More reasons why we need to join together to reunite our country:

• Is Unity08 The White Knight Voters Are Waiting For? NBC News' "First Read" reports on the 2024 elections: "For those looking for a message from 2024, then answer this question: What does a rejection of stem cell research in New Jersey have in common with a rejection of school vouchers in Utah? Voters didn't trust government with new money to oversee new projects. Looking at these downballot results yesterday -- along with a rejection of increased taxes for health care in Oregon -- it seems the electorate may be showing signs of simple distrust in government. ... Anecdotally, one can sense the yearning for some outsider white knight when it comes to the presidential, but do any of the current candidates fit this mode?"
• We Need To Turn Things Around: According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 57% of Americans believe our country is in decline.
• Like Foxes Guarding The Henhouse? "More than six months past their deadline, leaders of a special task force established to overhaul the House ethics process remain coy about the group's work, even as reform advocates consider attacking a forthcoming proposal as too weak," Roll Call reports.
• Quotable: "November 2024 is still a year away, local issues do matter and anything can happen. For now, however, the message we're getting is pretty clear. Local voters are sick and tired of what they've been getting out of Washington" -- Goddard Claussen Strategic Advocacy partner Ben Goddard.

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The Claim Democracy 2024 Conference is a gathering of national, state and local leaders working for electoral reform, voter protection and media reform.

The conference takes place in Washington, D.C. on November 9-11, 2024, at the University of the District of Columbia. Our own Shilpi Niyogi will be sitting on a panel to discuss ballot access on Saturday at 1030am.

Ballot Access, Fusion Voting and Open Debates: Expanding Voter Choice

• Mark Brunswick — APRI-Delaware
• George Farah — Open Debates
• Brent McMillan — Green Party
• Shilpi Niyogi — Unity08
• William Redpath — Libertarian National Committee

Visit the conference site.

Two new polls have been posted in the Poll section of the site.

• Have recent price increases in gasoline caused any financial hardship for you or your household?
• Should it be illegal for any candidate to accept a contribution from anyone who cannot legally vote for him/her?

Vote now!

Whitney Novak, National College Coordinator, and Nick Troiano, Unity08 Intern and Campus Coordinator, were interviewed recently by Emily Whipp of Northwestern University's Medill Reports.

The video segment is a fantastic representation of what we are trying to accomplish at Unity08 and how young adults are infuencing the future of our country.

I encourage you to watch the video!

Feel free to leave Whitney and Nick compliments... we think they nailed the interview!

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I've been a bit under the weather for a few days, but I don't want you to miss a fantastic article that was written by Mr. Joe Rothstein last week in U.S. Politics Today, "Colbert for President? His Candidacy Is Telling Us A Lot About The Failures of Both Major Parties."

His initial question (which he saw on another blog) is one that we should discuss, "Does this mean the political state of this country is atrocious, or are we simply in a golden age of comedy?"

Mr. Rothstein talks of the historical significance of comedy in politics and the fine line that there really is between taking someone in jest or seriously. As many of you know, we have been on The Colbert Report twice because Americans are watching "a humorous slant on the news" types of shows by the millions. The outcome for us is fantastic because Americans find out about Unity08, register, and become active in our movement.

Mr. Rothstein writes, "Because of the changing communications environment, dozens of congressmen have agreed to be 'interviewed' on Colbert's TV show and risk humiliation for the potential advantage of scoring good YouTube moments."

He continues, "Colbert is a comedian, yes. But people respond to humor only because of the nuggets of truth embedded within it."

So, I ask again, "Is the political state of this country atrocious, or are we simply in a golden age of comedy?"

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More reasons why we need to join together to reunite our country:

• Americans Are Mad As Hell, And Not Going To Take It Anymore? According to the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll, just 18% of Americans are "generally content with the way things are going in the U.S. today," while 81% are "angry about something."
• What About The Crucial Issues Facing Our Nation? "The news media are more obsessed than ever with the horse-race aspects of the presidential campaign," according to a new study conducted by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. "Despite the campaign's early start, the media have not been more reflective on the issues, the study said, but have focused on tactics and strategy." Click here for Unity08 co-founder Doug Bailey's take on this trend.
• Less Than 365 Days To Go! USA Today looks at where the presidential race stands one year out from Election Day 2024, and notes that primary voting "is starting so early that Americans lucky enough to have a say in nominating the next presidential candidates may very well make their choices on flawed presumptions about where the country will be a year from now."
• Quotable: "Our two political parties, facing the first election in 80 years in which neither the incumbent president nor the incumbent vice president is running, are ... bereft of themes. ... Neither has a convincing narrative of where we are in history and where we should be headed next ... Each seems to take the course, easier in a time of polarized politics, of lambasting the opposition" -- columnist Michael Barone.

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More reasons why we need to join together to reunite our country:

• Bipartisanship Left Behind? No Child Left Behind "was supposed to be the one area where the embattled White House and the assertive new Democratic Congress would find common ground, thanks to the unlikely partnership between" Pres. Bush and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Washington Post reports. "But like the rest of Bush's legislative agenda," it "has fallen victim to political deadlock, leaving a weakened president struggling to salvage perhaps his most important domestic achievement with the help of one of his toughest critics."
• America Wants Another Option: According to the latest Newsweek poll, 54% of regis. voters believe we should have a third major political party; just 39% disagree.
• Not The Bipartisan Effort We're Looking For: Spartanburg Herald-Journal condemns the "Unending pork parade": "There is $1.8 billion in pork in the military appropriations bill. So much pork was added to the water resources project bill that its cost went up 50 percent from the time it was passed by both houses to the time it emerged from a House-Senate conference committee. ... It is a bipartisan effort. Members of Congress from both parties condemn the practice, but then they do whatever they can to get their own projects approved and to make sure other members get theirs."
• Quotable: "If Americans have ever been angrier with the state of the country, we have not witnessed it" -- from a Democracy Corps strategy memo.

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We have 52 weeks. The clock is ticking. What will you do? In many areas today, we are voting in local elections. One year from today, we will get the vote out. Today we need to get the word out on Unity08. Print 50 copies of this flier Go to your local polling place and let your neighbors know about Unity08 Make sure you follow your local election laws and directions from election officials. Many areas have a restriction on how far you must be from a polling place in order to hand out materials. Look for where other candidates or organizations have put their signs and talk to voters coming out of the polls there. No elections going on in your area? Send these fliers to your friends and neighbors to remind them we have less than a year left to change politics forever. Take pictures! Take video!!! Post it here on the blog, on YouTube, or flickr. Show how you're lighting the torch in your area. Andy Wilson Unity08 Volunteer Program Coordinator