Independence Minnesota

Check out our endorsed candidates for State Senate

Posted Thursday, 15 July 2010 by Peter Tharaldson  E-mail

Find websites and social media contacts for all of our endorsed candidates -- Mark Jenkins, Amy E. Smith, Tim Biros, and John McCallum -- here!     

Graceville, MN: Let's start growing it again with the Horner Mulder vitality plan

Posted Thursday, 15 July 2010 by Peter Tharaldson  E-mail

Graceville is a wonderful little town in western Minnesota.  It's in the middle of that hump that sticks west into South Dakota.  There's a beautiful lake, a hospital and nursing home, a thriving implement dealer and a high school serving three communities.  There's a strong agricultural base of wheat, soybeans and corn.  What does Graceville need more of to preserve its great quality of life?  People.  The current population is now 605, but in 1980 it was 780.  Fifty years ago it was 1200 -- and a century ago it was bigger than Miami!   

How does it get people?  Jobs ... real jobs.  And not the ones promised with JobZ or some other politically derived gimmick.  Graceville does have a resource just down the road.  28 miles to the east is the University of Minnesota at Morris, a pioneering school which helped develop the remarkably efficient farming industry in Graceville over many decades.  The Horner/Mulder plan will leverage the resources of the University to develop new jobs in towns like Graceville ... the very same way it improved agriculture with the Extension Service.  Isn't it about time?

(In disclosure, the author's parents live in Graceville and he is very proud of that!)

Who are you voting against?

Posted Monday, 12 July 2010 by Peter Tharaldson Comments (1)  E-mail

Of all my friends who are not supporting an Independence candidate for office this year, I have noticed a remarkable pattern. They are to a person voting against someone. This has always been a bad trait in our political system...but I strongly feel that it is now the foundation of the two party system. This year it has gone to the absurd.  Case in point...a good friend from college has talked several times about the governor's race. He has a tendency to vote Democratic (was a Republican one time). In many conversations he has only talked about voting against Emmer. I have some Republican friends who think we must keep the  anti-Christ in the form of Mark Dayton from getting in. Have these people gone off the deep-end? How can they rationalize this.

It takes some courage to start voting for somebody again. When people do, we usually see them supporting an Independent. Can you really tolerate hate voting anymore? What has it gotten you?

The Independence Party's Committment to America

Posted Friday, 02 July 2010 by Peter Tharaldson  E-mail

We believe defined values are essential to guiding political reform and assuring policies that benefit all. These are our core values:

1) A democratic process with integrity and broad citizen participation

2) A justice system that is fair, wise, unambiguous, swift, affordable, and accessible to all

3) A society that is inclusive, embraces diversity, and protects everyone’s rights

4) Government policies which encourage and expect personal responsibility

5) Government that is fiscally responsible: equitable in its collection of taxes, careful in its spending, and honest in its financial reporting

6) Government that is a good steward: protecting the environment, preserving our public institutions, prudently managing public assets, and leaving for our children a better world

7) Government that is controlled locally whenever possible

8) Rights of privacy and personal liberties under the US Constitution, the Minnesota Constitution, and the Bill of Rights of the United States shall be strongly defended

9) An educated citizenry with the knowledge and understanding to preserve our freedoms and maintain our prosperity

10) Political leadership that acts for the greater good and prepares us for the future

To read our platform and learn how we apply our values, click here (use the links at the bottom of the landing page)

Learn more about the American Revolution with TPTs acclaimed series "Liberty

Posted Friday, 02 July 2010 by Peter Tharaldson  E-mail

Click on the image to get to the Liberty! website

Jim Gibson, Jim Moore, Stephen Williams, John Binkowski, Tammy Lee, Robert Fitzgerald, Tim Penny, Peter Hutchinson, Bob Anderson, David Dillon and many others never did it....so why is one candidate going ad hominem this year?

Posted Thursday, 01 July 2010 by Peter Tharaldson Comments (3)  E-mail

I came into this year fairly open to all candidates. A couple of my favorites decided not to run. What I really appreciate about this party is that candidates engage in selling issues and solutions to voters...not ad hominem attacks. Oddly enough an ad hominem attack came today, by a candidate claiming to be a true independent and who questions the endorsed candidate's background. This is very upsetting, especially considering the odd timing of coming out when a court dismissed Republican complaints.

In 2000 I helped make a Jim Gibson for U.S. Senate commercial. We showed Jim dodging the mud being thrown by candidates from the two old parties and sticking to the issues. I truly think that is the Independence spirit. The names I mentioned above would probably agree.

Lavender Magazine went way over the top, and may put us all at risk

Posted Wednesday, 23 June 2010 by Peter Tharaldson  E-mail

In today's political world it is all too easy to try to destroy others based on who they are and not what they believe in.  This party has stood up for GLBT rights through and through. Even more importantly we have stood up for honesty. It is not with great ease that I call out a magazine that ran a wonderful front page article of Tammy Lee for Congress in 2006...but things must be said.

There are many Rev. Tom Brocks in this world, and there will be many more. As an honest and mature society we have to be able to debate people for the merits of their argument, not on who they are. Sadly, politics has increasingly become more about going after the person and not the idea. Both the left and the right have escalated this war by rationalizing that the other side does it...in essence the first stone throw now dominates our political world.

Lavender just threw the stone in the world of journalism. Now it is ok to invade  someone's personal life under false pretence in a therapy group (it was that indeed...even if in a church as the rebutal goes), and to use what are really associates and borderline inuendo to indict that person in the press as a hypocrit. We certainly hope that Lavender does not act surprised  when similar stones hurt many others of  disagreement. There are some levels of privacy in Minnesota and America that belong to the person...no matter how evil they may be deemed.

We hope that this is the last stone cast. If it is not, it will usher in a new era of "journalism" where many communities, including our wonderful GLBT community in Minneapolis, will become profoundly hurt.

By the way, does anyone want to talk about the problem with Rev. Brook's ideas? Not any more. That's kinda the point isn't it.

Peter Tharaldson
Senate District 60 Chair
Independence Party of Minnesota

Jim Mulder for Lt. Governor

Posted Tuesday, 01 June 2010 by Buzz  E-mail

Meet Jim Mulder, the lieutenant governor running mate of Tom Horner.  A native of Renville, Minnesota, Jim is leading the charge on government reform and efficiency.  As the long-time Executive Director of the Association of Minnesota Counties, Jim gained a unique perspective on local government operations.  So there's no one better qualified to guide transformational change in the relationship between state and local governments.  For more information about Jim, please visit horner2010.com.  

Go Governor Carlson: Minnesota's Paul Revere of fiscal responsibility

Posted Monday, 24 May 2010 by Peter Tharaldson Comments (2)  E-mail

The first governor ever endorsed by the Independence Party (no Republican convention ever did), Arne Carlson, is launching a "Paul Revere tour" to warn Minnesotans about the budget irresponsibility of the Republican and DFL Parties.  How cool is that?

The StarTribune has the initial story:  http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/93722434.html#

We'll keep you updated with more details as they develop.

Tom Horner for Governor

Posted Monday, 17 May 2010 by Peter Tharaldson  E-mail

Tom's website is open for business.  Find out how you can help take back your state government!