Alliance Voices February 2020 Digest Please Welcome
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Alliance Voices February 2020 Digest Please Welcome Jesse Broadt; Newsletter Editor Jesse Broadt has worked in the field of journalism since 2001, and regularly writes for organizations such as The Grand Strand Connection, SearchOwls, Trend Capital, and Extraordinary Journeys. She has a master's degree in Biblical Theology from Northwest Theological Seminary. Jesse has also worked on political campaigns for various candidates, including Senator Marco Rubio and 2016 Independent Presidential Candidate, Evan McMullin. She and her husband, Dan, celebrated 30 years of marriage in December 2019. Jesse is passionate about the Alliance Party and is dedicated to helping advance its cause in any way possible. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Building a Party: The Alliance Grows At Denver, CO in October of 2018, three parties merged together in an alliance of independents to create the vehicle whereby Americans can reform United States politics, most assuredly in the area of corruption. These parties were the Modern Whig Party, the American Party of South Carolina and the American Moderates Party. The American Moderates was a national start-up party, The Modern Whigs brought its state party structure and leaders, while the American Party of South Carolina was the first fully functional state party to join in the Alliance and did so as a founding member. The latest state party to join the Alliance is the Independent Party of Connecticut–IPC. A minor political party in the State of Connecticut, the party has been active since 1966 and is currently the third largest party in the state. Citing shared interests and similar goals, the state committee voted to join the Alliance as the Connecticut state affiliate on January 15, 2020. State Chair Mike Telesca told us that members of the IPC are "proud to join forces with the Alliance Party." Former Alliance Party of Connecticut Chair, Hank Thayer, will join with the affiliate and serve as the Vice-chair. The IPC is evidence of the growing support for a new party to represent a political movement in America. Prior to this merger on May 4, 2019, The Independence Party of Minnesota voted to join the Alliance as the Independence-Alliance Party of Minnesota. Originally a Reform Party affiliate, it later affiliated with the Independence Party of America. Ending that affiliation they focused on state politics in Minnesota.The party has fielded candidates for most statewide races and was considered a major party by the state from 1994 to 2014 and is working to regain this status. The party consistently nominates candidates, most notably Governor Jesse Ventura, US Senator Dean Barkley and US Representative Tim Penny. As the first fully operational state party to join since the initial merger, The Independence-Alliance Party is a great addition to an ever expanding Alliance. State Chair Phil Fuehrer said: "this alliance begins to create the critical mass in a new national centrist party." A founding member party at the October 2018 summit in Denver, The American Party of South Carolina was initially launched by Doctor Oscar Lovelace and former South Carolina Superintendent of Education Jim Rex in 2014. Their stated motive for its creation was to present a centrist alternative to government's dysfunction. Jim now serves as the Alliance Party National Chair. In its first year of electoral activity in 2014, they successfully ran four candidates and established a college chapter at Winthrop University. The party's 2016 state convention was attended by 61 delegates from nine counties. Peter Skewes was nominated as its candidate for president of the United States and candidates were nominated for five other offices as well. Looking ahead to spreading these reform ideals nationally led to the alliance merger. Oscar Lovelace is the South Carolina state chair and moves the vision forward on a daily basis. We continue to talk with other state parties and look forward to further growth with other independent, like minded parties seeking to unify our movement. By virtue of their accomplishments, party structure and functionality, they come to us with what the AP calls "protocol State" status, designated by having achieved a specific set of protocols. This status entitles a state to a seat on the National Committee and two delegates to National Conventions. Listen Up: After Dark Podcast: Did you know the Alliance has its own podcast? Thanks to volunteer hosts and producers Dan Schaefer and Michael Johnson, new After Dark: The Alliance Radio Hour podcasts are posted on Sundays. You can subscribe to the podcast by clicking on the RSS feed button on the podcast's main page or by clicking HERE. Ralph Nader Discusses Political Third Parties: Ralph Nader drops by and talks about the many contributions that political third parties have made throughout our nation's history. He also discusses at length the difficulties third parties encounter when trying to break through the barriers that the duopoly has erected to protect their turf. Mr. Nader - an attorney, activist, politician and author of several books and countless articles - ran for US President several times, and now he freely shares his experiences and wisdom with the Alliance Party. He hosts a weekly podcast, "The Ralph Nader Radio Hour," which you can find at ralphnaderradiohour.com. Also, in December 2019, he and co-author Mark Green published a book entitled "Fake President - Decoding Trump's Gaslighting, Corruption and General BS." Be sure to tune in for an interesting and highly informative episode! Listen Now! Join With Others: Become an Ally The time has come for the people of a nation divided to come together beyond party divisions in an alliance, as a united people in a country that stands on liberty and justice for all. Allies are a different sort of citizen, those who take responsibility for their part in our republic. Become an ally with Americans across this great land. Take the pledge to: Unite with your fellow Americans and create a fairer and better country by building strong communities Engage in the political process to elect transparent, accountable, pragmatic and reform minded public servants Inform yourself responsibly about local and national issues through truthful, unbiased sources Be civil in your political discourse and respect the opinions of others. Click HERE to take the pledge All Allies are sent a personalized, wallet sized pledge card to authenticate their pledge to themselves, their Nation, and their fellow Americans. Take Action: Be A Candidate One of our goals in 2020 is to run as many candidates for state and federal legislatures as we can. We are dubbing this, "Taking the Legislatures by Storm". What America needs more than anything is to return our government to citizen legislators and out of the hands of professional career politicians. If you have ever thought about the prospect of running for office, we are prepared with a staff to assist you at every step along the way with free access to experienced and professional political consultation. Interested? Want to know more? Go to RUN FOR OFFICE. Sponsor The Campaign: Make A Contribution Advertising is required to recruit and prepare candidates for a run for office, but advertising requires funding. Please do not let the two big parties and their lobbyists decide who gets on the ballot. The think they own this country. We aim to prove them wrong. With your contributions we can do that, but we cannot do it alone. Please Make A Contribution Today! Electoral College: Become a Presidential Elector As mandated by the Constitution, Americans select Electors for President in each state, rather than a direct vote for the candidate. In order to run a POTUS candidate political parties must appoint Electors for each state. At this point we do not know if we will nominate one, or who it might be; however, we must begin the process to maintain tight schedules and keep the option available. An Electors only duty–aside from having his or her name and address on a form sent to the state elections division–is casting a vote in Electoral College in early December 2020 in the event the Alliance Party wins the popular vote in the Elector's state. If you are interested in being a member of this select group for this historic occasion please email our Political Director. Please take the time to read "Mr. Smith and the Quest for the Perfect Candidate"...the first in a series. We are always looking for help for our state affiliate leadership teams. If you are interested, please contact the chair of your state. A listing may be found HERE .