Independence Party holds annual district convention in Austin

Published 8:41 am Monday, March 19, 2018

 

The First Congressional District of the Independence Party of Minnesota held its annual convention on Saturday in Austin.

With core beliefs such as “a democratic process with integrity and broad citizen participation,” “government that is fiscally responsible,” and “a society that is inclusive, embraces diversity and protects everyone’s rights,” Independence Party members discussed business and resolutions for the state convention in May.

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Party leaders in attendance were State Chair Philip Fuehrer, State Director Ben Thome and First Congressional District Chair and Treasurer Linda Meschke.

In a system dominated by two major parties, Independence Party members wanted something different.

“I came about in my adulthood during the time of Ross Perot and he really spoke to me,” Thome said. “I am of the opinion that the only wasted vote is to vote for somebody you don’t want. In this last election, a lot of people voted for Hillary Clinton because they were afraid of Donald Trump winning, or vice versa. You want to vote for someone you want in power. You want to vote for that person you feel will do the best job. If I didn’t like Clinton and I didn’t like Trump, why would I vote for either of them?”

Independence Party State Chair Philip Fuehrer addresses other party members during the annual First Congressional District meeting.

“There’s a lot of division and polarity in politics,” Meschke said. “The Independence Party is a way to bridge that gap. There is an opportunity for people to get out of that polarity that’s going on and do something for the people.”

Although there are no Independence Party candidates running in Minnesota’s First Congressional District, Fuehrer stated that candidates are running in other congressional districts across the state. Republican Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer from 2005-2007 is being courted by the Independence Party to run against Senator Tina Smith in the 2018 election.

The leaders acknowledged that running a third party candidate can be difficult in the current political climate.

“There are certainly structural barriers in place,” Fuehrer said. “People, though, are starting to break off of the two established parties. Polling is coming out with 42 percent of folks considering themselves independent. That’s not necessarily the Independence Party, but that’s the beginning of the cracks in the veneer that we can start to break through. Republicans and Democrats are helping us along with their refusal to work with each other. They treat ‘compromise’ as a bad word and that’s going to help us out. We start behind, but in a tortoise and hare race, I think our odds are good.”

“There are a lot of people that say you can’t win as a third party, but Jesse Ventura won, and there was Dean Barkley who was in the senate after Paul Wellstone died and finished out the term,” Meschke added.

Thome said the Independence Party has a “socially liberal and fiscally conservative stance.”

“One of the big ones is the balanced budget,” he said. “We are concerned about the deficit ballooning. We were supportive of marriage equality and that has come to pass, so we’re happy about that. We do believe in a more restrained government. We want to make sure we’re getting what we pay for.”

“I think our platform is one that resonates with most folks,” Fuehrer added. “We’re a centrist moderate party, common sense and independent thinking with the ability to say that good ideas can come from across the spectrum and that we all want to move forward.”

Party leaders said the door is open to anybody interested in getting involved.

“We’re looking for candidates and people to get involved and to strengthen our piece of the pie in Minnesota politics,” Meschke said. “I think there is opportunity for anyone who is interested to come to the table and represent the people and not be tied up in the baggage that the other parties have. We welcome everyone.”

“We have two choices: we can ram our ideas down other people’s throats, or we can realize we live a pluralistic, diverse society and we’re can sit down and talk things out,” Fuehrer said. “It won’t be my solution, it won’t be your solution, it’s going to be a combination of our solutions and that’s the only way to move forward. If that’s the kind of government you want, then come to the Independence Party.”