I think I just found out how ill-prepared I am for taking on the task of covering the Independents who are running for President this year. Take a look at this page to find out why.
That’s a lot of Independents/no party affiliation people, even if you took out all the 3rd-party people mixed in. So, I have more work to do than I thought.
The problem is that Vote Smart seems to have a rather loose system of identifying your party affiliation. There are people on there who are listed as “Independent”, “no party affiliation,” and “none.” Then there’s a couple who have nothing listed at all in that column. Finally, some of the “Independents” have few or no details listed, making it hard to profile them. I don’t want to do it, but I’ll have to leave these people out…unless of course they happen to see this entry and want to send me information! I’m here to profile you, people, free of charge! Email me, hint hint hint!
Another issue is that some people who are listing themselves as “Independent” are really members of one of several Independent parties in the U.S. The New American Independent Party is the one I’m seeing most often. The thing I need to consider is whether this qualifies the candidate for Independents Week, or whether I should consider it just another party. Although I understand the purpose behind it, officially, it is just another party. My inclination for them is to leave it until I get to 3rd parties, and that is probably what will happen.
So, a bit of planning needs to be done. I will start this weekend with a profile, and continue on. However, I do this Independents Week will turn into Independents Weeks.