Randy Miller, founder of the Utah League of Independent Voters, got so fed up with his state senator that he put him up for sale on eBay as a fundraiser for ULIV. That’s when the fun began.
“The action caused a small stir in the local press, the Independent political blogosphere and on Twitter, and even provoked a response from the Senator himself,” says Damon Eris of the Third Party And Independent Daily in an interview with Miller. (Both, BTW, are contributors here too.)
TPID: There have been a number of news articles on your action. What has been the response from the general public? Have you gotten many emails or phone calls?
Miller: I have had a few people contact me wondering how they can volunteer. I’ve received a bunch of ‘atta boys’ from friends on Facebook, but I think more than anything I hit the funny bone of thousands of people who are thinking the same thing, why won’t the legislature listen to the people instead of the narrow group of party delegates. The parties would naturally respond (and have) that we are all perfectly welcome to come participate in their caucuses and conventions as if that is the only legally contemplated way to participate at the grassroots level of our democracy.
TPID: What is the mission of the ULIV? What does the organization have planned for the future?
Miller: The mission of ULiV is to open up the democratic process to the people to whom our government rightfully belongs–the people. We are not concerned about ideological differences. I am not concerned if the voice of the people goes in a direction that I think is imprudent or doesn’t fit with my ideology. The mission of ULiV is to act as a voice for the nearly 800,000 strong, 51.5% plus majority of [Independent] voters in Utah.
The grinches at eBay pulled the ad, but you can find now it on boocoo.com, Randy also blogs at IVoteUtah, where he posted the following cartoon.
