While speculation is widespread that the purpose of the Oklahoma meetings, involving 17 former and current politicians and public servants, is to announce the candidacy of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, for the presidency, the groups says it only wants to lay out a series of principles of bipartisanship in government, which they hope presidential candidates will adopt. The mass media rumor mill is suggesting the group will propose Bloomberg as an independent candidate for the presidency, with fmr. Democratic senator Sam Nunn as his running mate.

One of the goals they propose is fixing the public education system, to set a national goal to restore the American public educational system to the rank of 'top 5' worldwide, while now it is "somewhere in the mid-twenties", as stated by fmr. senator Bob Graham (D-FL). Mayor Bloomberg proposed that among the most serious problems facing the nation at present are energy policy and the education system, and that the current system is best reflected by energy bills that do nothing to overhaul or strengthen energy policy for the future and farm bills that help "agribusiness" but do little to shore up the long-term health of the agrarian economy.

Fmr independent Maine governor Angus King said the nation is facing a kind of "slow-motion catastrophe", in which institutions and the ability of people and public servants to work together for the public good are disintegrating, due to factors that we are not protecting ourselves against. He proposed that a "non-partisan" government could set itself on a course to have the necessary "10- to 20-year vision" to work on policies that will actually help the country become stronger and evolve for the better.

King warned that the majority of members of the panel view the current moment as "a tipping point", beyond which the United States could enter a period of "permanent decline". He also noted that there is no reason that decline needs to be built into the future evolution of American society, politically and economically, but that the energy of the American people can be harnessed to find the solutions needed to face the greatest coming challenges.

Fmr. Republican senator and Clint0n-administration Defense Secretary Bill Cohen said "for every right that you claim, you've got a duty you must perform", in reference to the 1940 threat Europe and the West faced against "a mechanized evil on the loose" in Nazi Germany. Cohen suggested that this standard be applied broadly to public life and to the community structures Americans use to help the country function and to make their lives better.

There is a clear parallel between the message of this group of centrist and independent politicians, analysts and public servants, and the campaign for "change" more broadly, as spoken by candidates on both sides of the presidential campaign. What the Oklahoma 17 are proposing is a strategy clearly stated that would 1) bring together leaders and thinkers from across the political spectrum, 2) reduce partisan extremism, and 3) lead to a more responsible stewardship of the system and of the natural and social environment for future generations.

They are also proposing that universities across the nation become involved in this movement for collaborative citizenship, potentially hosting conferences that promote and explore the principles and the questions put forth by this group, in the interests of leading to a culture of bipartisanship and an attempt to both inform and to interact with the majority center in the American political spectrum. [s]

BACKGROUND:
CALIFORNIA ELECTORAL COLLEGE PLAN MAY UNDERMINE NATIONAL ELECTION INTEGRITY
CRITICS SAY PLAN DESIGNED TO GIVE GOP UNFAIR ADVANTAGE IN NATIONAL VOTE
30 August 2007

The Electoral College is a procedural peculiarity enshrined in the Constitution, initially intended to protect the voting power of slave-holding states, which puts the very concept of majority rule in question. A California plan to "reform" the system would grant electoral college votes to the Republican party even if it doesn't win the state, which would rob the Democrats of votes they would not gain in any state controlled by Republicans. [Full Story]

DEMOCRATS WIN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, REPUBLICANS SUFFER HEAVY LOSSES AT POLLS
EARLY COUNTS SHOW SENATE 'IN PLAY', DEMOCRATS MAY CONTROL MAJORITY OF GOVERNORSHIPS
8 November 2006

Among the early news emerging from the 2006 midterm elections: Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy win by wide margins; embattled Republican senator Rick Santorum is ousted by Bob Casey, Jr., by margin of nearly 59% to 41%; Rep. Weldon loses seat in PA, largely due to corruption scandal; Democrats take control of House of Representatives. [Full Story]

SECURITY OF U.S. ELECTIONS, VOTING RIGHTS NOT GUARANTEED
DESPITE FEDERAL LEGISLATION & SIX YEARS OF REFORM, MAJOR SECURITY FLAWS PERSIST WHICH COMPROMISE ELECTION INTEGRITY
25 June 2006

The 2000 election process gave clear evidence that the established system for running elections and counting votes in the United States is not cohesive, not fool-proof and not secure against tampering. Congress took action to reform voting standards nationwide to "Help America Vote". But that legislation suffered one fatal flaw: while promoting the shift to touchscreen ballots, it did not require that electronic balloting machines produce a paper record that could be hand-checked. [Full Story]

TWENTY-SIX STATES HAVE PASSED LEGISLATION REQUIRING PAPER TRAILS FOR ELECTRONIC BALLOTS
11 June 2006

Since the 2000 election, voting technology has become a major issue in US elections regimens and regulations; touchscreen balloting machines, which legislatures seem to have favored as a way to record votes accurately, eliminating the 'hanging chad' problem, were designed with no paper record and have proven insecure and susceptible to tampering. Now, 26 US states have passed laws requiring paper trails, and 13 more, plus Washington, DC, have proposed laws "not yet enacted". [Full Story]

SAN DIEGO COUNTY SENT VOTING MACHINES HOME WITH POLL WORKERS ON EVE OF ELECTION
9 June 2006

Reports have emerged that according to the San Diego registrar of voters, poll workers in San Diego county took tamper-susceptible Diebold voting machines home on the eve of the election. In some cases, poll workers may have had unsupervised access to the machines for a week or longer. [Full Story]

TEXAS REDISTRICTING FOUND ILLEGAL BY JUSTICE LAWYERS, FINDINGS OVERRULED
2 December 2005

New documents show Justice Department lawyers unanimously found the Texas Congressional redistricting plan to be illegal. But that finding was overruled by top Justice officials and the staff involved in the research and analysis "were subjected to an unusual gag rule", this according to the Washington Post. [Full Story]