Greg Burghardt

Numbers of independents are on the rise, and some experts believe many of those numbers can have significant impact on the national political arena.

This was the message students received Monday evening from Omar Ali, history professor at Fordham University in New York.

Ali spoke to a small crowd of students in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium. The speech was part of his national campus lecture tour, titled, “For the American People, Independent of the Special Interests.”

“It upsets me that Democrats and Republicans use those names when there is really nothing Democratic or Republican about their actions,” Ali said. “Movements have created political reform and independents have been at the head of those movements.”

His half-hour speech was a political rally of sorts for the independent parties. Making references to independent politicians Jesse Ventura and Ross Perot, Ali spoke about the discrimination in Washington against independents and how people are less likely to vote when faced with only two choices.

“Independents are treated as second-class citizens and that’s not right,” he said. “Although 41 percent of Americans claim to be independent, that number is probably much higher — people just think it’s better to vote for a Democrat or Republican.”

Ali said most voters — especially students — want more than two choices, and feel that there is no point in voting if their independent vote will be a waste.

“Al Gore did not lose the election because of Ralph Nader … and (George) Bush probably won because of Perot’s endorsement,” Ali said. “Your third-party vote is not a waste — it helps leverage political capital and gets our name out there.”

Ali is the director of education and research at the Committee for a Unified Independent Party, a national strategy center for independent politics. He said getting Washington to see independents as a viable third option is a struggle, but more and more Americans are noticing.

“In 1998, Democrats and Republicans did everything in their power to isolate, demonize and ridicule independents, to slow them down and get them out of the public eye … but every year the number of independents continues to grow,” Ali said.

Ali’s speech encouraged Rebecca Reynolds, Twin Lake senior, to rethink her involvement in independent politics.

“I realize that the more I get involved, the more I can do around campus,” she said. “The great thing about (independent candidates) is that I feel they are people you can believe who are not influenced by money.”

Other students sided with Ali’s views on the two major political parties.

“I can’t agree with him more,” said Matthew Johnson, Norway freshman. “Being an independent is like playing a football game where the other team controls the scoreboard and referees.”

Ali encouraged students to get involved with independent politics and invited students to a national conference of independents and the CUIP on Jan. 19, 2003, in New York City.

“We’ve worked for eight years to create this group in New York, and, so far, we have a quarter of a million people from across the spectrum,” he said. “Most people here don’t take extreme positions, although we would welcome them if they did.”

E-mail the author: Ben RayCentral Michigan Life