Shauna May 30th, 2008

I am not easily outraged, but I became quite angry when I read this book. Not at Ford or the ideas she expressed, but at the outrageous unfairness surrounding ballot access to independents, which is so much worse than I ever imagined. I liked this interview and the book a lot, and Marcia has inspired me to be more vocal about my purple status!

http://shaunarumbling.blogspot.com/2008/05/we-purple.html

Thomas May 31st, 2008

I live in NYC and it and it makes me angry to no end that I can't vote outside of my party in the primaries! I'm a registered democrat and I wanted to vote for Ron Paul but could'nt.I'm gonna get the book today.

Charles May 31st, 2008

This is great stuff. People who actually really believe in something like it was true, regardless of having to be right all the time, find themselves more and more isolated or at odds with traditional politics these days. But I don't like calling the problem 'partisanship'. That's the republican/democratic lingo that is used to help preserve their established power.

Post-Modern politics is a grab for power or to maintain power, regardless of the truth, what is right or what is best for the long term of our nation (post-modern denies the ability to attain objective truth–so all that is left is power). It's self-serving by serving the lowest common denominator, either our bellies or our insecurities. And if we can be convinced going against the grain will be inconvenient, we will stay in line and keep the rotting powers in place.

If our generation were substituted for those who lived in America during the 1760's thru 1780's, we'd all be Tories and driving on the wrong side of the road today

Maybe we could get a prolific Samuel Adams who just happens to win the Heisman Trophy. Or maybe a Patrick Henry who so happens to be intelligent, well-balanced and a rock star…then maybe we'd have a chance at waking up the country out of its trance.

Speaking of ballot access to inpendents, watch HBO's "Hacking Democracy" to see what they do to the computerized voting. I am a Bush supporter (despite popular pressure not to be) and I think the voting system is terribly corrupt.

davidjames June 2nd, 2008

I can't begin to say how much I enjoyed this show. I had not previously heard of this book nor obviously read it but I was amazed that someone had so concisely expressed my thoughts and feelings about it. You know I love you Steve and all that you do on your broadcasts but I have to say I am a little surprised that a man of your stature is so willing to let others do your thinking for you by being such a "party" fanatic. Surely you have thoughts that are independent of the party line? And even though I know it is done in jest I hear so many people respond to independents by saying "oh you don't have any convictions then?" or implying that we don't believe in anything, when the exact opposite is true…..well I decided the best way to express my feelings was to pull some excerps from a piece I had written sometime ago about our 2 party system and attach them here…and to Ms Ford; God Bless ya this is a book I will be purchasing and reading real soon!……..

"Of the people, by the people, for the people….I don't think so!

…I am so sick of being pigeon holed, being boxed into a political party because of my feelings about a particular issue. Believe it or not I am capable of independent thought! I am the result of a life time of experiences and thoughts that do not absolutely follow one party's platform. Yet if I happen to mention my stance on being pro-life or pro gun, I am immediately categorized as a knuckle dragging, evangelical neocon who is conservative and only conservative. Conversely if I happen to mention my concerns about the environment or the war well then I am a godless liberal. Well I don't know how the platform of issues within parties evolved over the years but I am an individual who cares a great deal about the things I believe in and it is for that reason that I will not cowtow to the two party system. I get so angry at people who resppond to your stance as an independent is that "oh, you have no conviction"…aaarrrrggghhh…it is for that reason that I am an INDEPENDENT!
And yet the two party system has kept us in a strangle hold for time beyond memory, largely aided by our biggest emeny…the media.

I wish I had saved the source long ago when I saw it, but George Washington himself in his exit speech from the presidency, warned against something that he passionately felt was a danger. A danger that had the power to tear the country apart if given a foothold. A limited two party system.

What this system has done has made our governing body, top to bottom, little more than a huge power grab. People elected and paid by the people who could care less about the needs of those people. The overwhelming mark of this system is the maintainence of power at any cost, at any absurdity. If a democratic congress made law saying the sky was blue, a republican president would veto it!

Are we to just accept that this small hand full of misfits is the best we can muster? This is it? Three Hundred Million people and this is it!

One of the things I really resent about this administration is the idea that if you are in disagreement with it and its party, that you are traitoriously unpatriotic! And that makes me mad as hell. Just because I think there are things about our system that are broken, or that I think we can be so much better than we are, does not make me unpatriotic.

That this dynamic has moved into the church, is the other great crime. The church is the last place that this kind of manipulation should be taking place."

Well I will stop there, it is getting quite long but I hope it conveys where I stand on this really crucial issue.
Thanks for the opportunity!

davidjames