tv Washington Journal Nick Troiano CSPAN September 12, 2018 2:06pm-2:31pm EDT
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we can never truly thank them for their sacrifice, we can honor them for their courage and valor. yesterday the p.d. lake travis department and the b.k. police department put on full gear and climbed 110 flights of stairs to commemorate those who never made it out while climbing those steps. mr. speaker, our first responders are vital to the safety of americans and we must never forget to thank them for all they do. we must continue to pray for all those affected and thank those who selflessly gave their lives for our nation. god bless our first responders and god bless america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house washington journalroximatelyr:
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continues. joining us from denver colorado, unite america, or executive director. a discussion on independent candidates and getting them elected. good morning. guest: good morning. host: a little bit about the group. what does purpose? guest: thanks for having me. i want to start by acknowledging observed they we 17th anniversary of the september 11 attacks against our country and remembered that close to 3000 americans that were killed. we vowed to never forget. we have honored that. what we seem to have forgotten is what happened on 12. how our country and political leadership were able to come together in a strength and unity. that is what we have lost since then. the idea that the most important
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identity we have is the one that we share in common. that we are all americans. it was telling last year when our secretary of defense was asked what is the biggest threat facing our country. he said the lack of political unity in our country. because we have two political parties today that seem intent on ripping the country apart. on pitting one american against another. to raise money, win votes, and ultimately, to do what seems that only focus. to gain political power. danger that we confront. washington warned us that that in his farewell. he said that the alternate domination of one faction over another shepherd by the spirit of revenge is a frightful despotism. lincoln said that a house divided cannot stand. that is the challenge that unite america seeks to confront. we are building a movement of democrats, republicans, and independence who want put country over party. we are recruiting, supporting great leaders, true public servants for office.
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for office and serve in office independently of either political party so that they can represent the people and not be party bosses or special interests. to bring the country together to solve some of the big problems. host: when you bigger your backing to the candidate what is the requirement? how do you define an independent candidate? guest: independent candidate is someone who is running for office not through either political party, but they gather enough signatures to get on the general election ballot. as an independent. there are over 400 50 independent candidates running for state and federal office this year. int is 100 more than we saw 2016. that is more than twice as many as we have seen in 2010. they are growing in number. unite america gets to know them. these candidates based on their credibility, alignment with our principles, their ability to run a competitive campaign to figure out who we
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want to endorse and support. we have endorsed 27 of those candidates running for state and federal office this election cycle. trying to offer them the support structure that a democrat or republican would get from their party. access to a community of donors. grassroots supporters. the electoral infrastructure to run a competitive campaign. specifics, what are some races that you are focusing on across the united states? i'm joining your from denver, colorado. this is homebase for unite america. for our state organization unite colorado. last time i joined you we were trying to recruit five candidates to run for state legislature. we succeeded. we have a slate of independence running here. we are supporting to candidates for u.s. senate.
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we are supporting three for governor, including the reelection of the governor bill walker and alaska. the nation's only independent governor. these are folks who signed on to what we call a declaration of independence. a statement of principles about the importance of an approach to governance that is about putting country over party. using common sense and finding common ground to solve problems. investing come and values of equality under the law. economic and national opportunities for all. stewardship for the next generation. these are leaders -- leaders that are pioneering a new way forward at a time when both political parties are running to their extremes and a glut -- growing plurality of voters is affiliating. over 40% consider themselves to be independent. 1% of ours and elected officials are in our state of federal legislatures. that is what we aim to change. transformative impact on government today. particularly in legislatures that are narrowly divided. ise the u.s. senate which
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51, 49 between republicans and democrats today. or in 31 state legislatures where five or fewer independents can control the balance of power. neither party has a majority. the coalition of independence would have incredible leverage to choose who is in the leadership and set the policy agenda and change the rules of the institution. all to focus on problem-solving and put a stop to this partisan point scoring that stands in the way of solving any of the problems that we face. host: our guest will join us until about 9:30. if you want to ask him (202) 748-8000. if you vote this way and consider yourself an independent, you can call and ask questions. (202) 748-8000. recent call by the associate -- gallup showed that about 41%
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of americans identify as an independent rather than a democrat or republican. does that surprise you? not at all. look at the choices that we have today. we have two political parties first, the thing they stand for is being against the other side. they are running to their ideological extremes. that has left a lot of americans feeling politically homeless. people are leaving the parties and searching for a new option. the goal of unite america is to provide them that option. is a greatll walker example of what an independent later looks like. how they can govern. he ran and was elected as part of a unity ticket. he was a former republican. they have assembled a cabinet of the best people they can find in alaska regardless of their party affiliation. he has been able to make tough decisions, including tough choices to put their budget back in order. solutions tooned
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climate change and criminal justice for reform. he uses common sense. he asked -- he says i do what is best for my state. that is what being an independent is all about. host: how is the organization funded? we are backed by individuals across the political spectrum and across the country. small donors. members who contribute on a monthly basis, a growing number of 1000 across country. some in the larger amounts by individuals. especially entrepreneurs who see a political marketplace that is ripe for destruction and new competition. we are transparent with our funding. unite america.org. you can sign up to join the movement. you can see the individuals who are behind us. desireite us most is a to put country over party. to get a policy that works better so that we can solve any of the big problems that we face today. we are in a midterm election season.
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half the country is horrified by the idea of two more years of congress and republican control and abdicate his responsibilities hold an executive accountable. the other half of the country is horrified be the idea of nancy pelosi regaining the speaker gavel. the american people are going to decide how that turns out. what is true is that no matter how this election pans out, there is not a reasonable scenario that we can expect a policy making process to improve. we will be stuck with the same discussion we see today or go back to even greater partisan growth locked in partisanship that we have seen in the past. it is not that the elections aren't important, people have to participate, so much of our energy and focus is on the symptom of the problem. the party -- parties that are at thewith each other today, underlying problem is a political class that is intent on serving themselves and not the people.
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it is working out fine for them. congress has less than 15% approval rating but more than 90% get elected. the only way we can get out of the mess today is by not continuing pendulum probably it is to change the paradigm altogether. in to eject new competition and innovation into the system. solving for 2018. we are trying to solve for how to we get our politics back on track over the next decade and take the leadership in another option in 7 -- outside of both of these medical parties. host: it is independent only pure our first call from maryland. go ahead. thank you for this conversation. i am sick and tired of the bickering and the politics that is so partisan. you are 100% on target. people like me, who lean a little to the right of center, i
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am sick and tired of both parties. devicesn up all of the that are meant to capture terrorists to go after innocent americans because of political affiliations or political leanings. that is wrong. i have no choice but to make a pic of one of the two tribes. seemo glad to independents to be gathering force and momentum. thank you very much. i will join your organization and try to help it. i am sick and tired of the bickering and politics that does not do anything for the common man. thank you, the good news is you are in maryland. you will have another option on your ballot this year for u.s. senate. his name is neil simon. philanthropist, business person never ran for public office before. her about the organization and got interested in running. help launches campaign. he is running strong.
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think about the senate that has an independent and it along with independents angus king, and perhaps a couple of the current incumbents. other independents in the cycle. that would transform politics as usual. we would not have a majority leader mcconnell were minority leader. it is the independent who can decide who gets to lead the institution. how committees are divided. what the issue agenda is. and on any particular issue, those independents can float ideas and build coalitions from the center out. --se independents sought-after votes. we are trying to say we don't need to elect an independent for president. we don't need to start a third party from scratch. we just need to elect a few independents in a few key places and that can change politics as we know it. host: this is charles and illinois. we have several
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different independent parties. what they need to do is have a primary for the one that gets the most votes. that would be the party that the independents back. they would then have just like the republicans or democrats, they would be able to be in your discussions and they would all back one party. when they spread out to three or four they don't have the people to represent. there is 40% of independents. they could elect a president if they would just use it like a primary and select funds. guest: thank you. host: -- idea. it is an extinct in most elections there are zero independents on the ballot. we are trying to solve that problem first.
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interestingly, the last election cycle, more than 40% of state legislative seats only had one candidate on the ballot. either a democrat or republican. that is in large part because of both parties have gerrymandered these districts to be safe for one side or another. those are seats that are primed for an independent step forward and run. we have seen that this cycle. one of our candidate is named in diamond. -- and diamond. there is only a few candidates on the ballot in the primary. the top to go to the general election. she won her primary. she is on the ballot. in colorado, it is paul jones who is running for state house in a district that there is a democratic incumbent and no republican. the voters in that district would not have a choice. independents provide a service just by making more political competition in our system and forcing both parties to have to compete for voters who are outside the party.
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toher than just skate reelection without competition. host: you had mentioned senator king of maine. what do you think the impact has been in the u.s. senate? i think senator king comes closer to more centrist independent. his impact has been to call the shots as he sees them. he currently caucuses with democrats. he has been a voice of common sense in the senate. more needed. that is our goal. if there were just a couple more independents, they could form their own caucus or coalition. it remains to be seen if senator king would join. this past weekend, we saw a lot of coverage around the fact that that everyday he wakes up thinking about leaving the republican party to become an independent because both
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parties are not having the kind of conversations or debates about whether country is going in the future. they are simply fighting and bickering over the issues. what if he were to leave his party? what if susan collins were to do the same? it takes a few to cut her -- catalyzed some tremendous change. we have seen that in the state legislatures. here in colorado, john has served in the legislature for 16 years. in her last term, she left the democratic party to become an independent. she provided some crucial leadership as an independent to open conversations on both sides. agreement around transportation funding. independents can be the bridge in these legislatures where the center has largely fallen out over the past two decades. host: independent line. independents only. this is from maine. hello. caller: thank you very much taking my call. you mentioned that our senators collins and king.
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i have disenrolled from the major party this year. i just figured the two major parties are garbage this past year. we have two independents running for car -- governor. i'm wondering if you think either of those have traction. and i'm wondering is your organization support third-party candidates such as libertarians or anyone else? --ler: guest: we have endorsed an independent candidate in maine. terry hayes. she is the current state treasurer in maine. previously served in the legislature as well. she is one of the most and credible candidates we have gotten to know this election cycle. in maine, a state that has elected independence both to the senate and the governorship, we believe that she can win. we have also endorsed some candidates for state legislature in maine. including representative ellen cassatt's. who is currently in the state house. last sessionn the
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are those independents providing a critical service. they can champion reforms to our political system that democrats and republicans will not. as you know, in 2016, maine voters approved a referendum to establish ranked choice voting in the state. that is a system where you get to rank your candidates according to preference rather than just picking one. it helps level the political playing field. the legislature, the double kratz and publicans in the house sought to repeal that. it was the independents who joined together to oppose it. ultimately, the voters had another referendum to protect that voting reform. .aine is leading the way they are great independent candidates on the ballot. we are rooting for maine's next independent governor. terry hayes. but outur organization a report or part of it takes a look at the map of the united states highlighting the fact that in some states independence out number one party, in other
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states they outnumber both. there are states that don't register or report by voters i party. talk about this map and the larger context of this report. the map is revealing and more than half the states that register and report voters by party, independents outnumber either democrats or republicans. the map is revealing and more than half the states that register and report voters by party, independents outnumber either democrats or republicans. alaska, they outnumber both parties. not a lot of people realize that appeared independents have a lot of political power if we were to organize with each other. that is not to say there aren't many democrats and republicans who would not join the coalition. gallup asked are both parties doing such a terrible job that a third is needed. more than half of democrats and republicans antics -- answer that question yes. a major reason that people are democrats or republicans was that they thought the other parties policies would be
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harmful for the country. this is this whole idea of negative partisanship. where people know the party didn't like but they don't have one that they love. this data was included in a report. the american institute released uniteust that -- at our summit called reimagining governance in an age of polarization. independenceowed currently in office. there are more than two dozen around the country. to break down the best practices they have used as individuals and as coalitions to be able to have an effect on the legislature. the question is can they make a difference in office. the answer is yes. i have given a couple of examples. another is in alaska, following the 2016 election, two independents were able to help form a bipartisan governing coalition. republicans had a majority there for close to 30 years. , moderatendependents republicans, house democrats joined together. to form a trans-partisan coalition.
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their number one objective was to deal with the state fiscal crisis that both parties were unwilling to address. in the last session they were successful in shepherding through four bills that would do exactly that. illuminates how independents are already making a difference. it is happening. it could happen at a larger scale this cycle and next as more independents run and get elected. host: from maryland. independent line. hello. caller: hello. it is a very good idea. -- i just heard his name today. -- we were supporting. i'm very concerned when you take someone like angus king as an independent. when you are elected independent, you should not cause any of these. when you look at angus king or bernie sanders, more than 90% of
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the time. i believe there was an independent, we did a publication. when you are independent in congress, you should not be caucusing with any of these. thank you. to agree withn you, as do other independents running for office. marty is a candidate for u.s. house in maine. would you caucus with the set our caucus with the people of my district. that is the right answer. some insiders might say how are you going to get your office space and committees. nothing is getting done and the congress today. we need leadership that is truly independent of both political parties to be a voice for the growing 40 plus percent of americans who don't choose to affiliate with either side. inis very possible that once office, as a coalition, they may these to vote with one of parties to form a majority. that is how they have leveraged to choose whose leader is.
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whether it is a speaker or senate majority leader. to use that leverage to set the issue agenda. independents, i believe the caller is right. don't pre-commit to being with one party or another. that is the essence of being a true independent. united american institute report highlights some recommendations or at least some categories are characteristics with independent legislatures. some of them include they would put their district and state i had a partisan special interest. candidates or legislatures would also injured his idea that post -- both parties are unwilling to initiate or the policymaking -- give an example. say what it comes to the economy, what is an independent approach to the economy? particularly since her publicans and democrats, this topic differently. approachthink a good with regard to fiscal issues which impact the economy is what
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we saw back in 2010. president obama establish a fiscal commission cochaired by a democrat and republican. saw the unsustainable trajectory of our budget and national debt. they put together a commission that ultimately got a majority of democrats and republicans to vote yes on. that would deal with our long-term entitlement spending. slowing spending on programs to reform our tax code in a way that would raise more revenue and not contribute to the deficit. ultimately to grow the economy. those were common sense ideas. those were independent ideas. that is one of the major reasons why i left my foreign party and became an independent and decided to run for congress. neither party is willing to make hard choices. --ocrats are unwilling to republicans are unwilling to talk about more revenue. the idea of fiscal responsibility is missing. that is something an independent can champion in congress by drawing on some good
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