TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 8/6/09

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

Wherever independents fall on the supposed political "spectrum", if they are on the political "spectrum", don't we have to admit that they do exist!? Many MSM publishers seek increasing irrelevance if they don't see the direction that the American people are headed.... While it's clear that independents are "all over the map" on social issues, they increasingly come together on the need for political reform. Stay tuned!

• Libertarians decry Blue Dog deal on government-controlled health care (Libertarian Party, Small Government Times)
• Poll: 72% Say Obama Won't Keep Healthcare Promises (NewsMax.com/Inside Cover) "President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress appear to be losing the public relations war over their plan to revamp the nation's healthcare system," observes Peter A. Brown, the polling institute's assistant director.... The poll also indicates the all-important independent voters are slipping away from Obama. Among independents, 59 percent to 36 percent say healthcare reform would substantially increase the federal deficit. And by 77 percent to 17 percent, they say Obama can't keep his promise of instituting healthcare reform while holding the line on the deficit.
• BARACK OBAMA: When More Than Half Dislike Your Ideas, It's More Than 'The Right-Wing Base' (National Review Online/Campaign Spot)
• California voters increasingly 'tolerant' - Democrats' shift behind the trend (By John Marelius, San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE)
• Field Poll California: Attitudes shift on abortion, same-sex marriage (Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle) "We look more and more to the opinions of nonpartisan voters to see which way the wind is going, and they're good indicators," DiCamillo said. "They're joining the Democrats in this shift over time on same-sex marriage and abortion, and that's an interesting development," he said. "Republicans, by contrast, show no movement (on those issues) whatsoever."
• Poll: GOP moving in opposite direction from California voters (BY JACK CHANG, in SACRAMENTO BEE, Miami Herald)

OPEN PRIMARIES

Thanks to Peter Allen for this:

• Open Letter to Charlie Crist on Open Primaries (Peter Allen, The Hankster)

BLOOMBERG 09

Mayor Bloomberg became an independent in the summer of 2007 (2 years ago...), having been elected in 2001 with his margin of victory on the NYC Independence Party, and again in 2005 which saw the emergence of an influential black and independent alliance -- 60% of the independent vote and 47% of the black vote. Mike Bloomberg has been endorsed by the NYC Independence Party for re-election this year.

• The Question Mark Next to Bloomberg's Name (John R Bohrer, Huffington Post)