TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

CALIFORNIA OPEN PRIMARY

• * Open-primary proposal could shake up politics (By James P. Sweeney, U-T SACRAMENTO BUREAU) “It is a misnomer to call this an open primary,” said state Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring, who lives in Crest in San Diego County. “It is not an open primary, it is the abolition of primaries.”
  
• * Stop the budget madness with some common-sense reforms (Steve Lopez, LA Times) as a current New Yorker article points out. According to one poll, 28% of Republicans and 56% of independent voters supported President Obama's stimulus plan, but only three Senate Republicans signed on.
  
• * Schwarzenegger skips GOP convention ... to meet with Obama (San Francisco Gate) While the Republicans are railing against Schwarzenegger on taxes and considering censuring their own who voted for the state budget, Schwarzenegger sidesteps it all: He's in Washington, D.C., for the National Governor's Association get-together, meeting with Obama and other administration officials on climate change and key economic topics.
  

 

OTHER OPEN PRIMARIES:

• * Leading Democrats sweet on 'sweetener' proposal (By Steven Harmon, MediaNews Sacramento Bureau, Mercury News) In an open primary, the two top vote getters would face off against each other in the general election, regardless of party. Conceivably, two Democrats could be vying for the vote of all voters in a safe Democratic district, and vice versa in Republican districts. 
  
• * Guest Commentary: Don’t close open primaries (By: A.C. Kleinheider, Nashville City Paper) In a closed system, the two parties will elect candidates who reflect the activist core of the party. While that suits that activist core just fine it does not serve the people of Tennessee. Like it or not, in America, we have a two-party system. It is not in our founding documents but it is an inextricable part of our system.
  

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• * Poll: Florida Voters Like Obama, Are Split On Stimulus Plan (By Catherine Dolinski, Tampa Bay Online)
  
• * President and Governor Remain Popular in Florida (Associated Press, Tallahassee, Fla) A Quinnipiac spokesman says the high approval ratings for both Obama and Crist are the result of strong support form crossover and independent voters.
  
• * TN politicos want to return to the dark ages (KnoxNews.com) Politicians talk a good game about getting the vote out, but their most recent actions speak loudly just the opposite. Closing the primaries will alienate the majority independent voters.
  
•  * Poll says Democrats fare poorly with independents- The Democratic leadership is faring poorly with independent voters in the U.S. who had supported President Obama's election bid and his appeal to bi-partisanship. Obama's first month in office has disappointed them. (Spero Forum)
  
• * California Budget Deal Costs 3rd Parties (Green Party Watch) This deal provides the only way that Maldonado can achieve a statewide office where his being willing to compromise on the budget would appeal to independent voters.
  
• * Q-Poll: More gaudy numbers for Obama and Crist, less so for stimulus (by Aaron Deslatte, Orlando Sentinel) "The key to high voter approval ratings for Democrat Obama and Republican Crist is party crossover and the good will of independent voters: The President gets a 33 - 47 percent approval from Republicans and a 66 - 22 percent thumbs up from independents, while Crist gets a 66 - 22 percent score from Democrats and a 63 - 24 percent nod from independents.
  
• * The Maldonado Effect (By PETE ABEL, Managing Editor, The Moderate Voice)
  

 

NEW YORK POLITICS;INDEPENDENCE PARTY

• * Poll: New Yorkers want income tax hike for rich (BY KENNETH LOVETTDAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF, NY Daily News) By a 56-38% margin, New Yorkers support the idea, including more than two-thirds of Democrats and nearly 60% of independent voters, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. 
  
• * Oliver Honored By Independence Party (Politics on the Hudson) Laureen Oliver, who helped found the state’s Independence Party and was its first chair, was honored by the party last week and unanimously named its first chairman emeritus.
  
• * Cuomo brings initiative to consolidation (Schenecktady Daily Gazette) He has been getting a positive response from his audiences, including local officials in western New York, a meeting of the state Conservative Party and the annual convention of the New York State Association of Counties.