TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

BLOOMBERG ENDORSEMENT BY NYC INDEPENDENCE PARTY

• Morning Read: Bloomberg's Independence, Fulani's Race, Council Raises (Politicker NY, By AZI PAYBARAH) Comprehensive notes include links to The Hankster -- h/t to Azi Paybarah!
  
• 3RD PARTY FOR MIKE (NY Post)
  
• Elsewhere: Ferraro Backs Gioia, de Blasio Backs Tolls, Rangel Stays Out of Mayor's Race for Now (By KATHARINE JOSE, Politicker NY)
  
• Mayor Mike Bloomberg gets Independence Party endorsement (BY ERIN EINHORN , DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU)
  
• CANDIDATE BLOOMY'S A BAM MAN (David Seifman, NYPost)
  
• Now in Mike's fish tank: Howard Wolfson, annotated (NY Newsday/Long Island/Politics)
  

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Mr. Governor, you're no Obama (Bill Plante, Newbury Port News) "Yet,'' Freddy said, "but in politics nothing is forever, although it seems so sometimes. We have open primaries, which means anyone can vote for whomever. That's why we got Romney. There may not be enough Republican votes out there to elect a governor, but there are more unaligned voters. Democrats have ruled the Hill for so long that the time may be at hand for the unaligned to say, 'Enough already.'''
  
• Daniel Weintraub: Former speaker returns in reformer role (By Daniel Weintraub, Sac Bee) Open primaries or even nonpartisan state government along the lines of what we have now in local government might be something Hertzberg one day supports.
  
• Elections by mail? (Bob Roberts Reporting, WBBM 780 Chicago)
  
• Illinois - Our Opinion: Don’t give up on open primary bill (THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER)
  
• Dem icon Burton shoo-in for state party leader (Carla Marinucci, SF Chronicle)
  

FROM PARTS YONDER

Howard Dean in France: Translation of "You can't translate everything you do in the US in France": "You can't have socialism in the US unless it's over the dead body of the Democratic Party..." Open primaries apparently now = socialism? - NH

And more on the democracy front from the Europeans: Roger, aged 43, is a prospective candidate of a new political party, or non-party as it might term itself, The Jury Team. The organisation is planning to field 70 candidates in June's European elections on an anti-political party platform.  NOTE:  By George, I think they've got it! - NH