Full Version: Favorite Independents?
Registration shows that independents are a major bloc of American voters. It has been increasing consistently for the past several decades, since people are fed up with the two dominant parties.
Who is the best (your favorite) independent candidate to ever get elected to a major public office? Why?
Who is the best (your favorite) independent candidate to ever get elected to a major public office? Why?
Can there be any doubt that it was Jesse Ventura? Besides holding a very high office, he captured the imagination of the public and let them know that a third party option was possible. He seems to have been a pretty decent public servant as well, not just an ideologue (the major failing of third party candidates on the left and right.)
I agree! That was who I had in mind when I wrote the question (Predator was on TV, I won't lie).
I think if Jesse Ventura ran for Supreme Ruler of the Universe I would vote for him, never mind President. The guy is awesome. Not only is he a politician who actually has his head in the right place for a change, but he is a 3rd party candidate who is completely electable, especially when many people are more disillusioned with the Republicrats than they are willing to admit.
If the Republicans were smart, they would give the religious right the finger, and try to back him as a Republican candidate in 2008, especially if Kerry wins this year.
And if anybody watched Wrestlemania, Jesse said he will be running in 2008. Granted, it is Wrestlemania, it could have been a joke, but the way it happened it seemed pretty legit. Or maybe I am just overly hopeful. Anybody else see it?
If the Republicans were smart, they would give the religious right the finger, and try to back him as a Republican candidate in 2008, especially if Kerry wins this year.
And if anybody watched Wrestlemania, Jesse said he will be running in 2008. Granted, it is Wrestlemania, it could have been a joke, but the way it happened it seemed pretty legit. Or maybe I am just overly hopeful. Anybody else see it?
Yep, I agree, it's Jesse Ventura. He won the biggest office anybody has as an independent, and he did it by breaking new strategic groond, successfully appealing to voters who usually don't vote and motivating them to. As Governor, he did pretty good considering, but what really makes him special is (aside from style and character) is that he's a new breed of libertarian-leaning pro-gun pro-choice centrist. That turns out to be a very electable combination, providing one can get a nomination, or in Jesse's case, go around it.
You bet I'll support him for President in 2008 if he runs.
You bet I'll support him for President in 2008 if he runs.
Jesse Ventura never won an office as an independent. I could be wrong there, he was also mayor of a small town. He may have ran as an independent there.
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Who is the best (your favorite) independent candidate to ever get elected to a major public office? Why?
I agree Jesse Ventura! If he runs in 2008 he would have my vote for sure!!
He is just about the first political leader that ever came anywhere near what I support. Individual rights, tax reform, for medical marijuana. I would like to know how he stands on terrorism and how to combat it. I think he offers a good combination of libertarian and centrist leanings.
Hugo, yes he ran for Governor under the Reform ticket but if he ran as an Independent, Libertarian, or just started a party with any name attached he would still get my vote.
YOU ARE WRONG!!!! 
He won GOVERNOR of Minessota as an Independant.
He won GOVERNOR of Minessota as an Independant.
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YOU ARE WRONG!!!!
He won GOVERNOR of Minessota as an Independant.
He won GOVERNOR of Minessota as an Independant.
Didn't he leave the Reform Party during his term as Governor? So he was elected under the Reform Party and left office as nothing and maybe therefore an Independent?
edited to add:
I found this site I love his controversies as Governor but especially these:
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Education
Ventura was helped through college by support from the G.I. Bill, and he has recommended that individuals join the military to pay for college. During one protest of college students, he said:
"If you are smart enough to go to college, you are smart enough to figure out a way to pay for it."
Religion
In a Playboy interview, he said:
"Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business."
Ventura endorsed equal rights for people who don't believe in God by declaring July 4, 2002, "Indivisible Day" through this proclamation:
"WHEREAS: The unique feature of this nation at its founding was its establishment of a secular Constitution that separated government from religion - something never done before; and WHEREAS: Our secular Constitution has enabled people of all worldviews to coexist in harmony, undivided by sectarian strife; and WHEREAS: President James Madison made clear the importance of maintaining this harmony when he said, "The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the endless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries"; and WHEREAS: The diversity of our people requires mutual respect and equal protection for all our citizens, including minority groups, if we are to remain "One nation, indivisible"; and WHEREAS: It is the unfettered diversity of ideas and worldviews that have made our nation the strongest and most productive in the world; and WHEREAS: Eternal vigilance must be maintained to guard against those who seek to stifle ideas, establish a narrow orthodoxy, and divide our nation along arbitrary lines of race, ethnicity, and religious belief or nonbelief. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JESSE VENTURA, Governor of Minnesota, do hereby proclaim that Thursday, July 4, 2002 shall be observed as: INDIVISIBLE DAY In the State Of Minnesota."
Pledge of Allegiance
Ventura vetoed a bill to promote recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, saying:
"I believe patriotism comes from the heart. Patriotism is voluntary. It is a feeling of loyalty and allegiance that is the result of knowledge and belief. A patriot shows their patriotism through their actions, by their choice [such as voting, attending community meetings and speaking out when needed]. No law will make a citizen a patriot."
Supposedly by accident, Ventura also proclaimed October 13 to 19, 2002 as "Christian Heritage Week."
Ventura was helped through college by support from the G.I. Bill, and he has recommended that individuals join the military to pay for college. During one protest of college students, he said:
"If you are smart enough to go to college, you are smart enough to figure out a way to pay for it."
Religion
In a Playboy interview, he said:
"Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business."
Ventura endorsed equal rights for people who don't believe in God by declaring July 4, 2002, "Indivisible Day" through this proclamation:
"WHEREAS: The unique feature of this nation at its founding was its establishment of a secular Constitution that separated government from religion - something never done before; and WHEREAS: Our secular Constitution has enabled people of all worldviews to coexist in harmony, undivided by sectarian strife; and WHEREAS: President James Madison made clear the importance of maintaining this harmony when he said, "The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the endless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries"; and WHEREAS: The diversity of our people requires mutual respect and equal protection for all our citizens, including minority groups, if we are to remain "One nation, indivisible"; and WHEREAS: It is the unfettered diversity of ideas and worldviews that have made our nation the strongest and most productive in the world; and WHEREAS: Eternal vigilance must be maintained to guard against those who seek to stifle ideas, establish a narrow orthodoxy, and divide our nation along arbitrary lines of race, ethnicity, and religious belief or nonbelief. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JESSE VENTURA, Governor of Minnesota, do hereby proclaim that Thursday, July 4, 2002 shall be observed as: INDIVISIBLE DAY In the State Of Minnesota."
Pledge of Allegiance
Ventura vetoed a bill to promote recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, saying:
"I believe patriotism comes from the heart. Patriotism is voluntary. It is a feeling of loyalty and allegiance that is the result of knowledge and belief. A patriot shows their patriotism through their actions, by their choice [such as voting, attending community meetings and speaking out when needed]. No law will make a citizen a patriot."
Supposedly by accident, Ventura also proclaimed October 13 to 19, 2002 as "Christian Heritage Week."
Don't know too much about Christian Heritage Week, hope he rectified that mistake!
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