by Hasso Hering
Democrat-Herald
April 13, 2011

A bill under consideration in Salem and scheduled for a hearing this afternoon, HB 2442, would prohibit the use of the word “independent” in the name of any political party. The sponsors of this little bit of nonsense seem to have gone to the “Alice in Wonderland Institute of Politics,” where they teach you to change reality by changing what things are called.

By Hasso Hering
Albany Democrat-Herald
July 13, 2010

Officers of the Independent Party are holding a primary election to nominate candidates for state and federal offices. The state is not lifting a finger to help them, and that ought to be changed.

For registered Democrats and Republicans, the state Elections Division and the various counties run elections at public expense.

They provide staff time. They handle the filing and collect fees. They have the ballots printed and mailed. They provide a pamphlet for voters to use.

The public even pays for electing party committee members on the county level, a service to the main parties without any public benefit.

by Hasso Hering, Editor
Albany Democrat-Herald
June 9, 2010

Among Oregon’s political candidates, many Democrats and Republicans suddenly also want to become the nominees of the Independent Party. They want the label, but voters may wonder if they also want the ideas.

What ideas? There’s no Independent Party platform. But there are other indications from articles on the party’s website.

Campaign finance reform is near the top of the list. The party would like to see limits on political contributions, especially the contributions of corporations. The Oregon constitution doesn’t allow limits on that form of political speech, so the party position would require a constitutional amendment to carry out.