I was pleasantly surprised to find a copy of the Committee for a Unified Independent Party’s magazine, The Neo-Independent, in the mail today. I have been meaning to check out a copy to see what it is all about. What I read in the Winter 2007/2008 issue did not disappoint and I was glad to have received it.

The Neo-Independent is a magazine devoted to political reform from a perspective that I haven’t seen so far in other political magazines. I come from the tradition of reading magazines such as the Progressive, Mother Jones, the Nation—magazines from a traditionally Left, Progressive perspective.

The Neo-Independent doesn’t claim to come from that tradition or to represent any particular ideology for that matter. But it is heavy on fresh ideas and perspectives on political reform.

Some of the articles from the issue included:

• An introductory article by Executive Editor Jackie Salit outlining a practical political reform program (Abolish the Electoral College, Same Day Voter Registration, Nonpartisan Administration of Elections, Open Primaries, Redistricting Reform, Expand Initiative and Referendum).

• An essay, again by Jackie Salit, which detailed the failures of the two-party system, the growth of people who self-identify as Independents nationwide and its implications for a nonpartisan political movement.

• An article by Unity08 founder Doug Bailey.

• A report from South Carolina on Wayne Griffin, a South Carolina activist and Greer City Council member and his thoughts on the prospects of Barack Obama’s candidacy for President.

• A report from New Hampshire in the form of a keynote address by Jackie Salit at an October 2007 meeting of the New Hampshire Committee for an Independent Voice (NH-CIV).

• Articles advocating open primaries where independents can participate in either major parties’ primaries, the legal challenges to shut out independents from participating and a brief historical overview of the practice of open primaries.

• An insightful interview by Jackie Salit with Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.

I was particularly surprised to discover in the magazine the interview with Kucinich, and to find out in another article that Kucinich was interested in forging a political partnership between progressive, anti-war Democrats and independent voters. The issue also included reprints from mainstream publications such as the Christian Science Monitor on political independents and the growing movement to organize them into a political force.

If you are a politically-minded person looking for a fresh perspective on politics—whether or not you consider yourself to be an Independent—it is worth your while to check out an issue of The Neo-Independent. It is the voice of a growing political movement and you won’t generally find these perspectives in mainstream media or the traditional political outlets.