Georgia Independents Go Up Against Fulton County Incumbent John Eaves

UPDATED


GIV Objects to Abuse of Election Law by Major Party Candidate

Tuesday June 29th, Georgia Independent Voters sent the below letter to Democratic incumbent Fulton County Commissioner John Eaves. Eaves’ campaign has begun an effort to disqualify more than 8,000 ballot access petition signatures collected by independent candidate Mary Norwood (as an independent candidate for Fulton County Commission Chair, due to Georgia elections law, Norwood must collect more than 20,000 signatures in order to have her name on the ballot) on the basis that the word “Fulton” in the county field on ballot petitions is pre-printed and not handwritten.

Read more at GeorgiaIndependentVoters.org

Competition is good for everything — except the Georgia ballot  10:30 am June 25, 2010, by Jim Galloway in the Atlanta Journal Constitution/Political Insider

"Wingnuts" book review

A couple of weeks ago I was traveling on one of the more remote stretches of the Interstate Highway System between Fillmore and Nephi Utah. There isn’t a lot of FM radio reception to be had on this stretch, so I flipped the dial over to AM where I can tune stations from more distant locations as the sun sets lower. On this particular evening, I was able to pick up a right leaning independent radio host who was interviewing the Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate from Utah. I can appreciate a healthy skepticism of candidates of the Big 2, but the gist of the Constitution Party tenets seem polar opposites to me.

The radio show guest, Senate Candidate Scott Bradley more or less stated that we need to get back to the constitution in its original form (I'm paraphrasing from memory). He went on to postulate that every public or civic action could and should be settled by an examination of the U.S. Constitution. And therein is the paradox. This approach would mean city governments could be done away with and that state legislatures would only need to carry out those duties specifically detailed within the constitution. However, the constitution was a framework for a system of self-governance “by and for The People”. The Bradley plan is kind of a throw it out and embrace it at the same time kind of logic.

As for me, I support a different paradox, one embraced by the authors of the constitution; a system of by the people government that envisioned competing and divergent interests which made allowances for amendments and for differences to be voiced and settled. The Big 2 have embraced a very partisan model of what Mr. Bradley thinks will work; a top down autocratic inflexible application of the constitution as they understand it. Wrong. Though there are vast portions to be rigidly adhered to, the whole of the mission and intent is to establish a republic to be governed by the people—a statutory state of rigid flexibility if you will.

When I sat down to begin writing this, the Scott Bradley interview synopsis was supposed to be a segue into a review of John Avlon’s book Wingnuts, How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America, so I better get started.

John Avlon is clearly an independent and a successful writer, but I started the book not looking for something to disagree about, but not wanting to be the centrist version of a super-ultra-mega-dittohead if you know what I mean. I would say I like 90% of the book. It is for the most part an insightful chronicle of the inciteful (its in the urban dictionary, good enough:). From a literary standpoint, Wingnuts is heavy on inflammatory quotes that are admittedly way over the top and problematic as the book indicates. I found the quotes overwhelming. They shed light on the crazy talk crowds, but I had a hard time keeping up with who was currently shouting.

My 10% disagreement was probably the first 10% of the book, predominantly his criticism of moveon.org and "Bush Derangement Syndrome". I'm not defending moveon.org, I am not even sure I've ever visited that website, but Mr. Avlon portrays radical reactions to Bush administration policies as "wingnutty". I was independently incensed by a number of Bush administration blunders, and I mean livid mad--and I voted for the guy......twice. Oops. I'll give you my personal stories.

First, I was in Iraq with the Army in 2004 and I was well, quite unimpressed about stories emerging about prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and torture and injustice at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I was particularly concerned about these abhorrent acts because it could and did elevate my personal risk of injury or death, though thankfully I came through unscathed.

Second, and this is still a very disturbing insult to me. I was driving to work in Draper, Utah, just listening to NPR when they broke a disturbing story that a U.S. Army and Navy whistleblowers revealed, without meritable dispute from the NSA, that NSA personnel were recording, transcribing, distributing and mocking intimate conversations between GI's in the Middle East and their spouses or partners here in the states.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTOoZYRYfM0
So, on this point, I will disagree vehemently with Mr. Avlon, I don't think any vociferous objection to that breach of the law and decency is vociferous enough. It is crazy and wingnutty NOT to be incensed by such immoral and illegal activity directed against the real warriors and their families in these wars.


All that being said, I am going to give Wingnuts 3.5 stars on my Amazon.com review for being better than average but not great. And now I have a new book to add to my booklist--"The Shadow Factory" by James Bamford.

Talk Talk: McChrystal: He'll Always Have Paris

Sunday, June 26, 2010

Talk/Talk will be off for month of July and resume in August.   Every week CUIP's president Jacqueline Salit and strategist/philosopher Fred Newman watch the political talk shows and discuss them. Here are excerpts from their dialogues compiled on Sunday, June 27, 2010 after watching selections from "PBS NewsHour, "The Charlie Rose Show," "The Chris Matthews Show" and "This Week." Newman: Everyone did what they did knowing that it would probably have these consequences. And it did have these consequences. So, it's sort of an exercise in utter predictability. Salit: I appreciate that because this whole affair does have that quality to it. On one hand, it's presented as this great drama, and it is. In American history, it is dramatic when a president relieves a general of a command in the middle of a war. It doesn't happen that often. But when it happens, it is a dramatic event. And, at the same time, as you say, this one does have a quality of everything that happened along the way seeming to be very predictable. I feel like someone's already writing a script for a Hollywood movie called "McChrystal" and they've already cast it. Maybe Bruce Willis is going to play McChrystal. Newman: Well, it might seem like a movie because it's about the military. Military movies are very popular for a reason. Salit: Which is? Newman: It's all about doing the right thing. Read Talk/Talk in its entirety here. Rolling Stone's "The Runaway General" by Michael Hastings here.

the river

hotter than a pepper sprout

Rankin: Eliminate Party Primaries for County Offices in Mississippi

Steve Rankin (Free Citizen), third party advocate and one of the country's leading experts on state party primary structures, responded to columnist Bill Minor in the Jackson Mississippi Clarion Ledger from last week "Maybe Miss. is ready to install open primary system," June 18) with a letter in which Rankin calls for nonpartisan elections at the county level.

Since the Legislature refuses to make this change, we citizens will have to do it through a ballot initiative. Why do we need party primaries for local offices anyway? [more]

Rankin says more in his post from Feb. on Free Citizen "Greater Choice For Mississippi Voters"

Nonpartisan elections are popularly called "open primaries" in Mississippi. In such an election, there are no party primaries, and all candidates, including independents, run in the same election. If no one gets 50-plus percent in the first round, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, meet in a runoff.

The Voter Choice Plan would provide greater choice for our state's voters by changing to nonpartisan local (county and municipal) elections.

We need more third party voices like this for open primaries!

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 6/29/10

OPEN PRIMARIES

• The politics of parties… (Posted by Betsy, Spokesman Review/Eye On Boise) Closed primaries lead to more-extreme candidates, the two professors wrote, with old-fashioned party “machine” politics the most-extreme example.
• Montana should let voters have open primary (LETTER Billings Gazette)
• Idaho Secretary of State Presents Evidence to Support Constitutionality of Classic Open Primary (Ballot Access News)
• Parties weigh longshot challenges to Prop. 14 (Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle)
• Blakeslee-Laird a preview of our future with Prop. 14 (BY: Aaron Crutchfield, EDITORIAL Adascadero News)
• Flawed primary in California (Elmira NY Star Gazette)
• The constitutional convention that didn’t happen (by PeteGolis, Press Democrat - CA)
• Brewer: Calif. voters will have fewer options (Mark Brewer, Lansing MI State Journal) Mark Brewer is Chairman of the DP in MI

GOV/ STATE/ MIDTERM RACES

• N.C. Families First will try again in 2012 (Charlotte News Observer) The union-backed group first attempted to collect enough signatures to form a third political party but fell short. It then collected signatures to put a candidate on the ballot as an independent.
• Lamont channels Weicker in new TV ad (By Keith M. Phaneuf, CT Mirror) It's an unusual strategy for a candidate in a primary, where success often depends on motivating the party base.
• Brown is state's most popular pol. (Jackie Brousseau, WWLP.com) According to a new Boston Globe poll, U.S. Senator Scott Brown is the most popular politician in Massachusetts. The results of the poll say that 55% of independent voters view the Republican favorably. In addition, he is seen favorably by 79% of Republicans and 41% of Democrats...

NEW YORK

• Indy big's spouse got biz 'break' (By DAVID SEIFMAN, NY Post EXCLUSIVE) Frank MacKay insisted his wife's firm was not hired because of his connections to the Republicans, many of whom were being cross-endorsed by the Independence Party.
• History May Repeat Itself in Upstate New York (By Jackie Kucinich, CQ-Roll Call)
• I warned mayor: Ragusa - Queens GOP chair says he told Bloomberg not to deal with Haggerty (By Howard Koplowitz, Your Nabe Queens) Ragusa said he did not understand why Bloomberg would choose Haggerty to run campaign activities. “I am the chairman of Queens,” he said. “They should’ve run the campaign through the different counties, not through political operatives. We never saw any of Bloomberg’s people out on the street. He should have come to us and let the Haggertys go someplace else.” The Queens GOP chairman said the Haggertys have made repeated attempts to control the borough party through the legal system.

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Public Advocate Wins Back Budget (By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL, Wall Street Journal)
• Enough With Jane Jacobs Already (By ANDREW MANSHEL, Wall Street Journal)
• Boro leaders mull charter revisions (By Howard Koplowitz, Your Nabe Queens)

colorado

ozark mountain daredevils

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 6/25/10

INDEPENDENT ROUND-UP: The specter of open primaries has party bosses shaking in their boots. Independent candidates Joelle Riddle and Kathleen Curry in Colorado have been ruled out of bounds by a US District Court Judge.

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• A conservative, but not a movement conservative – And that is a Christie asset (BY ALAN J. STEINBERG, New Jersey News Room) Among independent voters, the Governor scored a sixty percent (60%) approval rating in the aforesaid Rasmussen Poll and fifty percent (50%) in the Quinnipiac Poll of June 17. A struggling economy, a rising number of registered independents and a hostile attitude toward incumbent politicians have combined to put at least seven races in play leading up to November.
• National bad mood puts Calif. incumbents at risk (By ROBIN HINDERY Associated Press Writer, Mercury News)
• CNN Poll: Majority angry at both political parties (CNN Political Ticker) The survey indicates that nearly six in ten Independent voters say they are angry at both parties, with only four percent angry only at the GOP and six percent mad only at the Democrats. Just over three in ten say they are not angry at either party. The poll suggests a slight generational divide, with 43 percent of those under age 50 saying they are not mad at either party. That number drops to 15 percent for those 50 and older.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Letter: Commissioner's comments show lack of respect for the voters (LETTER TC Palm) Open primaries are a new concept in Florida. They should only be used to determine election winners in unique circumstances; after all other candidate options have been exhausted. 
• Guest Columnists — Registrars offer primary reminder (Written by George Cody and Robert Shafter, New Canaan Advertiser) The important caveat to remember is that unaffiliated voters must enroll in the party holding the primary of their choice.

BALLOT ACCESS

• Maryland Removes Independent Party from Ballot (Ballot Access News) The Independent Party became ballot-qualified in 2008.  It was formed by supporters of Ralph Nader for president.
• Cohen May Face Court, Not Ballot Challenge (By Benjamin Yount, Illinois Statehouse News, Fox News) “We have conflicting court cases out there, and the question is can a person run in a party primary and then for whatever reason the person {would} resign from that nomination and then run as an independent…And this is probably one reason that Gov. Quinn and others are considering going the judicial route to challenge Mr. Cohen.”

GOV/ STATE/ MIDTERM RACES

• One Small Thing, to Dave Weigel (Posted by kowalski, RedState.com) Ron Paul comes dangerously close to being their Lenora Fulani, which is one of the reasons I don’t much like Ron Paul.
• Political Scene: Both state parties prepare to endorse candidates (By Katherine Gregg, Randal edgar, Steve Peoples and john mulligan, Providence Journal State House Bureau)
• Major parties increasingly wary of third-party governor candidates (Washington Post/The Fix)

COLORADO

• Curry must go write-in route (By The Denver Post)
• Riddle loses lawsuit, won't seek re-election (by Garrett Andrews, Durango Herald)
• U.S. District Court Upholds Ballot Access Restriction for 2010 Even Though Legislature Already Repealed it for the Future (Ballot Access News) Click here for the decision

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Charter Recommendations (Gotham Gazette) Earlier this week, the Women’s City Club, a long-time civic group, weighed in on two of the biggies — term limits and nonpartisan elections — and came out against both.

LAST WORD

• Self-funded candidates can't always buy success, research shows (By Anne Bauer, Seattle Post Globe)

Closed primaries = subversion + dead rabbits

Freedom is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free. Utah Phillips

So I came across this op-ed in the small local paper here in Davis County Utah written by the editor Rolf Koecher on the topics of open primaries and the dysfunction of a 2 party duopoly. Mr. Koecher articulated the 2 party shrinking tent problem in a way that I have not been able to, though his concern is directed primarily at the Utah Republican Party.

"I took advantage of early voting last week. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the candidate I wanted in the race for U.S. Senate. And neither could the majority of Utah voters. 

...in Utah there has been a concerted, and noticeable, effort to circumvent the voters. And whenever the Clipper has challenged actions by the Legislature or by city officials in Davis County, it has ultimately hinged on this key issue...we are troubled when efforts are made to keep the ultimate decision making from the voters. 

Ironically, that means the party that fancies itself as the protector of the Constitution is in itself subverting this document when it 

(a) sanitizes the process by making sure voters only get to select from hand-picked and approved candidates, and 

(b) tries to do everything in its power to keep citizen-drive initiatives from reaching the ballot box.... 

Some of the world’s most despotic dictators have done the same, keeping themselves in power by offering only sanitized slates of candidates at the ballot box, making sure the public does not get a meaningful choice." wrote Mr. Koecher.

My first afterthoughts were "yes, that is exactly right. The two parties ardently pressing for, in most cases some positive policies, but in being so suspicious of opposition, closed and exclusive as a means to their ideological ends, are subverting the constitution they are loving----------to death." The immediate literary connection I made was Lennie from Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and the poor loved to death rabbits.

Our constitution is a framework for a government by and for the people. The parties are suffocating symbolic rabbits day in and day out.

But what about us? There are two conditions that can handily subvert our ingenius by and for the people system of government. The first and most obvious and most discussed is the 2 party small and shrinking tent syndrome. The other toxic dose is administered by We the People when we allow it to happen, when we don't get involved. It happens when we don't get active, when we don't talk about it with associates, when we do not write letters to the editor, and when we do not connect with neighbors with similar concerns. In short, it happens when a government by and for the people doesn't govern.

I cringe when I hear lamentations that government is too big. That suspicious perception has missed the point entirely. Sure, our bureaucracies are a bit unwieldy, but until every eligible voter is involved to at least some small extent, our government is not big enough.

Free Citizen: Trial in Idaho Republicans' Suit Begins October 12, 2010

Free Citizen: Trial in Idaho Republicans' Suit Begins October 12, 2010

The Idaho Republican Party filed a lawsuit against that state's primary election law in April 2008. The law says that each voter picks a party on primary day, and each party's primary is open to any voter. The GOP wants to be able to enforce its rule that only its party members may vote in Republican primaries.

U. S. district judge B. Lynn Winmill determined that a trial is necessary, and that trial will start in the district court in Boise on October 12, 2010. The Republican Party will present evidence of non-Republicans voting in GOP primaries, while the state will presumably show evidence to the contrary (Idaho Republican Party v. Ysursa,08-cv-165).... read more

What are parties good for?

What are parties good for?

Rick Holmes who blogs at the Wicked Local had this to say about open primaries:

I’ve also thought an open primary would help alleviate the one-party domination in Massachusetts. It would mean fewer uncontested races and more competition within the Democratic Party.

Arnold [Schwarzenegger] convinced voters two years ago to take redistricting away from the parties and put it in the hands of an independent commission. The open primary removes even more power from the parties.

Holmes, like others, is "not sure it will work", but isn't the point to open the process to more participation by voters? Democracy doesn't work without voters.

chicago corn

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 6/23/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Faustus Makes a Deal (By DAVID BROOKS, NY Times) Independent voters in the districts favor Republicans by an average of 18 percentage points.
• Keith Olbermann's Wisdom - Obama, BP and the crisis of American liberalism. (Wall Street Journal, By JAMES TARANTO) Liberal pundits are not going to decide those outcomes; independent voters are, and those voters will make up their own minds about the quality of leadership the president and his party have offered.
• Ron Paul says GOP will be more open to libertarian-minded nominee in 2012 (By Alex Pappas -- The Daily Caller) “So if he really wants to make an imprint on the 2012 contest, it would be running as an independent rather than just going from state to state finishing fifth or sixth in Republican primaries,” he said.
• The rise of the new center (By William Temple, The Daily Caller)

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Let's Have an Honest Debate About the Role of Parties (Harry Kresky, Huffington Post)
• Kresky: Prop 14 and NYC Nonpartisan Elections Speak for Rights of Voters v. Rights of Parties (POSTED BY NANCY HANKS, The Moderate Voice)
• OPINION: The problem with private parties (By Cindi Ross Scoppe, The State, Columbia, S.C., published on Leagle.com)
• Will Utah Republicans Play Dirty Today? (Newsweek)
• Popular Utah Democrat Faces Craigslist Opponent (US News & World Report)
• KIRK: Prop. 14 to the rescue? (By RICHARD KIRK -- For the North County Times/Californian)
• When voters take control of government (Lompoc Record) That is a very positive step toward breaking at least part of that two-party grip on legislative seats. Prop. 14 will be challenged in court, but if it survives, California elections will be forever changed.
• Funds seal budget deal - Plan approved as lawmakers get money for districts (By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON, Advocate Capitol News Bureau) While coming up with a budget was the main issue addressed in the 2010 session, legislators also returned the state to an open primary system for congressional election...
• More voters get written off: Florida needs to close the write-in loophole. (OPINION, By THE PALM BEACH POST) Florida abolished partisan runoffs, so anyone not of the candidates' party would be disenfranchised. The primary decides everything, even if no one gets a majority.
• Edward Achorn: Fox and Paiva Weed should throw public a bone (Providence Journal) Get rid of the master lever, that relic of machine politics of a century ago, which permits the mindless or manipulated to make one mark and automatically vote for every candidate of a single party on the ballot.
• Prop. 14 no game changer (Doris O’Brien /If I May Say So, Lompoc Record)
• FREEDOM HAWK: Voter approval of Prop 14 is a step in the right direction (By Patrick Walsh, Senior Staff Columnist, Daily Aztec)
• Proposition 14's move to open primaries troubles party chiefs (By Timm Herdt, Ventura County Star)
• FORUM: Will off-base in attacks on open primary (By OLLIE SPERAW -- Oceanside, North County Times)
• Party poopers (Toledo Blade)
• Look to Calif.'s new primary system (LETTER Arizon Republic)

GOV/ STATE/ MIDTERM RACES

• Matheson cruises to victory (By Brandon Loomis, The Salt Lake Tribune)
• IL: Cohen files as independent candidate for governor (By BERNARD SCHOENBURG, THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER)
• Your morning jolt: Mary Norwood sues John Eaves over demand for handwritten ‘Fultons’ (Atlanta Journal Constitution/Political Insider)
• Maine Independent Candidate Will Sue Over Method of Delivery of Petitions to Town Clerks (Ballot Access News)
• Partisan polarization equals political paralysis (Brent Larkin, Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• S.C. Independent candidate may challenge Greene, DeMint in November (By Amanda Carey - The Daily Caller)
• THIS JUST IN (by Free-Times - Columbia SC) S.C. Democrats Keep Greene on Ballot

NEW YORK

• A History of Delays: Why New York's Budget Is So Late So Often (By Azi Paybarah, WNYC)
• The Knaves of Albany (By GABE PRESSMAN, NBCNewYork)

The Field Negro and The Hankster

The Field Negro (Wayne Bennett) posted this today with a link to The H (scroll down a little on the right side bar)

BLOG I AM FEELING.

 
THE HANKSTER

I'm thrilled because I have long admired The Field Negro for his outspoken independence in a very controlled environment. If you haven't gone there yet, please do so!

I was just thinking about doing some kind of sidebar thingy like this, so thanks, FN! And keep up the great blogging!! -- NH

Kresky: Rights of Voters v. Rights of Parties

Leading independent attorney Harry Kresky penned a great HuffPo piece up today called Let's Have an Honest Debate About the Role of Parties:

"Proposition 14 abolished party primaries and replaced them with a system known as "top two." All candidates will appear on a single ballot in a primary election in which all registered voters can participate and candidates can list party preference. The two highest vote getters face off in the November general election. A similar reform is now under consideration by a New York City Charter Revision Commission which has the authority to put it before the City's voters in the November 2010 or 2011 election.

The pro-party argumentation - laid out in syndicated columns this week authored by George Will and David Broder, along with Errol Louis' column in the New York Daily News - goes as follows. The political parties, they say, are central to our democracy as vehicles for voter education and mobilization, and the selection of candidates who represent their members' preferences. Their right to do so is protected by the First Amendment, as is the right of citizens to form parties to advance their common interests. Without parties, we are told, billionaires and unchecked special interest groups will come to dominate our political system.

At the core of this position is a legal and logical sleight of hand that conflates the right of the people to form parties (and other associations like labor unions) to advance common interests with the control of the electoral system by the parties. The two are not the same...." [read more]

Errol Lewis called Prop 14 "dangerous" and "un-American."  If you think THAT'S dangerous, read Kresky's piece and forward it to everyone you know.

postcards from the fringe

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 6/18/10

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Poll: Obama Endorsement Poison for Candidates (By: Theodore Kettle, NewsMax) Also significant is the fact that 54 percent of those identifying themselves as “independent” or “other,” rather than Republican or Democrat, now view an Obama endorsement as a factor swaying them against voting for a candidate for office. Only 23 percent of such independent voters said his endorsement would make them more likely to support someone; the remaining 23 percent of independents said it didn’t matter or they didn’t know.
• The Democrats Strange New Civil War (Peter Connolly, Huffington Post) Barack Obama, an unabashed liberal from Chicago by way of Hawaii and New York, and an African American besides, won an astonishing 52.7% of the vote, carrying such improbable states as Indiana and Virginia. It is this victory, in which young and minority voters played a newly prominent role, which has evidently created such high expectations in the world of left liberalism that a Blanche Lincoln has somehow become unacceptable.
• Angry Voters Look for Change - Obama, incumbents face unhappy electorate as 2010 elections near (By Kenneth T. Walsh, US News & World Report) "The demand for ideological purity that the Tea Party has imposed on the Republican party," says Brad Woodhouse, communications director for the Democratic National Committee, "has radicalized otherwise mainstream candidates, has resulted in the nomination of candidates whose views will be offensive to moderate and independent voters who are key to success in general elections, and has resulted in Republican officeholders or establishment picks lurching to the right or being purged by the Tea Party." As examples, Woodhouse cites "the increasingly extreme positions" of Whitman and Fiorina.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Voters Approve “Top Two” Primary Reform In California -- Proposition 14 -- Will It Strengthen Or Hurt Democracy? (By Mike Bock, DaytonOS.com)
• Open-Primary Vote (Politics and Society)
• The Money That Fueled California's Election Revolt (By Christopher Palmeri and Michael Marois, Business Week)
• California, Louisiana now have open primaries in common: John Maginnis (NOLA.com) While re-adopting the open primary for all elections is causing little stir here, California's move has sent shock waves across the political landscape, rattling the furniture in the state and national headquarters of both major parties and the minor ones too.
• Bill Minor - Should we ditch the primary election (Y'all Politics) H/T to Steve Rankin at Free Citizen for this 
• Let’s learn from Gibbons’ mistakes (By Jen Huntley, Reno News Review) Oh yeah, and did I mention the part about the open primary?
• Votopihttp://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/democracy_101/8901/a (Pasadena Weekly, Barry Gordon) In the absence of strong political parties, what’s left? MONEY.
• Montana GOP scraps presidential caucus (Great Falls Tribune) The caucus had been open only to party insiders. Set in February before most states had voted, it was meant to boost the Montana Republican Party’s national influence.
• Thomas D. Elias: Real initiative battles coming up (Colusa county Sun Herald) But when it comes to influencing the future lives of Californians, three measures either on or about to come onto the November ballot have far greater potential than anything on the primary election ballot. These propositions do not yet have numbers, but one is an effort to legalize marijuana, another would rescind the landmark 2006 anti-greenhouse gas law known as AB32 and the third is an $11 billion water bond.
• Montana GOP votes to ditch presidential caucuses (By MIKE DENNISON, Missoulian State Bureau)

GOV/ STATE/ MIDTERM RACES

• GA: Mary Norwood Needs 22,700 Signatures To Run For Office - Former Atlanta Mayoral Candidate Running As Independent (Rebekka Schramm - CBS Atlanta Reporter)
• VT: At least 9 file to run for governor in Vt. (By John Curran, Boston Globe) Also in the general election race are independent candidates Dennis Steele — who advocates Vermont’s secession from the union — and Em Payton, and United States Marijuana Party candidate Cris Ericson, of Chester.
• IA: Vander Plaats candidacy could doom GOP hopes of beating Culver (By JASON HANCOCK, Iowa Independent)
• NC: If Davis runs as an independent, he should be independent (Doug Clark, Greensboro News Record) Congratulations to Bruce Davis, who looks like he may qualify for a ballot spot as an independent candidate in the state Senate District 28 race. That's not easy to do in this D/R duopoly state.

NEW YORK

• Hey Albany: Pass A Budget & End The Poetic Torture AND California Voters Approve ‘Top Two’ Primary Elections By HENRY STERN [SCROLL DOWN] (Queens Tribune)
• Manhattan Madam Testifies Crooked Pols Should Lose Pensions (BY CELESTE KATZ, NY Daily News/Daily Politics) You can also see video here of Davis' testimony (she speaks around the 2-hour 18-minute mark). As one observer noted, "Frank Morano, who testifies after, brings the whole message home at the 2:20.55 mark, [saying it's] appropriate for [Davis] to testify because so many politicians are nothing more than prostitutes -- only they're not as honest."
• Slush Fund Scandal at the Charter Commission (Gotham Gazette)
• Does Cuomo's Favored AG Candidate Have Her Own Pedro Espada Problem? (By Wayne Barrett, Village Voice/Runnin Scared)
• Queens GOP Insider Stole From Mayor: DA (By DOMENICK RAFTER, Queens Tribune)
• Councilman Charles Barron's Freedom Party Bid For Governor (Gothamist)
• Charles Barron, upset at all-white Dem ticket, running for gov as head of all-black Freedom Party (BY ADAM LISBERG, DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF)
• 'Up, You Mighty Race,' Barron Tells Crowd at Campaign Kick-Off (By Michael Gonda, NY Observer)
• GOP pol indictment is bunk (By Roscoe Conkling, The Daily Caller) What of Independence Party boss Frank McKay, the diamond stud earring wearing ex-bartender and his crony Monroe Independence Party Chairman Tom Connelly who has a “job” with Democrat Senator Carl Kruger? How much of the money went into their pockets? As “Party Leaders” they can legally pay themselves a salary and expenses. Both have wisely declined to speak with prosecutors. Vance is off base if he thinks any of this is illegal. ...Roscoe Conkling is the pen name of a connected Albany insider who would rather remain anonymous.
• NYTIMES/CITY ROOM Bloomberg Scolds Reporters Again 

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• DID using charter revision to get back to roots (BY John Bayles, Downtown Express) District Leader Paul Newell, a D.I.D. member, said he was afraid the entire commission might be used to “shoehorn centralization of mayoral power.”

LAST WORD

• ACORN's Kick-Ass Activism - New Book Reveals the Whole Story (By Peter Dreier, Talking Points Memo Cafe)

AND ANOTHER THING

• The Big Spill and the Enviro Group of Ten: Why Isn't Their Web Traffic Surging? (Micah L. Sifry, TechPresident/Personal Democracy Forum) Part of the reason may be cultural. Many of these organizations are legacy institutions that still approach the web with a "fortress" mentality, to use Beth Kanter and Allison Fine's useful image. We're the professional environmentalists, they've been saying to the public for years--leave the issue to us! People looking for direct engagement with the problem of the oil spill and what to do about it will go elsewhere.... 

Voters Approve “Top Two” Primary Reform In California — Proposition 14 — Will It Strengthen Or Hurt Democracy?

Voters Approve “Top Two” Primary Reform In California — Proposition 14 — Will It Strengthen Or Hurt Democracy?

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS 6/17/10 More Discussion of Open Primaries

INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• 'Fierce' Obama to meet BP execs (USA Today/The Oval - Tracking the Obama Presidency) The Democratic National Committee distributed a memo about the results of a focus group of white male independent voters who watched the president's speech. The memo, written by David Binder Research, said the voters liked the president's call for alternative energy and viewed Republican opposition as partisan.

OPEN PRIMARIES

• The Arnold Factor (William Bradley, Huffington Post) Indeed, a group of former governors, including Brown, who endorsed an open primary last year in a speech to the California Newspaper Publishers Association, agreed to sign a letter backing the initiative. But in the end, Schwarzenegger's team decided that the initiative campaign -- blessed with a raft of editorial endorsements and a ton of money raised by Schwarzenegger -- was doing just fine without political events. Whitman opposes an open primary.
• Jennifer Foster: Legal and ethical are not one and the same (Opelika Auburn News - AL)
• California, Louisiana now have open primaries in common (John Maginnis, NOLA.com Times Picayune)
• Phil Power: Primary shake-up could reshape political scene (Livingston MI Daily)
• Jindal sent open primaries legislation (By JORDAN BLUM, Advocate Capitol News Bureau)
• Should we ditch the primary election system? (By Bill Minor, Desoto Times Tribune MS)
• Our View- Prop 14 rids the need for political training wheels (Daily 49er)
• La. returning to 'open' congressional races (KEVIN McGILL, The Associated Press, NOLA.com)

GOV/ STATE/ MIDTERM RACES

• FL: Gov. candidate Bud Chiles: BP should offer bounty for oil (Dave Helle, WTSP/10 Connects.com Tampa Bay)
• MA: Gov. candidates debate (By John J. Monahan Worcester TELEGRAM & GAZETTE) On education standards, Mr. Baker and Mr. Cahill said they objected to the state signing on to meet new federal educations standards, saying they do not want to lower the state's MCAS testing standards. The governor said the state has not signed on to those standards because they have not yet been established, and he would not lower current standards.
• IL: Independent candidate Will Boyd Jr. makes it on ballot (Chicago Political Buzz Examiner, Philip Houdesheldt) Will Boyd Jr., an Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois has achieved what few other Independents have been able to. He has secured a place on the ballot for this November’s election by gaining the necessary 25,000+ signatures on petitions. 
• A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN NEW ENGLAND: ELIOT CUTLER'S INDEPENDENT BID FOR GOVERNOR OF MAINE (by Damon Eris, CAIVN) n an interview for Third Party and Independent Daily last week, I asked the candidate why he opted to run for governor as an Independent rather than within one of the major parties.  He struck a note that will likely ring true for many an Independent voter: "I am running as an Independent because I am one . . . the leadership of both parties has become captive to the various special interests that control them and . . . they are both incapable to governing from the moderate center.  I am committed to doing that and to giving voice and representation to what I believe is an overwhelming majority of independent and moderate Maine voters who want to see Maine government work again." 
• Exclusive: Interview with Eliot Cutler, Independent Candidate for Governor of Maine (Independent and Third Party Daily)

NEW YORK

• Questions Remain To Be Answered In The Haggerty Case (John Toscano, Queens Gazette/Political Page)
• Elex board to probe Indies' $$ (By DAVID SEIFMAN City Hall Bureau Chief, NY Post)
• Manhattan DA Cy Vance goes after embattled state Independence Party as Andrew Cuomo awaits nod (BY CELESTE KATZ AND ADAM LISBERG, DAILY NEWS)
• Hizzoner 'bilked' by bud (By DAVID SEIFMAN, City Hall Bureau Chief, NY Post)

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• 'Integrity' the watchword at Charter forum in Harlem (Peter N. Spencer, Staten Island Advance)
• Charter Commission Takes On Member Items At Harlem Hearing (By: Grace Rauh, NY1 Manhattan)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS: Is Open Primaries Coming to Your State?

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Arizonans should watch closely (The Arizona Republic) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's outgoing Republican governor, readily acknowledged in a news conference that the goal is to reduce the power of political parties: "We wanted to have the politicians be public servants and not party servants." He touted open primaries as a way to keep politicians from getting "stuck in their ideological corners."
• In Our View: One More Top Two - Washington’s system for primary voting is starting to catch on elsewhere (The Columbian - WA)
• EDITORIAL: Watch this California experiment: State's move to an open primary might reveal what works, what doesn't (The Buffalo News, printed on Leagle.com) But it is a big step with a noble purpose. New York should watch and learn.
• House backs open primary elections for 2011 (Capitol News Bureau, Louisiana Politics Blog, By JORDAN BLUM, Advocate Capitol News Bureau)
• Alvin M. Greene’s Improbable Nomination For Senator From South Carolina (Posted by Rudi Stettner, IndyPosted.com) NOTE: trying to make a case against open primaries and for partisanship
• When a Party Seeks a Role in Primary of Another (By KIRK JOHNSON, NY Times)

PROP 14

• Take politics back from the extremes (By John P. Avlon, CNN) Proposition 14 passed with broad support despite the opposition of the two parties. The only two California counties where it didn't pass are symbols of polarization on opposite sides of the spectrum: conservative Orange County and liberal San Francisco.
• As California Counts More Votes, Proposition 14 Margin Drops (Ballot Access News) Now at 53.8%
• New math may rule Calif. politics (By: Emily Schultheis, Politico) Proponents of the new system — including California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — call it a victory for moderate, centrist candidates who appeal to a broader cross section of voters than do the narrow wings of the two parties. 
• Primary election sets up key races for November (By Ching Lee, California Farm Bureau Federation) “The open primary is another step in making state government more responsive,” [California Farm Bureau President Paul Wenger] said. “It will broaden opportunities to elect candidates who will consider all points of view and find compromise. We see the passage of Proposition 14 as a welcome sequel to the passage of Proposition 11 two years ago, which changed how legislative districts will be redrawn. Californians want more representative government, and these measures will help.”
• California Politics Update With Sacramento Political Consultant Leo McElroy (BY DWANE BROWN, PAMELA DAVIS, KPBS) MCELROY: Well, there’s been a lot of political concern. The minor political parties, like the major political parties, hated this idea. They did not want the primary opened to all voters. Historically, the minor parties in California, unlike the major parties, actually bar, “decline to state,” or “independent” voters, from voting in their primaries. They don’t want more members. They don’t want more people participating. The Republicans and Democrats do allow independents to vote in their primaries.
• Jerry Brown says Prop. 14 could break Sacramento gridlock (By Jack Chang, Fresno Bee)

GOVERNORS RACES

• Looking forward - beyond November (By: Gov. Jack Markell and Jim Kessler, Politico) Governors may have found the answer and are looking to reframe the 2010 midterms. They argue that the most important way to approach November is not as a left-right ideological argument or as an insider-vs.-outsider choice but, instead, to ask people to make a simple decision about our shared future: “Should we go forward with a plan or backward to the failed policies that launched this national recession?”

COLORADO

• Kathleen Curry, Colorado’s Only Independent Legislator, Opens Campaign Office and Submits Petition (Ballot Access News)

FLORIDA

• Surge of Independent Candidates In Florida - The number of independent candidates running for statewide office is soaring. So far 27 people have announced their intentions to run as an independent for Congress, state cabinet or the governor’s mansion. Just four years ago, only 11 people ran for statewide office with no party affiliation. (Whitney Ray, WJHG Channel 7)

NEW YORK

• Indictment Over Bloomberg Campaign Funds (By DAVID W. CHEN AND COLIN MOYNIHAN, for The New York Times/City Room)
• Political Operative Indicted for Stealing $1.1 Million From Mayor's Campaign (DNAInfo - Manhattan local news)
• Andrew Cuomo Takes "We'll See" Approach To Indy Party Probe (BY CELESTE KATZ, Daily News/Daily Politics)
• Indy voters cool to Cuomo, Dems (By BRENDAN SCOTT, NY Post)
• Adviser allegedly robbed mayor's coffers (UPI)

LAST WORD(S)

• The Democratic Party and Blanche Lincoln (BY GLENN GREENWALD, Salon) [T]he real conflict in politics is not Left v. Right or liberal v. conservative, but rather, insider v. outsider. 
• Democrats and the 'world domination' theory of politics (By: Scott Payne, Special to The Washington Examiner) NOTE: thinks independents don't exist

LEDE

• How Prop 14 Election Overhaul Could Change California (By MAX FISHER, The Atlantic Wire) Victory for Independent Voters The Moderate Voice's Nancy Hanks writes, "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that this will take power away from the parties and put it in the hands of the people, which is what we wanted to do." Hanks cites the statement from an independent voters group: "As a result, the 3.4 million Decline to State independent voters will have equal access to our political process. At the rate voters are choosing to become independents here in California, we expect to be over the four million mark by our next election cycle."

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Kansas Democrats Open Primary; GOP Says No (Reporter: 13 News WIBW)
• Voter wants blanket primary (By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau, Times Daily AL)
• New California primary system could be good for Arizona (by Linda Valdez, The Arizona Republic)
• New York Now Lagging California In Race for Non-Partisan Elections (By HENRY STERN, Special to the NY Sun)
• California Goes Nonpartisan (Gotham Gazette/Wonkster)
• Dems open August primary (BY TIM CARPENTER, Topeka Capital Journal) "Allowing unaffiliated voters to join Democrats as we choose our candidates will strengthen our candidates and continue our long tradition of inclusion as a party," Gates said.

PROP 14

• Proposition California ensures electoral blandness (By George F. Will, Washington Post) Proposition 14's purpose is to weaken and marginalize parties, traditionally the principal vehicles for voter education and mobilization.
• California campaign: We need straight talk from the candidates (EDITORIAL LA Times) Last week's party primary could be the last state election for quite some time in which a Democratic front-runner like Jerry Brown can secure an issues-free ride to the general election by using his fundraising prowess to scare off opponents, or in which a Republican front-runner like Meg Whitman need only dominate the airwaves and repeat platitudes that cater to her conservative base to win a spot in the final.
• An un-American attack: California's dangerous 'reform' will empower people who want to buy democracy (ERROL LOUIS, NY Daily News)
• Editorial: Hand grenade (Gainesville FL Sun)
• Would California's new election system fly in Florida? (By Howard Troxler, Tampa Bay.com - St. Petersburg Times) In fact, Winger said, independents generally tend to mirror the dominant attitude in their area anyway. They're not registered in a party, but they tend to produce the same kind of election results.
• Governor Schwarzenegger Discusses New Era Of Government With Passage Of Proposition 14 (by Imperial Valley News)
• Thomas D. Elias: Voters serious about reform (Appeal Democrat)
• Primaries should be open to all (LETTER HERALD NEWS NJ)
• California is showing the way with open primaries (LETTER Daily Record)
• The great race, stay tuned (By DAVID S. BRODER, Seacoast Online) An impromptu transcontinental race has begun, with nothing less at stake than the future of the American political and governmental system.
• Voters are trying to make government work - Legislative redistricting and open primary measures have become law. Congressional redistricting is on November ballot and legislative term limits probably will be too. (By George Skelton, LA Times/Capitol Journal)
• TWIPC: Will California’s Prop 14 make for more civil elections? (Joe Anello, College News) If it goes the way its supporters hope, however, then California will be the guinea pig for the rest of the nation. An election with an open primary would give voters a legitimate choice between candidates and adequate information about each of them.
• Schwarzenegger, Congressman Waxman say Prop 14 will boost bipartisanship (Kitty Felde, 89.1 KPCV Southern California Public Radio) L.A. Democrat Henry Waxman, head of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, agrees. He says Prop 14 reminds Republicans that voters want movement on issues — like more Medicaid money for California — and that voters will punish them on Election Day for just saying “no.”
• Proposition 14 challenged, for good and better reasons (posted by Mark Landsbaum, OC Register/Orange Punch) Moreover, the everyone-in-the-pool primary approach will result in marginalizing ideological candidates and encouraging compromise candidates to pander to as wide an audience as possible. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a prescription for easier-to-impose taxes.
• Schwarzenegger says he would not have been able to win a Republican primary (LA Times/PolitiCal)
• Schwarzenegger: Open Elections Can Change Politics (NPR) "If there would have been no recall election, I wouldn't have been able to win, because I would not have been able to win a Republican primary because I'm too much in the center and I'm not that far to the right."
• Arnold Schwarzenegger Contemplates His Legacy (Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic)/
• Daniel Weintraub: Prop. 14 is triumph for state centrists (By Daniel Weintraub, Sac Bee) The victory for the open primary, Proposition 14, represents the second time in two years that voters have blessed one of the governor's proposals to change the way we elect legislators and other state officials. In 2008, at his urging, voters took the job of drawing political boundaries away from the Legislature and gave that task to an independent commission. The two measures combined, if they survive court challenges and politicians' attempts to undo them, will leave the state with a system that should elect more moderates like Schwarzenegger and fewer politicians who come from the far left and far right of the ideological spectrum.
• California Notes: Proposition 14 (Blue Wave News) More to the point, the state of Washington has an identical system now, whose legality and Constitutionality was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008. For that reason, I do not think Prop 14 is likely to be struck down by any legal challenge. As this takes effect in January of 2011, its effects won’t be tested until 2012, but it will be very interesting to see what will happen then. Whatever Abel Maldonado thinks, I don’t think it will be the end of polarized politics in California. However, it may very well shift the focus from party affiliation to personal political views. 
• Prop 14 Opponents Look at Options (KCBS - San Francisco/Oakland) ”The Supreme Court said we do not think it violates freedom of association on its face, but it might, as applied,” said Winger. “But in order to have an as-applied challenge you have to use it first and gather evidence.”
• Results Summary SAN FRANCISCO June 8, 2010 Consolidated Statewide Direct Primary Election
•  CLICK HERE FOR MORE COUNTY RESULTS 
• A Disaster for the Republican Right (By Tony Quinn, Political Commentator and Former Legislative Staffer, Fox & Hounds Daily) Start with the long term: Proposition 14, the top two open primary. This measure will have a bigger impact on Republican candidates, because there is not a single district in California with a Republican registration majority.  
• Cooling partisan gridlock in the Capitol (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Under the radar: Another view of Election Night (By Anthony York, Capitol Weekly)
• Five lessons learned from Tuesday's election (LA Daily News) 2. Voters are tired of the status quo.

BALLOT ACCESS

• Minor Party/Independent Candidate Constitutional Lawsuits Pending in 21 States (Ballot Access News)
• Twelve Independents and One Minor Party Candidate File for Alabama Legislature (Ballot Access News)

COLORADO

• Prosecutor: Greif e-mail not bribery (by Shane Benjamin, Durango Herald)
• Curry still awaiting ruling on ballot-access claim (John Stroud, Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado) “I've always said my job is to move forward with my message regardless of what the Democrats decide to do,” Curry said. “If I'm in write-in mode, it does put the bar even higher for me to get that message across.”

ILLINOIS

• Bill Brady Leads Governor Pat Quinn in New Poll (The State Column) The poll also shows Brady leading Quinn more than two to one among independent voters while 10 percent of those polled remain undecided on a candidate. The poll also shows 57 percent of voters disapprove of Quinn’s job performance as governor.
• Cohen says he has enough signatures (Southtown Star) Scott Lee Cohen said he isn't having trouble collecting the 25,000 signatures he needs to get on the November ballot as an independent candidate for Illinois governor.

MAINE

• Maine voters showed us their wisdom (Opinion, Sea Coast Online) But it could well be that the average Mainer, including that wide swath of independent voters, will find problems with both LePage and Mitchell and seek a third choice in one of the three independents who will be on the ballot. One of these, Eliot Cutler, could present a formidable challenge. Cutler's background is as an environmentalist, helping Sen. Edmund Muskie craft the Clean Air Act and then working on energy related issues in the Office of Management and Budget and for President Jimmy Carter.

NORTH CAROLINA

• SEIU drafts independent candidate against Kissell (By Kevin Bogardus, The Hill/Ballot Box) SEIU submitted more than 34,000 signatures in North Carolina to qualify Wendell Fant as a candidate against Kissell. Only 17,000 were needed to qualify Fant to run this coming November. 
• Union-Led Group Turns in NC Candidate Signatures (By Associated Press Writer, WNCT Greenville)

SOUTH CAROLINA

• S.C. Strikes Again (By GAIL COLLINS, NY Times)

OREGON

• The Independent Party of Oregon is a Force to be Reckoned with in the State's New Fusion Voting System (Damon Eris, Poli-Tea) Third party voters and activists disappointed by the passage of Proposition 14 in California may be heartened by consideration of the new electoral fusion system that has gone into effect this year in Oregon.

NEW YORK

• New York's Third Party Mess (Daniel Collins, Huffington Post) The Independence Party, which was born out of the Ross Perot movement in the 1990s, is currently divided between an upstate and a New York City faction. The New York end is run by Fred Newman, a psychotherapist who spent years as the head of the New Alliance Party, which began as Marxist, flirted with Lyndon LaRouche, and was frequently accused of being a cult centered around Newman's psychotherapy.
• Working Families Party future in doubt - Cuomo rejection, federal probe could erase left-wing group from ballot (By Nick Reisman, Gannett Albany Bureau) "Some political parties are more like social movements," said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic Party strategist. "Their time may just have passed." Formed in 1998, the Working Families Party was meant to push mainstream Democrats to support left-leaning policy stances favored by unions.
• Cuomo's rejection of Working Families ballot line a blow to the movement (By Nick Reisman, Albany Bureau, Ithaca Journal)
• D.A. Cy Vance steps up criminal probe into mystery $750,000 from Bloomy's campaign last fall (BY BARBARA ROSS AND ADAM LISBERG, DAILY NEWS)
• DA: Independence Party Slowing Probe of Bloomberg Donation (By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL, Wall Street Journal) Mr. Haggerty is the target of the probe, but prosecutors could still consider filing criminal charges against the party and its operatives, a person familiar with the case said. Mr. Bloomberg has said he's been told he is not a target of the investigation. According to court documents, the party has failed to comply with 19 of the 23 subpoenaed-document requests from prosecutors.
• NEW POLITICAL PARTY IN THE WORKS (by Mary Alice Miller, Room Eight)
• Even with donations to Independence Party under scrutiny, there's no stopping Mayor Bloomberg (ADAM LISBERG, NY Daily News)
• Bloomberg: BP Exec ‘Didn’t Exactly Blow Up the Well’; Pelosi: ‘BP Is Not Paying’ (NY magazine)
• State's minor parties can play a major role (By WILLIAM STEVENSON, Albany Times Union)
• NY judge orders party lawyer to testify in probe (AP - Albany Times Union)
• Independence Party’s Lawyer Is Ordered to Testify (By JOHN ELIGON, NY Times)
• MacKay: Oneida Indy Case ‘A Local Issue’ (Liz Benjamin, Capital Tonight.com)
• Working Families Party's future clouded by Cuomo snub (By Nick Reisman, Ithaca Journal Albany Bureau)

NYC CHARTER REVISION

• Charter Revision Commission forum tonight in New Dorp to focus on local control of government (Staten Island Advance)
• Charter panel meets at Staten Island Tech: Local control proving elusive (Peter N. Spencer, SI Advance)
• Quinn Defends Council's Clout Before Charter Commission (By: Grace Rauh, NY1)
• Commission's voter dilemma (Riverdale Press) Mr. Diaz also noted that allowing for non-partisan elections, something also rumored to be considered by the commission, would not help increase turnout, and said he would not support them.
• De Blasio Wants Office Strengthened (By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL, Wall Street Journal)

BOOK REVIEW

• Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America (POSTED BY JOE GANDELMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF IN AT TMV. The Moderate Voice) But that’s the way it goes for centrists, moderates and independents: when people on the left or right agree with them, then they are moderates, independents and centrists. But if they disagree they MUST be “really” on the other side, or liars. If they agree with them, then they have principles; if they don’t, well, then they are “mushy” or “wishy washy.”