PUBLISHED ON: November 10, 2007
PUBLISHED IN: Personalities, Independents, Candidates
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Scoop08 Goes Beyond Two Parties, Examines All The Candidates
Lynnsay Maynard Independent Candidate Editor2008 is an election year that holds phenomenal potential for the United States to break the two-party grip on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, one that has been at the core of American politics since such a thing existed.
In the year ahead, Scoop08's Independent correspondents, stationed across the nation, will feature updated and in-depth looks at the many third-parties of American politics. From ideological mavericks to grassroots movements and conventions, the Independent Candidate beats will explore the declared (and undeclared) 2008 candidates who could reshape the American political landscape.
Will a third-party upset the balance of a historically two-party democracy? What would it take to elect an Independent? Can a party based around one issue see any success at the polls? Our correspondents will break down the stereotypes of America's third-parties and examine what more focused parties and firebrand independents will bring to the 2008 presidential race.
Here's what's to expect from some of our Independent Candidate correspondents over the next several weeks... (If you want to become a Independent Candidate correspondent or contribute to the section, simply click here and tell us why.)
From Controversy to Candidacy?
By Ryan DinkgraveMany Americans may say they are skeptical of the government, but Cynthia McKinney acts, and acts loudly, on her skepticism.
Elected to Congress a Democrat in 1992, McKinney represented Georgia for six terms. Despite the Supreme Court's 1995 decision that McKinney's largely black district was the result of gerrymandering and had to be redrawn during her term, McKinney was still re-elected until 2002. She regained the seat, but lost it again in the 2006 election, months after a confrontation with a congressional police officer that ended with many fellow Democrats distancing themselves from her.
Ostracized by her party, McKinney has expressed tentative interest in the Green Party, particularly for a spot on the 2008 Presidential ballot. Can a former Democrat win the Green Party nomination? Could McKinney be the new face of the Green Party?
North Dakota's Latest Candidates
By Anna SchumannNorth Dakota is no stranger to third-party candidates, with the Reform and Libertarian parties both peppering the state's ballots. But those two - old standbys by third-party standards - will soon be joined by a party that's less of a household name, but actually has more registered voters than any other third party: The Constitution Party, which advocates for more limited government and is staunchly conservative on social issues.
The party presented 7,000 signatures to the North Dakota legislature this past year, securing a spot on the 2008 presidential ballot. Party officials say a "changing political climate" in recent years made this effort a success. But will this impact North Dakota's electoral votes and party loyalties in 2008?
Reform Party Enters Tumultuous Adolescence
By Lynnsay MaynardNow almost 13 years young, the Reform Party has had some growing pains of late. Founded by Ross Perot in 1995, the Reform Party had Jesse Ventura elected Minnesota governor in 1998 and has nominated two presidential candidates: Pat Buchanan in 2000 and Ralph Nader in 2004. Despite early success at the polls, internal dispute and dissension have defined the party's more recent history. With dueling national conventions, two Web sites that each claim to be the party's "official" online home, and a court battle over the party's leadership, how can the Reform Party return to relevance? Can it be a viable third-party again, or is it doomed to little more than infighting?
Goldwater, Miller and the Independent Ticket
By Hadley NagelTalk about embarrassing your family. CC Goldwater and Stephanie Miller, granddaughter and daughter, respectively, of Barry Goldwater and William Miller, are entering the 2008 Presidential race as ... Independents?
When Goldwater, senator from Arizona, and Miller, representative from New York, ran in 1964 as Republicans they had no idea that, years later, their descendants would abandon the GOP – if only for a write-in campaign independent of any party. Nagel sits down with CC Goldwater and investigates why the pair is splitting with family tradition and is running on a third-party ticket.
Is this a joke? If so, what's the motive? What do the two well-known conservative families think of the modern Republican Party? Tune in for a surprising and in-depth one-on-one interview with CC Goldwater.