Vote Anti Incumbent

I just viewed President Obama being asked if he thought the strong opposition to his administration was racially motivated as soon have suggested.  He said there may be some of that but suggested a number of alternatives to explain the opposition, such as people always oppose change and there are some people who are just anti-government.

What does anti-government include.  Is it people who think government has just got too big and too intrusive in to their lives.  Who hold the opinion that government has gotten out of control and spends like a drunken sailor (but a drunken sailor at least spends their own money).  That government is for big business at the expense of the regular person. That government can’t be trusted.  That government taxes us to death.  That government is a control freak and wants us to dictate the way we lead our lives. Well if the above is anti-government, yes the President is correct that some people are anti-government and it seems the number of people with there sentiments are growing.

Are anti-government sentiments are growing?  You would think so based on the Tea Parties and the anti-government protest by members of both political parties and independents. Anti-government protesters and name calling and true rage seem to be common in 2009 even in a non election year, which seems to be unusual and an indication anti-government sentiments are growing.
There is the observation that everyday people you know and meet in the public seem to be really really mad at the way things are going in the country and they seem to all blame the government.  You can hardly have lunch with friends or associates without ending up with a conversation about the government and head shaking and a downward look at the floor.

Who are these people.  It seems everyone is anti-government. TV networks, majoe political parties and other groups lay claim to these anti-government protests, but it seems the average participants despise both major political parties and are mostly upset and angry with the federal government and their handling of things.
So President Obama did make an observation that “some people are just anti-government”.  He may realize soon it is a large and growing crowd of people that feel the anti-government sentiments. Will the reaction be a change of course?

Will growing anti-government sentiments lay the foundation for a third party movement leading up to the elections of 2012?

“Independents have no convictions”.   This idea was put forth by a partisan, who strongly disagreed with the other major political party, but felt if his party were to lose an election, it would be better to lose to the other major political party rather than to an independent.

In explaining, he says an independent are sort of in the middle and have no strong beliefs of their own.

Independents are not affiliated with any political party.  They do not follow the dogma of any group, but make up their own minds.  Independent votes cast their vote for candidates and issues rather than on the basis of political party and usually do not vote for the same party, election after election.  Being an independent voter you can vote for a candidate of either a major party,a third party, a write in candidate or none of the above.
Independents may have a centralist viewpoint somewhere between there two major parties or their viewpoint may not be expressed by any party.   Just because an independent voter’s viewpoint, formulated on their own, is not shared by the majority or even a large number of others, does not mean they do not have convictions.

Convictions or values are not necessarily imposed upon you by others, convictions can be self originated and self formulated based on the individual’s own experience, observations and thoughts.  A major party often claims “others” who do not share their values, have no values or convictions of their own, casting their party as the only one with values.  This may be the party of the person claiming “independents have no convictions”.  That is not “his values and convictions”, so they don’t count in his mind.  This attitude is enough reason alone to be an independent, in my opinion.
Noteworthy independents in Presidential elections of recent times included John Anderson in 1980, Ross Perot in 1992, Ralph Nader.   There have been many independent candidates in congress and state elections.  Certainly anymore who was around in 1992 and heard Ross Perot speak, could never say the man did not have convictions of his own.

If there were more independent voters and independent candidates, there would be less partisanship.  Partisanship is loyalty to your political party on the majority of their platform and opposing the other party’s success in any way, even when they are in elected office.

Today Independents face pressure from their friends, relatives, neighbors and other social groups.  These strong party partisans apply pressure to join them or become their enemy.  This forces some to go along with the group because that is the easier path, rather then to think things through and formulation their own opinions.  Talk radio and TV network partisans have also fueled this partisanship.  It is never easy to think for yourself but for the good of the country, please do!

We would be interested in getting your ideas for Antii-Incumbents.com.  Just reply to this post and will we implement if possible.

One suggestion was to let to make is easier to post comments. That has been done, so now you do not have to register to post a comment to a post.

Additonally upon a suggestion, we have added links to more similar minded sites and blogs.

We are looking forward to your comment for ideas or suggestions.  Thanks!

On the Wilson Research Strategies and The Hill Ad Review - Blog they have written a post  titled “The Coming Anti-Incumbent Wave”. see post

The author starts out “Before Republicans start rejoicing about a political environment that favors them in 2010, they should consider that their incumbents aren’t immune from the growing anti-incumbent sentiment.  Voters are certainly upset about government spending.  That can be interpreted as a growing distaste for cap and trade, Obama’s health care reform, and even the stimulus.  But, when voters are mad with their government, they have a tendency to blame all incumbents - not just Democrats.”

You know, that is an excellent point.  We Independents  thought the “Tea Parties” were a good idea until the Republicans  claimed them as their own.  We don’t like them any better than the current administration.  They would like us to think it only the current administration we are protesting and we are on their side.  That is how they are trying to position this. any and frustration by the public about how things are going in this country.

The author continues “  Likewise, Republican challengers should be prepared to criticize both parties for the problems we are facing now.” 

We that would be, in our opinion, very good advise for the Republicans. But I don’t think they see it that way.

Elections to the United States Senate will be held on November 2, 2010, for at least 36 of the 100 seats in the US Senate according to Wikipedia.  Check out their Guide to US Senate elections of 2010.  It seems to be very useful.

Former President Carter in a CNN story today says he thinks much of the intense fear and animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he’s African-American.  IMO, it certainly seems to be more than people reacting to the debate or the facts.

There is real fear, not only on health care, but everything else too.  Of coarse the financial crises damaged just about everyone and raised fear in general about economic security.  Then the talk radio led faction of the Republican party is leading a full frontal assault on Obama and working many people in to a frenzy.

President Obama gave a speech last week rebutting a lot of the lies put forth (see Joe Wilson SC representative’s outburst) and has a web page setting the record straight on health care.  I just don’t think the rebuttals matter at all to the folks who are so upset.   Two of my friends mothers are just in a panic and fear about what Obama is going to do to them, like stopping their medial services and letting them die, and just covering immigrants and not American citizens. Real wiered stuff.   They got this useful info from Talk Radio.  What a great service this is for the country. Not.

LA Times columnist Tim Rutten sums it up in his article “Behind the right’s attach on Obama“. He says “The fact is that the right-wing anti-Obama movement in the U.S. these days is overpopulated with nuts, fundamentalists and paranoids who won’t be easily stopped by a few congressional reprimands.”  As we say in the South “He got that right”.

It seems the GOP has been hi-jacked by the Talk Radio Let Faction.  As Rutten says “They might be careful what they wish for, because if our national political conversation becomes simply a continuation of talk radio by other means, dominated by people who bring guns to political rallies, who believe that the president of the United States is an alien who wants to euthanize the elderly and imprison the overweight, it won’t matter which party is in power. The country will be as

Republicans have been acting like jerks disrupting town halls meetings in a crude and disrespectful way and now one of their congressmen (Joe Wilson of SC) did the same, with a heckle to the Presidential of “You Lie” during his speech to the Congress about Health Care. Republicans are using their “town hall” style disruptions now in congress.  If you are in Joe Wilson”s district of Columbia, Beaufort and Hilton Head Island SC, then you should be very disappointed, maybe enough to call his office and complain.  And them vote him out of office. See JoetheHeckler.com
For the rest of us, Republicans have repeatedly disappointed us with their conceited I know better than you attitudes.  No matter that they lost the election, they just step on the gas going in the wrong direction.   Their right wing extremist followers love it, but that will get them nowhere but some camera time.  The rest of us just shake our heads and vow to stay clear of these extremists and their win at any costs.

According to Wikipedia, Joe Wilson has a past history of outbursts:

Controversy over “hatred of America” remark

On a 2002 live broadcast of the C-SPAN talk show Washington Journal, guests Wilson and Democratic congressman Bob Filner were discussing Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. When Filner said that the US “gave” Iraq “chemical and biological weapons” in the 1980s, Wilson said this idea was “made up” and commented to Filner “This hatred of America by some people is just outrageous. And you need to get over that.” Wilson apologized for his remarks in statements to the press.^[15][16]

Criticism of Thurmond’s illegitimate daughter

In 2003, following Essie Mae Washington-Williams‘ revelation that she was the illegitimate daughter of Wilson’s former employer, the late Senator Strom Thurmond, Wilson was among those who publicly doubted her claim. Wilson said even if her story was true, she should not have revealed it because “it’s a smear” on Thurmond’s image and was a way to “diminish” Thurmond’s legacy.^[17] After Thurmond’s family acknowledged the truth of Washington-Williams’ revelation, Wilson apologized but said that he still thought that she should not have revealed that Thurmond was her father.^[18]