Search query: missouri

"I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset." - Langston Hughes In February, I traveled from New York City, where I live, to New Orleans to attend the Unrig the System Summit, a gathering of over 1,500 people from all 50 states, focused on how to reform our dysfunctional political system. I was there to speak on a panel about the leadership of the African American community in the fight for full

The track record for winning an election as an independent is far from good. However, Neal Simon of Maryland hopes to strengthen those numbers come November. We sat down with the U.S. Senate candidate to discuss how he plans to win, the issues he would tackle if elected, and how he would impact the people of Maryland. Check out the full interview below. FWM: Tell us a little bit about the day you decided to run for a U.S. Senate seat. NS: So, the journey started awhile back and it started beca

We are only three months into 2018, but already big things are happening within the independent movement -- especially in Colorado. Unite America (formerly the Centrist Project) recently launched with an ambitious goal: to elect enough independents to shift the balance of power in several states and in DC away from the Republican and Democratic Parties, and give a voice back to the people. It's an enormous undertaking. The political movement launched with a historic national slate of independe

Unite America, formerly the Centrist Project, announced Tuesday a historic national slate of independent candidates running for governor and US Senate. The 5 candidates on the slate include: * Incumbent Alaska Governor Bill Walker; * Kansas gubernatorial candidate Greg Orman; * Maine gubernatorial candidate Terry Hayes; * Missouri US Senate candidate Craig O'Dear; and * Maryland US Senate candidate Neal Simon “These candidates are the vanguard of a new movement in our politics to bridge

In the study of migration patterns, scholars often times point to different “push” and “pull” factors that have influenced migration trends over time. Historically, the free market structure of the United States’ economy, combined with its stable democracy has been a very strong “pull” factor that has enticed millions of families (including my own) to immigrate here from various corners of the earth. Conversely, dysfunctional governments that have proven unable to serve their people have histo

 Another major independent campaign officially announced its launch Thursday. Craig O'Dear, a prominent attorney in Missouri, has officially entered the race for US Senate. "On this tough day for our nation, I am more resolved than ever to chart a new way forward," O'Dear said on his Facebook Page. O'Dear's campaign is founded on a number of core princip

We are seeing new energy in our campaign to elect independent candidates nationwide. The Associated Press on Thursday featured the Centrist Project's efforts to recruit and support independent candidates in 2018: "Washington infighting breeds new independent candidates." * "Following this week’s government shutdown and the 2016 election, in which both parties nominated historically unpopular candidates, there’s new energy in the movement to reclaim the political center." * "In a Denver co-wo

With the new year, begins a new legislative session. Legislators have the opportunity to use this time to introduce bills to empower voters in their state. Ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to expand as new bills have been introduced in the Missouri, Virginia, Indiana and Utah legislatures. On Jan. 3 Missouri State Representative Dan Stacey introduced HB 1346: Requires all state and federal offices to use ranked choice voting, adding one new section relating to ranked choice voting. The prov

Happy New Year! And what an exciting year 2018 will be for independent candidates and the reform movement! In an election year that is supposed to be highly dramatic and very expensive, voters will be told that they have only two options to choose from, red or blue. However, the midterms will offer a record-number of alternative choices to voters who want to end the two-party duopoly. Unite Colorado, for instance, launched Tuesday with a historic slate of independent candidates for the state l

In September, in what seems to be just the latest in a string of financial issues for the VA, the Inspector General of the VA released a memo detailing $90 million in overpayments to the middlemen who process payments to civilian providers contracted to provided care to America’s veterans under the VA Choice program. In 2014, at the inception of the VA Choice program, the VA paid nearly $10 billion in no-bid contracts to two payment processing services, Triwest Healthcare Alliance and Healthnet