to rise swiftly, the only thing missing is a candidate.

WHERE IS THAT MAN ON HORSEBACK?

Will independent voters choose to mobilize their considerable strength behind Bloomberg? Nader? Ron Paul? Dennis Kucinich? Al Gore? Fred Thompson? Lou Dobbs? Is there a potential candidate that both conservatives and liberals could actually agree on? Or will we wind up splitting the independent vote along partisan lines, as we have done in the past by pitting Greens and Libertarians against each other? And has this gotten us anywhere?

But the bigger question is: where is that man (or woman) who will ride in on a white horse and represent us? Why hasn’t anyone interesting thrown their hat into the ring? The time is right and the fruit is ripe, so who’s it gonna be?

Many of Bobby Kennedy’s supporters have suggested that he run in 2008 as an independent candidate for president. In fact, nearly a quarter (24%) of registered voters who have signed the draft petition want to see him run independent. Not an insignificant number!

By contrast, only 3.4% of petition signers want him to run as a Green Party candidate (rather surprising given RFK Jr.’s green cred). 3% say he should run on a Unity `08 ticket, and 2% would like to see Bobby Kennedy Jr. run as a Libertarian.

Here at the Draft Kennedy website, we want to know what you think. Please post your thoughts in the comments box below (no registration is required to post comments), and please indicate your party preference when you sign the petition. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, so let us hear from you.

How important is party affiliation to you when choosing a presidential candidate? If RFK Jr. ran as an Independent in 2008, would you give him your vote? And if Mr. Kennedy chooses not to run, which candidate are you most likely to support for president?

You’ve got the bullhorn, America. We’re listening…so SPEAK YOUR MIND!

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