The Bloomberg Primary: Unity08 Loses, Independence (Party) Wins
“I was in 26 states in the last 76 days,” Frank MacKay, chairman of the Independence Party of America, said in a phone interview at 11 p.m. last night while driving through Alabama. “Every single state that I’ve been in, we’re talking ballot access.”
MacKay’s travels highlight why he won a major victory yesterday against the star-studded Unity08 in the below-the-radar contest to see which budding political organization would be in the best position to offer their nomination to Michael Bloomberg if the mayor decides to run for president.
Yesterday, officials of Unity08 announced they were suspending their ballot access operation—which was successful only in Florida and Mississippi so far - and losing two of their founding members, Doug Bailey and Jerry Rafshoon.
In a public letter, the board of directors of Unity08 blamed their stunted growth on a Federal Elections Commission decision limiting their contributions to $5,000, instead of the $25,000 allowed for the Republican and Democratic Parties.
“We were caught in a peculiar catch-22,” the Unity08 directors Bob Bingham, Angus King, Peter Ackerman, Zach Clayton and Lindsey Ullman wrote. “’[W]e wanted to break the dependence on big money by getting lots of small contributions from millions of members, but needed some up-front big money to help generate the millions of members to make the small contributions. And the FEC (in effect, an arm of the parties) didn’t let that happen.”
The letter went on to acknowledge that there is no room for more than one third-party candidate in the race this year. “Mayor Bloomberg seems poised to run on his own (and the fact is that two independent candidacies wouldn’t work) if the parties leave the sensible center open,” wrote the Unity08 directors in what was, in essence, their concession speech.
MacKay agrees.
“If he decides to run, I don’t care if God comes out of the sky, we’re going with Bloomberg,” he said.
Departing Unity08 founders Baily and Rafshoon agree too. The Unity08 directors said the pair were heading to a “a committee forming to draft Mayor Bloomberg should the circumstances seem right.”
While Unity08 was collapsing, MacKay was building his nationwide campaign.
The Virginia Independent Greens announced yesterday they agreed to become an affiliate of the Independence of Party of America (IPOA), making them the second statewide group in the country to do so. The Pennsylvania Reform Party affiliated with the IPOA earlier this year, and the Independence Party in Minnesota - which elected a governor there in 1998 - will vote on whether to affiliate on January 26.
MacKay said his job isn’t to find a candidate, but rather, to see how a third-party presidential candidate can get on the ballot nationwide.
“Every state has different laws,“ MacKay said. “Unity08 was trying to start from scratch. What I’m doing is I’m doing is taking people that have already done it locally, and weeding through.”
While both parties, Unity08 and the IPOA, prefer Bloomberg as their candidate, the two groups would have been trying to achieve different goals with the billionaire mayor’s candidacy.
Unity08 hoped its open nominating process - held online - would attract voters left out of the hyper-partisan primary process and lead to a fusion ticket of one Democrat and one Republican. “The past year has taught us that it’s tough to rally millions to a process, as opposed to a candidate or an issue,” Unity08 directors acknowledged.
The IPOA wanted to establish a permanent third party entity in as many states as possible, coalescing around the principles of voter reform, and led by a serious White House contender. MacKay said many states grant permanent ballot access to parties on whose line a certain number of votes are cast. So, while an IPOA candidate may not get enough support in a given state to win any electoral college votes there, that candidate could garner enough votes to establish an IPOA Party in that state.
“In Minnesota, they need a statewide candidate in every four-year span to get 5 percent of the vote. That’s what their threshold is” MacKay said. In Virginia, the threshold is 10 percent, he said.
“We’re hitting on all cylinders right now,” MacKay said. “All we need is a candidate.”
MacKay’s travels highlight why he won a major victory yesterday against the star-studded Unity08 in the below-the-radar contest to see which budding political organization would be in the best position to offer their nomination to Michael Bloomberg if the mayor decides to run for president.
Yesterday, officials of Unity08 announced they were suspending their ballot access operation—which was successful only in Florida and Mississippi so far - and losing two of their founding members, Doug Bailey and Jerry Rafshoon.
In a public letter, the board of directors of Unity08 blamed their stunted growth on a Federal Elections Commission decision limiting their contributions to $5,000, instead of the $25,000 allowed for the Republican and Democratic Parties.
“We were caught in a peculiar catch-22,” the Unity08 directors Bob Bingham, Angus King, Peter Ackerman, Zach Clayton and Lindsey Ullman wrote. “’[W]e wanted to break the dependence on big money by getting lots of small contributions from millions of members, but needed some up-front big money to help generate the millions of members to make the small contributions. And the FEC (in effect, an arm of the parties) didn’t let that happen.”
The letter went on to acknowledge that there is no room for more than one third-party candidate in the race this year. “Mayor Bloomberg seems poised to run on his own (and the fact is that two independent candidacies wouldn’t work) if the parties leave the sensible center open,” wrote the Unity08 directors in what was, in essence, their concession speech.
MacKay agrees.
“If he decides to run, I don’t care if God comes out of the sky, we’re going with Bloomberg,” he said.
Departing Unity08 founders Baily and Rafshoon agree too. The Unity08 directors said the pair were heading to a “a committee forming to draft Mayor Bloomberg should the circumstances seem right.”
While Unity08 was collapsing, MacKay was building his nationwide campaign.
The Virginia Independent Greens announced yesterday they agreed to become an affiliate of the Independence of Party of America (IPOA), making them the second statewide group in the country to do so. The Pennsylvania Reform Party affiliated with the IPOA earlier this year, and the Independence Party in Minnesota - which elected a governor there in 1998 - will vote on whether to affiliate on January 26.
MacKay said his job isn’t to find a candidate, but rather, to see how a third-party presidential candidate can get on the ballot nationwide.
“Every state has different laws,“ MacKay said. “Unity08 was trying to start from scratch. What I’m doing is I’m doing is taking people that have already done it locally, and weeding through.”
While both parties, Unity08 and the IPOA, prefer Bloomberg as their candidate, the two groups would have been trying to achieve different goals with the billionaire mayor’s candidacy.
Unity08 hoped its open nominating process - held online - would attract voters left out of the hyper-partisan primary process and lead to a fusion ticket of one Democrat and one Republican. “The past year has taught us that it’s tough to rally millions to a process, as opposed to a candidate or an issue,” Unity08 directors acknowledged.
The IPOA wanted to establish a permanent third party entity in as many states as possible, coalescing around the principles of voter reform, and led by a serious White House contender. MacKay said many states grant permanent ballot access to parties on whose line a certain number of votes are cast. So, while an IPOA candidate may not get enough support in a given state to win any electoral college votes there, that candidate could garner enough votes to establish an IPOA Party in that state.
“In Minnesota, they need a statewide candidate in every four-year span to get 5 percent of the vote. That’s what their threshold is” MacKay said. In Virginia, the threshold is 10 percent, he said.
“We’re hitting on all cylinders right now,” MacKay said. “All we need is a candidate.”
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Thanks, Frank for having the courage to go the distance.
Liberty & Freedom for all Americans
Thanks, Frank for having the courage to go the distance.
Liberty & Freedom for all Americans
America needs a President with vision and one who will go the extra mile that Frank is doing!
The independent Party can unify our broken two party system and I believe a leader of the free world and independent party President hopeful like N.Y. Mayor Bloomberg could be the right person who can bring change and accoutability to the folks in Washington!
The Greatest generation raised the bar to win freedom for the world at war and today we need a leader again that will inspire unify both parties and get our house in order!
Today is the time to stop blaming each others party and make each party work together for accountability and responsibilty and get our Political House in Order!
Lets solve our broken boarders,health care,tax and spend, borrow and pledge, Free drinks for all has to stop!
We need a President that says Bars closed until we get our
own house in order and lets bring our troops home and let each others country deal with their own problems, why we deal with ours!
Thanks Frank for being there for us!
Apparently, the Mayor is just waiting for Frank to drive through those other 24 states so he can declare his candidacy.
Great Job Frank ! Drive safely.
Some people aren't waiting for a candidate. We are trying to Draft Mike Bloomberg at http://www.UniteForMike.com
Doug Bailey and Jerry Rafshoon co-founders of unity08 slammed the doors in the faces of the unity08 delegates. These phonies put forward unity08 as an opportunity for the average citizen to nominate and elect a President and Vice-President of the United States and we bought into it. We thought that they were men of principle, but they turned out to be just another couple of Washington Slim Balls. We donated money to unity08 and they took it and ran. They sent us their disingenuous email thanking us. When they look in the mirror in the morning, they will see two cowards who ran away when it got tough.
I would not vote for Bloomberg if he ran unopposed!
Let's say that Bloomberg declares his candidacy and even goes on the ticket as an Independent. It appears that Frank MacKay is really only looking for him to establish the Independence Party as an "official" third party in America. So maybe in some future election, an Independent Party candidate may be taken seriously. I don't think anyone, including Frank MacKay, thinks Bloomberg's candidacy would mean that he will win the election, but it probably does mean that he will sway the election away from one or the other Party's candidate if he can command even a small percentage of the popular vote.
My concern is which Party's candidate will suffer the most from an Independent candidacy? Could this be a Democrat synchronized plot to foil a Republican win? Or vice-versa? I'd be interested in other opions.
I had the same concern myself, Anonnymouse. But I'm dubious that's MakKay's motivation, at any rate. He's with the IP of NY, and they are in it for the long haul - not to spoil this election. I'll go so far as to say the same holds for the other parties being engaged in the IPOA orbit - they aren't about Bloomberg in particular, in fact, they reserve their endorsement decision should he decide to run. But they think the time has come for a national infrastructure to be put in place to make it easier for true independents to run for national office. Whether one should attempt to do so, each election cycle, depends on who else is running and who's interested in running.
Might a Bloomberg, Nunn, Hagel, or other independent run affect the outcome of the election? You bet. They might even win. But is tilting the balance between the Dems and Reps the reason MacKay is working to organize IPOA? I talked with him today - grilled him, really - and I don't think so.
A delegate to the MN IP convention
p.s. We voted yes on affiliation with IPOA, despite the bad taste left in our mouths and the caution left in our memories by the commandeering of the Reform party by Pat Buchanan. This feels different.