We the Purple
Greetings, everyone! I'm Marcia Ford, author of this month's book, "We the Purple: Faith, Politics and the Independent Voter." You can find out more about the book at www.wethepurpleonline.com, where you'll find bonus content, a poll, and an opportunity to sign up for my scintillating newsletter. [Okay, everyone, I just tried to save this as a draft, but it looks like it posted. Does "save" mean "post" on this site?? Can anyone help?]
Here's a one-sentence summary: The book explains who independents are, explodes many of the myths about independents, and explores the growing nationwide independent movement. You also should know that as outsiders, many independents have a hard time taking themselves seriously. I'm among them. One radio host apologetically described my writing style as "quirky"; I assured him he had no reason to apologize. The thing is, I'm a journalist, first and foremost, and a conscientious one at that, so you can trust the enormous amount of research that went into the book. But I'm also a free agent, which means I don't have to conform to the journalistic standard of being so serious that you put your readers to sleep. And because I'm an independent voter, I don't have to conform to the political standard of writing a partisan diatribe. The book is eminently reader-friendly.
I'm also a progressive evangelical Christian, for those who need to label me, and in the book I look at how partisanship in the church drove me --- and others --- away from church during the 2004 election cycle and interfered with my worship experience over a 30-year period. Oh, and one of the most popular features of the book is several dozen profiles of independent voters, many of whom are people of faith.
So there you have it. And I hope you enjoy it.
I'm hopeless
Every time I read the topic title, I think of eavesdropping on a bunch of bishops. The book title doesn't do that, just this topic title. We, the Purple. Just that sounds like bishops.
The book sounds fascinating, I've got it on order and should get it soon. And then perhaps I can contribute more than my totally off-topic visual as I click this topic.
independents and purples
Dear Marcia,
Thanks for the short version. In California, the independents are registering more than Democrats or Republicans for about 10 years now, and soon will be a major force in the electorate. One of the things I have always felt badly about is that the structure of electing people does not allow for a few Libertarian and Green people to get into office. I would love to see us support an amendment that if someone gets a certain amount of the popular vote, NOT limited to geographical area, they can be given a seat in the legislature. Over time, this would create coalitions among small interest groups, and make our government more like the British system. I believe we should have input at the legislative level for the kinds of thinking at each end of the political spectrum. It seems now that geographical location trumps the organic unity of the electorate.