TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• The 2008 election in perspective (New Hampshire Business Review) there are now more registered Democrats than Republicans in New Hampshire, although unaffiliated (independent) voters are the largest single voting bloc.
• Voters show their independent streak (Morgan Messenger - WV) While Democrats used to account for the other 40% of the vote, the proportion of Democrats has actually dropped to 32% locally. The real boom has come in the number of people who don’t identify with either political party.

CENTER-LEFT/SCHMENTER-LEFT

• Is it OK to be liberal again, instead of progressive? Come out of the closet, liberals. Stop using the fashionable euphemism "progressive" and relaunch the old, tarnished L-word. (Salon)
• Lyons: Should Obama lean now to right? (Courier Express/Tri County - PA) Arguing over meaningless phrases like "center-right" versus "center-left" would be a foolish. Because while much of the electorate may be uneasy about what they've been taught liberals think about symbolic social issues like abortion, guns and "gay marriage," strong majorities agree with Democratic approaches on more concrete matters.

OPEN PRIMARIES/POLITICAL REFORM

• California initiatives: A fighting tradition (Oakland Tribune/Wenatchee World Online) If California voters always had their way, illegal immigrants wouldn’t get public education and health care; the state would have “open” primary elections; landlords could practice racial discrimination; and cable television would be either free or illegal. All these stances have been approved as ballot initiatives, and all were later struck down by the courts.
• EDITORIAL: Still battling term limits - Many sitting politicians aren't about to go quietly (Las Vegas Review Journal)
• EDITORIAL ; So This is `Reform'? (iStock Analyst) A hastily arranged package of reforms from politically ambitious lawmakers will do little to inspire public confidence in state government.

LAST WORD
The end of the Sixties - In Chico as in the rest of America, voters tired of polarization and the culture wars are looking to liberals to solve problems (Chico News Review)