Campaign News & Events

April 13, 2008                                 State of the        Independent Movement   By every standard we know of from past elections, this year is unusual.  First of all, the current sitting VP is not running. To many Americans, the pitched battle between Barack Obama, the first African-American candidate with a chance to win, and Hillary Clinton, the first serious female candidate, is the big story.  For many others though, the two parties, with their corruption and partisanship, have become an unbearable nightmare, and the independent movement is in their sights.   So then, what is the state of affairs in this movement?  For one thing, the independent movement is larger and stronger than at almost any other time, including the Ross Perot year of 1992.   Mr. Perot was a self financing candidate with a huge enough bank account to fund his own campaign.  Had he not entered the race, there wouldn't have been an alternative to Bush/Clinton.   This year, there are over a dozen serious Presidential candidates, and at least one of them is affiliated with a new party.  This new party, the New American Independent Party is very active on the internet.  Their candidate is Frank McEnulty, a businessman from California. In addition to Mr. McEnulty, a significant campaign is being run by an African-American woman, Ruth Bryant White.  There are also ten* candidates participating in a series of debates dubbed Independent's Day.   The first of these debates was held at the University of Cincinnati on April 5 & 6.  The next one, called Independent's Day II will be in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., at the 9th Annual State of the World Conference. This conference is hosted by political activist Mario Fiorucci, and this year is dedicated to independent candidates.   I/D III is being scheduled for Mount Rushmore in June.  Following these three intial debates is an independent candidates' rally on July 4 in Washington, D.C.  By that time, there may be other debate venues scheduled and more candidates involved.  These are the true independents, and besides them, there are a number of other individuals seeking out the nomination for the Libertarian Party and the Constitution Party.  The two candidates most known are Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman, and Alan Keyes, a former U.N. Ambassador under Ronald Reagan.   The spread of the internet has made what was previously unattainable to the independent candidate a reality, a way to get out his or her message with minimal expense.  Indeed, nearly every independent has depended upon the internet in order to compete with the big parties.  The Main Stream Media of course, have stood by the  DEM/GOP  parties as they have always done so as to keep their hands in the pie, and they have given scant coverage to independents.  It is becoming apparent however, that they missed the internet connection, although the parties did not.   There are a number of internet sites where the bloggers and posters are actively involved in these independent efforts.  One of the leading sites is FireSociety.com, along with QubeTV.tv, ControlCongress.com, TownHall.com, and Politibyte.com.  There is a high degree of vibrant discussion and quality blogging concerning the  independent movement on these sites.   The huge amount of voter dissatisfaction with the usual lesser of two evils choices is fueling this activity.   This sentiment is increasing daily as the American people watch the infighting, backbiting, and downright lies of the so-called main stream candidates from the two major parties.  With serious challenges facing America, the Democrat and Republican parties can only manage to offer more of the same old politics as usual, even though they are trying to market their candidates as new and fresh, with labels like "change", "experience", and "leadership", as if these were some new ideas never thought of before.   Where the independents will be on election day is not yet clear.  What is clear however, is that the independent movement is growing stronger by the day and will soon be in a position to challenge the two party system.  Books published in the last 6 months or so include 'Independents Day' by TV newscaster Lou Dobbs,  'Declaring Independence' by Democrat activist Douglas Schoen, and 'America, Our Next Chapter' by Senator Chuck Hagel.  Each of these books takes a look at the independent movement in America and predicts a massive change in our political structure  That restructuring of the power held by the two major parties is sorely needed in our nation, and the independent movement is rising up to meet that challenge.  You have been reading about it here for over a year. * (in alphabetical order) Donald K. Allen, John Bootie, Christopher Borcik, Richard Clark, Rick Fleharty, Bill Ingram, Rob Jorgensen, Daniel Kingery, Joe Oliva, Christopher Popham Smith.   Each of these candidates has a website you can visit.

Website Counter   This website began in April 2007         Here is how it's going.      Month            Visits         April                         138       May                          421               June                          258              July                           217       August                      245       September                318       October                    293       November                338       December                 402       January                     364       February                   275       March                       320       April                         499       May                          531       June                          513       July (to date)             145

February 9, 2008              The Demise (almost) Of Unity08     If you have previously been to my website, you may recall that I had a column on this home page about Unity08.com (view  here), the grassroots organization that was committed to bringing the American people an opportunity to select an independent ticket for the 2008 Presidential election.  This effort had as its national spokesman Sam Waterston of the hit TV program Law & Order, and a number of well known political elites on its board of directors from both parties, some named and others not.   Unity08 made some intial headway, and Mr. Waterston even appeared on the Colbert show.  The group has faltered however and is now basically in a survival mode and in need of financial support.  The reasons for this scale back are instructive.   First, and most importantly, are the actions of the Federal Election Commission that oversees Presidential campaigns among others.  Although theoretically a non-partisan agency, in fact the FEC is highly political and faithfully serves the two major parties in keeping out any serious contenders for power in Washington.  In a blatantly unfair move, the FEC restricted Unity08 from accepting donations above $5,000 while allowing the Democrat and Republican parties to receive donations of up to $25,000!  Unity08 is now having to waste precious time in this campaign season to pursue a lawsuit in federal court to alleviate itself of this unfair ruling and using up scarce financial resources that could otherwise help promote its message.   The second reason for this time of trouble for Unity08 is the very structure of elite power in our politics.  Although Unity08 had open support from some well known political types, the very fact that others would not allow their names to be openly used indicates the fear that members of the elite have in offending the current top tier that hold power. If these Unity08 supporters were truly on board for a real independent effort, why wouldn't they want to speak out and let their voices be heard?   None of this should be surprising.  The two major parties are all about power and the elites that run these parties are not going to sit back and watch the people intrude into their cozy arrangement.  Any strong showing of political power that might be grounded in the people is resisted vehemently by the elites.   In the past, only a few third party challenges have actually gone very far.  The most successful of these was the effort by multi-millionaire Ross Perot whose independent bid in the 1992 election paved the way for Bill Clinton to defeat George H.W. Bush.  Also highly influential was the bid by Ralph Nader of the Green Party, which returned the favor to the Bush family by taking votes from Al Gore in 2000.  The run by John Anderson in the 1980 election was inconsequential; there was no way Jimmy Carter could have survived the Reagan landslide victory.   Unity08 however, had the potential to be something totally new.  Its intent was not to build a party around a well known personality.  Instead, the purpose was to build the party or movement from the ground up with the members coming from all parts of the nation and political spectrum.  These members were to choose the candidate, not the other way around.  By having the people as the foundation and allowing that foundation to choose a team and publically support it, the potential for a victory in 2008 was greatly increased!   This potential contained in it the seed of a true revolution in how we choose our President.  The elites moved mightily to see to it that the seed would wither and die, and that the revolution in American politics would die with it.   What will happen going forward with Unity08 is unclear at this point, but the organization still exists and is considering what to do next, but first it must fight the battle with the FEC.  I will keep readers posted of any new developments that might be important.  For those of you who want to get first hand information, go to the Unity08 site directly.

Beginning in September 2007, I will have a blog,    Joe Oliva, at  ControlCongress.com   Controlcongress.com is a "Multi-Partisan, issue-oriented political forum that brings together the Left, Right, and everyone in between." You can read about and discuss political issues that are important to you, or just go to gain information.  It is well worth a visit! To get to my blog, type  Joe Oliva in the search window.

Joe  Oliva  For  President  2008

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"We were told our campaign wasn't sufficiently slick.  We regard that as a compliment"                                                 Margaret Thatcher

" of the People, by the People, for the People"

Independent's Day Schedule Independent's Day II was in Wilke-Barre at the State of the World Conference May 3 & 4 Independent's Day III was at Mt. Rushmore  June 2 & 3 Independent's Day IV was in Washington D.C.  July 3 & 4 The Next Independent's Day Event                 Atlanta  Sept. 17-19

I AM PLEASED TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT A VERY SPECIAL AND HISTORICAL EVENT THAT WILL BE HAPPENING IN APRIL! INDEPENDENT'S DAY April 5th  &  6th University of Cincinnati    Many of you who have previously visited my website are well aware of one of the main themes of my message to our nation; that the two parties have duped us, "we the people", into believing that we have no other choice, nowhere else to go.  They have rigged the election process to assure themselves continued power, and with that attitude in mind, they have ignored the Constitution, rule of law, and will of the people.  They have engaged in extreme partisanship in order to maintain their hold on power, and we have been reduced to voting the lesser of two evils every election cycle.   There have been numerous surveys about how we citizens feel about independent and third party candidates.  I reported on one major survey concerning just that topic last year (see it here), and co-incidentally, it just so happens that last week's news article is about Ralph Nader's entry into the Presidential race.  Well, you might be interested to know that I, and about 25 or more other independent candidates for President have decided to work together to bring America an alternative message other than what is normally promoted and reported upon by the DEM/GOP/MSM propaganda machines.   In combining our vocies and our resources, we have scheduled the first of what we hope will be as many as six national conventions that will allow you to actually see in one place the many other choices you have before you in this 2008 election for President.  Unlike the two major parties, we are working together to bring you more information, more knowledge, more choices, and an opportunity to truly find a candidate that you can trust and believe in.  We may be competitors for the same job, but we have set that aside in order for the owners of this great nation, you, to recognize that future is for all of us and we do not have to once again sell out our principles because the elites who run Washington want to keep control of what you hear and what you know!   If you follow this link, Independent's Day, it will take you to our newly set up website, which admittedly is sparse right now.  We will however, be adding to it over the course of the campaign, and it will give you a way to reach any of us independents with your questions and comments, or simply to visit our websites for information.    The time has come for those of us who are disgusted with the lies, fed up with the partisanship, tired of the arrogance, and angry at the total lack of leadership to change the way we think.  It is time to finally make that leap of faith and get the courage to stand up for our nation and reject the elites who pursue their own agenda and ignore the real challenges facing our beloved country.  It is time for us to reclaim the inheritance that the elites have stolen from us!    Yes stolen, and that is not too strong a word.  Our freedoms were given to us, they are our birthright, but the elites have the idea that they alone have the necessary wisdom, knowledge, and experience to govern.  That however is part of the big lie that they always tell us.   This April 5 & 6 marks a new beginning in our nation's future.  For the first time, you are going to be given a real chance to choose.  I hope you will visit our new website, incomplete as it is, and stay tuned for further developments, because we hope that our next event will be close enough for you to come by and meet the future.  That is the plan, I hope you will check it out.

First Campaign Speech    On Tuesday evening, Oct. 23,  the first local meeting of area members of Unity08 was held in Bryant Park, right behind the main public library in NYC.  My wife Christina and I joined a small group of about 20 people.  The meeting was headed up by Andy Wilson, the area rep for Unity08.   The three main goals of the meeting was for members to get to meet one another, to provide some organizational ideas to bring in new members, and help create ongoing meetings with  fellow Unity08 people in closer geographical areas.  Andy outlined some of the new  features that will begin appearing on the Unity08 site and provided suggestions on how to get local groups started.   At the end, about 5 minutes of speaking time was provided to a few of us who are candidates or represent a person they feel would be a good candidate.  I was the last to speak, and I will admit my first go at this wasn't the greatest.  I do believe though, that I successfully made my point about the growing power of the two parties and my belief that Unity08 can be the force that breaks the hold the Democrats and Republicans have on power in Washington.   I believe the meeting accomplished its goals and the future is just beginning.  If you haven't signed up with Unity08 yet, you are missing out on an opportunity to change the politics of America.  Starting in this 2008 election, the old politics is dead.  We can restore America to her greatness if we work at it.  Check it out!

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This campaign is registered with the FEC. The ID # is P80005192